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MB0022
3 credits

Registration No.: 520911739

January 07, 2010

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Q (1) Explain the managerial roles and managerial skills.

Answer:

Managerial Roles
According to Mintzberg (1973), managerial roles are as follows:

1. Informational roles

2. Decisional roles

3. Interpersonal roles

1. Informational roles: This involves the role of assimilating and disseminating

information as and when required. Following are the main sub roles, which managers
often perform:

a. Monitor-collecting information from organizations, both from inside and outside of the
organization

b. Disseminator-communicating information to organizational members

c. Spokesperson-representing the organization to outsiders

2. Decisional roles: It involves decision making. Again, this role can be subdivided in to
the following:

a. Entrepreneur-initiating new ideas to improve organizational performance

b. Disturbance handlers-taking corrective action to cope with adverse situation

c. Resource allocators-allocating human, physical, and monetary resources

d. Negotiator - negotiating with trade unions, or any other stakeholders

3. Interpersonal roles: This role involves activities with people working in the
organization. This is supportive role for informational and decisional roles. Interpersonal
roles can be categorized under three subheadings:

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a. Figurehead-Ceremonial and symbolic role

b. Leadership-leading organization in terms of recruiting, motivating etc.

c. Liaison-liasoning with external bodies and public relations activities.

Management Skills
Katz (1974) has identified three essential management skills: technical, human, and
conceptual.

Technical skills: The ability is to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. All jobs
require some specialized expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the
job. Vocational and on the job training programs can be used to develop this type of skill.

Human Skill : This is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people
(both individually and a group). This requires sensitivity towards others issues and
concerns. People, who are proficient in technical skill, but not with interpersonal skills,
may face difficulty to manage their subordinates. To acquire the Human Skill, it is
pertinent to recognize the feelings and sentiments of others, ability to motivate others
even in adverse situation, and communicate own feelings to others in a positive and
inspiring way.

Conceptual Skill: This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a situation and

forward a feasible solution. It requires creative thinking, generating options and choosing
the best available option.

Q (2) Describe the contemporary work cohort.

Answer:

Robbins (2003) has proposed Contemporary Work Cohort, in which the unique value of
different cohorts is that the U.S. workforce has been segmented by the era they entered
the workforce. Individuals’ values differ, but tend to reflect the societal values of the
period in which they grew up.

The cohorts and the respective values have been listed below:

1. Veterans - Workers who entered the workforce from the early 1940s through the early
1960s.They exhibited the following value orientations:

They were influenced by the Great Depression and World War II

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1. Believed in hard work

2. Tended to be loyal to their employer
3. Terminal values: Comfortable life and family security

2. Boomers - Employees who entered the workforce during the 1960s through the
mid1980s belonged to this category. Their value orientations were:

1. Influenced heavily by John F. Kennedy, the civil rights and feminist movements, the
Beatles, the Vietnam War, and babyboom competition
2. Distrusted authority, but gave a high emphasis on achievement and material success
3. Organizations who employed them were vehicles for their careers
4. Terminal values: sense of accomplishment and social recognition

3. Xers - began to enter the workforce from the mid1980s.

They cherished the following values:
1. Shaped by globalization, twocareer parents, MTV, AIDS, and computers
2. Value flexibility, life options, and achievement of job satisfaction
3. Family and relationships were important and enjoyed teamoriented work
4. Money was important, but would trade off for increased leisure time Value, Ethics And

5. Less willing to make personal sacrifices for employers than previous generations
6. Terminal values: true friendship, happiness, and pleasure

4. Nexters - most recent entrants into the workforce.

1. Grew up in prosperous times, have high expectation, believe in themselves, and

confident in their ability to succeed
2. Neverending search for ideal job; see nothing wrong with jobhopping
3. Seek financial success
4. Enjoy team work, but are highly self-reliant
5. Terminal values: freedom and comfortable life

Q (3) Elaborate the issues related to culture and emotion.

Answer:
There are two Views of Culture and Emotion:

Universality Emotions are part of human nature and in all cultures universally the same
set of basic emotions. Based on his crosscultural research, Ekman (1999) has found six
emotions which are universally recognized and applicable. They are:

1.Anger
2.Fear

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3.Sadness
4.Happiness
5.Disgust
6.Surprise.

Cultural specificity Human beings are like a tabula rasa (clean tablet) on which society
writes its script. In other words, culture and traditions, normative patterns and value
orientations are responsible for not only our personality development, but also
appropriate social and emotional development. This makes us functional entities in
society. Each culture has a unique set of emotions and emotional responses; the emotions
shown in a particular culture reflects the norms, values, practices, and language of that
culture .

Alexithymia emotional disorder

Some people have difficulty in expressing their emotions and understanding the emotions
of others.Psychologists call this alexithymia. People who suffer from alexithymia rarely
cry and are often seen by others as bland and cold. Their own feelings make them
uncomfortable, and they are not able to discriminate among their different emotions.
People, suffering from alexithymia, may be effective performers in jobs where little or no
emotional labor. Alexithymic symptoms may be seen in people who experience:

1.Posttraumatic stress disorder

2.Certain brain injuries
3. Eating disorders (i.e., bulimia, anorexia, or bingeeating disorder)
4. Substance use dependence
5. Depression
6. Other mental health conditions

Relationship of gender with emotion.

A number of research findings supports the view that women are more emotional than
men (e.g.,Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972; Widiger &
Settle, 1987). Women are assumed to experience more frequent and intense emotions,
whereas men are assumed to be emotionally inexpressive and to have less intense
emotional experiences. However, researchers have argued that the stereotype of men as
unemotional is more accurate for adult targets than for child targets because males learn
to control their emotions as they get older (Fabes and Martin,1991).
 
Likewise, women and men may experience happiness in a similar way, but women have
been taught that they can strongly express the emotion of happiness, whereas men have
been taught to control it. The impact of socialization practices accumulate over time, and,
thus, these stereotypes are likely to apply more strongly to adult populations (Geer and
Shields, 1996).

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Q (4) Discuss the assumption of Douglas Mc Gregor (Theory X

and Theory Y)
Answer:

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor in his book, "The Human Side of Enterprise" published in 1960 has
examined theories on behavior of individuals at work, and he has formulated two models
which he calls Theory X and Theory Y.

Theory X Assumptions

The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.

• Because of their dislike for work, most people must be controlled and threatened
before they will work hard enough.
• The average human prefers to be directed, dislikes responsibility, is unambiguous,
and desires security above everything.
• These assumptions lie behind most organizational principles today, and give rise
both to "tough" management with punishments and tight controls, and "soft"
management which aims at harmony at work.
• Both these are "wrong" because man needs more than financial rewards at work,
he also needs some deeper higher order motivation - the opportunity to fulfill
himself.
• Theory X managers do not give their staff this opportunity so that the employees
behave in the expected fashion.

Theory Y Assumptions

• The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.
• Control and punishment are not the only ways to make people work, man will
direct himself if he is committed to the aims of the organization.
• If a job is satisfying, then the result will be commitment to the organization.
• The average man learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek
responsibility.
• Imagination, creativity, and ingenuity can be used to solve work problems by a
large number of employees.
• Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the
average man are only partially utilized.

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Comments on Theory X and Theory Y Assumptions

These assumptions are based on social science research which has been carried out, and
demonstrate the potential which is present in man and which organizations should
recognize in order to become more effective.

McGregor sees these two theories as two quite separate attitudes. Theory Y is difficult to
put into practice on the shop floor in large mass production operations, but it can be used
initially in the managing of managers and professionals.

In "The Human Side of Enterprise" McGregor shows how Theory Y affects the
management of promotions and salaries and the development of effective managers.
McGregor also sees Theory Y as conducive to participative problem solving.

It is part of the manager's job to exercise authority, and there are cases in which this is the
only method of achieving the desired results because subordinates do not agree that the
ends are desirable.

However, in situations where it is possible to obtain commitment to objectives, it is better

to explain the matter fully so that employees grasp the purpose of an action. They will
then exert self-direction and control to do better work - quite possibly by better methods -
than if they had simply been carrying out an order which the y did not fully understand.

The situation in which employees can be consulted is one where the individuals are
emotionally mature, and positively motivated towards their work; where the work is
sufficiently responsible to allow for flexibility and where the employee can see her or his
own position in the management hierarchy. If these conditions are present, managers will
find that the participative approach to problem solving leads to much improved results
compared with the alternative approach of handing out authoritarian orders.

Once management becomes persuaded that it is under estimating the potential of its
human resources, and accepts the knowledge given by social science researchers and
displayed in Theory Y assumptions, then it can invest time, money and effort in
developing improved applications of the theory.

McGregor realizes that some of the theories he has put forward are unrealizable in
practice, but wants managers to put into operation the basic assumption that:

• Staff will contribute more to the organization if they are treated as responsible and
valued employees.

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Q (5) What is personal power – Explain different bases of

personal power?
Answer:

Power is the ability to make things happen in the way an individual wants, either by self
or by the subordinates. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others
(French & Raven, 1962). Managers derive power from both organizational and individual
sources. These sources are called position power and personal power, respectively.

Personal power resides in the individual and is independent of that individual's position. .

Three bases of personal power are:

1. Expertise,

2. Rational persuasion,

3. Reference.

Expert power is the ability to control another person's behavior by virtue of possessing
knowledge, experience, or judgment that the other person lacks, but needs. A subordinate
obeys a supervisor possessing expert power because the boss ordinarily knows more
about what is to be done or how it is to be done than does the subordinate. Expert power
is relative, not absolute.

However the table may turn in case the subordinate has superior knowledge or skills than
his/ her boss. In this age of technology driven environments, the second proposition holds
true in many occasions where the boss is dependent heavily on the juniors for
technologically oriented support.

Rational persuasion is the ability to control another's behavior, since, through the
individual's efforts; the person accepts the desirability of an offered goal and a viable way
of achieving it. Rational persuasion involves both explaining the desirability of expected
outcomes and showing how specific actions will achieve these outcomes.

Referent power is the ability to control another's behavior because the person wants to
identify with the power source. In this case, a subordinate obeys the boss because he or
she wants to behave, perceive, or believe as the boss does. This obedience may occur, for
example, because the subordinate likes the boss personally and therefore tries to do things
the way the boss wants them done. In a sense, the subordinate attempts to avoid doing
anything that would interfere with the pleasing boss-subordinate relationship.

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Followership is not based on what the subordinate will get for specific actions or specific
levels of performance, but on what the individual represents-a path toward lucrative
future prospects.

Charismatic Power is an extension of referent power stemming from an individual's

personality and interpersonal style. Others follow because they can articulate attractive
visions, take personal risks, demonstrate follower sensitivity, etc.

Q (6) Write a short note on potential sources of stress.

Answer:

While environmental factors are forces outside the organization, which may act as
potential sources of stress due to uncertainties and threats that they create for any
organization and its members, factors within organization can also act as potential source
of stress. Together or singly they may create a tense and volatile working environment
which can cause stress for organizational members because the inability of individuals to
handle the pressures arising out of these sources.

The following may be seen to be the potential sources of stress:

1) Environmental factors:

 Environmental uncertainty influences stress levels among employees in an

organization.
 Changes in the business cycle create economic uncertainties.
 Political uncertainties can be stress inducing.
 Technological uncertainty can cause stress because new innovations can make
an employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a very short period of time.

2) Organizational factors:

 Pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a limited time period, work

overload, a demanding and insensitive boss, and unpleasant coworkers are a
few examples.
 Task demands are factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of
the individual’s job (autonomy, task variety, degree of automation), working
conditions, and the physical work layout.
 Role demands relate to pressures that are a function of the role an individual
plays in an organization.

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a. Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or

satisfy.
b. Role overload is experienced when the employee is expected to do
more that time permits.
c. Role ambiguity is created when role expectations are not clearly
understood.
d. Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees.
e. Organizational structure defines the level of differentiation in the
organization, the degree of rules and regulations, and where
decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of participation in
decisions might be potential sources of stress.

Organizational leadership represents the managerial style of

organization’s senior executives. CEOs, by virtue of their
managerial styles create an organizational culture which reflects
tension, fear, and anxiety. They overemphasize tight control, hire
and fire policies which keep organizational members on hot seat
and create stress among them.

f. Individual factors:
g. These are factors in the employee’s personal life. Primarily, these
factors are family issues, personal economic problems, and
inherent personality characteristics.
h. Broken families, wrecked marriages and other family issues may
create stress at workplace as well.
i. Economic problems created by individuals overextending their
financial resources. Spending more than earnings stretches
financial positions, create debt situation leading to stress among
individuals.
j. A significant individual factor influencing stress is a person’s basic
dispositional nature. Over-suspicious anger and hostility increases
a person’s stress and risk for heart disease. These individuals with
high level of mistrust for others also cause stress for themselves.
k. Stressors are additive – stress builds up.

Individual Differences:

1. Five individual difference variables moderate the relationship between potential

stressors and experienced stress:
a. Perception
b. Job experience
c. Locus of control
d. Self-efficacy
e. Hostility

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a) Perception: Moderates the relationship between a potential stress

condition and an employee’s reaction to it. Stress potential doesn’t lie in
objective conditions; it lies in an employee’s interpretation of those
conditions.
b) Job experience: The evidence indicates that experience on the job tends
to be negatively related to work stress.

First is the idea of selective withdrawal. Voluntary turnover is more

probable among people who experience more stress.

Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms to deal with

stress.

Collegial relationships with coworkers or supervisors can buffer the

impact of stress.

c) Locus of control: Those with an internal locus of control believe they

control their own destiny. Internals perceive their jobs to be less stressful
than do externals.

Internals are likely to believe that they can have a significant effect on
the results.

Those with an external locus believe their lives are controlled by

outside forces.

Externals are more likely to be passive and feel helpless.

d) Self-efficacy: The confidence in one’s own abilities appears to decrease

stress.
e) Hostility: People who are quick to anger, maintain a persistently hostile
outlook, and project a cynical mistrust of others are more likely to
experience stress in situations.

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