UNIT –I

Organizational Behaviour
Organizational behaviour (OB) is the domain that deals with understanding people's behaviour
within an organization. The discipline deals with the individual behaviour of employees, group
behaviour of employees, and behaviour of employees at the organizational level. In addition, the
field investigates the impact of various cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects of human
resources on the effectiveness of an organization (like what motivates employees, what makes a
manager a good leader, how one can manage group dynamics, etc.). Organizational behaviour is
crucial in facilitating present-day managers in dealing with various organisational challenges and
opportunities.

Meaning of Organizational Behaviour

Organizational Behaviour simply is a process of studying and understanding the behaviour of
individuals in the organization. It is a part of the management process which aims at improving
the performance of organizations through understanding and controlling human behaviour. It is
through the organizational behaviour that organizations are able to understand the behaviour of
the people working with them. Once they get to know about their peoples, organizations can
easily influence and motivating them towards achievement of goals. It helps to improve the
relations between the people working in the organization and increase their efficiency. There are
two main factors which are studied under organization behaviour term: Individual’s nature and
the organization’s nature. After understanding both the terms properly efforts are made to
develop better compatibility between these two terms.

Definitions of Organizational Behaviour

According to Stephen P. Robbins: “Organization Behaviour is a field of study that investigates
the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the
purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.”
According to Moorhead/Griffin: “Organization behaviour is the study of human behavior in
organizational settings that interface between human behavior and the organization and the
organization itself.”
According to Derek Pugh, organizational behaviour is “the study of the structure, functioning
and performance of organizations, and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them.”
According to Fred Luthans has defined OB “as the understanding, prediction, and management
of human behaviour in organizations.”
According to K Aswathappa, “OB is the study of human behaviour in organizational setting, of
the interface between human behaviour and organization and of the organization itself.”
Need of Organizational Behavior
The significance of organisational behaviour is evident in its ability to enhance employee
engagement and productivity. While structures and processes are important, it’s the human
element that drives performance, innovation, and overall success. The significance of
organisational is as follows:

1.Understanding Human Behavior: It helps organizations understand why employees

behave the way they do, their motivations, and their reactions to different situations.

2.Improving Employee Performance: By understanding employee needs and motivations,

organizations can create a more conducive work environment that fosters higher performance
and job satisfaction.

3.Effective Leadership: OB provides insights into effective leadership styles and their impact
on employee morale and productivity.

4.Enhanced Communication: It helps organizations improve communication channels and

address potential barriers to effective communication.

5.Stronger Organizational Culture: OB assists in creating and maintaining a positive and

supportive organizational culture that fosters employee engagement and loyalty.

6.Conflict Resolution: It offers strategies for managing and resolving conflicts, preventing
negative consequences and maintaining a harmonious work environment.

7.Adaptability: OB helps organizations adapt to changing circumstances, such as

technological advancements or economic shifts.

In essence, Organizational Behavior is essential for creating a positive, productive, and

successful workplace where employees are motivated, engaged, and able to contribute their best.

Importance of Organizational Behavior

Listed below are points that highlight the importance of Organizational Behavior (OB).

1.Improved Employee Performance: OB provides insights into how to motivate

employees, create a positive work environment, and enhance job satisfaction. By
 understanding employee behavior, organizations can develop effective performance
management systems and provide targeted training and development opportunities.

2.Enhanced Organizational Effectiveness: OB helps organizations to improve their overall

effectiveness by fostering a positive organizational culture, promoting teamwork, and
encouraging innovation. By understanding the factors that contribute to organizational
success, managers can make informed decisions and implement strategies that align with the
organization’s goals.

3.Better Decision Making: OB provides a framework for understanding the cognitive

processes that influence decision-making. By studying decision-making biases and heuristics,
managers can make more informed and rational choices.

4.Improved Communication: OB helps to improve communication within organizations by

understanding the barriers to effective communication and developing strategies to overcome
them. By fostering open and honest communication, organizations can enhance
collaboration, reduce misunderstandings, and improve employee morale.

5.Enhanced Leadership: OB provides insights into the skills and behaviors that effective
leaders possess. By understanding the principles of leadership, managers can develop their
own leadership abilities and inspire their teams to achieve their goals.

By focusing on the objectives of OB, organizations can enhance employee performance,

improve communication, foster a positive work environment, and achieve their overall goals.

Characteristics of Organizational Behavior

1.Behavioral Approach to Management : OB is a behavioral approach to management. It is a
part of management related with analyzing behavior of human beings in group & organization. It
is a distinct field of study.
2. Science as well as Art : OB is both science and art. It is a systematic body of knowledge
about human behavior so it is considered as science. As an art, the knowledge of OB is applied to
improve organizational effectiveness.
3. Human tool : Organizational behavior is a tool for human benefit which helps the manager in
8 various areas. It also provides the education needed for creative thinking to avoid and solve
human problems in organizations.
 4. Action & goal oriented : OB is a goal directed discipline that studies human behavior and
explain it in organizational context as well as helps in taking proper action to mould that
individual behavior towards the goal achievement of organization.
5. Commonality of Interest : OB helps in providing commonality of interest between
individual goals and organizational goals& objectives. It provides common goals that unite the
variety of individual interests with the interest of organization.
6. Holistic Concept: OB is a holistic concept which relates people, groups, and whole
organization as a system. It gives a broad view of people in organization and studies many
factors that influence their behavior. It includes various dimensions, thus gives a broad view of
human related issues & problems.
7. Integrating Approach : OB is an integrating approach of human, technical and ethical
values at work which draws knowledge from various disciplines such as anthropology,
Psychology, Law, Sociology, Economics, IT Political Science, engineering etc.
8. Cause and Effect Relationship : Human behavior is generally taken in terms of cause and
effect relationship and not in philosophical terms. It helps in predicting the behavior of
individuals. It provides generalizations that managers can use to anticipate the effect of certain
activities on human behavior.
9. Organizational Behavior is a Branch of Social Sciences : Organizational behavior is heavily
influenced by several other social sciences viz. psychology, sociology and anthropology. It
draws a rich array of research from these disciplines.

Objectives of Organizational Behaviour

Objectives of organizational behavior are:
1.Understands Employee’s Behavior : Organizational behavior plays an efficient role in
understanding the behavior of people working within organization. It acquires and provides all
information regarding 9 behavioral aspects of employees to managers. Managers are able to get
which employees behave in what way while performing their roles.
2. Enhancing Organizational Efficiency : It helps in increasing the overall efficiency of
organization. Organizational behavior aims at fuller utilization of all resources and
eliminating the wastage. It enables managers in selecting the right personnel and matching
them with right job by properly understanding their behavior.
3. Resolving Conflicts : Organizational behavior focuses on avoiding and resolving all
conflicts arising within the organization. It helps in developing better employer-employee
relations and promotes cooperation. Proper knowledge of human behavior enables in treating
them accordingly. All people are encouraged for participation in decision making which
reduces any conflicts arising due to difference in opinions.
 4. Motivating Employees : It supports managers in motivating the people working under
them towards their roles. Managers with application of organizational behavior are easily
able to identify their needs and problems. They develop better understanding towards them.
By focusing and fulfilling their needs efficiently, they can be motivated to work with full
dedication towards achievement of desired targets.
5. Enables Performance Appraisal : Rewarding employees in accordance with their
performance is an efficient way of improving their productivity. It motivates them to work
better in view of getting more rewards. Organizational behavior helps management in
appraising the work quality of employees by providing them with all details regarding them.
6. Optimum Utilization of Employees : Organizational behavior focuses on fuller
utilization of all resources. It enables managers to understand the working styles of
employees and their skills and weakness. Management with the help of proper understanding
can impart proper training and develop employees for using them in an optimum way. It
ensures that right man is placed at right job and delivers efficient output.
7. Stimulates Innovation and Change : Every business is required to keep itself updated in
terms of technological changes to beat competition in market. Organizational behavior
studies all market changes and requirements from time to time. It provides all such
information to management for 10 implementation of required market changes within the
organization. It support business in bring innovative and differentiated products in market at
minimized cost.

Nature of Organizational Behaviour

The nature it has acquired is identified as follows:
1.A Separate Field of Study and Not a Discipline : Only By definition, a discipline is an
accepted science that is based on a theoretical foundation. But, O.B. has a multi- interdisciplinary
orientation and is, thus, not based on a specific theoretical background. Therefore, it is better
reasonable to call O.B. a separate field of study rather than a discipline only.
2. An Interdisciplinary Approach : Organizational behaviour is essentially an
interdisciplinary approach to study human behaviour at work. It tries to integrate the relevant
knowledge drawn from related disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology to
make them applicable for studying and analyzing organizational behaviour.
3. An Applied Science : `The very nature of O.B. is applied. What O.B. basically does is the
application of various researches to solve the organizational problems related to human
behaviour. The basic line of difference between pure science and O.B. is that while the
former concentrates of fundamental researches, the latter concentrates on applied researches.
O.B. involves both applied research and its application in organizational analysis. Hence,
O.B. can be called both science as well as art.
4. A Normative Science : Organizational Behaviour is a normative science also. While the
positive science discusses only cause effect relationship, O.B. prescribes how the findings of
applied researches can be applied to socially accept organizational goals. Thus, O.B. deals
with what is accepted by individuals and society engaged in an organization. Yes, it is not
that O.B. is not normative at all. In fact, O.B. is normative as well that is well underscored by
the proliferation of management theories.
5. A Humanistic and Optimistic Approach Organizational : Behaviour applies humanistic
approach towards people working in the organization. It, deals with the thinking and feeling
of human beings. O.B. is based on the belief that people have an innate desire to be
independent, creative and productive. It also realizes that people working in the organization
can and will actualise these 11 potentials if they are given proper conditions and
environment. Environment affects performance or workers working in an organization.
6. A Total System Approach : The system approach is one that integrates all the variables,
affecting organizational functioning. The systems approach has been developed by the
behavioural scientists to analyze human behaviour in view of his/her socio-psychological
framework. Man’s socio- psychological framework makes man a complex one and the
systems approach tries to study his/her complexity and find solution to it.

Scope of Organizational Behaviour

Organisation Behaviour has an important role in the achievement of organisation objectives.
Scope of organisation behaviour is as explained below:
1. Improves the Satisfaction of Employees : Organisation behaviour is mainly concerned
with understanding the nature of peoples working in the organisation. It gives the complete
idea of how people will respond to the organisation. This helps employers in treating their
employees properly and providing them with better facilities. Managers handle every
employee differently as per their nature. Employees also get work as per their interest and
better working conditions. Employees are awarded on the basis of their performance. It leads
to increase overall satisfaction level of all employees.
2. Reduce the Chances of Conflicts Conflict : is dangerous for successful functioning and
growth of every organisation. Every business aims to avoid conflict with their employees.
Organisation behaviour helps in developing better relations among employees and also
among employer and employee. There is active participation of every person in decision-
making working in the organisation. It avoids all chances of the difference of opinions
because the opinion of every individual working is considered. This way it reduces the
chances of conflicts and helps in maintaining a peaceful environment.
3. Facilitates Management :Organisation behaviour is considered as an important and
integral part of the management process. It is basically concerned with managing and
influencing the individuals working in an organisation. Managers find it easy to manage all
the staff when they have a better understanding and knowledge regarding their subordinates.
Organisation behaviour does a systematic analysis of peoples working in the organisation and
provides all the required information to employers. It performs analysis of 12 individual
behaviour, group behaviour and organisation behaviour. This helps in better management of
organisation affairs.
4. Helps in Motivation :Companies develop a better system of motivating their employees
through organisational behaviour. Through organisational behaviour, complete information
regarding employee’s need and requirement is well understood. It makes it easy to
understand the individual differences and similarities of all people working at different
positions within the organisations. Organisations by focusing on their needs and requirements
can motivate their employees. Motivated employees work efficiently toward the achievement
of the company’s goals.
5. Increases Organizational Efficiency : It aims at increasing the efficiency of the
organisation through maximum utilisation of resources. Organisational behaviour attempts to
reduce the wastage of resources. It helps in the identification of the right type of human skill
required for the organisation for better productivity. Accordingly, the selection and
recruitment process is conducted to hire the right peoples. It minimizes the wastage of cost
and time involved in these processes. It also helps to recognise the skills and knowledge of
different employees working within the organisation. So accordingly organisations can
design their training and improvement programs to improve their employee’s skills. This will
increase the effectiveness of organisation programs thereby increasing the overall efficiency.
6. Develops Positive Attitude : Organisational behaviour develops a positive working
environment within the organisation. It leads to co-operation and mutual trust among peoples
working in the organisation. It makes it easy to predict the individual’s behaviour, needs and
requirements. Organisation can accordingly focus on employee’s needs and work for their
betterment to increase their satisfaction level. Employees also develop a sense of
belongingness towards the organisation when treated properly. They feel that the
organization cares for them. This way the relationship between employer and employee are
improved.
7. Helps in Performance Appraisal : Performance appraisal is an important element for
improving the performance of the employees. Employees when awarded for their good
performance feel motivated to work better. They look forward to being appraised for their
good performance. 13 Organisational behaviour helps to understand the nature and the
manner in which people reacts in the organisation. It enables it to predict how peoples are
working as an individual and as a group. Their performance can be measured easily and
accordingly, they can be appraised.
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR –FRAMEWORK
1.Theoretical frame work of organizational behavior : Initially psychology was developed
using the mental thinking expressed by persons interested in developing the subject of
psychology. But John B. Watson differed from that approach and he pioneered the approach
in which visible behavior and visible environmental stimulus became the subject of study.
B.F. Skinner developed this behaviouristic framework further by bringing in the contingent
environmental consequences. Behaviour is not the outcome of stimulus alone, but it is an
outcome determined by the stimulus as well as the contingent environmental consequences of
a behaviour. This means, there are alternative behaviours for the same stimulus and which
behaviour is exhibited by a person depends on expected environmental consequences.
OrganisationalBehaviour is extremely a complex discipline in management that involves
numerous inputs and dimensions. An overall model of OB can be developed by making use
of cognitive, behaviouristic and environmental consequences.
2.Cognitive framework : Cognitive approach emphasizes the positive and freewill aspects
of human behaviour and uses concepts such as expectancy, demand, and intention. Cognition
can be simply defined as the act of knowing an item of information. In cognitive framework,
cognitions precede behavior and constitute input into the person‘s thinking, perception,
problem solving, and information processing. The work of Edward Tolman can be used to
represent the cognitive theoretical approach. According to Tolman, learning consists of the
expectancy that a particular event will lead to a particular consequence. This cognitive
concept of expectancy implies that organism is thinking about, or is conscious or aware of
the goal and result of a behaviour exhibited by it. It means that a person desires a goal and
also knows the behavior that will lead to achievement of the goals. In the subject of
organisational behaviour, cognitive approach dominates the units of analysis such as
perception, personality and attitudes, motivation, behavioural decision making and goal
setting.
3. Behavioristic framework : Pioneer behaviorists Ivan Pavlov and Jon B. Watson stressed
the importance of studying observable behaviors instead of the elusive mind. They advocated
that behaviour could be best understood in terms of stimulus and response (S-R). They
examined the impact of stimulus and felt that learning occurred when the S-R connection was
made. Modern behaviourism, that marks its beginning with B.F. Skinner, advocates that
behavior in response to a stimulus is contingent on environmental consequences. Thus, it is
important to note that behaviourtistic approach is based on observable behavior and
environmental variables (which are also observable).Skinner believes that behaviour function
of its consequences. For Eg; an organisation passes a circular to the employees asking them
to stay longer in order to increase the production to meet the increasing demand. Here, the
circular is the stimulus. The employees may increase the production. This is the response. If
the increase in productivity is rewarded, it is the consequences. Skinner explained that certain
behaviour can be expected from an individual by creating a positive consequences desired by
him.
4. Social cognitive framework : Social learning theory takes the position that behaviour can
best be explained in terms of a continuous reciprocal interaction among cognitive,
behavioural, and environmental determinants. The person and the environmental situation do
not function as independent units but, in conjunction with behaviour itself, reciprocally
interact to determine behaviour. It means that cognitive variables and environmental
variables are relevant, but the experiences generated by previous behaviour also partly
determine what a person becomes and can do, which, in turn, affects subsequently behaviour.
A persons cognition or understanding changes according to the experience of consequences
of past behaviour.Bandura developed social learning theory into the more comprehensive
social cognitive theory (SCT). Stajkovic and Luthans have translated this SCT into the
theoretical framework for organisational behaviour. Social cognitive theory recognizes the
importance of behaviourism‘s contingent environmental consequences, but also includes
cognitive processes of self-regulation. The social part acknowledges the social origins of
much of human thought and action (what individual learns from society), whereas the
cognitive portion recognizes the influential contribution of thought processes to human
motivation, attitudes, and action. In social cognitive theoretical framework, organisational
participants are at the same time both products and producers of their personality, respective
environments, and behaviours. The participants as a group of produce the environment, every
individual is a product of the environment and through his behaviour changes the
environment for others as well as for himself, every individual is a product of his personality,
but also influences his personality as consequence of results of his behaviour. Bandura
identified five basic human capabilities as a part of SCT.
1. Symbolizing: People process visual experiences into cognitive models. They help in future
action.
2.Forethought: Employees plan their actions.
3. Observational: Employees learn by observing the performance of the referent group (peers,
supervisors and high performers) and the consequences of their actions.
4. Self-regulatory: Employees self-regulate their actions by setting internal standards
(aspired level of performance).
5. Self-reflective: Employees reflect back on their actions (how did I do?) and perceptually
determine how they believe then can successfully accomplish the task in the future given the
context (probability of success between 0 to 100% is estimated).
MODELS OF ORGANISATIONAISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Various provide frameworks for understanding, analyzing, and predicting

human behavior within organizations. These models guide leaders in creating
effective management strategies.
Here’s a concise breakdown of the key models.

Model Key Feature Focus

Feudal Model Authority-based hierarchy Obedience and loyalty

Autocratic Model Centralized control by leaders Discipline and compliance

Custodial Model Welfare-driven incentives Financial security and benefits

Leadership fosters employee

Supportive Model Personal growth and job satisfaction
motivation

Collegial Model Collaborative teamwork Partnership and mutual respect

System Model Integration of systems and processes Synergy and interdependence

Human Value
Emphasis on individual potential Respect for employee dignity
Model

Adaptability and situational

Contingency Model Flexible strategies based on situations
effectiveness

Each of these models sheds light on distinct aspects of organizational behavior. Delve deeper
into each model to understand their unique principles and applications.
 Feudal Model

The Feudal Model of organizational behavior originates from early hierarchical systems
resembling monarchies. It emphasizes a strict chain of command where loyalty and obedience
are paramount.

This model emerged during periods when organizations prioritized order and control over
innovation. It addressed the challenge of managing large workforces with minimal resistance. It
fits within the broader spectrum of organizational behavior models by highlighting authority as a
key driver of employee behavior.

Characteristics of the Feudal Model

The following traits define this model.

Centralized authority with absolute power vested in leaders.

Subordinates seen as loyal followers rather than independent thinkers.
Emphasis on long-term service and reward through status rather than financial gains.
2. Autocratic Model

The Autocratic Model relies on centralized power, where leaders dictate policies, and employees
follow orders without question. Historically, it emerged to manage unskilled labor in industrial
setups.

It addresses challenges like enforcing discipline and ensuring compliance. Compared to the
collegial model of organizational behavior, this model limits collaboration but excels in
authority-driven contexts.

Characteristics of the Autocratic Model

Here are the characteristics of this model.
Leadership with absolute control over decisions.
Minimal employee autonomy or participation in decision-making.
Focus on compliance, with rewards tied to obedience.
3. Custodial Model

The Custodial Model of organizational behavior focuses on employee welfare and security,
emphasizing benefits over authority. In response to dissatisfaction with autocratic systems, it
prioritizes financial rewards and job stability. This model arose in the mid-20th century when
organizations sought to improve morale through economic incentives.

It fits within the broader spectrum of organizational behavior models by offering a structured,
security-driven approach, contrasting with the collaborative, collegial model of organizational
behavior.
Characteristics of the Custodial Model
Several features define this model. Have a look at them.
Dependence on organizational benefits rather than leadership.
Focus on financial security, healthcare, and pensions.
Employees exhibit passive cooperation, often feeling obligated to stay.
Advantages and Limitation of the Custodial Model
4. Supportive Model

The Supportive Model shifts the focus to leadership, which shapes organizational behavior.
Unlike autocratic systems, this model empowers individuals by fostering personal growth.
Originating during the human relations movement, it addresses the need for job satisfaction.

It fits within the spectrum of organizational behavior models as a balanced alternative, bridging
authoritarian and collegial approaches.

Characteristics of the Supportive Model

The following traits define this approach.
Emphasis on leadership fostering trust and motivation.
Encourages employee participation in decision-making.
Builds a culture of respect and recognition.
5. Collegial Model

The Collegial Model represents a paradigm shift in organizational behavior. It focuses on

teamwork and shared responsibility. Employees and leaders function as partners rather than
subordinates, fostering mutual respect.
Developed as a response to rigid hierarchical structures, it addresses the need for collaboration in
modern, dynamic organizations. This model stands out among organizational behavior models
for promoting a culture of trust and unity.

Characteristics of the Collegial Model

Here are some of the traits that distinguish this model.
Team-based structure with shared authority and accountability.
High levels of mutual respect and trust.
Employees are motivated by intrinsic factors like recognition and achievement.

6. System Model
The System Model of organizational behavior views an organization as an interconnected,
dynamic system. This model emphasizes harmony, synergy, and alignment between all
components: people, processes, and the external environment. It emerged as organizations faced
increasing complexity, requiring more adaptive and collaborative approaches.
By recognizing that actions in one area influence the whole, this model stands out as a holistic
organizational behavior model, complementing the collaborative, collegial model of
organizational behavior.

Characteristics of the System Model

Have a look at the key characteristics of this model.
A focus on interdependence among departments and roles.
Dynamic adaptability to internal and external changes.
Applying employee engagement strategies through meaningful contributions to the system.

7. Human Value Model

The Human Value Model centers on respecting and leveraging human potential. This model
emphasizes individual dignity, self-worth, and growth, fostering an environment where
employees thrive. It gained prominence during the rise of the human relations movement,
addressing the need for ethical treatment and intrinsic motivation.

As part of the spectrum of organizational behavior models, it aligns with the empathetic collegial
model of organizational behavior but focuses more on individual growth.

Characteristics of the Human Value Model

Here are some key characteristics of the Human Value Model.
Prioritization of employee well-being and empowerment.
Recognition of diversity and individuality in the workplace.
Focus on personal and professional development opportunities.

8. Contingency Model
The Contingency Model asserts that no single management approach fits all situations. This
model tailors strategies to specific organizational contexts, emphasizing flexibility.
Developed as businesses encountered diverse challenges, it bridges gaps by considering variables
like culture, size, and external pressures. Among organizational behavior models, it complements
the adaptable collegial model of organizational behavior by offering a situational perspective.

Characteristics of the Contingency Model

Here are some of the features of the Contingency Model.
Context-dependent decision-making and strategies.
Emphasis on environmental, structural, and leadership variables.
A dynamic approach to aligning goals with circumstances.
 UNIT –II
Personality :

Personality development is defined as a process of developing and enhancing one’s personality.

Personality development helps an individual to gain confidence and high self esteem.
Personality development is said to have a positive impact on one’s communication skills and the
way he/she sees the world. Individuals tend to develop a positive attitude as a result of
personality development.
Importance of Personality Development
An individual’s personality refers to his/her appearance, characteristics, attitude, mindset and
behavior with others.
Let us go through the importance of personality development
Personality development grooms an individual and helps him make a mark of his/her own.
Individuals need to have a style of their own for others to follow them. Do not blindly copy
others. You need to set an example for people around. Personality development not only makes
you look good and presentable but also helps you face the world with a smile.
Personality development goes a long way in reducing stress and conflicts. It encourages
individuals to look at the brighter sides of life.
Face even the worst situations with a smile. Trust me, flashing your trillion dollar smile will not
only melt half of your problems but also evaporate your stress and worries. There is no point
cribbing over minor issues and problems
Personality development helps you develop a positive attitude in life. An individual with a
negative attitude finds a problem in every situation. Rather than cribbing and criticizing people
around, analyze the whole situation and try to find an appropriate solution for the same.
Remember, if there is a problem, there has to be a solution as well. Never lose your cool. It
would make the situation worse.
It is essential for individuals to behave well with people around. Being polite with others will not
only make you popular among other people but also earn you respect and pride. You can’t
demand respect by being rude with people around.
Personality development plays an important role in developing not only your outer but also inner
self. Human being is a social animal. One needs people around. An individual needs to have that
magnetic power which attracts people towards him. You need to have that charisma of yours.
Personality development helps you gain recognition and acceptance from the society as well as
people around. Personality development plays an essential role not only in an individual’s
professional but also personal lives. It makes an individual disciplined, punctual and an asset for
his/her organization.

Personality Development Tips:

Let us go through some tips for enhancing one’s personality

✓ Smile a lot- Nothing works better than a big smile when it comes to interacting with people
around. Do not forget to flash your trillion dollar smile quite often. Believe me, it works! As they
say “a smile is a curve that sets everything straight”. o A smiling face wins even the toughest
soul. Wear your smile while interacting with others. Smile not only helps in enhancing an
individual’s personality but also winning other’s heart.

✓ Think positive- It is really essential to think positive. Remember there is light at the end of
every dark tunnel. Do not always think negative as it not only acts as a demotivating factor but
also makes an individual dull and frustrated. Don’t get upset over minor things. Be a little
flexible and always look at the broader perspectives of life.

✓ Dress Sensibly- Dressing sensibly and smartly go a long way in honing one’s personality.
One needs to dress according to the occasion. How would a female look if she wears a sari to a
discotheque? Obviously ridiculous! No matter how expensive your sari is, you can’t wear it to a
night club or a pub where everyone is dressed in smart casuals. Price has nothing to do with
smart dressing.
➢ An individual who is well dressed is respected and liked by all. No one would take you
seriously if you do not wear suitable clothes fitting with occasions. Do take care of the fit
of the dress as well.
➢ An individual should wear clothes as per his/her body type, height, physique and so on.
Someone who is bulky would not look very impressive in body hugging clothes. It is not
necessary that something which looks good on your friend would also look good on you.
➢ Wear the right make up. You do not have to apply loud make up to look good and
attractive. Even minimal make up, if applied sensibly can really make you stand apart
from the rest.

✓ Be soft-spoken- Do not always find faults in others. Fighting and quarrelling lead to no
solution. Be polite with others. Be very careful of what you speak. Avoid being rude and short
tempered.

✓ Leave your ego behind- An individual needs to hide his ego everywhere he goes. Be it office
or workplace you need to leave your ego behind if you wish to win appreciation from others. An
individual who is good from within is loved by all.

✓ Avoid Backbiting- Backstabbing and criticizing people are negative traits which work against
an individual’s personality. Learn to appreciate others. If someone has done some extraordinary
task, do not forget to give a pat on his/her back. Believe me; the other person will speak high of
you even when you are not around. Do not spread unnecessary rumours about someone.
o An individual should not try to interfere too much in someone’s personal life. Dishonesty,
cheating, lies tarnish your image and people start avoiding you in the long run. If your friend is
seeing someone, you have absolutely no rights to make his/her affair national news.

✓ Help others- Do not always think of harming others. Share whatever you know. Remember
no one can steal your knowledge. Always help others.

✓ Confidence- Confidence is the key to a positive personality. Exude confidence and positive
aura wherever you go.

✓ A Patient listener- Be a patient listener. Never interrupt when others are speaking. Try to
imbibe good qualities of others. Importance of Character in Personality Development

Personality Types
Let us go through the following personality types:
1. The Duty Fulfiller - Such individuals take their roles and responsibilities seriously and
perform whatever tasks are assigned to them. Duty fulfillers are serious individuals and believe
in honesty and a peaceful living. They never do anything which is not good for themselves, their
job, families or for the society. Such individuals are actually good and responsible citizens who
abide by the legal system and can’t even dream of breaking the law. People with such a
personality type are extremely hard working and often find it difficult to say NO to others,
eventually becoming overburdened at the end of the day. Such individuals adopt an organized
approach towards work and are extremely loyal and faithful. They also show a strong inclination
towards creativity and aesthetics.
2. The Mechanic - As the name suggests such individuals are inclined towards machinery like
aeroplane, motorcycling, cars, races and so on. They are interested to know why and how certain
things function. Theories do not interest them. You would not be able to convince them unless
and until they see the practical application themselves. Such individuals are extremely
adventurous and have a strong power of logical reasoning.
3. The Nurturer - Nurturers are individuals with a large heart. For them, the happiness of others
is more important than their own interests. Such individuals actually live for others. They do not
look at the darker sides of life and believe in extracting the best out of people around. They have
a positive approach in life and want to believe only the best of people.
4. The Artist - Artists have an eye for natural beauty and creativity. Rather than worrying about
future, they believe in living for the moment. Such individuals are extremely cool headed and do
not get into unnecessary fights and troubles. They do not blindly copy others and aspire to create
a style of their own.
 5. The Protector - You would find such a personality type in very few people, making it a very
rare personality type. Protectors are systematic individuals who want the best system to get
things done. They often think irrationally. They are pessimists who find a problem in every
situation. Such individuals do not trust others and only believe in themselves.
6. The Idealist - Such people have strong set of values and ethics. They find happiness in
helping others. They consider themselves lucky if they get an opportunity to help others.
7. The Scientist - Such individuals believe in careful and strategic planning. They are good
observers who believe in constantly gathering information and upgrade their existing knowledge.
Scientists are extremely intelligent people who have a very sharp analytical mind.
8. The Doer - Individuals with such a personality type are the ones who believe in quick actions
and immediate results. They enjoy taking risks in life and fulfill tasks assigned to them in the
shortest span possible.
9. The Guardian - Such individuals are perfectionists who ensure that everything everywhere is
going on smoothly. They are mature individuals who have a clear set of standards.
10. The Performer - Performers strive hard to grab attention of others and love being the centre
of attention. They are fun loving individuals who enjoy fun and excitement in life.
11. The Inspirer - Inspirers are talented individuals and often act as a role model for others.
They have great people skills.
12. The Giver - Individuals with “The Giver” personality type enjoy the company of others and
do not prefer staying alone. 13. The Executive - Such individuals are born to lead and make very
good leaders. They love taking charge and are good decision makers.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PERSONALITY

1. Heredity (Genetic Factors)

• Personality traits can be inherited from parents.

• Genes influence temperament, intelligence, emotional reactivity, and some behavioral
tendencies.
• Example: A child may inherit traits like introversion or extroversion.

2. Environment (Social and Cultural Factors)

• The surroundings in which a person is raised play a vital role.

• Includes family, culture, religion, social class, peer group, and school.
• Example: A nurturing home may lead to a more confident personality.
3. Culture

• Cultural values, norms, and traditions shape how people think, feel, and behave.
• Some cultures encourage collectivism (e.g., cooperation), while others emphasize
individualism (e.g., independence).

4. Family Background

• Parenting style, family dynamics, and emotional bonding influence personality

development.
• Example: Children raised in democratic families tend to be more socially competent.

5. Situational Factors

• Personality can change depending on the situation or role.

• People may behave differently in professional vs. personal settings.

6. Biological Factors

• The brain structure, nervous system, and hormonal levels affect mood and behavior.
• Example: Imbalances in neurotransmitters can affect emotional stability.

7. Education

• Educational experiences develop reasoning, communication, confidence, and critical

thinking.
• Teachers and peers can influence personality traits like discipline and openness.

8. Life Experiences

• Significant life events (e.g., trauma, success, travel) shape attitudes and personality.
• Positive or negative experiences can cause lasting changes in behavior.

9. Social Interactions

• Interactions with friends, colleagues, and society refine social behaviors, emotional
expression, and self-concept.

10. Physical Appearance and Health

• Body image and physical health affect self-esteem and interpersonal relationships.
• A person with a chronic illness may develop a more reserved personality.
Learning

Learning plays a vital role in the organisation. People learn from the experience of changing
behaviour and from the informations collected. Therefore, we should understand the concept of
learning in order to understand the behaviour of individuals, groups and the organisation.

Meaning and Definition

In simple words, learning is a change in behaviour as a result of experience.Different scientists

defined learning differently as:

According to Stephen P.Robbins, “Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that
occurs as a result of experience.”

According to Steers and Porter, “Learning can be defined as relatively permanent change in
behaviour potentiality that results from reinforced practice or experience.”

Munn et. al. have defined learning as, “The process of having one’s behaviour modified, more
or less permanently, by what he does and the consequences of his action, or by what he
observes.”

Features or Characteristics of Learning has the following characteristics:

1. Learning involves changes: As indicated earlier, people acquire new information which is
processed in their cognition. This process produces new knowledge. This new knowledge brings
changes in their existing pattern of behaviour.

2. Change must be Relatively Permanent: When the information acquired is converted into
knowledge and wisdom, people change their behaviour more or less permanently.

3. Behavioural issues: The change in the knowledge and wisdom should produce different
attitudes and values. These new attitudes and values should change the behaviour.

4. Experience-based: Learning is based on experience. Experience may be direct or indirect,

personal or through observation or through reading.

5. Reinforcement: The practice and experience must be given due importance for learning to
occur or to be repeated
Learning Process

We all know that learning starts right from the birth and continues throughout our life
time. We learn something either incidentally or accidentally in common and natural
situations of our life. As teachers we should know that ‘learning' is the core of the
educational process. Learning is a process continued through various steps.
The major attributes of learning as a process include it as a permanent change in the
behaviour of an individual, but not because of changes due to illness, fatigue and use
of intoxicants. The next attribute is that learning is manifested in the behaviour or
activities of an individual which could be not directly observable. Learning results
in some change of persistent contact with nature. The final attribute is that learning
depends on practice and experience in a given situation.

Let us illustrate the process of learning with an example. Suppose we find that
there are three children from three different countries, like one from America, second
from China and another from Japan. When we observe them how they greet their
teachers or the language they speak, it would definitely vary from one another. This is
the result of their early training and experiences in home. The early training might have
brought a permanent change in their behaviour and this type of learning can be termed
as learning.

As we know the main objective of learning is to bring desirable changes to our

behaviour, it is quite essential for us to get knowledge about how people learn when
they come in contact with the learning environment and in the process of interaction
with the individuals. It is also very important to know how an individual apply the
gained knowledge through learning to the environment and people living around. By
knowing the process of learning, we could improve and accelerate learning process in
such a way to achieve the desired learning outcomes.

The steps involved in the process of learning could be tagged under a) Preparatory
phase and b) Actual learning phase.

a) The preparatory phase. It could be explained in the words of Smith as follows.

 i . A motive or a drive: Every individual has their own basic motives and needs
in their life to achieve. Motive is a dynamic force which energies and compels an
individual to strive for satisfaction in achieving our needs. If we don't feel our present
behaviour, knowledge, skill and performance adequate enough to satisfy our needs, we
feel to bring about changes in our behaviour to gain knowledge and skills that we need.
This motive or drive initiates a learner to learn what is required to fulfil their demands
or needs. If the need is strong enough, we are compelled to strive for satisfaction.

ii. A goal: We need to set definite goal for achieving our needs. Learning
becomes purposeful only when we set goals and aims. The ways and attempts that we
made to achieve our goals makes the process interesting and orientate our potentials
towards achieving our goals. Hence a goal is necessary in the process of learning.
iii. A block or barrier to the achievement of the goal: The third step in the
process of learning is the block or barrier that keeps us from attaining the goal. It is an
essential thing in the learning process. This block or barriers keep us away from
attaining the goal. We don't strive to modify or change our behaviour if we don't feel
difficulty in attaining the goal. Also it enables us to attempt various ways to bring
changes in our behaviour when there happen a need to reach our goals when an
unsatisfied motive arrives.

Apart from the above discussed steps suggested by Smith in the learning process, we
should ascertain strong desire, essential readiness like mental and physical maturity,
previously acquired knowledge and skills and positive attitude towards learning
together with the preparatory phase.

b) Actual learning phase: The actual learning phase emphasises the following steps
in the learning process.

i. Learning situation: The learning situations or environment provides learning

opportunities to us in the learning process. This learning situation provides quality,
speed and effectiveness for a learner to learn. A good and favourable learning situation
provides satisfactory results in achieving the goals of learning while a poor and
unfavourable situation fail to reach the goals.
 ii. Interaction while learning: Learning is a never ending process. According to
the prevailing environment, constant interaction could strive us to learn something we
intend to learn. Interaction is a process which enables us to respond to stimulation and
get feedback so that we could progress in the path of learning. This step in a learning
process enables us to know or decide whether we get desirable changes or
modifications in our behaviour and whether we could retain it or not as learning is a
continuous and developmental process.

Theories of Learning

The concept of learning is quite comprehensive as it covers a broad range of activities. In many
books, the theories of learning are also regarded as kinds of learning. The theories of learning are an
organized set of principles that explain how individuals attain, retain or recall the learnt knowledge.
Learning theories establish the conceptual framework for explaining how information absorption,
processing and retention take place during learning. Human learning is influenced by a gamut of
factors like Emotional, Cognitive, Past Experiences and Environmental factors. Learning theories
prescribe the right format or methodologies of learning for making the learning effective and more
impactful. During early 20th century, many psychologists became increasingly interested in
understanding the relevance of learning from a scientific perspective. For a scientific orientation, the
study of psychology gave importance to only those variables which were quantifiable and
measurable. Environmental influences like, reinforcements, associations, observations and
punishments influence the learning process. The key learning theories are Classical Conditioning,
Operant Conditioning and Social Learning. Let’s have a closer look at all these three major theories
of learning.

There are four theories of learning viz.,

1. Classical Conditioning Theory

2. Operant Conditioning Theory

3. Cognitive Theories

4. Social Learning Theories

1. Classical Conditioning Theory and Learning

The key premises of Classical Conditioning theory was established by Russian Physiologist
named Ivan Pavlov, who first discovered the crucial principles of classical learning theory with
the help of an experiment done on dogs to study their digestive processes. The Nobel Prize
laureate of 1904, while studying the digestive processes in dogs came across a very interesting
observation during his experimentation. He noticed that his subject would begin to salivate by
seeing the lab assistant with white lab coats entering into the room before being fed. Though
Pavlov’s discovery is originally an accidental discovery, but later with the help of his
experiments the classical conditioning theory came into existence. His Classical conditioning
theory played a crucial role in explaining the important psychological concepts like learning and
equally established the foundation for the behavioural school of thought. Behaviourism is based
on two major assumptions:

1. Learning takes place as a result of the interactions with the environmental forces.

2. The environmental forces play a key role in shaping the behaviour.

According to Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning theory, learning takes place because of association
which is established between a previously neutral stimulus and a natural stimulus. It should be
noted, that Classical Conditioning places a neutral stimulus before the naturally occurring
reflexes. In his experiment, he tried to pair the natural stimulus that is food with a bell sound.
The dogs would salivate with the natural occurrence of food, but after repeated associations, the
dogs salivated just by hearing the sound of the bell alone. The focus of Classical Conditioning
theory is on automatic and naturally occurring behaviours.

Key Principles of Classical Conditioning Theory

✓ Acquisition: This is the starting stage of learning during which a response is established
firstly and then gradually strengthened. During the acquisition phase, a neutral stimulus is paired
with an unconditioned stimulus which can automatically or naturally trigger or generate a
response without any learning. Once this association is established between the neutral stimulus
and unconditioned stimulus, the subject will exhibit a behavioural response which is now known
as conditioned stimulus. Once a behavioural response is established, the same can be gradually
strengthened or reinforced to make sure that the behaviour is learnt.

✓ Extinction: Extinction is expected to take place when the intensity of a conditioned response
decreases or disappears completely. In classical conditioning, this occurs when a conditioned
stimulus is no longer associated or paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

✓ Spontaneous Recovery: When a learnt or a conditioned response suddenly reappears after a

brief resting period or suddenly re-emerges after a short period of extinction, the process is
considered as a spontaneous recovery.
 ✓ Stimulus Generalization: It is the tendency of the conditioned stimulus to evoke the similar
kind of responses once the responses have been conditioned, which occurs as a result of stimulus
generalization.

✓ Stimulus Discrimination: Discrimination is the ability of the subject to discriminate between

stimuli with other similar stimuli. It means, not responding to those stimuli which is not similar,
but responding only to certain specific stimuli.
The theory of Classical Conditioning has several applications in the real-world. It is helpful for
various pet trainers for helping them train their pets. Classical conditioning techniques can also
be beneficial in helping people deal with their phobias or anxiety issues. The trainers or teachers
can also put to practise the Classical Conditioning theory by building a positive or a highly
motivated classroom environment for helping the students to overcome their phobias and deliver
their best performance.
2. Operant Conditioning Theory and Learning
Renowned Behavioural Psychologist B.F. Skinner was the main proponent of Operant
conditioning theory. It is for this reason that the Operant Conditioning is also known as
Skinnerian Conditioning and Instrumental Conditioning. Just like Classical Conditioning,
Instrumental/Operant Conditioning lays emphasis on forming associations, but these associations
are established between behaviour and behavioural consequences. The theory stressed on the role
of punishment or reinforcements for increasing or decreasing the probability of the same
behaviour to be repeated in the future. But the condition is that the consequences must
immediately follow a behavioural pattern. The focus of operant conditioning is on voluntary
behavioural patterns.
Key Components of Operant Conditioning

✓ Reinforcement: Reinforcements strengthen or increase the intensity of behaviour. This can be

Positive and Negative.

✓ Positive Reinforcement: When a favourable event or an outcome is associated with

behaviour in the form of a reward or praise, it is called as positive reinforcement. For example, a
boss may associate bonus with outstanding achievements at work.

✓ Negative Reinforcement: This involves removal of an unfavourable or an unpleasant event

after a behavioural outcome. In this case, the intensity of a response is strengthened by removing
the unpleasant experiences.

✓ Punishment: The objective of punishment is to decrease the intensity of a behavioural

outcome, which may be negative or positive

. ✓ Positive Punishment: This involves application of punishment by presenting an

unfavourable event or outcome in response to a behaviour. Spanking for an unacceptable
behaviour is an example of positive punishment.
 ✓ Negative Punishment: It is associated with the removal of a favourable event or an outcome
in response to a behaviour which needs to be weakened. Holding the promotion of an employee
for not being able to perform up to the expectations of the management can be an example of a
negative punishment.

✓ Reinforcement Schedules: According to Skinner, the schedule of reinforcement with focus

on timing as well as the frequency of reinforcement, determined how quickly new behaviour can
be learned and old behaviours can be altered
3. Cognitive Theories
Cognitive theories emphasize on the cognitive process. Cognitive learning theories establish the
relationship between cognitive environmental cues and expectations. Edward Tolman is a widely
recognized cognitive theorist. He conducted an experiment using while rats as subjects. He found
that a rat could learn to run through as intricate maze with purpose and direction toward a goal
(food). The rat learned to expect that certain cognitive cues associated with the choice point
might eventually led to food. Tolman’s approach is depicted as S-S (Stimulus-Stimulus). In other
words learning is the association between the cue and expectancy. Employees expect higher
salaries, promotions and high quality of work life. Employees learn that they can achieve their
expectations by working productively. The realisation of working productively is the result of
cognitive environmental cues. Organisational behaviour researchers are currently concerned
about the relationship between cognitions and organisational behaviour.
4. Learning by Observation According to Albert Bandura, learning cannot simply be based
merely on associations or reinforcements which he has mentioned in his writings in his book
Social Learning Theory which was published in 1977. Instead, his focus was on learning based
on observation, which he has proven through his well known Bobo Doll experiment. He
reckoned that children keenly observe their surroundings and the behaviour of people around
them particularly their caregivers, teachers and siblings and try to imitate those behaviours in
their day to day life. He also tried proving through his experiment that children can easily imitate
the negative behaviours or actions.
Another important principle of Bandura’s Social Learning Theory was that learning something
by way of observation, need not necessarily mean that it would lead to a change in the behaviour.
This behavioural change is entirely influenced by the felt need or motivation of a person to
endorse and adopt a behavioural change
Key Steps involved in Observational Learning

✓ Attention: Attention is very important for learning to take place effectively by following
observational techniques. A novel concept or a unique idea is expected to attract the attention far
more strongly than those which are routine or mundane in nature.

✓ Retention: It is the ability to store the learnt information and recall it later, which is equally
affected by a number of factors.
✓ Reproduction: It involves practicing or emulating the learnt behaviour, which will further
lead to the advancement of the skill.

✓ Motivation: Motivation to imitate the learnt behaviour of a model depends a lot on the
reinforcement and punishment. For example, an office-goer may be motivated to report to office
on time by seeing his colleague being rewarded for his punctuality and timeliness
Organizational Behaviour Modification
Organizational Behaviour Modification, often called OB Mod, is a process that uses principles
from behavioral psychology to influence and improve employee behavior in the workplace. It is
based on the idea that behavior can be shaped through reinforcement, which means rewarding
desirable actions and discouraging undesirable ones.

The goal of OB Mod is to improve employee performance, motivation, discipline, and overall
productivity by reinforcing the right behaviors.
Steps in Organizational Behaviour Modification:
1. Identification of Critical Behaviors
The first step is to identify specific employee behaviors that directly impact performance or
productivity. These can be both positive (like helping a co-worker) or negative (like coming late
to work).

Example: A company may identify that employees often miss deadlines.

2. Measurement of the Behavior
Once the behavior is identified, it is measured to understand how often it occurs and its effect on
performance. This helps in setting a baseline for future comparison.

3. Functional Analysis of Behavior (ABC Model)

This step involves analyzing the Antecedents (what happens before the behavior), the Behavior
itself, and the Consequences (what happens after the behavior).
Example:
Antecedent – Employee receives an unclear task.
Behavior – Task is submitted late.
Consequence – Manager gives negative feedback.
4. Intervention Strategy
After analysis, management introduces strategies to encourage desirable behaviors or discourage
unwanted ones. This is done through reinforcement methods, such as rewards, punishments, or
removal of negative outcomes.
Examples of interventions:
Giving bonuses for on-time submissions (positive reinforcement).
Giving a warning for repeated lateness (punishment).
Removing supervision once performance improves (negative reinforcement).
5. Evaluation
The final step is to observe and measure the behavior again to check whether the intervention
worked. If not, the strategy may be changed or improved.
Example: After rewards were introduced, the number of on-time submissions increased by 40%.
Organizational Misbehaviour
Organizational Misbehaviour refers to any intentional action by employees that goes against the
rules, policies, norms, or goals of the organization. These actions are usually deliberate and can
harm the organization's productivity, reputation, or work culture.

Misbehaviour in the workplace can take many forms—ranging from minor rule-breaking to
serious violations—and it often reflects deeper issues such as poor management, lack of
motivation, unfair treatment, or dissatisfaction among employees.
Definition:
Organizational misbehaviour is defined as "any act that intentionally violates organizational
rules, regulations, or expectations and is harmful to the organization or its members."

Reasons for Organizational Misbehaviour:

Dissatisfaction with management or working conditions
Perceived unfair treatment or discrimination
Low morale or lack of motivation
Resistance to authority or organizational change
Peer influence or toxic work culture
Types of Organizational Misbehaviour:
1. Production Deviance
Involves intentionally working below one’s capacity.
Includes deliberately slowing down work, wasting resources, or taking excessive breaks.

2. Property Deviance
Involves damage or misuse of organizational property or assets.
Includes stealing office supplies, damaging equipment, or using company resources for personal
use.
3. Political Deviance
Includes actions that harm colleagues through manipulation, gossip, favoritism, or backstabbing.
Affects team harmony and trust.
4. Personal Aggression
Includes hostile behavior such as verbal abuse, bullying, harassment, or physical threats.
Creates a toxic and unsafe work environment.
Example: A manager consistently humiliates an employee in front of others.
5. Resistance to Authority
Occurs when employees openly or secretly challenge leadership or refuse to follow instructions.
Often a sign of dissatisfaction or protest.
Example: Ignoring company rules or deliberately disobeying orders.
Consequences of Organizational Misbehaviour:
Decrease in productivity
Increase in employee turnover
Damage to company reputation
Legal and financial consequences
Poor morale and workplace conflict
How Organizations Can Manage Misbehaviour:
Clear Policies – Establish clear rules, codes of conduct, and expectations.
Effective Communication – Maintain open and honest dialogue with employees.
Fair Treatment – Ensure all employees feel valued and treated equally.
Disciplinary Actions – Take appropriate action to discourage repeated misbehaviour.
Employee Engagement – Motivate employees with rewards, recognition, and support.
Example:
An employee, frustrated with being overlooked for a promotion, begins arriving late, ignoring
tasks, and making sarcastic remarks to coworkers. This behavior disrupts the team and lowers
morale. If not addressed, it can spread and cause further harm.

Management Intervention

Management intervention refers to the deliberate actions taken by managers or leaders to address
problems, resolve conflicts, improve employee performance, or guide organizational change. It is
a strategy used when normal procedures or work routines are not producing the desired results,
and managerial involvement becomes necessary to steer things in the right direction.
Definition:
Management intervention is the process by which managers step in to influence or correct the
behavior, performance, or functioning of individuals, teams, or systems within the organization
to achieve desired goals.
Purpose of Management Intervention:
To solve problems that affect performance or productivity
To reduce or resolve workplace conflict or dissatisfaction
To introduce or manage organizational change
To improve team dynamics or relationships
To support employee development and motivation
Types of Management Intervention:
1. Performance Intervention
Managers intervene when an employee’s work is below expected standards. This may include
coaching, mentoring, training, or setting clear expectations.
2. Conflict Intervention
When disputes arise between employees or teams, managers step in to mediate, resolve
misunderstandings, and restore harmony.

3. Behavioral Intervention
If an employee exhibits inappropriate or disruptive behavior, management intervenes through
counseling or disciplinary action.
4. Organizational Intervention
Managers may introduce new systems, structures, or processes to address broader organizational
issues such as low morale or poor communication.
Example: Management introduces a feedback system after noticing employees feel their opinions
are not heard.
5. Motivational Intervention
Managers intervene to boost employee morale and motivation using incentives, rewards,
recognition, or career development opportunities.
Steps in Management Intervention:
Identify the Problem – Understand what is going wrong and why.
Analyze the Situation – Gather facts and feedback to assess the issue.
Plan the Intervention – Decide on the best method to address the problem.
Implement the Action – Take the necessary steps (e.g., meeting, training, policy change).
Monitor and Evaluate – Follow up to ensure the problem is resolved and improvements are
sustained.
Benefits of Effective Management Intervention:
Improves employee performance and efficiency
Enhances workplace relationships and cooperation
Reduces absenteeism, turnover, and conflicts
Builds a positive and productive work environment
Aligns employee behavior with organizational goals

Emotions and emotional labour

Arlie Hochschild created the term 'emotional labor' in 1983 to describe the things that service
workers do that goes beyond physical or mental duties. Showing a genuine concern for
customers' needs, smiling, and making positive eye contact are all critical to a customer's
perception of service quality. These types of activities, when they're essential to worker
performance, are emotional labor.
Emotional labor is the regulation of felt and expressed emotions at work in the service of
organizational goals. The construct of emotional labor is traced to the seminal work of
sociologist Arlie Hochschild, who studied the work of airline flight attendants and, specifically,
the strategic use of emotion by flight attendants to create a desired experience for passengers.
Her research revealed that the work role of flight attendants involved much more than the
obvious duties of serving drinks and meals and ensuring passenger safety and comfort. Their job
role also included the expression of emotions and the creation of feeling states in others; they
were required to act friendly and upbeat to make passengers feel safe, happy, and comfortable.
The significance of this early work is that it highlighted the fact that the management of
emotions is an important organizational phenomenon, it is an effortful process for employees,
and it may affect employee well-being.
Jobs that require emotional labor typically are those that
(a) Involve direct contact with the public,
(b) Require the employee to use emotions to produce an emotional state in another person, and
(c) Allow the organization to exert some control over the felt and/or displayed emotions of
employees.
Customer service jobs are those most typically associated with high demands for emotional
labor. Service employees spend a great deal of time interacting with the public. Part of their job
is to produce an emotional state such as happiness or delight in the customer, because with
services, much of what the customer is evaluating is intangible. As such, the customer’s affective
experience becomes part of his or her evaluation of the organization and its product. Finally, the
organization exerts some control over the customer service agent’s emotional display.
Employees are often trained on the types of emotions to display, and this behavior is enforced by
peers, management, and customers.
Emotional labor is relevant; however, too many jobs that fall outside typical ideas of service
work, and not all emotional labor is the management and display of positive emotions. Bill
collectors and police detectives manage and display negative emotions to produce anxiety, fear,
and compliance in debtors and suspects. Funeral directors display warmth and sadness in their
job roles. And physicians engage in emotional labor by suppressing negative emotions to display
the neutrality required of their jobs. In all of the above cases, the employee ultimately is
managing his or her displayed emotions: expressive behavior including, but not limited to, facial
expressions, vocalizations, and posture. This expressive behavior communicates important
information to the receiver and can be viewed as a control move, an intentional means of
manipulating the situation to produce a desired response in the receiver. Emotional labor is, as
such, a tool of influence: it is intended to produce responses in others that are favorable to the
individual and/or the organization.
Types of emotional labour
According to the theory behind “emotional labor,” there are two different types:
• Surface acting – Faking emotions or “putting on a mask” to display the “correct”
emotions at work, even if they don’t align with how you actually feel about the job.
• Deep acting – Modifying your inner beliefs and feelings about the job to align with
emotions that the job requires.
The difference between “surface acting” and “deep acting” can make all the difference in your
job satisfaction. When an individual’s emotions align with their work (“deep acting”), this
typically leads to less stress and greater happiness at work. But when an individual’s emotions
have to be faked (“surface acting”), this typically leads to more stress, increased burnouts,
emotional exhaustion, and sometimes even depression.
Aligning emotions at work
1. Recognize the value in your work.
2. Focus on aspects of the job.
3. Doing the small things to minimize stress.
4. Improving relationships
5. Finding healthy ways to express negative emotions

Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence refers to the capability of a person to manage and control his or her
emotions and possess the ability to control the emotions of others as well. In other words, they
can influence the emotions of other people also.
Emotional intelligence can best be described as the ability to monitor one's own and other
people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and
to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.
Theories of emotional intelligence
The study of EI developed through the area of cognition and affect, looking at how emotion
affected thought. Initially it was believed that emotion had a detrimental effect; however, in time
it was considered that emotion could also be adaptive to thought (Mayer, 2000) and that they
could complement each other. Mayer and Salovey (1990) developed their first theory of EI,
which subsequently became popularized by Goleman (1996). Goleman proposed that EI was
integral for life success. Since then, several theories have emerged with conflicting views, and
subsequently, different measures.
According to Salovey and Mayer, There are three main models of Emotional Intelligence:
1. Ability model:
Perceiving Emotions: The first step in understanding emotions is to accurately perceive them. In
many cases, this might involve understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial
expressions.
Reasoning with Emotions: The next step involves using emotions to promote thinking and
cognitive activity.
Understanding Emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide variety of meanings. If
someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of their anger and
what it might mean.
Managing Emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a key part of emotional
intelligence. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of
others are all important aspect of emotional management.
2. Mixed models:
Five factors of Mixed model are
• Self awareness
• Self Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social skills
Self awareness: The ability to recognize emotion and mood. The major elements of self
awareness are
Emotional awareness: Ability to recognize one’s own emotions and their effects.
Self-confidence: Sureness about one’s selfworth and capabilities.
Self Regulation Control on your mood or emotion. Self-regulation involves:
Self-control: Managing disruptive impulses.
Trustworthiness: Maintaining standards of honesty.
Conscientiousness: Taking responsibility for your own performance.
Adaptability: Handling change with flexibility.
Innovation: Being open to new ideas.
Motivation: To motivate someone for any achievement requires clear goals and a positive
attitude. Motivation is made up of:
Achievement drive: A person’s constant striving to improve or to meet a standard of excellence.
Commitment: Aligning with the goals of the group or organization.
Initiative: Readiness to act on opportunities.
Optimism: Pursuing goals persistently despite obstacles and setbacks
Empathy The ability to recognize how people feel is important to success in your life and
career. An empathetic person excels at:
Service orientation: Anticipating, recognizing and meeting clients’ needs.
Developing others: Sensing what others need to progress.
Leveraging diversity: Cultivating opportunities through diverse people.
Political awareness: Reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships.
Understanding others: Discerning the feelings behind the needs and wants of others.
Social skills The development of good interpersonal relationships.
Influence: Wielding effective persuasion tactics.
Communication: Sending clear messages.
Leadership: Inspiring and guiding groups and people.
Change catalyst: Initiating or managing change.
Conflict management: Understanding, negotiating and resolving disagreements.
Building bonds: Nurturing instrumental relationships.
Collaboration and cooperation: Working with others toward shared goals.
Team capabilities: Creating group to achieve collective goals
3. Trait EI model:
Trait EI is "a constellation of emotional self perceptions located at the lower levels of
personality. In lay terms, trait EI refers to an individual's self-perceptions of their emotional
abilities. Trait EI should be investigated within a personality framework.
As trait EI is concerned with cross-situational consistencies in behaviour, which are perceived as
"traits" as opposed to ability EI, which focuses on actual skills, it is
Accessed via self-report questionnaires that measure typical behaviour. Initially, the Bar-On
Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) (Petrides & Furnham, 2001) and, more recently the Trait
Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) (Petrides, Furnham & Frederickson, 2004). The
TEIQue consists of 153 items organised under four-factors, which are well-being, self-control,
emotionality, and sociability (Freudenthaler et al, 2008). Relying on a person's self-awareness,
self-report measures are accurate if the person's self-concept is accurate. However, if the person's
self-concept is inaccurate, a self-report measure may result in the measurement of the individuals
self-concept and not the true behaviours and attitudes of them.
The concept of trait EI has also been criticised as focusing heavily on established personality
taxonomies. The self-report methodology has been criticised for high loadings with personality
characteristics, poor reliability and the small number of reverse keyed items respectively.
4. Emotional Intelligence Theory by Daniel Goleman:
Daniel Goleman, (2002), A psychologist who helped make the idea of EI popular, presented the
concept of Emotional Intelligence as being encapsulated by four elements:
• Self Awareness
• Self Management
• Social Awareness
• Social Skills
1.Self-awareness: The first
Intelligence theory – Being self
aware means that you
understand you. – You
understand what makes you tick
and therefore, your strengths and
weaknesses as a person, and a
Leader. You can then start to
understand why you feel, and
what makes you feel. “Is this a
good emotion, or should I feel a different way?” If you understand your emotions, you can
identify their impact to you and those in your team. It is a path on the road to having humility,
which is a much needed facet in Leadership.
2. Self-Management: The second element of Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence theory: –
Through being in control of what you say and do, whilst rejecting the temptation to make rushed
decisions, you can be in charge of your actions and therefore reducing the chance of
compromising your values. Other aspects to nurture in this element are to show and actively
apply conscientiousness, trustworthiness, Leading and adapting to change, complete drive to
succeed and the initiative to think fast and act creatively and innovatively to solve problems.
3. Social Awareness: The third element of Emotional Intelligence Theory: Social awareness is
the ability for a Leader to understand the emotions of the team members around them and to get
a good comprehension of their emotional makeup. The ability to treat people according to these
emotional reactions is vital. This area is linked to empathy: The ability to understand and see
things in other peoples view points, expertise in building and retaining talent, valuing diversity
and appreciating the organisational goals. In essence this part of emotional intelligence then, is
about understanding and being truly in touch with the complete demands of the environment and
acting to suit those conditions.
4. Social Skills: The fifth and final element from Goleman’s emotional intelligence theory,
which links Leadership and Emotional Intelligence together: Leaders with good Social Skills are
often very good communicators. Leaders who are good in this discipline are also good at conflict
resolution and communicating the vision to team members, enlightening them and creating
motivation and inspiration throughout the team. They are experts at getting their team to support
them and also believe in their leadership. They set the example, for others to follow by
demonstrating the acceptable behaviours and values.

Attitude
“The word attitude describes a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards
some object”.
“Attitudes are evaluative statements either favourable or unfavourable concerning objects,
people or events. They reflect how one feels about something”.
“Attitudes are learned predispositions towards aspects of our environment. They may be
positively or negatively directed towards certain people, service or institutions”.
Fred E Luthans: “An attitude is a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way
towards some objects.”
G W Allport: “Attitude is mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience
exerting specific directive influence upon the individual’s response to people, objects and
situations with which it is related.”
Stephen Robbins: “Attitudes are evaluative statements – either favourable or unfavourable –
concerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how one feels about something.”
Components of attitudes
i. Attitude is abstract phenomenon that cannot be seen.
ii. It is evaluative in nature. It is expressed in terms of desirability.
iii. It indicates readiness tendency of an individual to react in a specific way.
iv. Attitude and value are different. (values are input in attitudes)
v. It indicates predisposition.
vi. It is most pervasive as people have attitudes about many topics that are related to them.
Attitude can help predict work behavior.
vii. It is complex psychological structure as it is determined by number of variables.
viii. It varies in direction, intensity and extent of consciousness.
ix. Attitude is related to needs.
x. Attitudes are learned or acquired.

Formation and measurement of attitudes and values

.Formation of attitudes: A person evaluates certain things in particular way due to the set of
his attributes. Attitudes can be shaped, changed, replaced, or modified by a number of factors.
Most common factors are:
a) Experience
b) Association and reference groups
c) Family
d) Society
e) Personality
f) Culture and religious values
Values – Meaning and definition:
“Values are basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is
personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of
existence.”
“Values are culturally imported, social approved, and religiously sactioned preferable behavior.”
Types of Values: Milton Rokeach has classified values into two groups, terminal values and
instrumental values.
Terminal Values: Terminal values refer to desirable end-states (outcomes). These values are the
goals the person desires to achieve in his life.
Instrumental Values: instrumental values refer to preferable modes of behaviour to realize the
terminal values. They are means or instruments to achieve the desirable end-states.
Values and Attitudes: Values and attitudes are closely associated terms. Values are cognitive
component of attitudes. They are key input in attitude formation. Central values are expressed in
the form of attitudes.

Types of Attitudes
OB focuses our attention on a very limited number of job-related attitudes. Most of the research
in OB has been concerned with three attitudes: job satisfaction, job involvement, and
organizational commitment.
1. Job satisfaction It refers to a collection of feelings that an individual hold toward his or her
job. A high level of job satisfaction equals positive attitudes toward the job and vice versa.
Employee attitudes and job satisfaction are frequently used interchangeably. Often when people
speak of “employee attitudes” they mean “employee job satisfaction.”
2. Job involvement A workable definition: the measure of the degree to which a person
identifies psychologically with his/her job and considers his/her perceived performance level
important to self-worth. High levels of job involvement are thought to result in fewer absences
and lower resignation rates. Job involvement more consistently predicts turnover than
absenteeism.
3. Organizational commitment A state in which an employee identifies with a particular
organization and its goals. It is understood as one’s identification with his or her organization
and feels proud of being its employee. Job involvement refers to one’s attachment to a job
whereas organizational commitment implies an employee’s identification with a particular
organization and its goals. Turnover and absenteeism are low when employees have
organizational commitment. Research evidence demonstrates negative relationships between
organizational commitment and both absenteeism and turnover. An individual’s level of
organizational commitment is a better indicator of turnover than the far more frequently used job
satisfaction predictor because it is a more global and enduring response to the organization as a
whole than is job satisfaction. This evidence, most of which is more than three decades old,
needs to be qualified to reflect the changing employee-employer relationship.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Leon Festinger, in the late 1950s, proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, seeking to
explain the linkage between attitudes and behavior. He argued that any form of inconsistency is
uncomfortable and that individuals will attempt to reduce the dissonance.
Dissonance means “an inconsistency.”
Cognitive dissonance refers to “any incompatibility that an individual might perceive between
two or more of his/her attitudes, or between his/her behavior and attitudes. “No individual can
completely avoid dissonance. The desire to reduce dissonance would be determined by:

✓ The importance of the elements creating the dissonance.

✓ The degree of influence the individual believes he/she has over the elements.

✓ The rewards that may be involved in dissonance

Importance: If the elements creating the dissonance are relatively unimportant, the pressure to
correct this imbalance will be low.
Influence: If the dissonance is perceived as an uncontrollable result, they are less likely to be
receptive to attitude change. While dissonance exists, it can be rationalized and justified.
Rewards: The inherent tension in high dissonance tends to be reduced with high rewards.
Organizational implications

✓ Greater predictability of the propensity to engage in attitude and behavioral change, it is

required or demand of job.

✓ The greater the dissonance—after it has been moderated by importance, choice, and rewards
factors—the greater the pressures to reduce it.
Attitudes and Workforce Diversity
Managers are concerned with changing employee attitudes to reflect shifting perspectives on
racial, gender, and other diversity issues.

✓ Training activities that can reshape employee attitudes concerning diversity: Participating in
diversity training that provides for self-evaluation and group discussions. These diversity
programs include a self-evaluation phase where people are pressed to examine themselves and to
confront ethnic and cultural stereotypes they might hold. This is followed by discussion with
people from diverse groups.

✓ Volunteer work in community and social serve centres with individuals of diverse
backgrounds. Additional activities designed to change attitudes include arranging for people to
do volunteer work in community or social service centres in order to meet face to face with
individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds, and using exercises that let participants feel
what it is like to be different.

✓ Exploring print and visual media that recount and portray diversity issues.

Perception
Perception is a psychological process that is related to personality of a person and has
great impact on his behavior. It is opinion and evaluation of a person about particular event.
Perception is depicted as view point of a person. Every person reacts differently in different
situation. The person behave on the basis of what he thinks about reality and not necessary as
what reality is. It is process by which a person interprets about something, an event or
communication.
Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals organize and interpret
their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. However, what one
perceives can he substantially different from objective reality. It need not be, but there is
often disagreement e.g.: It’s possible that all employees in a firm may have a great place to
work, favorable working conditions, interesting job assignment, good pay, an understanding
and responsible management — but — as most of us know, its very unusual to find such a
work place. Perception is important in the study of OB because people’s behaviour is based
on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
Definitions of Perception
According to S.P. Robbins “Perception is a process by which individuals organize
and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to environment.”

According to Joseph Reitz “Perception includes all those processes by which an

individual receives information about his environment – seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and
smelling.”
According to Luthens Fred “Perception is an active psychological process by which
individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment.”
According to Udai Pareek “Perception can be defined as the process of receiving,
selecting, organising, interpreting, checking and reacting to sensory stimuli or data.”
According to Rickey Griffin, “Perception is a set of processes by which an individual
becomes aware of and interprets information about the environment.”
Importance of Perception:
It is important to understand perception process. The world we see is not necessarily
the same as reality is. So while dealing with people at workplace perception should be
properly understood by manager.
1. Perception is very essential to understand human behavior because every person
interprets the world and deal with life troubles differently. When dealing with
interpersonal conflicts this understanding helps a lot.
2. We can predict behavior of people in different circumstances by understanding their
perception about present environment. So management can plan future changes to be
made in organisation according to it.
3. People behave and evaluate things according to their needs, so by knowing the
perception we can recognize their needs. Manager can motivate employees according
to these needs.
4. Perception is very important for the supervisors so that can avoid making mistakes
when dealing with employees and while selecting people for different tasks.
5. Perception plays an important role in business organizations. If perception is applied
and used correctly it can help the business nurture and survive in the market. It gives
the business with a outlook that will help it flourish in the future and expand business
opportunities also.
Factors affecting perception
There are several factors that influence perception of a person. These factors can be
categorised as external and internal factors.
External Factors
1. Intensity: The intensity of stimulus means that the stronger the stimulus audio or
visual, the more is the chances it will be perceived. A high noise, strong smell or very
brilliant colors will be more easily perceived than soft sound, fragile smell or light
colors. This advantage is taken by advertiser and he employs intensity to get
customer’s attention.
2. Size: About the size of stimulus, any odd size gets easy attention, generally the larger
the size of the object, more attention it gets. The amount of appeal increases with size
of advertisement in newspaper by the people.
3. Contrast: The contrast theory states the external stimuli, which have odd
combination of face and the background or which are not expected by people, will
receive attention. Safety signs having black lettering on yellow base or red get more
attraction.
4. Repetition: The factor of repetition states that repeated things attracts more than the
one time occurrence. Advertiser while giving add on TV or radio repeat the brand
name many time
5. Motion: The factor of motion tells that people attend to moving objects then static
object. Using this advantage the advertiser engages sign which include moving
objects in their campaigns.
Internal Factors
1. Habit: Habits can be defined as psychosomatic nature to repeat precedent behavior. It
can shape our perception. Like a retired army man may lay down on ground when he
hears car tyre burst sound thinking that it’s a blast. We can give with right reaction to
the similar signals even it is wrong.
2. Motivation and interest: People develop perception abilities according to their need
of the hour. They will favor selections that they think will help them with their current
needs, and be more likely to ignore what is irrelevant to their needs.
3. Learning Experiences: Learning has a great impact on development of perception of
the person. Usually we learn something by different experiences. Our perception is
developed through good and bad experiences. Past experiences would the person’s
perception.
4. Organisational role and specialization: Specialization of employee is valued by
organisations. Specialty of individual that is taken in account while giving him a role
influences him to select certain stimuli and to ignore others. Any manager will notice
content about his department while reading organisation report.

Process of Perception:

Perception formation is slow and complex process that undergoes an number of psychological
processes. While explaining perception process, Joseph Reitz states: “Perception includes all
those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment – seeing,
hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling.
1. Inputs (Confrontation): perception starts with stimuli confrontation. A man omes in contact
with several stimuli and uses them as inputs for developing perception. A stimulus is any person,
event, or thing that is closely related to one’s environment; they provide inputs for person’s
thinking and perception.
2. Selection (Registration): the process of choosing certain stimuli for further processing is
known as selection. All stimuli sensitized are not equally important, they are not related to one’s
needs. Only relevant and important stimuli are given importance and are more likely to be
selected for developing perception. Characteristics of stimuli, like size. Intensity, contrast,
repetition, motion, usefulness, novelty, familiarity etc., affect the selection process. They draw
one’s attention. The process of selecting only relevant stimuli is called perpetual selectivity.
3. Organisation: Organisation is another important facet in perceptual mechanism. While
selection is concerned with the external and internal factors that gain one’s attention, the
perceptual organisation focuses on what takes place in the perceptional process once the
information from the external situation is received. Two types of factors affect organization
figure-ground and grouping.
Figure ground suggests that perceived objects stand out as separate or distinct from their general
background or group.
Grouping is simply the meaningful arrangement of perceived inputs. It consists of modifying,
adding, associating, and eliminating of information about the stimulus.
People organize perceived inputs (objects, events, or persons) in various ways such as proximity,
closure, continuity and simplification.
4 Interpretation: interpretation is the most significant aspect of perception. After selecting and
organizing the sensory inputs, the perceiver now interprets them to draw a meaningful picture. It
involves making judgment about others. It is affected by other psychological processes, like
motivation, learning, attitudes, and personality.
Interpretation process is influenced by two types of factors.
1. Characteristics of the perceiver (needs and motives, self concept, past experience, current
emotional state).
2. Characteristics of the situation (working climate and conditions, organization culture,
organization structure, groups, and other physical, social and organizational factors.)
5. Output (Behaviour or Feedback): output is the result of perception. It is the feedback of the
perception developed; the perceiver behaves or responds according to his perception. Output
may be referred as reaction or behavior.
Registration, interpretation and feedback occur within the cognitive processes they are
unobservable of the person. Only feedback, in form of person’s reaction or behavior, is
observable.
Interpersonal perception and impression Management
Interpersonal perception means the process of making meaning from things we experience in
people and our relationships. This process involves three components: selection, organization,
and interpretation. Selection means attending to a stimulus. These are the things one notices
about someone.
Interpersonal perception includes:
• Non-verbal communication
• Reinforcement
• Questioning
• Reflecting
• Opening and closing
• Explanation
• Listening
• Self-disclosure
Components of perceiving others:
• Stereotyping
• Primacy and recency effects
• Perceptual set
• Ego centrism
• Positivity and negativity bias
The process of interpersonal perception is complex and often unconscious. Raising awareness of
humans' common perceptual tendencies can help us become more competent communicators by
becoming aware of our own common perceptual errors, and working to improve them.
Attribution

Motivation
The biggest challenge faced by the organisations is to get the work done by their
employees. This entirely depends on the motivation levels of the employees. Their motivation
is a result of their needs and organisational expectations. If the employees are adequately
motivated, the organisation will be able to meet its objectives.
The term ‘motivation’ is derived from a latin word movere which means to move. A
motive is an inner state that encourages, activates or moves and that directs behaviour
towards goals. Thus, motivation is psychological force within an individual that sets him in
motion for the achievement of certain goals or satisfaction of certain needs.
Motives are somewhere a reflection of human needs. E.g. A factory worker knows if
he will complete his work on time, he will be rewarded with a bonus or some kind of
financial incentive which can be spent. Thus, here we can understand that needs are
physiological and psychological drives. On the other hand, drives for which an individual has
money and wants to spend become wants. The factors which are utilised for satisfying or
motivating people are called incentives.
Definition of Motivation
Several authors have defined motivation in different ways.
According to Robert Dublin, “Motivation is the complex set of forces starting and
keeping a person at work in an organization.”
According to Stanley Vance, “Motivation represents an unsatisfied need which
creates a state of tension or disequilibrium, causing the individual to march in a goal-directed
pattern, towards restoring a state of equilibrium by satisfying the need.”
Characteristics of Motivation
1. Psychological Process
Motivation is a psychological process. It is the process to achieve a desired result by
stimulating and influencing the behaviour of subordinates. A manager should carefully make
an attempt to understand the needs, motives and desires of every employee in the
organization. The reason for this is that each person is different and a same kind of
motivational technique does not apply to all kinds of individuals.
2. Continuous Process
Motivation is a continuous process. When one need is satisfies, another need emerges.
Therefore, motivation is an incessant process until the completion of objectives. Therefore, it
is the responsibility of the management to develop innovative techniques, systems and
methods to satisfy the changing needs of workers.
3. Complex and Unpredictable
Motivation is a complex and unpredictable task. Human wants are not definite and
they change according to consequences. A worker may be satisfied in present situation but due to
his changed needs he may not be satisfied in future. Similarly, even two persons may
not be motivated with similar behaviour and facilities. Therefore, a manager must be more
conscious to motivate subordinates and to achieve objectives.
4. Pervasive Function
Motivation is the pervasive function of all levels of management. Every manager
from top to the lowest level in the management hierarchy is responsible for motivation. A
manager is largely responsible for motivating his subordinates and secondly other
subordinates in management hierarchy.
5. Influences the Behaviour
The most important objective of motivation is to influence the employees’ behaviour and thus
bringing about the behavioural changes. The managers influence the behaviour of workers
and encourage them to concentrate more on their goals.
6. Positive or Negative
Motivation may be positive or negative. A positive motivation promises incentives
and rewards to workers. Incentives are both financial and non financial. Negative motivation
is based on punishment for poor performance like reducing wages, demotion, job termination
etc. On the basis of requirements, manager can use both positive and negative motivation for
better performance.

Importance of Motivation
1. Cooperation and Goals
Motivated employees cooperate willingly with the management and thus contribute
maximum towards the goals of the company.
2. Productivity
Motivated employees attempt to enhance their knowledge and skills. This enables
increase in the productivity.
3. High Efficiency
It has been observed that when motivated employees work sincerely towards their
given tasks; they develop a sense of belongingness which results in conserving the
organisational resources. This results in improvement in efficiency.
4. Job Satisfaction
Higher motivation paves the way for a higher job satisfaction of the employees. A
motivated employee yearning for opportunities for satisfying needs becomes loyal and
committed towards his work and eventually the organisation.
5. Better Relations
The number of complaints and grievances reduce when the employees are motivated.
6. Good Image
If the employees of the organisational are motivated and satisfied with the work
environment, the image of the company as a good employer boosts in the industry.

Types of Motivation
1. Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual. It is driven by internal desires such as
personal satisfaction, curiosity, or the joy of doing an activity itself. People who are intrinsically
motivated do things because they find them meaningful or enjoyable, not because of any external
reward. For example, a student may study history out of sheer interest, not because of an exam or
grade. This type of motivation often leads to long-lasting engagement and deeper learning.
Intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual. It is driven by internal desires such as
personal satisfaction, curiosity, or the joy of doing an activity itself. People who are intrinsically
motivated do things because they find them meaningful or enjoyable, not because of any external
reward. For example, a student may study history out of sheer interest, not because of an exam or
grade. This type of motivation often leads to long-lasting engagement and deeper learning.
2. Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation arises from external rewards or pressures. It occurs when someone performs
a task to gain something (like money, praise, or grades) or to avoid something unpleasant (like
punishment or failure). For instance, an employee might work overtime to receive a bonus, or a
student may study hard to avoid failing a test. While effective in the short term, extrinsic
motivation may not always lead to long-term commitment unless it becomes internalized.
3. Positive Motivation
Positive motivation is based on the expectation of rewards or positive outcomes. It encourages
individuals to improve their performance to receive appreciation, success, or benefits. For
example, a teacher may reward students with praise or prizes for good behavior, which motivates
them to continue performing well. This type of motivation builds confidence and a sense of
achievement.
4. Negative Motivation
Negative motivation involves the use of fear or avoidance of punishment to influence behavior.
People act because they want to escape negative outcomes rather than gain something. For
example, an employee may follow rules strictly to avoid being penalized, or a student may
complete homework to avoid a scolding from the teacher. Although this can be effective, overuse
may lead to stress, fear, or resentment.
5. Achievement Motivation
Achievement motivation refers to the drive to excel, accomplish goals, and achieve success.
People with high achievement motivation are often self-driven and set challenging goals for
themselves. They take pride in doing things better and may seek out difficult tasks to prove their
abilities. For instance, a sportsperson training rigorously to break a record demonstrates strong
achievement motivation.
6. Affiliation Motivation
Affiliation motivation is the need to build social relationships, be liked, and feel part of a group.
Individuals with this motivation value cooperation, friendships, and social interactions. In the
workplace, they may prefer team-based tasks and enjoy group recognition. For example,
someone may work hard not for rewards, but to maintain strong relationships with colleagues or
gain social approval.
7. Power Motivation
Power motivation is the desire to influence, control, or lead others. People driven by this
motivation often seek leadership positions or roles where they can have an impact on others’
decisions. This can be used positively to inspire and lead teams, or negatively if misused for
personal gain. For example, a manager who aims to become the head of the department to
implement their vision shows power motivation.
8. Competence Motivation
Competence motivation is the drive to develop skills, master tasks, and become more capable or
effective. Individuals with competence motivation are focused on learning and self-
improvement. They enjoy challenges that help them grow and often measure success by how
much they’ve learned, not just by rewards. For example, a software developer learning a new
programming language to improve their craft reflects competence motivation.
Effects of Motivation on Work Behavior
Motivation plays a vital role in shaping how employees think, feel, and act in the workplace. It
directly influences their performance, attitude, commitment, and overall behavior on the job. A
motivated employee is more likely to be productive, creative, and loyal, whereas a lack of
motivation can lead to poor performance and dissatisfaction.
Below are the main effects of motivation on work behavior, described in detail:
1. Improved Job Performance
Motivated employees tend to work harder and put in greater effort to meet or exceed their job
requirements. They are more focused, energetic, and efficient in completing their tasks. This
leads to better quality of work, fewer errors, and higher output.
Example: A salesperson who is motivated by commissions or recognition will likely put in more
effort to close deals and reach targets.
2. Increased Job Satisfaction
When employees are motivated, they find more meaning and enjoyment in their work. This leads
to a positive attitude toward their job and reduces stress or frustration. Motivated individuals feel
valued and take pride in their contributions, which results in higher job satisfaction.
Example: A teacher who loves teaching and is appreciated by students and school management
will feel fulfilled and content with their job.
3. Greater Commitment and Loyalty
Motivated employees tend to be more loyal to the organization. They are emotionally connected
to their work and are less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. This reduces employee
turnover and builds a stable workforce.
Example: An employee who is motivated by a supportive work environment and career growth
opportunities is more likely to stay with the company long-term.
4. Better Teamwork and Cooperation
When individuals are motivated—especially by affiliation or shared goals—they are more likely
to work cooperatively with others. Motivation encourages open communication, mutual respect,
and a willingness to help team members succeed.
Example: A motivated team working on a project will support each other, share ideas, and
achieve goals more effectively.
5. Higher Creativity and Innovation
Motivated individuals, particularly those with intrinsic or achievement motivation, often think
creatively and look for new solutions. They take initiative and are not afraid to take calculated
risks or propose improvements.
6. Reduced Absenteeism and Turnover
Lack of motivation can result in frequent absenteeism, lateness, and high employee turnover. In
contrast, motivated employees are more punctual, regular, and dedicated. They value their work
and do not want to miss opportunities to grow or succeed.
7. Positive Work Culture
A motivated workforce contributes to a positive and productive organizational culture. Enthusiasm
spreads from one employee to another, leading to a workplace atmosphere filled with energy, purpose,
and cooperation.

Example: In an office where employees are motivated by shared goals and recognition, the overall
morale and work culture will be healthier and more dynamic.
 UNIT-3
GROUP BEHAVIOUR
Organization structure
Organizational behaviour (OB) structure refers to the way an organization is arranged, including
how work is divided, grouped, and coordinated. It encompasses the formal framework that
defines roles, responsibilities, and relationships within the organization. Understanding the
structure helps in analysing how individuals and groups behave and interact within an
organization

Levels of Organizational Behavior:

• Individual Level: Focuses on understanding individual characteristics, perceptions, and

motivations within the organization.
• Group Level: Examines how individuals interact within teams and the dynamics of group
behavior.
• Organizational Level: Analyzes the overall structure, culture, and systems of the organization.

Key Elements of Organizational Behavior Structure:

• Work Specialization: Dividing tasks into smaller, specialized jobs to increase efficiency.
• Departmentalization: Grouping jobs based on function, product, geography, or customer.
• Chain of Command: The line of authority that clarifies who reports to whom within the
organization.
• Span of Control: The number of employees a manager supervises effectively.
• Centralization/Decentralization: The degree to which decision-making authority is
concentrated at the top or distributed throughout the organization.
• Formalization: The extent to which jobs are standardized and rules and procedures are used.

FORMATION

Formation of OB – Conceptual Foundation:

The concept of OB formation is based on interdisciplinary roots and evolutionary

contributions. The field developed over time through the integration of knowledge from various
disciplines.

1. Historical Evolution:

Period Contribution
Scientific Management (Frederick Taylor), Bureaucratic Model
Classical Era (1900s)
(Max Weber) – focused on structure and efficiency.
Human Relations Emphasized social factors, motivation (Hawthorne Studies by
Movement (1930s–50s) Elton Mayo).
Behavioral Science Era Application of psychology, sociology – focus on leadership,
(1950s–70s) motivation, group dynamics.
Modern OB (1980s– Systems thinking, contingency models, organizational culture,
Present) diversity, technology, globalization.

Key Disciplines Contributing to OB Formation:

Discipline Contribution
Psychology Individual behavior, learning, motivation, perception.
Sociology Group behavior, organizational structure, social systems.
Anthropology Culture, values, environment adaptation.
Political Science Power, conflict, organizational politics.
Economics Resource allocation, decision-making, incentives.

Core Elements in OB Formation:

1. Individuals in Organizations – behavior, attitude, learning, perception.

2. Group Dynamics – team roles, communication, leadership, conflict.
3. Organizational Structure – hierarchy, roles, job design, coordination.
4. Organizational Culture and Environment – values, norms, external influences.
5. Processes – decision-making, motivation, leadership styles, power and politics.

GROUPS IN ORGANISATION
 In organizational behavior, groups are collections of two or more individuals who interact and
are interdependent, working together to achieve common goals. These groups can be categorized
as formal or informal. Formal groups are established by the organization with specific roles and
tasks, while informal groups arise from social interactions and shared interests. Understanding
group dynamics is crucial for organizational success, as it influences individual behavior and
overall productivity.

Types of Groups:

Formal Groups:
These are established by the organization to fulfill specific objectives. Examples include work
teams, committees, and departments.
Informal Groups:
These emerge naturally from social interactions and shared interests among
employees. Examples include friendship groups, interest groups, and networks based on social
connections.

Importance of Understanding Groups:

• Groups play a vital role in shaping organizational behavior and influencing individual actions.
• Understanding group dynamics is crucial for effective leadership, team management, and
conflict resolution.
 • By understanding the different types of groups, their structures, and their development,
organizations can foster collaboration, improve productivity, and achieve their goals.
Groups Influence
How do groups influence us?
Groups can influence us to change our opinions, do things we may not agree with, stay silent
about differing opinions, and engage in behaviors that are not normal for us.
What is group social influence?
Group social influence is the idea that people are influenced by the majority of the group to
engage in certain behaviors, ones that may be atypical for them.
What is the importance of group influence?
The importance of group influence is that it pushes people to positive as well as negative actions.
It is what gives us guidelines for morality and ethics, inspires us to stand up for what is right, and
accelerates progress and human improvement.
What is the meaning of group influence?
Group influence is the idea that people are influenced by being part of a group. Group influence
is the effect of the group on human behavior, which can have many different results, both
negative and positive.
The concept of group influence is that people will change their behavior for the benefit of the
majority or whole group. The evidence-based theory relies on the basic principle that people
repeat behaviors that receive a positive outcome, response, or reinforcement. Babies continue to
make faces that have repeatedly made the adults around them laugh. Second-graders are excited
to sit still at their desks when they have received commendations for that behavior from their
teachers. Likewise, bad group influence examples include a student who is typically well-
behaved, but gets placed with a bunch of class clowns. If they get lots of positive attention from
their classmates, that student might begin to demonstrate unruly behavior, too, since the whole
class is perpetuating it with positive reactions. Being in the minority in a group is generally more
uncomfortable. Siding with the majority is generally much more enjoyable. This is why this
phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "peer pressure."
INFLUENCE OF GROUPS

1. Impact on Individual Behavior:

Conformity: Groups can exert pressure on individuals to conform to group norms, which can be
beneficial or detrimental depending on the norms themselves.
Social Influence:Individuals tend to adjust their behavior to align with the perceived
expectations and actions of others within the group.

Motivation and Performance:Group dynamics can affect individual motivation and

performance levels, with some groups fostering higher productivity and others leading to
decreased effort.
 Satisfaction and Morale:Positive group interactions and supportive relationships can
boost employee satisfaction and morale, while negative interactions can have the opposite
effect.

GROUP DYNAMICS

Group Dynamics is an important term in the interwoven framework of today’s organizations.

Whether managing a small team or a department that consists of numerous employees, knowing
group behavior can ensure success for the organization. Group dynamics refer to psychological
and behavioral processes interacting in between a social group or groups. These dynamics can
have an impact on how the individuals in such group act, make decisions

Group Dynamics Meaning

Group dynamics represent an essential aspect of psychology and business, which entails
behaviour patterns and psychological processes that deal with activity within a group or
interaction among group members. The dynamics involve influencing one another, taking
various roles, cooperating, and establishing group norms. By whatever name one calls it—
classroom, company, or social club—the dynamics of a group will be responsible for its general
effectiveness, quality of communication, and productivity

Importance of Group Dynamics in Organizations and Teams

It has a direct effect on team performance and membership satisfaction. Positive group dynamics
direct the quality of decisions, creativity, motivation, and satisfaction in resolving conflicts in a
team. Poor group dynamics create confusion, low productivity, and rapid turnover. It remains the
obligation of the leader to facilitate and guard the group’s dynamics to develop a viable yet close
team. Hence, we summarize the top reasons why group dynamics will matter.

Facilitates Effective Decision Making

Diversity and integration of perspectives increase so even well-established groups can reach
more thoughtful and holistic decisions regarding various aspects of a problem. Decisions made
collectively generally convey a more even and representative reflection of members’ interests
than autocratic ones; they are less opinionated. These contributions develop the quality of the
decisions and garner buy-in from the group. Members become much more likely to support and
adhere to the decisions by partaking in the process.

Enhancement of Teamwork and Collaboration

Good group dynamics create a situation where everyone is inclined to work together. When
respect and trust are mutual, colleagues can depend on one another, share information, and work
together on goals. Because this cooperation affects smooth flow, resource-sharing, and skills, the
team becomes more agile and quick to adapt to new challenges, making it a benefit and
competitive advantage for this dynamic workspace.

Constructive Resolution of Conflicts

All groups must argue at one point or another whether differences contribute to differences of
opinion, goals, or methodologies or whether they result from differing personality attributes.
Healthy dynamics are the way to encourage the members to open up and confront such issues.
Members learn to view conflicts not as suppressed evils but as opportunities for growth and
understanding experiences. Constructive conflict resolution maintains harmony in the group
while allowing for creative solutions and strong relationships. Conflict is reframed: no longer a
threat, it becomes a tool for group development.

Increases Motivation and Commitment

When members feel their voices are heard, and their contributions matter within groups, intrinsic
motivation will shoot up. This mainly occurs for groups with shared or democratic leadership. A
sense of belonging in a positive group dynamic does motivate, as do the purpose and collective
sense, both of which are strong motivators. Members will strive for more when they feel
connected to the group. Job satisfaction increases while burnout levels reduce.

Optimizes Skills and Group Synergy

Within a group of very high dynamics, members are more aware of and encouraged to utilize
each other’s strengths toward more effective task allocation and problem-solving. Group synergy
develops when members build on each other’s ideas and capabilities to produce results greater
than the sum of individual contributions. Effective dynamics enable teams to tap into collective
intelligence and creativity. That synergy is a key driver of innovation and productivity.

Strengthens Organizational Culture

Group behavior usually reproduces and reinforces the cultural context of the respective
organization. By encouraging positive group dynamics, organizations foster a culture of trust and
inclusivity coupled with continued improvements. Internalized values begin to morph into day-
to-day behaviors. This unity strengthens the overall identity and reputation of the company. In
such a culture, within the energetic dynamics of the group, talent is attracted and wards off
impatience in the workplace.

Factors of Group Dynamics in Management and Psychology

Group dynamics can be classified by purpose, size, the relationship among members, and degree
of formalization. Each has a different environment in which behavior, communication patterns,
and types of leadership will emerge. Managers, educators, and team leaders must recognize
which group dynamics are at play so that they can develop appropriate strategies to influence and
grow them. Let us go through the most prominent types of group dynamics in the next section.

Formal Group Dynamics

A formal group is when an organisation or institution shapes a particular group with some
distinct purposes clearly defined. These groups often exist in businesses, educational institutions,
or government units, and the members are selected based on skill, qualifications, or job role.
Rules, deadlines, and goals govern the dynamic here and emphasise task-oriented interaction.
Performance, accountability, and efficiency are characteristics of formal dynamics. Examples
here include project teams, task forces, and departments.

Dynamics of Informal Groups

Several informal groups are formed due to the affinity between people regarding interpersonal
relationships with mutual interests or through social contacts. An organization does not officially
recognise these groups, but significantly influences the formal environment. Their dynamics are
influenced by trust, friendship, and informal communication. Generally lacking formality, they
also develop a team spirit and a little emotional backup for the members during tough times.
Informal groups often supplement formal groups by providing channels for more candid feed

Task-Oriented Group Dynamics

Task-oriented groups work with a goal in mind; for example, a project may involve a problem to
be solved. These groups usually meet for some time to tackle particular tasks, and once
completed, the group is expected to disband. Members are brought together based on their
specific area of relevance to the task. With tight timelines and intense schedule dependence,
these groups function. Some examples of such a group include product development teams,
event committees, and research units.
Interest-Based Group Dynamics

The interest group is built upon individuals’ common hobbies, values, or concerns, such as
reading, environmental advocacy, or cultural activities. The internal dynamics in these groups
are usually loose, voluntary, and driven by passion. Members from this group will be motivated
by common interests and not by the organisation’s compulsion, and then use their creativity and
emotional bond to come together. These dynamics will enable the individual to learn personal
skills and informal networking, which can also benefit professional environments in the future.

Virtual Group Dynamics

The increase in remote working and digital collaborative tools in the workplace has caused a rise
in virtual groups. Virtual group dynamics are, therefore, determined by technological platforms,
such as video conferencing platforms, chat apps, or even shared document systems. The absence
of physical presence adds another dimension that complicates communication, trust-building,
and conflict resolution. However, well-evolved virtual teams institute strong communication
protocols, unambiguous task assignments, and responsive and continuous feedback to keep the
lines open and generate productivity.

EMERGENCE OF INFORMAL LEADERS AND WORKING NORMS

What is informal leadership?

Informal leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence other employees positively

because of their reputation and credibility in the workplace. Employees within an organization
view informal leaders as worthy of following. While informal leaders don't hold a position of
power within their organization and don't dictate who follows them, they can still affect the
actions and thoughts of those around them.

Their ability to lead depends on the level of respect, confidence and trust others in the workplace
see in them. Their ability to maintain influence comes from them helping their peers reach their
goals and satisfy their needs. Note that individuals who participate in informal leadership don't
have specific managerial duties as part of their formal job descriptions. They still lead with
intention, as they strive to optimize organizational processes and create a productive work
environment, but they don't have the obligations that formal leaders have.

Related: How To Become a Strong Leader in 10 Steps

Traits of an informal leader

Typically, informal leaders have a certain set of traits that help them earn their reputation.
Knowing these traits and focusing on them throughout your workday can increase your chances
of receiving this recognition in the future. Note that informal leaders develop these traits over
time. Here are some common traits of an informal leader:
A giving nature: Informal leaders offer their assistance without ulterior motives. They recognize
what an organization needs and complete the relevant tasks even if they don't receive a direct
benefit or incentive.

A deep understanding of the company: Informal leaders know the company's policies, goals,
culture, history and leaders. Having this knowledge allows them to share it with others.

A strong ability to build relationships: Instead of only interacting with a small group of people,
informal leaders get to know many people within their place of employment. Making friends and
building rapport with different people helps them build trust and loyalty among their peers,
which can help them gain their respect.

A capacity to listen to others: Informal leaders often listen to all viewpoints before making
impactful decisions. This shows their peers that they care about everyone who the decision
affects instead of just their own interests.

Related: 20 Leadership Qualities That Make a Great Leader (With Tips)

Why are informal leaders important?

Informal leaders provide many benefits to a company's organization and its employees, no matter
the industry. Informal leaders typically have a group of people they informally influence or
affect within their organization. Their influence gives them the ability to make a positive impact
from which the company can benefit. For example, if they influence their peers to work harder,
they can improve their productivity which can then help the company achieve its goals at a
quicker pace.

If you learn to develop informal leadership skills, you can become an asset to your organization
by helping others become better at their jobs. Also, showing your informal leadership skills may
influence your employer's decision to promote you to a formal leadership position within a
company. You may spend the first couple of years of your professional career in an entry-level
position. If you show initiative and natural leadership abilities while still recognizing current
authority figures, you may qualify for a future managerial, supervisory or executive position.

Related: Advancing Your Career With Leadership Development

Search jobs and companies hiring now

Job title, keywords or company

Location

How to become an informal leader

While becoming an informal leader takes time, following certain steps can help you develop
your skills as a respected leader with greater success. From developing your skills to
collaborating with others, you have many opportunities to improve your traits as an informal
leader. Use these steps to become an informal leader:

1. Improve your reputation

To become an informal leader, you can boost your credibility so other employees can understand
the value of listening to what you have to say. You can also improve your reputation by being
accurate, being authentic, showcasing your problem-solving skills and building trust within your
workplace relationships. Incorporating these traits into your daily activities can ultimately help
improve how others perceive you.

Related: 17 Ways To Build a Reputation

2. Assess your strengths

Spend time evaluating your strengths as an informal leader and choose a few for focused
improvement. For example, you can work on setting goals, taking responsibility or building your
relationships. Assessing your strengths and focusing on a few at a time allows you to improve
your reputation steadily as an informal leader without overwhelming yourself.

Related: 10 Key Strengths To Develop for Career Advancement

3. Make friends

While it's important to know about your employer's policies and practices, getting to know
everyone personally can help you gain greater respect and admiration. Instead of only building
relationships with people you work with closely, establish friendships with as many people as
you can within your place of employment. Intentionally making friends can help you develop
more meaningful relationships as you receive information you can use to succeed and improve
your status within the company, and building broad-based relationships can give you more
opportunities to exhibit informal leadership and impress others.

Related: 14 Ways To Make Friends at Work (And To Do So Professionally)

4. Give and receive help

If you're always willing to help a colleague, they may be more willing to help you in return.
Reach out to your colleagues to see if they need help. Doing this can create a more collaborative
environment, and you can contribute to increased productivity in the workplace all while gaining
their approval.

Related: How To Ask for Feedback at the Workplace in 7 Steps

5. Stay humble
Instead of reflecting on your talents or accomplishments, consider the work you want to
complete. Whether you're discussing your daily tasks or your latest large-scale projects, show
your humility. Commit to advancing the greater good of the company instead of concerning
yourself with your own achievements. You can also seek advice and ideas from others and
request feedback about ideas of your own. This can show that

AN INFORMAL LEADER:

An informal leader is someone within an organization or work unit who, byvirtue of how he or
she is perceived by his peers (or others in the organization) is seenas worthy of paying attention
to, or following. The major thing that distinguishes aninformal leader from a formal one is that
the informal leader does NOT hold a position of power or formal authority over those that
choose to follow him or her.The ability for an informal leader to influence or lead others rests on
the abilityof that person to evoke respect, confidence, and trust in others, and it is notuncommon
for an informal leader to NOT intentionally try to lead.Informal leaders can be exceedingly
valuable to organizations, and to thesuccess of formal leaders, OR, if informal leaders do not
support the formal leadersand their agendas and vision, they can function as barriers in the
organization.

Emergence of Informal Leader and Working Norms

1. Emergence of Informal Leader

An informal leader is someone who gains influence among team members not because of a
formal title or position, but due to personal traits, expertise, or social skills.

Key Characteristics:

➢ Has no formal authority or title.

➢ Gains respect and trust through experience, charisma, or problem-solving ability.
➢ Often acts as a bridge between the team and formal management.
➢ Plays a crucial role in shaping team culture, motivating peers, and resolving conflicts.

How They Emerge:

➢ Natural group dynamics: People gravitate towards individuals they trust or admire.
➢ Situational leadership: During a crisis or problem, someone steps up and others follow.
➢ Demonstrated competence: Consistently showing knowledge or skill builds credibility.
2. Working Norms

Working norms are the shared expectations or unwritten rules about how group members should
behave and perform their tasks.

Types of Norms:

1. Performance norms – Expected level and quality of work.

2. Behavioral norms – How to communicate, collaborate, or handle conflict.
3. Dress or punctuality norms – Expectations around appearance or time.

Importance of Working Norms:

➢ Provide structure and predictability.

➢ Promote group cohesion and efficiency.
➢ Influence job satisfaction and organizational culture.

Link Between Informal Leaders and Working Norms:

➢ Informal leaders often influence the creation and enforcement of working norms.
➢ They can reinforce positive norms (e.g., punctuality, teamwork) or sometimes encourage
negative ones (e.g., resistance to change).
➢ Their role becomes vital in maintaining team morale and ensuring smooth informal
communication.

Example:

In a team project, even if a manager is officially in charge, a senior team member with more
experience may take the lead in guiding others, answering questions, and setting expectations on
how tasks are completed. This person becomes the informal leader, and their behavior can shape
how others work—establishing norms like open communication or peer mentoring.

Group decision-making techniques

in organizational behavior aim to involve multiple individuals in the decision process to leverage
diverse perspectives and improve the quality of outcomes. Common techniques
include brainstorming, the nominal group technique, the Delphi technique, and consensus
decision-making. These methods offer structured approaches to idea generation, evaluation, and
selection, helping organizations address complex problems and foster a more collaborative and
effective decision-making environment
. 1. Brainstorming: This technique encourages the free flow of ideas in a group setting, where
members generate as many potential solutions as possible without criticism. The goal is to build
on each other's suggestions and foster a creative environment.
2. Nominal Group Technique (NGT): NGT is a more structured approach than
brainstorming. Members individually and silently generate ideas, then share them with the
group. Ideas are discussed, but not debated, and ranked to arrive at a decision. This helps prevent
dominance by certain individuals and encourages equal participation.
3. Delphi Technique: This method uses a series of questionnaires to gather expert opinions on a
specific issue, usually anonymously. Responses are summarized and fed back to the group for
further consideration in subsequent rounds, aiming for a consensus. This technique is particularly
useful when dealing with complex or geographically dispersed groups.
4. Consensus Decision-Making: This technique focuses on reaching an agreement among all
group members. It involves open discussion, idea generation, and modification of proposals to
address concerns and achieve a final decision that everyone can support. Consensus decision-
making can foster a strong sense of ownership and commitment.
5. Majority Voting: In this method, the option that receives the most votes is selected as the
decision. It's a simple and efficient approach, especially for large groups, but it may not foster as
much buy-in from those who voted against the chosen option.
6. Devil's Advocacy: This technique involves appointing one or more individuals to challenge
the proposed solutions and identify potential flaws. This helps to ensure that all possible
weaknesses are considered before a final decision is made.
7. Stepladder Technique: This method involves adding members to a decision-making group one
at a time, with each new member sharing their ideas before hearing from the others. This can
help to reduce the influence of groupthink and ensure that all members have a chance to
contribute.
Team Building

Definition: Team building is a management technique used for improving the efficiency and
performance of the workgroups through various activities. It involves a lot of skills, analysis and
observation for forming a strong and capable team. The whole sole motive here is to achieve the
organization vision and objectives.

Now, you must be wondering; How to Build a Great Team?

Forming a great team requires a lot of skills and presence of mind. Usually, some managers
specialize in team-building skills and are hired by the companies on this parameter.

The manager responsible for team building must be able to find out the strengths and weaknesses
of the team members and create the right mix of people with different skill sets. He must focus
on developing strong interpersonal relations and trust among the team members.

The manager must encourage communication and interaction among the team members and also
reduce stress with the help of various team-building activities.

He must clearly define the goals and objectives of the organization to the team members. He
must also specify the role of each member in the team to direct them towards the achievement of
the organizational goals.

Content: Team Building

1. Process
2. Advantages
3. Disadvantages
4. Example

Team Building Process

Team building is not a one-time act. It is a step by step process which aims at bringing a
desirable change in the organization. Teams are usually formed for a particular task or project
and are mostly for the short term.
The various steps involved in team building are as follows:

Identify the Need for Team Building

The manager has first to analyze the requirement of a team for completing a particular task. It
should find out the purpose of the work to be performed, required skills for the job and its
complexity before forming a team.

Define Objectives and Required Set of Skills

Next comes the chalking down of the organizational objectives and the skills needed to fulfil it.

Consider Team Roles

The manager considers the various aspects, i.e. the interactions among the individuals, their roles
and responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses, composition and suitability of the possible team
members.

Determine a Team Building Strategy

Now, the manager has to understand the operational framework well to ensure an effective team
building. He must himself be assured of the objectives, roles, responsibilities, duration,
availability of resources, training, the flow of information, feedback and building trust in the
team.

Develop a Team of Individuals

At this stage, the individuals are collected to form a team together. Each member is made
familiar with his roles and responsibilities within the team.

Establish and Communicate the Rules

The rules regarding the reporting of team members, meeting schedules, and decision making
within the team are discussed. The individuals are encouraged to ask questions and give their
views to develop open and healthy communication in the team.

Identify Individual’s Strengths

Various team-building exercises are conducted to bring out the strengths of the individuals. It
also helps in familiarizing the team members with each other’s strengths and weakness.

Be a Part of the Team

At this point, the manager needs to get involved with the team as a member and not as a boss.
Making the individuals realize their importance in the team and treating each member equally is
necessary. The team members should see their manager as their team leader, mentor and role
model.

Monitor Performance

Next step is checking the productivity and performance of the team as a whole. It involves
finding out loopholes and the reasons for it. This step is necessary to improve the team’s
performance and productivity in the long run.

Schedule Meetings

One of the most crucial steps is to hold purposeful meetings from time to time to discuss team
performance, task-related problems and discuss the future course of action.

Dissolve the Team

Lastly, the manager needs to evaluate the results and reward the individuals on their contribution
and achievement. Finally, the team is dispersed on the fulfilment of the objective for which it
was formed.
Advantages of Team Building

Team building has radically evolved as a technique to develop and manage effective teams in the
workplace.

The aim to achieve long-term organizational objectives developed the need for carrying out team
building activities frequently.

Let us now discuss the various benefits of team building to an organization

rganization vision and objectives.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONAL

In organizational behavior, interpersonal relationships refer to the interactions and connections

between individuals within an organization, including relationships with supervisors,
 subordinates, and peers. These relationships are crucial for effective teamwork, communication,
and overall organizational success. Strong interpersonal relationships foster a positive work
environment, enhance employee morale, and contribute to increased productivity and goal
attainment

Interpersonal Relationships in Organizational Behavior:

• Communication:
Effective communication is the foundation of strong interpersonal relationships. It involves
both verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, and feedback exchange.
• Trust and Respect:
Mutual trust and respect are essential for building healthy relationships. When employees trust
their colleagues and supervisors, they are more likely to collaborate effectively and share
information openly.
• Teamwork and Collaboration:
Interpersonal relationships play a vital role in fostering teamwork and collaboration. When
individuals work well together, they can leverage their collective strengths and achieve
common goals.
• Conflict Resolution:
Interpersonal relationships can also be a source of conflict. However, effective communication
and conflict resolution skills are essential for managing disagreements and maintaining
positive relationships.
Organisation communication:
What is Organizational Communication?
Organizational communication is the process of creating, sharing and interpreting information
for an organization. It is defined as message transmission among people and groups in the
organizational structure, aimed at creating a common understanding and facilitating
coordination to ultimately further the achievement of organisational objectives. Organizational
communication refers to formal and informal avenues of transmission through which
formation is transmitted within an organization.

1. Formal Communication: Formal Communication also known as official communication is

the communication in which information reaches through formal routes. The primary objective
of this communication is to communicate correctly and ensure that the information is conveyed
correctly. This form of communication is considered an efficient mode as it’s time-saving and
has organised its flow.
2. Informal Communication: Communication that doesn't use formal means to communicate
is referred to as informal communication. Individuals, and/or subordinates do not adhere to the
strict policies of the company. People talk to each other without any restrictions. Informal
communication at the organizational level is considered to be spontaneous, where subordinates
and their superiors can freely talk in the absence of official rules, systems or instructions to
communicate. One of the most common forms of informal communication is talking to your
friends or family.
3. Lateral or Horizontal Communication: Communication that takes place between
individuals or groups on the same rung of the hierarchy. It makes it easier to coordinate, find
solutions and share information between colleagues working in different departments or teams.
4. External Communication: Customer Communication: Customers must interact through
various channels, including customer support, marketing materials and product informing of
items or services.
5. Supplier Communication: Contacting suppliers about orders, deliveries and other business
topics.
Importance of Organizational Communication
Organizational communication is really fundamental in any workplace and has a vital role to
play in the success and sustainability of an organization. Here are several key reasons
highlighting the importance of organizational communication:
1. Efficient Workflow: Effective communication facilitates a good flow of information in the
organization. The successful transfer of information that is fast, accurate and evident becomes
naturally effective when doing tasks for the reason, that it lessens delays, thereby making it
more productive.
2. Coordination and Collaboration: Open communication is essential for coordinating the
efforts of team members and departments. It encourages collaboration and ensures that
employees work towards common organizational goals thereby adding a sense of coherence
within the organization.
3. Decision-Making: Good informed decision-making is largely pegged on correct and timely
information. Organizational communication makes it possible for those who make decisions to
have the data and insights pertinent to making good choices that are relevant to what an
organization intends or would like to achieve.
4. Employee Engagement and Morale: Open and easy communication increases the level of
employee engagement at those levels. When employees feel informed, involved and valued
they are more likely to be motivated engaged satisfied with their role.
5. Conflict Resolution: Misunderstandings and clashes can happen anywhere in the
workplace. It helps to identify and neutralise conflicts almost immediately by effective
communication. Open conversations enable an understanding of the vision of other people and
prevent situations from worsening.

Control

Definition: Control is a primary goal-oriented function of management in an organisation. It is a

process of comparing the actual performance with the set standards of the company to
ensure that activities are performed according to the plans and if not then taking corrective
action.

Features of Controlling

➢ An effective control system has the following features:

➢ It helps in achieving organizational goals.
➢ Facilitates optimum utilization of resources.
 ➢ It evaluates the accuracy of the standard.
➢ It also sets discipline and order.
➢ Motivates the employees and boosts employee morale.
➢ Ensures future planning by revising standards.
➢ Improves overall performance of an organization.
➢ It also minimises errors.
Controlling and planning are interrelated for controlling gives an important input into the next
planning cycle. Controlling is a backwards-looking function which brings the management cycle
back to the planning function. Planning is a forward-looking process as it deals with the forecasts
about the future conditions.

Process of Controlling
Control process involves the following steps as shown in the figure:

➢ Establishing standards: This means setting up of the target which needs to be achieved
to meet organisational goals eventually. Standards indicate the criteria of performance.
➢ Control standards are categorized as quantitative and qualitative standards. Quantitative
standards are expressed in terms of money. Qualitative standards, on the other hand,
includes intangible items.

➢ Measurement of actual performance: The actual performance of the employee is

measured against the target. With the increasing levels of management, the measurement
of performance becomes difficult.
➢ Comparison of actual performance with the standard: This compares the degree of
difference between the actual performance and the standard.
➢ Taking corrective actions: It is initiated by the manager who corrects any defects in
actual performance.
 Controlling process thus regulates companies’ activities so that actual performance conforms to
the standard plan. An effective control system enables managers to avoid circumstances which
cause the company’s loss.

Types of control

There are three types of control viz.,

1. Feedback Control: This process involves collecting information about a finished task, assessing
that information and improvising the same type of tasks in the future.
2. Concurrent control: It is also called real-time control. It checks any problem and examines it to
take action before any loss is incurred. Example: control chart.
3. Predictive/ feedforward control: This type of control helps to foresee problem ahead of
occurrence. Therefore action can be taken before such a circumstance arises.
In an ever-changing and complex environment, controlling forms an integral part of the
organization.

Advantages of controlling

• Saves time and energy

• Allows managers to concentrate on important tasks. This allows better utilization of the
managerial resource.
• Helps in timely corrective action to be taken by the manager.
• Managers can delegate tasks so routinely chores can be completed by subordinates.
On the contrary, controlling suffers from the constraint that the organization has no control over
external factors. It can turn out to be a costly affair, especially for small companies.
 Unit-4
Leadership and power

What is leadership?

Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or
members of an organization, society or team. Leadership often is an attribute tied to a person's
title, seniority or ranking in a hierarchy. However, it's an attribute anyone can have or attain,
even those without leadership positions. It's a developable skill that can be improved over time.

Leaders are found and required in most aspects of society, including business, politics, religion
and social- and community-based organizations. Leaders are seen as people who make sound and
sometimes difficult decisions. They articulate a clear vision, establish achievable goals and
provide followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals.

An effective leader has the following characteristics: self-confidence, strong communication and
management skills, creative and innovative thinking, perseverance, willingness to take risks,
open to change, levelheaded and reactiveness in times of crisis.

In business, individuals who exhibit leadership traits can ascend to executive management or C-
level positions, such as chief executive officer (CEO), chief information officer (CIO) and
president. Individuals who have exhibited strong leadership in the technology industry include
Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The historical Important studies on leadership

The lowa leadership studies

The Iowa Leadership Studies, conducted in the 1930s by Kurt Lewin, Ronald Lippitt, and Ralph
White, were pivotal in shifting the focus of leadership research from traits to behaviour. These
studies explored the impact of different leadership styles – autocratic, democratic, and laissez-
faire – on group dynamics and productivity. The research demonstrated that leadership style
significantly affects group performance and member satisfaction, with democratic leadership
generally proving more effective and preferred by group members.

The Ohio State Leadership Studies,

Initiated in the 1940s, were a significant contribution to the field of leadership studies
by identifying two key dimensions of leader behavior: consideration and initiating
structure. These studies moved beyond the focus on leader traits to examine observable
behaviors, demonstrating that effective leadership involves both people-oriented and task-
oriented actions.

The early Michigan leadership studies

The early Michigan leadership studies, conducted in the 1950s, were instrumental in shifting the
focus of leadership research from personality traits to observable behaviours. These studies
identified two primary leadership styles: employee-oriented and production-oriented. They
emphasized that effective leadership involved a focus on both employee needs and task
accomplishment, with a later emphasis on employee orientation as a key factor in high-producing
performance.
Importance of leadership:

1. Setting a Clear Direction and Vision:

Leaders define a clear vision for the organization and communicate it effectively to the team,
providing a roadmap for achieving goals. This shared vision motivates and aligns team members,
ensuring everyone is working towards a common objective.

2. Inspiring and Motivating Teams:

Good leaders inspire and motivate their teams by fostering a positive and supportive
environment. They recognize and appreciate individual contributions, encouraging employees to
reach their full potential.

3. Fostering a Positive Work Environment:

Leadership shapes the organizational culture, influencing how employees interact with each
other and with the company. Effective leaders promote open communication, collaboration, and
trust, creating a more positive and productive workplace.

4. Making Informed Decisions:

Leaders play a crucial role in decision-making, particularly in challenging situations. They
analyze information, weigh options, and make timely decisions that align with the organization's
goals and values.

5. Driving Innovation and Change:

Leaders who are adaptable and creative can drive innovation and help the organization navigate
change effectively. They encourage experimentation and learning, enabling the organization to
stay competitive and thrive.

6. Developing People and Building Trust:

Effective leaders invest in their team members' development, providing training and
opportunities for growth. They also build trust by being accountable, honest, and transparent in
their actions.

7. Improving Morale and Reducing Turnover:

By fostering a positive and supportive work environment, leaders can significantly improve
employee morale and reduce turnover. When employees feel valued and motivated, they are
more likely to be engaged and committed to the organization.
In essence, leadership is the catalyst for organizational success, impacting everything from
employee morale to overall performance and growth

Leadership styles:
1. Autocratic Leadership

➢ Leader makes decisions unilaterally.

➢ Little input from team members.
➢ Effective in emergencies or highly structured environments.
➢ Example: Military command.

2. Democratic (Participative) Leadership

➢ Leader includes team members in decision-making.

➢ Encourages collaboration and idea-sharing.
➢ Improves job satisfaction and innovation.
➢ Example: Project management teams.

3. Transformational Leadership

➢ Focuses on inspiring and motivating followers toward innovation and change.

➢ Strong vision and enthusiasm.
➢ Builds a high-performance culture.
➢ Example: Start-up founders, visionary CEOs.

4. Transactional Leadership

➢ Based on clear roles, structured tasks, and rewards/punishments.

➢ Emphasizes efficiency and performance.
➢ Works well in routine or structured organizations.
➢ Example: Sales teams, manufacturing.

5. Laissez-Faire Leadership

➢ Hands-off approach; team members make decisions.

➢ Works well with skilled, self-motivated employees.
➢ Can lead to lack of direction if misused.
➢ Example: Creative or research teams.

6. Servant Leadership

➢ Focuses on meeting the needs of team members.

➢ Leader supports and develops others.
➢ Promotes strong team loyalty and trust.
➢ Example: Non profits, education.

7. Situational Leadership

➢ Leader adapts their style based on team needs and task requirements.
➢ Flexible and responsive.
 ➢ Example: A manager handling a mix of new and experienced staff.

Theories of leadership

1 Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

Definition:

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory focuses on the relationship quality between a
leader and each individual team member. Unlike other theories that treat all followers the same,
LMX emphasizes that leaders form unique, individualized relationships with each subordinate.

Core Idea:

Leadership effectiveness depends on the quality of the dyadic (two-person) relationship between
the leader and each member. These relationships can range from high-quality (in-group) to low-
quality (out-group).

Two Types of Exchanges:

High-Quality Exchange (In-Group) Low-Quality Exchange (Out-Group)

Mutual trust and respect Formal, distant relationship
Open communication Less frequent interaction
Support and influence Task-based interaction only
Greater access to resources Limited support
Higher satisfaction and performance Lower motivation

Key Assumptions:

➢ Leaders do not treat all subordinates the same.

➢ Quality of relationships impacts job performance, commitment, and satisfaction.
➢ Employees in the “in-group” receive more benefits, such as mentorship, input in decisions,
and career development.
Stages of LMX Relationship Development:

➢ Role-Taking: Initial interactions; leader assesses follower’s capabilities.

➢ Role-Making: Trust develops; informal agreements form.
➢ Routinization: Relationship becomes stable and predictable.

Advantages:

➢ Recognizes individual differences in work relationships.

➢ Encourages leaders to build better relationships with all employees.
➢ Associated with higher team performance and morale.

Criticisms:

Can lead to favoritism or perceptions of inequality.

“Out-group” members may feel excluded or demotivated.

Example:

In a sales team, a manager may regularly meet with and coach top performers (in-group),
offering them opportunities and flexibility, while giving minimal feedback to average performers
(out-group). Over time, this leads to differentiated relationships that impact motivation and
output.

Attribution Theory of Leadership

Definition:

The Attribution Theory of Leadership focuses on how people interpret and make judgments
about a leader’s behavior based on observed actions and outcomes. It suggests that followers try
to understand a leader’s effectiveness by attributing causes to their actions and decisions.

It’s about how we "explain" a leader’s success or failure.

Core Idea:

People observe behavior → interpret results → make assumptions about a leader’s qualities (like
intelligence, competence, or intentions).

Key Concepts:
 Causal Attribution:

Followers assign reasons for a leader's behaviour or outcomes:

Internal cause: "The leader is skilled."

External cause: "The situation helped them succeed."

Fundamental Attribution Error:

People often overestimate personal factors (like traits) and underestimate external
circumstances when judging a leader’s actions.

Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs):

Followers have mental templates or stereotypes about what a leader should be like.

If someone fits the template, they are more likely to be seen as a "good leader."

Example:

A team performs well after a manager joins → Employees may attribute success to the
manager’s skills.

If things go wrong → They might say the leader is incompetent, even if external factors were
responsible.

3 .Charismatic Leadership Style

Definition:

Charismatic leadership is a style where the leader uses personal charm, inspiration, and
persuasive communication to influence and motivate followers. Charismatic leaders are often
seen as visionary, confident, and emotionally engaging.

“They lead with their personality, passion, and power to inspire.”

Key Characteristics:

Trait Description
🔹 Visionary Thinking Clear, compelling long-term vision for change or improvement.
🔹 Confidence High self-assurance and decisiveness.
🔹 Emotional Appeal Connects deeply with followers’ feelings and values.
🔹 Communication Skills Persuasive, motivating, and impactful speaking.
 Trait Description
🔹 Role Modeling Sets an example others want to follow.
🔹 Sensitivity to Followers Understands needs and concerns of others.

Real-World Examples:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Inspired social change through powerful speeches and vision.

Steve Jobs – Motivated teams through product vision, passion, and presence.

Mahatma Gandhi – Guided a movement with moral authority and emotional leadership.

How It Works:

Leader articulates a compelling vision.

Instills belief and emotional commitment in followers.

Leads through inspiration more than structure or rewards.

Creates loyalty and devotion, often leading to major transformations.

Advantages:

Motivates people to achieve beyond expectations.

Sparks innovation and organizational change.

Builds strong team morale and loyalty.

Effective in crisis or when major change is needed.

Disadvantages:

Can become too leader-dependent (cult of personality).

Success may rely on leader's presence—hard to sustain long-term.

Risk of manipulation if used unethically.

Often lacks structure or delegation.

Leaders vs managers

In organizational behaviour, managers focus on maintaining order and efficiency through

planning, organizing, and controlling resources, while leaders inspire and motivate teams to
achieve a shared vision. Managers implement strategies, while leaders set the direction and
inspire change. While both roles are essential, they require different skill sets and approaches.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Manager:

• Focus: Tasks, processes, and achieving short-term objectives.

• Approach: Organizes, controls, and directs activities to ensure efficient execution.
• Key Responsibilities: Planning, budgeting, staffing, delegating, and monitoring
performance.
• Influence: Based on authority and position within the organization.
• Change: Reacts to changes and implements strategies to maintain stability.
• Example: A manager might ensure that deadlines are met, resources are allocated
effectively, and team members are performing their assigned tasks.

Leader:

• Focus: People, long-term vision, and inspiring change.

• Approach: Inspires, motivates, and empowers individuals to achieve a shared vision.
• Key Responsibilities: Setting direction, developing people, fostering innovation, and
managing change.
• Influence: Based on inspiration, trust, and personal example.
• Change: Proactively seeks opportunities for change and growth.
• Example: A leader might inspire a team to embrace a new technology, develop a new
product, or enter a new market.

Key Differences Summarized:

Feature Manager Leader

Focus Tasks, processes, efficiency People, vision, change

Approach Control, organize, direct Inspire, motivate, empower

Influence Authority Inspiration, trust

Change Reacts, maintains status quo Drives, seeks opportunities

Example Ensures deadlines are met Inspires team to embrace a new technology
 Sources of power

In organizational behavior, power can stem from various sources, including formal positions,
personal attributes, and access to information. The five key bases of power, often cited in
leadership and organizational studies, are legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent
power. These power sources can be used individually or in combination to influence others and
achieve organizational goals.

Formal Power:

Legitimate Power:
Derived from one's formal position or role within the organizational hierarchy. This is the
power to make decisions and give orders based on the authority granted by the organization.
Reward Power:
Arises from the ability to provide rewards or recognition to others. This can include
promotions, bonuses, or positive feedback.
Coercive Power:
The ability to punish or penalize others for not complying with requests or expectations. This
might involve disciplinary actions, demotions, or termination.
Personal Power:
Expert Power:
Based on specialized knowledge, skills, or expertise that others value. Individuals with expert
power are seen as valuable resources and can influence others through their knowledge and
abilities.
Referent Power:
Arises from admiration, respect, and charisma. People are influenced by those they admire and
want to emulate, often because of personal qualities or leadership style.
Informational Power:
Access to and control over valuable information that others need. This can include data,
insights, or knowledge that is relevant to decision-making or problem-solving.
Connection Power:
Derived from relationships and networks, both within and outside the organization. Having
strong connections can provide access to resources, information, and support.
Network Power:
The ability to influence others through one's position in a network of relationships. This can
involve controlling access to information, resources, or opportunities.

POWER CENTERS

1.Structural/Positional Power Centers

Concept: Power is derived from the formal structure of the organization.

Explanation: Individuals who occupy important roles (e.g., managers, directors) automatically
hold power due to organizational hierarchy.

Examples:

• CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

• Head of Department
• Project Manager

Keywords: Legitimate power, authority, chain of command

2. Resource-Based Power Centers

Concept: Power arises from control over critical resources.

Explanation: People or departments who control money, information, or assets become centers of
power.
Examples:

• Finance Department (controls budget)

• HR (controls recruitment/reward)
• IT/Admin (controls systems/infrastructure)

Keywords: Resource control, dependency, access to assets

3. Expertise-Based Power Centers

Concept: Power is based on knowledge, skill, or expertise.

Explanation: Those with specialized knowledge are relied upon for decisions, giving them
informal power.

Examples:

• IT specialist solving critical systems

• Data analyst providing business insights
• Legal advisor interpreting laws

Keywords: Expert power, technical knowledge, problem-solving

4. Personal/Charismatic Power Centers

Concept: Power is based on personality, relationships, or charisma.

Explanation: Individuals gain influence because they are respected, trusted, or admired.

Examples:

• Charismatic team leader

• Informal mentor within a team
• Popular employee with wide support

Keywords: Referent power, personal influence, interpersonal trust

5. Political/Network Power Centers

Concept: Power is derived from alliances, coalitions, or political behavior.

Explanation: People gain influence by forming strategic relationships or navigating office
politics effectively.

Examples:

• Employees with strong connections to top management

• Union leaders
• Influencers within informal networks
Keywords: Political behavior, coalition, alliance, networking

6. Informational Power Centers

Concept: Power is based on access to critical or exclusive information.

Explanation: Controlling the flow of information gives people power over decisions and
communication.

Examples:

• Executive Assistant to CEO

• MIS/Research departments
• Internal auditors

Keywords: Information control, gatekeeping, data access

POWERS AND POLITICS

Power and politics are integral aspects of organizational behaviour, referring to the processes by
which individuals and groups within an organization acquire and use power to influence
decisions and outcomes. While often viewed negatively, organizational politics, when managed
effectively, can be a natural and even necessary part of organizational life.

Power in an organizational context refers to an individual's or group's capacity to influence the

behavior, decisions, and actions of others. It can stem from formal positions (like a manager's
authority) or informal sources (like expertise or personal relationships). Types of power include:
 Legitimate Power: Based on one's formal position or authority.
Reward Power: The ability to provide rewards for compliance.
Coercive Power: The ability to punish for non-compliance.
Expert Power: Based on specialized knowledge or skills.
Referent Power: Derived from personal relationships and charisma.
Information Power: Control over the flow of information.
Ecological Power: Control over the physical environment or resources.
Organizational Politics encompasses the activities individuals or groups engage in to acquire,
develop, and use power to achieve their goals within the organization. These activities can range
from subtle tactics like building coalitions to more overt actions like using one's position to
influence decisions.

Impacts of Organizational Politics:

Positive Impacts:
When managed effectively, politics can help organizations adapt to change, resolve conflicts,
and mobilize resources.
Negative Impacts:
High levels of political behavior can lead to decreased job satisfaction, lower organizational
commitment, increased stress, and ultimately, reduced performance.
Managing Power and Politics:

Promoting Transparency:
Open communication and clear decision-making processes can reduce the need for political
maneuvering.
Encouraging Collaboration:
Building a culture of teamwork and cooperation can foster a more positive and productive
environment.
Developing Political Skill:
Individuals can learn to navigate political dynamics more effectively through training and
development programs.
Addressing Inequities:
Addressing power imbalances and ensuring fair treatment can help mitigate the negative
effects of politics.
In essence, understanding and managing power and politics is crucial for organizational
success. While it's important to be aware of the potential downsides, organizations that
acknowledge and address these dynamics can create a more effective and equitable environment
for everyone