COURSE GUIDE


BUS 322
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


Course Team	Dr.(Pst.) T. O. Ishola (Course Writer) - NOUN
Prof. C. P. Maduabum (Course Editor)-
NOUN
Dr. Yemisi I. Ogunlela HOD, Administration,FMS) - NOUN
Ihuoma Ikemba-Efughi (Course Coordinator) - NOUN






































NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
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National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island, Lagos

Abuja Office
5 Dar es Salaam Street Off Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II, Abuja


e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng URL:	www.nou.edu.ng


Published by:
National Open University of Nigeria Printed 2014
ISBN: 978-058-795-0

All Rights Reserved
 


CONTENTS	PAGE
Introduction ..................................................................	..........	iv
Course Content ..............................................................	..........	iv
Course Aims .....................................................................		iv
Objectives .....................................................................	..........	iv
Course Materials ..........................................................	..........	v
Study Units ..................................................................	..........	v
The Modules ................................................................	..........	v
Assignment ..................................................................	..........	vi
TMA ...........................................................................	..........	vi
Final Examination.......................................................	..........	vi
Summary .....................................................................	..........	vi












































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INTRODUCTION

Understanding organizational behaviour is a key skill for all staff so they can compete successfully in an ever-changing marketplace where the whole organization is able to respond quickly and together. For this to occur, managers and supervisors need to understand how and why individuals behave as they do and deliver a truly excellent organization. BUS 322: Organizational Behaviour, is a one-semester course work of two credit hours. It is available to all undergraduate students taking business related programme in the school of Management Sciences.

The course consists of 15 units of three modules which cover the concept and theory of organizational behaviour. The Course Guide tells you what BUS322 is all about, the materials you will be using and how to make use of them. Other information includes the self -assessment and tutor-marked assignment

COURSE CONTENT

The course content consists of management stuff and principles and practices in organization as well as the concepts, scope and contributors to the study of organizational behaviour and human relations.

COURSE AIMS

The aim of this course is to expose you to the basic management stuff and the concept and practices of organizational behaviour.

This aim will be achieved by taking a cursory look at:

•	The conceptual issues in management
•	The principles and practices in organizations
•	The concept and nature of people and organizations.

OBJECTIVES

After going through this course, you should be able to:

•	discuss the conceptual stuff of management
•	explain the perspectives of organizational behaviour
•	discuss the behaviour influencing forces in an organization like perception, personality motivation etc.
•	explain the principles and practices in organization.
 


COURSE MATERIALS

•	Course Guide
•	Study Units
•	Text Books
•	Assignment Guide STUDY UNITS Module 1
 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
 
Management Perspectives
The Stuff of Organizational Behaviour Principles and Practices in Organizations Roles and Role Expectation Management of Changes
 

Module 2

 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
 
Power and Control
The Concept of Status and Occupational Prestige
Perception Personality Concept Work Groups
 

Module 3

 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
 
Communication in Organizations
Motivation Motivational Processes Money
Organizational Structure
 

Each study unit will take at least two hours. You are expected to study each unit and answer the tutor-marked assignments.

THE MODULES

The course is divided into three modules. The first module addresses the following dimensions of organizational behaviour: management, the stuff of organizational behaviour, principles and practices in organizations, roles and role expectation and management of changes. The second module deals with influencing forces of behaviour in an organization including, power and control, the concept of status and occupational prestige, perception, personality concept and work groups. The third and the last module consist of five units including: communication in

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organizations, motivation, motivational processes, money and organizational structure.

ASSIGNMENT

Each unit consists of at least one assignment which you are expected to attempt.

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

You are expected to apply what you have learnt in the contents of the study unit to do the assignments and send them to your tutor for grading.

FINAL WRITTEN EXAMINATION

This will be done at the end of the course.

SUMMARY

This course, BUS 322 (Organizational Behaviour), exposes you to the theory of organization and the concept of staff morale and job performance. On successful completion of the course, you should have equipped yourself to face on-the-job challenges that may come your way.
 








CONTENTS	PAGE
Module 1	……………………………………………	1
Unit 1	Management Perspectives………………..	1
Unit 2	The Stuff of Organizational Behaviour….	10
Unit 3	Principles and Practices in Organizations..	18
Unit 4	Roles and Role Expectation………………	24
Unit 5	Management of Changes………………….	38
Module 2	…………………………………………….	48
Unit 1	Power and Control………………………..	48
Unit 2	The Concept of Status and Occupational	
	Prestige……………………………………	56
Unit 3	Perception…………………………………	62
Unit 4	Personality Concept………………………	70
Unit 5	Work Groups……………………………..	80
Module 3	…………………………………………….	90
Unit 1	Communication in Organizations……….	90
Unit 2	Motivation……………………………….	100
Unit 3	Motivational Processes………………….	113
Unit 4	Money……………………………………	124
Unit 5	Organizational Structure………………..	131
 


MODULE 1

Unit 1	Management Perspectives
Unit 2	The Stuff of Organizational Behaviour Unit 3	Principles and Practices in Organizations Unit 4	Roles and Role Expectations
Unit 5	Management of Changes


UNIT 1	MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	Management Perspectives
	Meaning of Management
	The Management Functions
	Management and Administration
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

Management is generally considered to have three major dimensions: technical, conceptual and human. The technical dimension consists of the manager’s expertise in computers, accounting, or purchasing or marketing. There seems to be little question that today’s managers are technically competent. While they know the technical requirement to improve their effectiveness in producing goods and services, there is still the need for better management. If a good job is already being done on the technical aspect, then it follows that more needs to be done on the conceptual and human dimensions for modern management. As it was recently pointed out, “while in speeches the importance of productivity have been stressed, not enough (business leaders) explicitly is taking steps to concentrate on productivity, measurement, incentives, labour- management relation/cooperation and employees involvement”. It is in the area of such new approaches that the field of Organizational Behaviour (O.B.) comes into the picture. Organizational behaviour is directly concerned with the conceptual and human side of management and with the application of techniques that most experts in productivity are talking about.
 


2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end this unit, you should be able to:

•	explain the different perspectives of management
•	discuss what managers do functionally
•	point out the distinction between management and administration.

	MAIN CONTENT

	Management Perspectives

In view of the variety of activities involved and the range of organizations in which management is practiced, it is not surprising that there is no generally accepted definition of management. Hence, like politics, management is a subject upon which many have strong views but few have been able to agree on a definition. There are however a number of popular views as to the meaning of management. This includes the reference to management as:

(i)	People

Management refers to people as a particular category of employees who are involved in the business of management. The operators at different levels of management are commonly called managers and there are many different types of managers, with diverse tasks and responsibilities.


(ii)	A discipline

Management in this sense is used to refer to an area of study. That is a well-developed body of knowledge detailing the science of getting things done in the most effective and efficient manner. And as a discipline, it can therefore be transmitted from one person to another.


(iii)	A profession

This means that management is practiced as a career with many persons today making their living as managers. Definitions however vary as to what constitute a profession but given the basic characteristics of a true profession, it seems that management is still not fully a profession.
 


(iv)	A science or art

Management is often referred to as an art because it deals with the practical application of both knowledge and skill to achieve an objective. And since it involves the use of certain management techniques, principles and theories that are today well developed and organised it is also called a science. It has, however, been argued that the science and art of management are not mutually exclusive, they are complimentary. As the science of management improves so should the art of management. A balance between the two is needed. Management will therefore always be a mixture of both art and science.

(v)	As a process (or activity). Perhaps the most useful view of management is that of management as process. A process is a systematic way of doing things. Management is defined as a process because all managers, regardless of their particular aptitudes or skills, engage in certain interrelated activities in order to achieve their desired goal. And as a process, management has been widely conceptualized and, or defined. For example:

•	Drucker (1973) sees management as the specific organ of the business enterprise. This is just like saying that the heart is the specific organ of the body.

•	Mac Farlan (1978) defines management as the process by which managers create, maintains, and operate a purposeful organisation through systematic co-ordinated human efforts.

•	Koontz O’ Donnell and Weihrich (1993) defined management as a process as the design or creation and maintenance of an internal environment in which people working together in group can perform effectively and efficiently towards the attainment of group goals. In other words, it is the undertaken of individuals to make their best contributions towards group objectives.

•	Rosemary Stewaart (1981) can be said to have summarized management as a process by saying it is deciding what to do and getting others to do it.

Indeed, management has often been defined as the accomplishment of goals through others. This may be an oversimplified definition but it leads us to some points that were made at the onset. The first point relates to the accomplishment of goals. Management in the true sense involves the accomplishment of goals or objectives and is not simply a position within a business. Many people have the word manager in their titles, but in actuality they merely preside over an activity rather than
 


manage it toward the accomplishment of a certain objective. The established goals may be explicit, finite, measurable or achievable, but where there are no goals; there is no need for management.

The second point in relation to the above definitions deals with the others aspects. Managers work with subordinates; management is therefore concerned with the direction and coordination of the effort of those people. Although every manager may have a few specific duties, which only he or she can perform, the role of a manager, strictly speaking, is based on the fact that the activities of subordinates must be coordinated and directed. In this sense, a manager may be more concerned with the accomplishments of subordinates than with his or her own, for their accomplishments mean the meeting of the overall goal or set objective.

Finally, in relation to the definitions, it must be recognised that it is applied to limited resources. Economic resources by definitions are scarce; therefore, the manager is responsible for their allocations. This requires the managers not only to be effective, (that is have the ability to achieve desired objectives) but also efficient (meaning achieving the goals with least amount of resources) in relation to input and output.

	The Management Functions

It must be stressed that management is a process or activity which takes place at all levels in an organization. It is not carried out only by people with ‘manager’ in their job title. Departmental heads, Supervisors, Foremen, Stores officers, Presidents or even Boy’s scout leader all performs managerial functions; although obviously not at the same capacity. It is the task which a person performs which is of importance not the job title. Hence managers, whoever they may be, tend to have the same set of functions in an organization. Thus, these activities are called management functions, because, they identify broadly with what managers do. These managerial functions are generally considered central to a discussion of management by authors.

The above perspectives as to the meaning of management clearly demonstrate that there are certain activities that are specifically managerial and a manager is known by performing these functions. He may perform these functions well or not, consciously or unconsciously, adequately or inadequately but he nevertheless performs them. These functions are generally grouped under the following headings: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling.
 


The planning function

Planning, simply put, is a decision making process that pertains to the future. In the managerial sense, planning is the determination of what to do and how to do it. It involves all activities leading to the formulation of objectives and deciding upon the means of meeting them. Planning therefore, is making decisions from many alternatives. Obviously, the manager must have knowledge of the many opportunities that present themselves and must have ability to create and develop opportunities, but in the long run he or she must be able to analyse the opportunities and to select the best one for the conditions that exist. The plan is the net results of the planning process.

The organizing function

In a very brief summary, the preparation required for managerial plans into action is called organizing. It is the managerial process of arranging and allocating work, authority and resources among an organization’s members so they can achieve an organization’s goals efficiently. Basically, organizing involves the determination of the activities required to achieve the established objectives, grouping these activities in logical basis for handling by a subordinate manager, and finally, assigning the designed jobs to different persons and work department to assist a manager in executing them. The net result of organizing is the organization structure.


The staffing function

Staffing is the managerial function of matching the right people with the right job. It has been broadly defined as filling, and keeping filled, the position vacancies in the organization structure through proper and effective recruitment, selection and development of qualified personnel to do the organization’s work (Koontz, O’Donnell et al., 1993 p. 356). Like organizing, this function is not performed once and abandoned; it must be constantly worked at in order to have qualified people available in the future to move into vacated positions or to allow the company to expand it activities.

This function, therefore, includes such things as the development of manpower requirement for all the various existing jobs. The appraisal and selection of candidates for dates and incumbents on jobs in order to improve their used for the managerial function of staffing is called human resources management.




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The directing function

To get things done through others, a manager is called upon to direct, supervise, motivate and lead his subordinates to do the assigned jobs effectively and willingly and strive to achieve the set objectives. His is the domain of directing as a managerial function. Directing assures the performance of the assign work by individual employees. Specifically, it has been defined as the managerial activity of providing all guidance and inspiration to people at work to carry out their assigned duties of responsibility. It included explaining procedures, offering instructions on the job, issuing order and directives and seeing to it that occurring errors are rectified in time.

The coordinating function

Coordination is not generally regarded as a separate function of the manager, but it is so essential to the successful performance of any manager. It is a managerial process whereby the effort of a group is synchronized or unified, so that the desired objective is easily achieved. If there are multiple goals in the people’s minds, coordination of effort may be impossible. To coordinate therefore means to unite all activities. Coordination is the central problem of an organization. Without coordination, people and departments would lose sight of their roles within the organization and be tempted to pursue their own special or personal interest often at the expense of the organizational goals. Thus, coordinating provides the requisite unity and harmony needed to attain organizational goals. Basically, coordination is interested in synchronization of all efforts provided in their proper amount, timing, direction and motivation so that all unified and harmonized activities can be performed in the proper sequence for achieving desired objective/s. Communications plays an important role in coordination as many breakdowns in coordinating efforts occur because people simply do not have the information or knowledge they need in order to bring about coordination.

The controlling function

Control is a primary management activity and is the function which attempt to maintain conformity between goals and results. Specifically, the managerial function of controlling is the process of monitoring subordinate performance whereby actual results are compared with planned or to amend in order to bring activities in line with plans or to amend the plans. Control in essence compels events to conform to plans. Compelling events to conform to plans invariable means that person/s are responsible for the deviation from plans and should take the steps necessary to see that these persons modify their performance.
 



Such corrective actions or steps can be taken, if needed, by replanning, reorganising, or redirecting. The implication is that, if some activities are not contributing to goal achievement, such activities are modified or even eliminated. Certain actual subordinate behaviour may have to be improved to raise performance to the desired level. Sometimes, objectives or performance standard may have to be modified, revised if they are unrealistically achievable. Although there are many aids or tools for the controlling process, basically things are controlled by controlling people.

	Management and Administration

There is often confusion over different interpretations of the two terms ‘management’ and ‘administration’. One of the main reasons for this confusion may result from the translation of Fayol’s book: Administration Industrielle et Generalle from French into English (Mullins, 1996). In the original 1929 English edition, there was a direct translation of ‘administration’, but in the wider republication of the book in 1949, the term ‘management’ replaced ‘administration’ in the title. In the introduction to the revised edition, Urwick regrets this change. He refers to Fayol’s use of the word administration as indicating a specific function which covers all tasks involved in the supervision of the work of others. It is not concerned with the status of those who exercise this function. Brech (1975), specifically defined administration as:
That part of management which is concerned with the installation and carrying out of the procedures by which the programme is laid down and communicated, and the progress of activities is regulated and checked against plans.

In this regard, administration is said to be a purposeful process, which involves the setting of objectives, the determination of policies and strategies, and the direction of people in some group purpose or endeavour. When we therefore talk of administration, we talk of the process whereby the objectives are realised.

Urwick also expresses concern at the possible division between management being seen to apply only to business organisation and (public) administration as applying to the same function; we talk of process whereby the objectives are realised. Dictionary definitions tend to see the two words as synonymous. Management is sometimes referred to as ‘administration of business concerns’.

There is clearly an overlap between the two terms and they tend to be used in accordance with the convenience of individual writers. This confirms the feeling that although most people perceive a difference
 


between the two terms, this difference is not easy to describe. The use of the term administration has traditionally been associated with public sector organizations, but the term management is now used increasingly. This can be seen in the publication of the report of the study group appointed to ‘examine management principles and structures in local government at both elected members and officer levels’. The report includes frequent reference to the corporate management, the management process and the management team. There is also an increasing number of books which examine management in the public sector.

There appears, therefore, to be a growing acceptance of the term management as the general descriptive label and administration as relating to the more specific function of the operation of procedures used by management. Administration can be seen as taking place in accordance with some sort of rules of procedures, whereas management implies a greater degree of discretion.

For the purpose of this book, administration is interpreted as part of the management process, and concerned with the design and implementation of systems and procedures to help meet stated objectives. Thus, the all-encompassing nature of management makes it specifically relevant for use for the purpose of this book.

4.0	CONCLUSION

You have been informed on the theoretical definition of management and the functions managers perform. You must have also learned about the conceptual difference between management and administration and the context in which each term is used.

5.0	SUMMARY

Management is a subject which many have strong views but few have been able to agree on a definition. There are, however, a number of popular views as to the meaning of management. Management in the true sense involves the accomplishment of goals or objectives and is not simply a position within a business. Many people have the word manager in their titles, but in actuality they merely preside over an activity rather than manage it toward the accomplishment of a certain objective.

Management is a process or activity, which takes place at all levels in an organisation. It is not carried out only by people with manager in their job title. Departmental heads, Supervisors, Foremen, Stores Officers, Presidents or even Boy’s scout leader all performs managerial functions;
 


although obviously not at all of the same type of equal importance. It is the task, which a person performs which is of importance not the job title. Hence managers, whoever they may be, have the same set of functions in an organization. Thus, these activities are called management functions, because, they identify broadly with what managers do. These managerial functions are generally considered central to a discussion of management by authors.

There is clearly an overlap between the terms management and administration and are tended to be used, therefore, in accordance with the convenience of individual writers. This confirms the feeling that although most people perceive a difference between the two terms, this difference is not easy to describe. The use of the term administration has traditionally been associated with public sector organizations, but the term management is now used increasingly.

6.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Why in your own view are the management functions considered central to a discussion of management?

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H. (1980). Management: A Book of Readings.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Hill, W. L. & Jones, R. J. (2004). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. (6th ed.). New Delhi: Biztantra.

Ishola, T. O. (2004). Management of Stores Activities. (1st ed.).
Wadtson Dusme International Ltd.

Stewart, R. (1991). Managing  Today  and  Tomorrow.	New York: Macmillan.
 








UNIT 2	THE STUFF OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	Definition and Perspectives of Organizational Behaviour
	Influences on Behaviour in an Organization
	Cultural Influences and Organizational Behaviour
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading


1.0	INTRODUCTION

Understanding organizational behaviour is a key skill for all staff so they can compete successfully in an ever changing marketplace where the whole organization is able to respond quickly and together. For this to occur, managers and supervisors need to understand how and why individuals behave as they do and deliver a truly excellent organization.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end this unit, you should be able to:

•	define organizational behaviour as a field of study
•	identify the various influences on behaviour in organizations and their impacts
•	describe the ways in which culture interacts with business.





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	MAIN CONTENT

	Definition and Perspectives of Organizational Behaviour (O.B.)

As a field of study, O.B is directly concerned with the understanding, prediction and control of human behaviour in organizations. It represents the behavioural approach to management though not the whole of management. In other words organizational behaviour does not intend to portray the whole of management since there are other recognized approaches to management including the process, qualitative system and contingency approaches.
The study of O.B. is generally concerned with how to understand, predict and influence human behaviour in organizations. It basically deals with the human aspect of business and industrial concern. It is a truth that organizations are faced with a mirage of intractable financial, technical, scientific problems etc., None is, however, more serious and challenging than the complex task of understanding why people behave the way they do in an organization.

In the past, managers and others possessing authority within (or over) organizations found it necessary to deal with such organizational problems largely through information. That is, they had to rely upon common sense, trial and error, or the proverbial “wisdom of the ages” in dealing or handling organization based problems. Indeed, in the past, most practicing managers either ignored the conceptual and human dimensions of their job or made some overtly simplistic assumptions. Most managers (then) thought and many still do, that their employees were basically lazy, that they were interested only in money and that if you could make them happy, they would be productive. Such assumption in a way presents management problems so clear-cut and easy to solve. Hence all management had to do was to devise monetary incentive plans, ensure security and provide good working conditions; by this morale would be high and maximum productivity would result. It was as simple as one, two, and three.

Unfortunately, this informal approach proved ineffective in practice. Although no real harm has been done, in fact some impressive results were recorded and some actually resulted in the early stage of organizational development. But it is now evident that such a simplistic approach falls far short of providing a meaningful solution to the complex human problems facing today’s management. The major fault of the traditional approach is that the assumptions overlook far too many aspects of the problem. Human behaviour at work is much complicated and diverse than is suggested by the economic security – working
 


approach. Similarly, trial and error is costly and it offers no guarantee of success.

While the limitations of an informal, common sense approach to organization problems were always apparent, they become even more painfully obvious during the 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, rapid industrialization, major technological advances and sheer growth in size both intensified long standing difficulties and created many new ones.

Faced with long standing chaotic conditions, thoughtful managers and scholars began a search for other perhaps more effective, means of dealing with them. Fortunately, one new approach was soon suggested by the emergence of several fields, known collectively as the Behaviour Sciences. These new disciplines (e.g. psychology, sociology, political science) attempted to add to knowledge of human behaviour through the use of rigorous scientific methods and as they quickly discovered, this tactic really worked. Within a few short decades, the behavioural sciences had contributed important new insights into human and human society. This rapid progress led to the attempt (or idea) to apply the new knowledge (insights) and methods of these fields of behavioural sciences) to the task of understanding organizations and solving their complex problems. As these ideas took shape, the field of O.B itself was born.

Presently, O.B. is an active, vigorous field with two major goals:

1.	Increased understanding of organizations and behaviour within them
2.	Application of this knowledge to the solution of many practical problems and the enhancement of organizational effectiveness.

Along this line, O.B. may be conveniently defined as the field that seeks enhanced knowledge of behaviour in organizational settings through the scientific study of individual, group and organizational processes; the goal of such knowledge being the enhancement of both organizational effectiveness and individual wellbeing.

This is a working definition because to fully understand why people act and think as they do in organizational settings, we must know something about them as individuals (e.g. their attitudes, perceptions, motives) sometimes about the group to which they belong (e.g. leaders policies, norms) and sometimes about their total organization (e.g. it culture, values, structure). Careful attention to each of these factors is central than in modern O.B and this should be fully reflected by many definitions of the field. Similarly, there is general agreement in the field
 


O.B that knowledge about organizations and O.B. should be put into practical use.

Further, there is also agreement that it should be used in two major ways. First, it should contribute to enhanced organizational effectiveness. Productivity efficiency and product quality should all benefit from such applications. Second, it should contribute to enhanced wellbeing of people. Indeed all knowledge about O.B should be used to improve the quality of work life, increase job satisfaction and further the career development of individuals. In this regard, the application of O.B knowledge is both sides of the same coin; the two are intimately and consistently intertwined. Lastly, since O.B took its “entrance cue” from the behavioural sciences, it naturally built on the basic principle first established in these fields, that of application of the science methods to the study of complex human phenomenon.

Given this facts, it is not surprising that modern O.B is largely scientific in orientation. It seems to increase knowledge through an empirical, science based approached. Practitioners are fully agreed that careful conducted research, carried out in accordance with basic scientific principles, is the best single way of adding to our store of knowledge about O.B. However, while O.B is basically scientific in orientation, it is far from rigid in this regards, that is, it is less defensive about its scientific perspective than other disciplines.

	Influences on Behaviour in Organizations

A number of variables in terms of the influences on behaviour in organization are discernible in providing parameters within which to identify a number of interrelated dimensions – the individual, the group, the organization, and the environment – which collectively influence behaviour in work organizations. See Figure 2.1 below for these influences and their impact on the management of organizational operations.

The individual
Organizations are made up of their individual members. The individual is a central feature of organizational behaviour and a necessary part of any behavioural situation, whether acting in isolation or as part of a group, in response to expectations of the organization, or as a result of influences of the external environment. Where the needs of the individual and the demands of the organization are incompatible, it results in frustration and conflict. It is the task of management to provide a working environment which permits the satisfaction of individual needs as well as the attainment of organizational goals.
 


The group
Groups exist in all organizations and are essential to their working and performances. The organization is comprised of groups of people and almost everyone in an organization will be a member of one or more groups. Informal groups arise from the social needs of people within the organization. People in groups influence each other in many ways, and groups may develop their own hierarchies and leaders. Group pressures can have a major influence over the behaviour and performance of individual members. An understanding of group structure and behaviour complements knowledge of individual behaviour and adds a further dimension to organizational behaviour.


The organization
Individuals and groups interact within the structure of the formal organization. Structure is created by management to establish relationships between individuals and groups, to provide order and systems and to direct the efforts of the organization into goal-seeking activities. It is through the formal structure that people carry out their organizational activities in order to achieve aims and objectives. Behaviour is affected by patterns of organizational structure, technology, styles of leadership and systems of management through which organizational processes are planned, directed and controlled. The focus of attention therefore, is on the impact of organization structure and design, and patterns of management, on the behaviour of people within the organization.

The environment
All organizations function as part of the broader external environment of which it is part. There are different variables within the external environment that affect the organization. For example, technological and scientific development, economic activity, social and cultural influences and governmental actions have tremendous impact on organizational operations.

The effects of the operations of the organization within its environment are reflected in terms of the management of opportunities and risks and the successful achievement of its aims and objectives. The increasing rate of change in environmental factors has necessitated the need to study the total organization and the processes by which the organization attempts to adapt to the external demands placed upon it. These different dimensions above provide contrasting but related approaches to the understanding of human behaviour in organizations. They present a number of alternative ways for the study of the subject and extent of related analysis.
 


 

Fig. 2.1: Influences on Behaviour in Organizational Setting & their Impact on Management of Operations

Source: Mullins, L.   J.   (2000).   Management   and   Organizational
Behaviour. (4th ed.). London: Pitman Publishing. p.11.

	Cultural Influences and Organizational Behaviour

Culture is defined as that part of human action that is socially as opposed to genetically transmitted. It is that which causes one group of people to act collectively in a way that is different from another. Needle (1999) identifies three different ways in which culture interacts with business. These are:

•	Our socialization, the influences which shape our behaviour in a particular social setting, will determine our individual’s orientation to work.
•	We see organizations as societies in microcosm with their own specific cultures and ways of transmitting these cultures to their members.
•	Culture is used as an analytical device to distinguish one society from another. Hofstede (1980) as cited by Needle (1999) identified four key cultural variables that tend to show the extent to which business activities are culturally defined. The variables are power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity.
 


Power Distance: This is the extent to which members of a society accept that power is distributed unequally in organizations. Inequality is based upon physical economic, intellectual or social characteristics. In a society where power distance is small, attempt is made to reduce the inequality, while in a society where it is large, social relations is based on it.

Individualism: Individualistic society shows preference for looking after oneself or one’s immediate family group, a belief in freedom and a tendency towards a calculative involvement with work organization. In collective society the reverse is the case.

Uncertainty Avoidance: - This is the extent to which members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty. Those with strong uncertainty avoidance tend to be anxious about the future and have inability to tolerate deviant ideas, while those with weak uncertainty avoidance show a willingness to accept new ideas and take risks.

Masculinity:- Masculine societies tend to display a preference for achievement, assertiveness and material success and a strong belief in gender roles, while feminine societies tend to place more emphasis on the quality of life, care for others and equality, more especially between the sexes.

Motivation theories such as those propounded by Herzberg, McClelland and Vroom reflect high individualism and masculinity. A generally accepted conclusion that can be drawn from the above is that cultural influences in different societies will result in different styles of organizational behaviour and different patterns of organization structure.

4.0	CONCLUSION

We have considered the conceptual framework of organizational behaviour as a field of study and the dimensions of the various influences on behavior in organizations. Understanding organizational behaviour is a key skill for all staff so they can compete successfully in an ever changing marketplace where the whole organization is able to respond quickly and together. For this to occur, managers and supervisors need to understand how and why individuals behave as they do and deliver a truly excellent organization.

5.0	SUMMARY

The study of OB is generally concerned with how to understand, predict and influence human behaviour in organizations. It basically deals with the human aspect of business and industrial concern. To fully understand
 


why people act and think as they do in organizational settings, we must know something about them as individuals (e.g. their attitudes, perceptions, motives) sometimes about the group to which they belong (e.g. leaders policies, norms) and sometimes about their total organization (e.g. it culture, values, structure). Careful attention to each of these factors is central than in modern O.B and this should be fully reflected by many definitions of the field. Finally, a number of variables in terms of the influences on behaviour in organization are discernible in providing parameters within which to identify a number of interrelated dimensions – the individual, the group, the organization, and the environment – which collectively influence behaviour in work organizations.

6.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

In what ways do the different behavioural influencing variables help explain the understanding of human behaviour in organizations?

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

French, W. L. & Bell, C.H. (1995). Organizational Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organization Improvement. (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Mitchell, T. R. (1987). People in Organizations: An Introduction to Organizational Behaviour. (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and Organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.). London: Pitman Publishing.

Robbins, S. (1992). Essentials of Organizational Behaviour.(3rd ed.).
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
 


UNIT 3	PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES IN ORGANISATIONS

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	What is an Organization
	Types of Organizations
	Principles of Organization
	Frederick	W.	Taylor	(1856-1915):	the	Scientific
Management Movement
	Urwick and Gulick (1937)
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

This unit will take a look at principles, types and concepts of organizations. Organization is composed of people whose collective efforts are geared towards the attainment of a collective goal. It becomes necessary that a structure should be provided for the clear allocation of resources. This unit discusses the intricacies of organization and the principles underlying the ability of an organization to achieve set goals.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to state the:

•	meaning of organization
•	types of organization
•	principles of organization as enunciated by Fayol, Taylor and Urwick.

	MAIN CONTENT

	What is an Organization?

The concept of organization has been perceived from different perspectives. It is generally believed that every individual belong to one form of organization or another. Different authorities have tried to give different but related definitions of the word “organization”. The common ones are given below:
 


An organization is:

•	a planned unit deliberately structured for the purpose of achieving specific goals.
•	an assemblage of interacting human beings with a central coordination unit (Marsh and Simeon).
•	a system of roles graded by authority (Wright Mills).
is a social unit or human grouping deliberately constructed and re-constructed to seek specific goals (Parson and Harcourt).
•	a collection of those activities directed at organizing.

What is clearly identified from the above definitions is that an organization is composed of people. Since an organization is composed of people whose collective efforts are geared towards the attainment of a collective goal, it becomes necessary that a structure should be provided for the clear allocation of resources. This is supported by Misaazi (1982) who says that organizations are needed to provide a structural framework for communication, command and coordination of activities and people’s efforts. Key characteristics of organizations are:

•	they are set up to pursue objectives (co-operative mission)
•	they have individuals and groups who interact
•	there are jobs and tasks to be performed
•	it is a system of co-operative activities
•	it has an input-output process.

	Types of Organization

Several types of organizations can be distinguished. Broadly, they are classified into two:

(a)	Formal organizations and
(b)	Informal organizations

Formal Organization

A formal organization is established to achieve certain goals. The common features of a formal organization are:

•	Pre-planned pattern of authority and influence
•	deliberate allocation of functions
•	existence stated policies, procedure and regulations
•	following of precedent
•	defined activities of individuals and departments or units
•	existence of long-term objectives
•	membership is gained consciously and largely openly.
 


Informal Organization

This is also referred to as a spontaneous organization in the sense that it is not as a result of a conscious plan. In many businesses, large or small, there is usually a tendency for an informal organization to grow up and operate concurrently. This may be to remedy inherent shortfalls in the organization or to take advantage of a weak manager, anticipate natural changes eventually requiring the taking of formal action. In the view of
R.B. Ayanniyi, informal organizations can assist in achieving better co- operation and motivation of workers if properly encouraged. The following are some elements of informal organizations:

•	They can lead to meritocracy
•	Employee reactions in certain situations may become unpredictable
•	Planning becomes difficult
•	They lead to short-circuiting in the management decision chain.

	Principles of Organization

The principles of organization as formulated by Henri Fayol are:

1.	Division of work: Increase productivity as a result of specialization
2.	Authority & Responsibility: The right to give order. This should be commensurate with responsibility.
3.	Discipline: There must respect for and obedience to the rules and objectives of the organization.
4.	Unity of Command: Each subordinate should come under from and be responsible to one superior.
5.	Unity of Direction: Every part should contribute to the attainment of the enterprise objective.
6.	Subordination of Individual Interest: The interest of the employee or group should not prevail over the interest of the organization.
7.	Remuneration: Workers must be paid fair wages for services rendered.
8.	Centralization: There should be a balance between concentration and distribution of authority in the organization.
9.	Scalar Chain: There should be clear line of unbroken authority.
10.	Order: There should be social and material order. A place for everything and everything in its place.
11.	Equity: Fairness, cordiality, kindness and justice based on predetermined norms.
12.	Stability of Tenure: Job security should be used to reward good performance.
 


13.	Espirit de Corps: Unity in strength.
14.	Initiatives: All personnel must be allowed to show their initiative in some way.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Enumerate the common characteristics of an organization.

	Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915): the Scientific Management Movement

Frederick Taylor is commonly referred to as the father of scientific management movement.

As a staff of the Midvale Street Company in Pennsylvania, USA, he harped on his work experience at various levels of the organization to establish the fact that a substantial amount of inefficiency was prevalent in the performance of all tasks at the operational level. The high level of inefficiency, according to him, was partly due to the fact that workers were in charge of both planning and performing their job, which he claimed, led to wastage. He perceived that a gap existed between actual production and cost. He believed that proper work methods and standards would eliminate or reduce the level of inefficiency. Taylor’s research work was largely focused on:

•	improvement of working tools
•	analysis and innovation of work methods
•	enforced standardization of work methods
•	enforced cooperation.

Taylor’s principles as summarized by Villers (1960) are:

(a)	Time Study Principle – Production effort should be measured by the standard and time and accurate time study established for the work.

(b)	Piece-rate Principle – Wages should be made proportional to output. Rate being based on standards already established.

(c)	Separation of Planning from Performance – Managements should be responsible for planning and also make sure performance is physically possible.

(d)	Scientific Methods of Work Principle – Managements should take charge of the work method and train the workforce accordingly.
 


(e)	Managerial Control Principle – Managers should be taught how to apply scientific principles of management and control.

(f)	Functional Management Principle – Advocates the application of military principles and the design of industrial organisations to serve desired purpose.

In addition, Frederick, Taylor also advocated that:

•	law is the chief instrument for efficient management
•		good life for the workforce must be brought about by monetary rewards
•	administration should be interrelated with the personal aspirations of the workers.

	Urwick and Gulick (1937)

Urwick and Gulick worked on Fayol’s principles of management to derive more articulate and up-to-date principles of management. According to them, the primary works of the executive are: planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting, which stand for the acronym: “POSDCORB”.

This was later expanded by Enaohwo and Eferakeya, (1989) as POSDCORBE, with the addition of ‘E’.

P - Planning
O - Organizing S - Staffing
D -Directing
C - Coordinating R - Reporting
B - Budgeting E - Evaluation.

The above represent the traditional functions of the chief executive.

4.0	CONCLUSION

In this unit, you have learnt the meaning, types and principles of organization. The knowledge you have gained in this unit will assist you in subsequent units.
 

BUS 322
 


	SUMMARY
 
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
 

An organisation is composed of people whose collective efforts are geared toward the attainment of collective goal. Two types of organisations are identified. These are formal and informal organisations. The Henri Fayol’s principles of organisation which should form the basis for the effective administration or management of organisations were also stated.

6.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

State and explain the Henri Fayol’s principles of organisation.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Hicks, H.G	&	Gullet	C.R.	(1976).	Organisations:	Theory	and Behaviour. McGraw-Hill Kogak Usha Limited.

Musaaz, J.C.S. (1982). The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration. Nigeria: Macmillan Press.

Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H. (1980). Management. A Book of Readings.
New York: McGraw-Hill Inc.
 


UNIT 4	ROLES AND ROLE EXPECTATIONS

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Nature of Roles
	Role Conflict
	Types of Conflict
	Intra-individual Conflict
	Conflict Due to Frustration
	Goal Conflict
	Interpersonal Conflict
	Intergroup Behaviour and Conflict
	Organizational Conflict
	Strategies for Conflict Resolution – (Managing Conflict)
	The Role of Conflict in Today’s Organizations
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCCTION

Persons living in modern society assume a succession of roles throughout life. A typical sequence of social roles would be that of child, son or daughter, teenager, college student, boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse, parent, and grandparent. Each of these roles has recognised expectations which are acted out like a role in a play. Organizational roles have attached to them a required set of tasks and responsibilities (often, but not always spelled out in a job description). The roles which individuals bring into the organization are relevant and closely connected to their behaviour. However, in the study of O. B, the organizational role is most important because it often carries conflicting demands and ambiguity in the first line supervisor.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	define role as a concept
•	differentiate between role conflicts and role ambiguities
•	explain clearly the different types of role conflict
•	state and discuss the different conflict management strategies
•	list the role of conflict in an organization.
 


	MAIN CONTENT

	The Nature of Roles

Role has been defined as a position that has expectations evolving from established norms. In other word, roles are positions in an organization defined by a set of expectations about behaviour of any incumbent or occupant.

Role by its nature draws or attracts behaviour from the person who holds the role or position. The position you occupied and the expectations from such a position refers to your role in the society, family and organization. Persons living in modern society assume a succession of roles throughout life. A typical sequence of social roles would be that of child, son or daughter, teenager, college student, boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse, parent, and grandparent. Each of these roles has recognized expectations which are acted out like a role in a play.

Similarly, adults in modern society fill numerous other roles at the same time. It is not uncommon for the adult middle-class male to be simultaneously playing the roles of husband, father, provider, son (to elderly parent), worker or manager, coach, church member, member of a social club; officer of a community group and weekend golfer. Although all the roles which individuals bring into the organization are relevant or closely connected to their behaviour, in the study of O. B, the organizational role is the most important.

1.	Roles such as assembly line worker, clerk, supervisor, sales person, engineer, system analyst, HOD, VP, and chairperson of the board often carry conflicting demands and expectations.

2.	Organizational roles have attached to them a required set of tasks and responsibilities (often, but not always spelled out in a job description). The formal role tells it occupant what activity is actually expected, and often what result are desired. Since salaries are paid in returns for performance of the original role, roles have a powerful effect on behaviour. Roles can also be informal, creating expectation that is not official, but that strongly influence behaviour. Both formal and informal can be requirements about both task and interactions.

3.	The role tells the person who holds it, not only what tasks to carry out, but always with whom to interact in carrying out the tasks. Through the requirement of the role may never be written, they will be conveyed to the occupant and more or less enforced; in any event, they strongly influence behaviour. Original role tells
 


tasks, duties, and activities to perform and also tell who to interact what.

Whether formal or written and or informal, role shapes the behaviour of a position occupant. A jobless graduate who suddenly got elected as a local government chairman will have his behaviour moderated by his new role or position. Expectation draws or attracts behaviour from the person who holds the role. However, roles also shape behaviour in other, less direct ways. The nature of the tasks assigned to a role have impact on the feelings of the occupant about how to work, depending upon whether the tasks are simple or complex, repetitive of varied, stationary or mobile, concentration – intense or not, equipment/technology-oriented or not, and so on. In general, researchers have found that increasing numbers of individuals respond with greater commitment and efforts when the tasks of their job provide stimulation and challenge. The exceptions are that individuals whose skills and aspirations are so low do not respond to challenge; that leads to declining breed in an organization.

	Role Conflict

As noted earlier, the role which individuals bring into the organization is relevant and is closely connected to their behavior. However, in the study of O. B the organizational role is most important because it often carry conflicting demands and ambiguity in that of the first line supervisor. The first line supervisor is often described as the person in the middle. One set of expectation is that the supervisor is part of the management team and should have the corresponding values and attitudes. A second set of expectation is that the supervisor came from, and is still part of the workers’ group and should have the value and attitudes. Still a third set of expectations is that the supervisors, though a separate link between management and the workforce, also have their own unique set of value and attitudes.

Conflict arises because supervisors themselves, like workers and managers, and may not know which set of expectations they should follow. Hence, applied to the work place, Role Conflict –involves an incompatibility between job tasks/activities, resources, rules or policies, and other people. Ordinarily, conflict is defined as the struggle between incompatible or opposing needs, wishes, ideas, interest or people. Conflict arises when individual or groups encounters goals that parties cannot attain/obtain satisfactorily.

In any organization, setting groups do put effective pressure on individuals by the requirement to comply with the rules and regulations of their association. Pressure arises particularly because, usually,
 


unwritten ‘laws’ to fall in line are often backed by sanctions in the form of the uncooperative behaviour of the rest of group and all possible forms of ostracisation. And this can lead to stress on the individual who dares to fall out with the group. This stress arises as a result of role conflict and role ambiguity.

Role Conflict Occurs when a group member is obliged to behave in ways inconsistent with his inmate behavioural patterns. There are four principal types of role conflicts:

•	The first type is known as inter-sender role conflict and it occurs when the inconsistent demand faced by the individual comes from different members of a group.
•	The second, referred to as inter-sender role occurs when the inconsistent demand comes from the same manager or office.
•	Inter role conflict is the third and it is induced when someone outside a group makes a demand inconsistent with the group’s (own role).
•	The fourth type called person-role conflict develops when the group’s demand is inconsistent with the individual’s own beliefs, attitudes and general value system.

Role Ambiguity: This result from inadequate information or knowledge to do a job. This ambiguity may be due to inadequate training, poor communication, or the deliberate withholding or distortion of information by a co-worker or supervisor. Role ambiguity is of two types – Task Ambiguity and Emotional Ambiguity. Task Ambiguity occurs when an individual is uncertain about his group’s desired and expected behaviour or task. On the other hand, Emotional Ambiguity occurs when a group member is unsure of his status or the person is unsure about his supervisor’s assessment of him.

Two factors have been identified as commonly giving rise to role conflict and ambiguity.

•	Role conflict and ambiguity may occur either because an individual is new in a group and is yet to understand his role, status and the group’s expectations.
•	Because of a structure and role relationship change in the group. In any event, the result of role conflict and ambiguity is stress for the individual, and there is a substantial body of research indicating undesirable outcomes for the individual and the organization.
 


Fillery and House (1983) indicated in their research report that the impact of the undesirable effects from role conflicts depends upon four major variables.

•	Awareness of role conflict
•	Acceptance of conflicting job pressures
•	Ability to tolerate stress
•	General personality make up.

Roles conflict cannot be wished or completely planned away. The right approach will be for management to recognize the existence of role conflict, attempt to understand its cause and ramifications and then try to manage it as effectively as possible.

	Types of Conflict

Interactive behaviour can occur at the individual, personal, group or organizational level. It often results in conflict at each of these levels. Hence the following represents the major types of conflict:

	Intra-individual Conflict

In reality, a smooth progression of the fulfillment of one’s role expectation does not always occur. This is because within every individual there are usually:

•	A number of competing needs and roles, the role of a man as a manager and as father/husband.
•	A variety of different ways that motives and roles can be expressed.
•	Many types of barriers which can occur between the drive/need and the goal.
•	Both positive and negative aspects attached to desire goals.

These complicate the human adaptation process and often result into conflict.

Intra-individual forms of conflict can be analysed in terms of the frustration paradigm, goals and roles.

	Conflict Due to Frustration

Frustration occurs when a motivated need drive is blocked before reaching a desired goal. The barrier may be either overt (outward or physical) or covert (inward or mental-psychological). Frustration
 


normally triggers defense mechanism in the person. Traditional psychologists felt that frustration always leads to the defense mechanism of aggression. On becoming frustrated, it was through that a person will react by physically of symbolically attacking the barrier. An example of a frustration situation might be that of a thirsty person who comes up against stuck or locked door/gate and is prevented from reaching a water trap/foundation. Figure 3.1 below illustrates this simple frustrating situation.


NEED	DRIVE			GOAL
(deprivation)	(Walk to the water tap)		(Tap water)
Barrier
(Locked door)

FRUSTRATION

Defense Mechanism
i.	Aggression (kick /curse the door/gate
ii.	Withdrawal (back from the door / point
iii.	Fixation (continue to try to open the door
iv.	Compromise (drink some mineral/beer/coffee etc.

Fig. 3.1: Illustration of Conflict Due to a Simple Frustrating Situation

More recently and as illustrated in the figure 3.1 above, aggression has come to be viewed as only one possible reaction. Frustration may lead to any of the defense mechanism used by the human organism. Although there are many such mechanisms, they can be summarized into four broad categories: aggression, withdrawal, fixation and, compromise.

	Goal Conflict

Another common source of conflict for an individual is a goal which has both positive and negative feature or two more competing goals. While in frustration a single motive is blocked before the goals is reached, in goal conflict two or more motives block one another. For ease of analysis, three separate types of goal conflict are generally identified:
 


Approach – approach conflict results where an individual is motivated to approach two more mutually exclusive of desirable goals. For example, a new graduate confronted with two excellent job opportunities, such situations often cause the person some anxiety but are quickly resolved.

Approach – avoidance conflict; this is a situation where an individual is motivated to approach a goal and at the same time motivated to avoid it. The single goal contains both positive and negative characteristics for the individual. Normally, organizational goals have positive and negative aspects for organization participations. Increase in fuel pump price though necessary for President Obasanjo to be able to deregulate fuel, can also bring down his government and his political party chances.

Accordingly, the organizational goal may actually cause some anxiety at the point where approach is equal avoidance. That is a situation of ‘do-l- do-it or not?’ An above average aged lady (mainly 45) and unmarried as a CED faced decision to marry a rehabilitated ex-convict. A born-again oil worker/banker suddenly faced with the need to restitute a forged first and/or second degree certificate, confesses and loses his/her job etc.

Avoidance – avoidance conflict: This is where the individual is motivated to avoid two or more negative but mutually exclusive goals. That is both opportunities are not attractive, and there is a great difficulty in avoiding both. Avoidance – avoidance conflict is easily resolved. A person faced with two negative goals may not choose either of them and may simply leave the situation. Most personnel in modern organizations are unable to resolve this for example worker who unable to leave. Such workers cannot easily resolve their avoidance – avoidance conflict in a time when jobs are very scarce.

	Inter-personal Conflict

Besides the intra-individual aspects of conflict, the interpersonal aspects of conflict behaviour are important dynamic of interactive behaviour. This is a conflict that can arise or result when two or more persons with personality differences are interacting with one another. Two popular ways to analyse this interpersonal conflict are through transactional analysis and the Johari window. This is beyond the scope of this book.

	Intergroup Behaviour and Conflict

Conceptually similar to interpersonal behaviour is intergroup behaviour. One way to look at organizations is in terms of interacting groups. Instead of depicting an organization as being made up of interacting individuals, one could think of it a consisting of interacting group.
 



Groups in conflict have much different behaviour from that of smoothly co-operating groups. The following characteristics have been identified as depicting group in conflict:

•	There is a clear distinction and comparison between “we” (the in- group) and “they” (the out-group)
•	A group that feels it is in conflict becomes more cohesive and pulls together to present a solid front to defeat the other group.
•	The positive feelings and cohesion within the in-group do not transfer to the members for the out-group. The members of the out-group are viewed as the enemy rather than as neutrals.
•	Threatened group members feel superior – They over-estimate their strength and under-estimate that of members of other group.
•	The amount of communication between conflicting groups decreases. When there is communication, it is characterised by negative comments and hostility.
•	The cohesion of a group losing in a conflict deceases and the group member experience increased tension among themselves. They look for a scapegoat to blame their failure on.

	Organizational Conflict

Organizational conflict is inevitable due to: (1) personality clashes and
(2) incompatible pressures and influences. Each member has certain roles, objectives and responsibilities which may be frustrated by others who induce barriers and do not co-operate.

Hence in the discussion of organization conflict, it must be remembered that inter-individual, interpersonal and intergroup conflict are all inherent in organizational conflict.

More conceptually, has been suggested that there are about seven (7) recognized sources of conflicts in organizations.

1.	Competition over resources: This is a cause of conflict difficult to avoid in organizations. This is so because at any point in time some or all of the productive resources are not likely to go round all the groups as desired. This gives rise to competition and contest for the available resources.
2.	Differences in perception: In cohesive group, there is the possibility of members perceiving things from their groups’ (selfish) perceptive.
3.	Perceived Superiority in the functional Area/Dept: Status Differences and workflow in organizations from one section or department to another either for control purpose or as a matter of
 


need often breed conflict in the exercise of these functions, there arise conflicts in organizations. The reason is that every group believes in the superiority of its views, ideas or positions.
4.	Conflicting Objectives: Subsumed in the overall organizational objectives are the sub goals of the different departments and groups. These goals ought not to conflict and diametrically opposed. Unfortunately, this ideal is rarely achieved in most organizations.
5.	Personality Clash: This is a cause of conflict that surfaced only when the conflictive situation becomes antagonistic and openly unco-operative. Differences in leadership styles, prejudices, biased attitude, belief and motivations of a group physical and functional relations are necessarily closed.
6.	Reciprocity: One good turn deserves another is popular saying that is relevant for family, mental, personal and work group relationships. However where the relations between groups are such that one group seem to be always doing something for another group without receiving benefits in return, this gives rise to a feeling of being exploited. This feeling leads to conflict and the exploited group will be motivated to end the relationship.

7.	Ambiguous Authority and Responsibility: This often is problematic because management may be unspecific in the assignment of authority associated with the functions delegated and where you have peer groups cooperating on a function, this leads to conflict as each of the peer-group will see ascendancy over the other.

	Strategies for Conflict Resolution – (Managing Conflict)

There are different ways	of managing	conflict, focusing either on
interpersonal relationships	or on structural changes. Indeed there are
many but difficult choices which depend upon	(1)	Contingencies	(2)
The environment (3) The technology	and	(4)	The	needs	of
individuals, groups and tasks.				

Two basic conflict handling behaviours have been popularized. These are (i) Assertion and (ii) Co-Operation.

Assertion: This is an attempt to confront the opposition hence this is basically confrontational in approach e.g. USA, Britain against Iraq.

Cooperation: On the other hand seek to find an agreeable solution. These conflict handing behaviours are graphically depicted below:
 









As



High
Cooperation

Fig. 3.2: Conflict Handling Behaviour

The two behavioural patterns are further classified into five outcomes:

i.	Competition: This characterized by low cooperation and very high in assertion. The competing parties use weapons such as argument and threats to achieve their goals. This attitude can be useful when the other party is not ready to cooperate and when issued at stake it vital critical to one’s survival.
ii.	Collaboration: Involves considerable assertion and cooperation in an attempt to satisfying the need of been partners. It often called a non-zero-sum-game since both parties can win and lose at the same time.
iii.	Accommodation: requires high cooperation and low assertion since it involves giving-in to the other party of sacrificing one’s own personal needs. Accommodation is done for number reasons: (1) the parties have no other choice (2) when one party finds it more beneficial to give-in than to compete on certain issues.
iv.	Avoidance: This shows little assertion and cooperation since it is on moving away from the other party or ignoring or withdrawing from the situation. This is an appropriate behaviour when the issue is trivial or when nothing can be gained by either competing or cooperating.
v.	Compromising: Compromising requires some assertion and some cooperation since this option/behaviour search for partial satisfaction of both parties.
 


When conflicting parties are:

i.	Low on assertion and cooperation – Avoid Conflict a.Low on assertion and high on cooperation –

ii.	Low on cooperation and high on assertion – Compete
iii.	High on assertion and high on cooperation  - Collaborate
a.	Compromise comes at the centre stage or the conflict handling behaviour.

It is however important to note that the many approaches to resolving (group) conflicts can be easily classified according to the outcome of such resolutions. Conflict situations – (for that matter, these could also be used in intergroup and organizational conflict resolution). The principal classes of methods include:

i.	Lose -Lose Methods
 
ii.	Win iii.	-
Win	-
 
Lose Methods
win Methods
 

Win-win strategy is the most effective, but since the other two types are so commonly used, they should also be understood.

1.	Lose-Lose Strategy: In a lose-lose approach to conflict resolution, both parties lose. This method will typically be employed where the parties are not sure of a successful outcome. Hence the approach is based on the conventional wisdom that ‘half-a-loaf is better than none’. The usage of this method can however take several forms; first compromise; secondly paying off one of the parties in the conflict especially in the form of bribes. A third approach is to use an outside third party or arbitrator. And finally the parties can resort to bureaucratic rules or existing regulations to resolve the conflict. This strategy is sometimes the only way that conflicts can be resolved but it is less a desirable method than the other. In the final analysis, the four approaches inherent in this strategy will still be resolved but it is less a desirable method than others. In the final analysis, the four approaches inherent in this strategy will still lead to both parties in the conflict losing.

2.	Win-Lose Strategy: A win-lose strategy is a common way of resolving conflict in modern society, especially in a competitive culture. One party in a conflict situation will simply attempt to marshal its forces to win, and the other party loses. The following characteristics are notable in a win-lose situation:
 

•	There is a clear, we-they distinction between the parties
•	The parties direct their energies toward each other in an atmosphere of victory and defeat
•	The parties see the issue from their own point of view
•	The emphasis is to solutions rather than on the attainment of goals values of objectives
•	Conflict are personalized and self-judge-mental
•	The parties take a short-run view of the issues.

Examples of a win-lose strategies can be found in superior-subordinate relationships, union-management relations and many other conflict situations found in today’s organizations. This strategy can be both functional and dysfunctional in consequences. It is functional when it creates a competitive spirit to win and it can lead to cohesiveness and spirit-de-corps within individuals or groups in the conflict situation. Dysfunctionally, the strategy ignores other solutions such as a cooperative, mutually agreed-upon outcome and there are pressures to conform which deny questioning opportunity and a creative atmosphere for conflict resolution. Worst still in the strategy is just that someone must lose although the loser may learn something in the process; they also tend to be bitter and vindictive. A much healthier strategy is to have both tending to be bitter and vindictive.

3.	Win-Win Strategy: A win-win strategy of conflict resolution probably the most desirable from a human and organizational standpoint. Indeed, it is generally referred to as the problem-solving method because all energies and creativities are aimed at solving the problems rather that beating the other party. This strategy takes the advantage of functional aspects of win lose and eliminates many of the dysfunctional aspects. The needs of both parties in the conflict situation are met and both parties received rewarding outcomes. A review of the relevant literature revealed that ‘win-win decision strategies are associated with better judgments, favourable bargains”. Although it is often difficult to accomplish a win-win outcome of an interpersonal conflict, this should be a major goal of the management of conflict.

	The Role of Conflict in Today’s Organizations

By definition, conflict can be described as “the exercise of power between two or more parties (individuals or groups)”; problem solving on the other hand “is the exercise of fact of logic by parties seeking a high quality mutually acceptable solution to a problem”. The existence of conflict thus gives rise to problems-solving. Although, there are problem-solving exercises and processes that are not a response to conflict problems, good management however engage in problem- solving by anticipating conflicts and planning for their avoidance before
 


they become problems. It is however a huge error to believe that conflicts are always bad and like plagues must be avoided at all cost.

Traditionally, the management of organizational conflict was based on the simple assumptions that conflict is by definition avoidable; often caused by trouble-making and that scapegoat must always be found. Hence formal authority and classical restructuring were used in attempts to (entirely) eliminate conflict. However, the more modern approach is to assume the inevitability of conflict. Recognize that it is not always bad for the organization, and try to manage it effectively rather than merely to eliminate it. Conflict is neither good nor bad. Similarly, outcome of conflict, while predictable, are also neither good nor bad. There are many outcomes.

Constructively used, conflict can:

i.	Create a more dynamic group that is creative, solves problems more easily, make better decision and is generally more productive.
ii.	Lead to innovation and changes; it can energise people to activity, develop protection for something else in the organization (in the divide and conquer sense), and be an important element in the system analysis of the organization.

Unfortunately, many adverse effects are seen:

i.	Such as high mental stress
ii.	Uncooperative group behaviour
iii.	Misalignments of goals between the group and the organization, various stages of group disintegration, irrational and illogical conduct and communication breakdown.

The constructive use of conflict however indicates that conflict can be made to work for rather than against goal attainment in the modern organization.

4.0   CONCLUSION

Expectation draws or attracts behaviour from the person who holds the role. However, roles also shape behaviour in other, less direct ways. The nature of the tasks assigned to a role have impact on the feelings of the occupant about how to work, depending upon whether the tasks are simple or complex, repetitive of varied, stationary or mobile, concentration– intense or not, equipment/technology-oriented or not, and so on.
 


5.0	SUMMARY

In any organizational setting groups do put effective pressure on individuals by the requirement to comply with the rules and regulations of their association. Pressure arises particularly because, usually, unwritten ‘laws’ to fall in line are often backed up by sanctions in the form of the uncooperative behaviour of the rest of group members and all possible forms of ostracisation. And this can lead to stress on the individual who dare fall out with the group. This stress arises as a result of role conflict and role ambiguity. Conflict arises when individual or groups encounters goals that parties cannot attain/obtain satisfactorily. There are, however, strategies designed to handle all types of conflicts that can possibly arise from an organization.

6.0	TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT

How would you explain the fact that role conflict cannot be wished or completely planned away?

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Burns, B. (1992).   Managing Change:   A   Strategic   Approach   to
Organizational Development and Renewal. London: Pitman.

Elliot, R.D. (1990). ‘The Challenge of Managing Change.’ Personnel Journal. No. 3, vol. 69.

French, W. L. & Bell, C.H. (1995). Organizational Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organization Improvement. (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

French, W. L., Kast, F. E. & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1985). Understanding Human Behaviour in Organizations. New York: Harper and Row.


Hicks, H.G.   &   Gullet   C.R.   (1976).   Organizations:   Theory   and
Behaviour. McGraw-Hill: Kogak Usha Limited.
 


UNIT 5	MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Nature of Change
	External and Internal Causes of Change and Rate of Change
	Impact of Change on Employees and the Organization
	Approaches to Introducing Change
	Response to Change
	Implications of Resistance to Change
	Strategies for Responding to External Challenges for Change
	Managing Resistance to Change
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

In the dynamic society surrounding today’s organizations, the question of whether change will occur is no longer relevant. Instead, the issue is how do manager and leaders cope with the inevitable barrage change that confront them daily in attempting to keep their organizations viable and current. Although change is a fact of life, if managers are to be effective, they can no longer be content to let change occur as it will. They must be able to develop strategies to plan, direct and control change. This unit exposes you to the dynamic force of nature that is permanent and to how to respond to the challenges it throws up.

	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	explain what it means to change
•	state the forces that cause changes to happen
•	explain various approaches to introducing change and the response to change
•	discuss the strategies for dealing with response to change.
 


	MAIN CONTENT

	The Nature of Change
,
In the dynamic society surrounding today’s organizations, the question of whether change will occur is no longer relevant. Instead, the issue is how do manager and leaders cope with the inevitable barrage of change that confront them daily in attempting to keep their organizations viable and current. Although change is a fact of life, if managers are to be effective, they can no longer be content to let change occur as it will. They must be able to develop strategies to plan, direct and control change.

To change, in all simplicity, is to make different or to alter, to make or oblige something to or subtraction from a thing or a state of things. Change is natural in the course of development and growth. Society is everywhere in a continual state of transition, every unit of business, even the most private enterprises, as an organ of society, is therefore continually obliged to operate under ever changing conditions and circumstances. Indeed, over a period of 20 years, it is possible for a company, even one that is not growing to experience numerous changes
– in its business, product, markets, Competition, government regulation, available technologies, labour markets and its own business strategy. These changes are the inevitable products of its interaction with a world that is not static.

	External and Internal Causes of Change and Rate of Change

Everyone today is keenly aware of and concerned about change. All organizations today are equally vibrating from forces of chance. The forces can be summarized into four (4) broad areas of technology change, the knowledge explosion, product and service obsolescence and social change.

•	Technological Change: Everyone is keenly aware that the rate of technology change is greater than it has ever been. It is affecting the nature of jobs at all levels and in all types of organizations.
•	The Knowledge Explosion: The amount of knowledge is an accelerated path. There has been a transition from an agricultural to an industrial and now to knowledge-based society especially in the advanced societies.
•	Product and Service Obsolescence: Although some industries worse in this respect than others, the product life cycle is getting shorter and shorter. Textile products, electronics, pharmaceutical products.
 


•	Social Change: This involves a change in social attitudes, behaviours, values and belief and composition of the people particularly as this affects their attitude to and even survive, organizations must meet the tremendous challenges presented by all the areas of change. Neither private nor public organizations can compete in today’s market place by standing or going backward. This type of business change generally involves organization adjustment.

•	Other extraneous external sources of change that can be listed include:
a.	consumer needs or taste
b.	distribution channel
c.	change in the product life cycle
d.	shortages of raw materials
e.	change in management itself for example a change in board of directors
f.	international monetary policy
g.	natural disaster like flood, earthquake, tsunamis, volcanic eruption etc.
h.	political instability
i.	expectations of the people.

The internal forces of change can take the shape of:

a.	new managerial policies
b.	conflict within the organization
c.	change in management itself with their peculiar philosophies of leadership styles.

The point that must however be stressed is that the external forces that causes change are uncontrollable and therefore cannot be resisted or stopped. A manager can only anticipate, respond and or take the change as given by developing coping tactics. The internal forces of change are controllable and can therefore be resisted and or even stopped. A manager must however operate in a stable environment and yet must incorporate change without resisting it. Hence there is the need for maintaining balance in our strategic response to the constantly occurring change within and without the organization.

	Impact of Change on Employees and the Organization

Change brings with it challenges for managers. For instance, coping with new technology, resource shortages, and changing moral standards require that managers should have great concern for the social, political and psychological impacts of the organization.
 


A report covering management education for the 1990s suggests that in order to cope with the challenges presented by the pace of change at work and in social arena, a manager must be a combination of diplomat, decision maker, negotiator, persuader, coordinator, planner, and consensus builder. Change can affect individuals and collectively as an organization. As an individual, change can bring about stress. It is not however a truism that change does always the same effect on everybody all the time nor does any individual affected by all the change.

	Approaches to Introducing Change

The fact of change in today’s dynamic business environment needed no proof and its impact on behaviour in organizations is pervasive. A first requirement for managing change is to understand the forces (external and internal) of change. One of the manager’s responsibilities is to identify areas where there is need for change so as to develop change alternatives. The manager at the same time equally needs to recognize the need for stability in work environments. Managers in this case will be faced with the need to constantly balance the demands of change and stability in work environment. The manager must recognize that significant change in human behaviour is a process that requires time. Hence whatever approach to introduce change must take into consideration. Indeed, one other factor that affects response of organization members to change is the manner in which the changes are introduced.

Sometimes, changes are introduced without consulting any of those affected by the changes.

Additionally, too much change in too brief a time period may create resistance and ultimately prevent any change occurring. Approaches to introducing change have been discussed in terms of a “power distribution” continuum.

1.	Unilateral Action: - These approaches are at one end of the continuum and are characterized by one way communication.
2.	Power Sharing: - This approach involves interaction between those in positions of authority and those who will be affected by changes. However, the manager ultimately makes the decision of the proposed changed.
3.	Delegated Authority:- This approach to introducing actually turns over to subordinates the responsibility for defining and deciding on the change problem. This involves a manager providing information, describing change problem situation and then allow the group to resolve the problem.
 


It must be noted that there is no best approach to introducing change hence a particular manager that will utilize several approaches depending on the nature of the change and the specific context within which it will occur. Although it is probably time that most change in organizations are introduced using some variations of unilateral action, there is an increasing recognition of the value and appropriateness of changed power approaches. The three (3) basic suggested change processes includes unfreezing, moving or change and freezing at a new level.

	Response to Change

Although change is taking place constantly in organizations, they do not affect every individual (member) equally. There are positive and negative responses to change and of course, response to change can also be neutral from the organizational members.

(i)	Neutral:- This response is probably most common. From behavioural point of view. It only means that one is indifferent to the change(s) taking place. It is however important to point out that when there is no response to instituted change by the management from the employees, it is indicative of a problem. Because neutral in itself is a response but signaling a potential problem which should alarm the management. It is a form of communication to the management that something is wrong. It might mean that there is a lot of apathy in the organization. The management in this circumstance should see the need to improve communication.
(ii)	Positive:- There are positive responses which signify acceptance of the change by the employees. It also signifies effective communication from the management about the change process and about the benefits of the change. Generally, it may be summarized that this response from the manager’s perspective indicates that:

•	response has effectively and efficiently contributed to goal accomplishment
•	subordinates are co-operative, adaptive, progressive and “able to cope with change”
•		those changes are favourable to the employees which may translate to more pay, benefits and promotion
•	even where change results in major behaviour modification, it may not be resisted where:
(a)	change was properly introduced
(b)	employees have capacity for coping with change
(c)	effect on human interaction is minimal.
 


The Hawthorne studies particularly revealed that response to change depends not only on change itself but also on the attitudes or sentiments of employees.

(iii)	Negative: Negative response to change tells the management that the change is not wholly or partly acceptable and this can lead to sabotage of the management effort. Technically, it means the employees are resistance to the change and this can be very destructive. This response to change by employees is viewed by managers as:

i.	dysfunctional to goal achievement
ii.	as employees being stubborn, uncooperative and unable to cope with change.

From the subordinates’ perspective, resistance to change may be:

i.	just normal behaviour, neither negative nor positive
ii.	viewing change as causing personal loses of one kind or the other
e.g. fear, insecurity, loss of self -esteem.
iii.	that even where change is socially desirable it may be resisted where it causes emotional stress and require adaptive behaviour.

It must be pointed out that management should not see resistance to change as something to overcome. Rather, management should note that something is wrong and it calls for improvement in the strategy required to make the change acceptable.

	Implications of Resistance to Change

The natural inclination of most people is to change because it upsets their way of doing things and threatens their security. Indeed, managers have always viewed subordinates as constantly resisting change especially resistance to change is a serious problem for managers. However, managers should not always see resistance to change as something to be overcome. Rather resistance should be regarded as a sign that something is wrong. Resistance to change is neither always good nor bad.

Generally speaking, resistance to change has implications. This includes:

ii.	Resistance can be very disruptive to work performance.
iii.	There may be sabotage i.e. destruction of property by discontented workmen.
 


iv.	Resistance may also be a signal on the need to improve communication by managers about purpose and the specifics of change desired.
v.	Resistance to change can reveal the need for a better approach for introducing and implementing change.
vi.	It can equally suggest the need for more realistic timing.
vii.	Resistance can also reveal the inadequacy of current procedure for anticipating changes.

Given the foregoing therefore, it may be concluded that:

a.	Absence of resistance to change may be harmful to the organization.
b.	Absence of resistance to change may be indicative of an organization climate of suspicion, distrust and fear.
c.	As stated earlier, rather than seeing resistance as something to be overcome at all cost, managers should instead view resistance to change desired as:
i.	a (more) behavioural response
ii.	Neither good nor bad
iii.	Calling for effective managerial action

Although intelligent and sensitive managers often can prevent many of the causes of employee resistance to change from arising, there are some situations that in the final analysis are best described as: “WIN-LOSE” situations. When the employees are the losers, their resistance can be very understandable.

	Strategies for Responding to External Challenges for Change

Research evidences have provided enough support to the argument that organizations by their nature will resist change in the form of challenge from an external force. However, the organization resistance will always follow a pattern of response strategies or tactics such as:

1.	The first major strategy was complete resistance to change.
This strategy involved several tactics:
a.	Ignoring the challenge
b.	Repressing the challenge by discrediting it and the people prompting the challenge
c.	By issuing counter charges
d.	It may involve disclaiming responsibility for issues involved and then transferring the responsibility to someone else.
 


2.	The second major strategy was compromise. Essentially, this strategy involves:
a.	Offers of counter inducement to the promoter(s) of the challenge, and more specifically, the following tactics may be used:
i.	Offering positive inducement rather than confrontation
ii.	Applying negative inducement such as threats, warnings or trying to gain allies
iii.	Threatening to cease operation of the challenge of the challenge is not removed or modified.

3	When the two above strategies however fails, an organization can then adopt the third strategy called capitulation. This amounts to a tactical surrender or backing down on the change situation. When an organization finds itself in a ‘no win situation’, then it can work out a favourable deal

	Managing Resistance to Change

A reduction of resistance can be achieved in many different ways. The following are conditions or steps however involved.

1.	The objectives for and the purpose of the intended change must be clear.
2.	Staff should be involved in the planning of the change, there must be analyses for staff air their views and their resistances.
3.	Communication about the proposed change also helps to clarify the reasons or effects of the change.
4.	Group patterns or habits must be identifies and catered for.
5.	Retraining programmes must be supportive: threats to status, grade and security must be minimized.
6.	Plans must be sufficiently in advance of implementation and thorough in conception to avoid unnecessary pressures and anxieties.
7.	The changes must be seen to have advantages over the old method.
8.	The initiators must be respected and trusted.

Resistance to change is heightened if managers fail to recognise the above pre-conditions before making changes. The choice to managers is however very clear. They must plan in advance for the impact of changes or wait until they are forced to react with the consequential disadvantages.
 


4.0	CONCLUSION

In this unit, we have discussed the nature of change and other change related issues such as external and internal causes of change and rate of change, impact of change on employees and the organisation, approaches to introducing change, response to change, implications of resistance to change, strategy for responding to external challenges for change and managing resistance to change. It must be noted that there is no best approach to introducing change hence a particular manager will utilise several approaches depending on the nature of the change and the specific context within which it will occur.

5.0	SUMMARY

Change is natural in the course of development and growth. Society is everywhere in a continual state of transition, every unit of business, even the most private enterprises, as an organ of society, is therefore continually obliged to operate under ever changing conditions and circumstances. A first requirement for managing change is to understand the force-External and Internal of change. One of the manager’s responsibilities is to identify areas where there is a need for change and to develop change alternatives. Manager at the same time equally need to recognize the need for stability in work environments. Managers in this case will be faced with the need to constantly balance the demands of change and stability in work environment. The manager must recognize that significant change in human behaviour is a process that requires time. A first requirement for managing change is to understand the force-External and Internal of change. One of the manager’s responsibilities is to identify areas where there is a need for change and to develop change alternatives. Manager at the same time equally need to recognize the need for stability in work environments. Managers in this case will be faced with the need to constantly balance the demands of change and stability in work environment. The manager must recognize that significant change in human behaviour is a process that requires time.

6.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Management should not see resistance to change as something to overcome. How should management respond to resistance to change?
 


7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Mullins, L. J. (2000).	Management and Organizational Behaviour.
London: Pitman Publishing.

Burns,B. (1992). Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organizational
Development and Renewal. London: Pitman.

Elliot, R.D. (1990). ‘The Challenge of Managing Change’. Personnel Journal,Vol. 69, No. 3, March.

French, W. L. & Bell, C.H. (1995). Organizational Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organization Improvement.(5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management & Organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.). London: Pitman Publishing.
 


MODULE	2

 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
 
Power and Control
The Concept of Status and Occupational Prestige
Perception Personality Concept Work Groups
 


UNIT 1	POWER AND CONTROL

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content: Power and Control
	The Concept of Power
	The Bases of Power
	The Cost of Using Power
	Power Blocs
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

The concepts of leadership and power have generated lively interest, debate and occasionally confusion throughout the evolution of management thought. The concept of power is closely related to the concept of leadership, for power is one of the means by which a leader influences the behaviour of followers. Given this integral relationship between leadership and power, scholars have argued that leaders must not only assess their leader behaviour in order to understand how they actually influence other people but they must also examine their possession and use of power.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end this unit, you should be able to:

•	define power and differentiate it from other concepts
•	discuss the bases of power
•	explain the blocs that available in an organization
•	state the cost of using power.
 



	MAIN CONTENT

	The Concept of Power

Although the concepts in the field of OB seldom have universally agreed definitions, power and other concepts, such as influence and authority, may have even more diverse definitions than most. Almost everyone who writes about power defines it differently. For example, power has been defined in the following ways:

•	The ability to employ force.
•	The production of intended effects.
•	Power is when “(Mr.) A has power over (Mr.) B to the extent that A can get B to do something that B would otherwise not do.
•	Power has also been broadly defined as “The maximum ability of a person of group to induce or influence other individuals or groups and bring about some degree of change in their behaviour.
•	ROGERS attempt to clear up the terminological confusion by defining power as “The potentials for influence.

Thus, power is a resource which may or may not be used. The use of power resulting in the probability that a person or group will adopt the desired behavioural change is defined as “influence”. Accepting ROGERS’ definition, the following distinction is made between leadership and power.

Leadership has been defined as the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in efforts toward goal accomplishment in a given situation or a group in efforts toward goal simply any attempt to influence, while Power is well described as a leader’s Influence Potential. It is the resource that enables a leader to induce compliance from or influence other. Hence power is a force which one can use to obtain compliance. The use of power is therefore leadership.

It must also be noted that power and authority are often used interchangeably. But if power is defined as influence potential, how does one describe authority? Authority is a particular type of power which has its origin in the position that a leader occupies. Thus, authority is the power that is legitimatized by virtue of an individual’s formal role in a social organization.

Hence, in the management context, authority is a form of power or influence that is sometimes defined as the supreme coordinating power.
 


It is the power to perform responsibility, the right to take action or to direct others to do so. This gives managers the power to direct and enlist the cooperation of subordinates and to achieve the coordination of their efforts.

	Bases of Power

Many power base classification systems have been developed but the framework devised by French and Raven appears to be most widely accepted. They propose that there are five (5) different bases of power. This includes: coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, referent power, and reward power. Later, Raven added information power. Then, in 1979, Goldsmith et al proposed a seventh basis of power– connection power. These seven bases of power identified as potential means of successfully influencing the behaviour of others are discussed below.

1.	Coercive Power

This source of power depends on fear. The person with coercive power has the ability to inflict punishment on the other person or at least, to make threats that the other person will result in punishment or undesirable outcomes. This form of power has contributed greatly to the negative connotation that power has for laypersons.

Although coercive power is most commonly thought of in terms of physical force or perhaps the use of a weapon, it can also bring about reliance upon physical strength, verbal facility or the ability to grant or withhold emotional support from others. These bases provide the individual with the means to physically harm, bully, humiliate or deny love to others. In an organizational context, managers frequently have coercive power in threat they can fire or demote subordinates or stop their pay, although unions have certainly stripped some of this power away over the years. Management can also directly or indirectly threaten an employee with these punishing consequences.

2.	Expert Power

This is based on the leader’s possession of expertise, skill, and knowledge or understanding only in certain well defined areas, which, through respect, influence others. A leader high in expert power is seen as possessing the expertise to facilitate the work behaviour of others. This respect leads to compliance with the leader’s wishes put in other words, others must perceive the power holder to be credible trustworthy and relevant before expert power is granted or recognised.
 


Credibility comes from having the right credentials; that is the person must really know what he or she is talking about and be able to show tangible evidence of his knowledge. For example, if a high successful football coach gives an aspiring young player some advice on how to do new block, he grant expertly instead to – he will be granted expert power. The coach has knowledgeable about case because he is so knowledgeable about football.

Besides credibility, the person (agent) must also have trustworthiness and advance. By trustworthiness, it is meant that the person seeking expert power must have a reputation for being honest and straightforward. The point must also be made that expertise is the most tenuous (very thin) type of power, but managers and especially staff specialists, who seldom have the other sources of power available to them, often have to depend upon their expertise as their only source of power.

3.	Legitimate Power

This is power based on the position held by the leader. Normally, the higher the position, the higher the legitimate power tends to be. A leader high in legitimate power induces compliance or influences other because they feel that this person has the right, by virtue of his position in the organization, to expect that his suggestions will be followed. This shows that unlike reward and coercive power which depend on the relationships with others, legitimate power depends on the position or role that the person holds.

Legitimate power can come from three major sources.

First the prevailing culture values of a society, organization, or group determine what is legitimate. For example, in some societies, the older people become the more legitimate power they possess. The same may be true for certain physical attributes, sex, or vocation. In an organizational, context managers generally have legitimate power because employees believe in the hierarchical chain where higher positions have been designed to have power over lower positions.

Secondly, people can obtain legitimate power from the accepted social structure. In some societies there is an accepted ruling class. But an organization or a family may also have an accepted social structure that gives legitimate power.

A third source of legitimate power can come from being designated as the agent or representative of a powerful person or group. Elected officials, union or management committees are examples of this form of
 


legitimate power. Each of this form of legitimate power creates an obligation to accept and be influenced. But in actual practice, there are often problems, confusion, or disagreement about the range or scope of this power.

4.	Referent Power

This source or basis of power is based on the leader’s trait (characteristic). A leader high in referent power is generally liked and admired by others because of personality. This liking of, admiration for, and identification with the leader influences others. Advertisers take advantage of this type of power when they use celebrities, such as movie stars or sport figures, to do testimonial advertising. The buying public identifies with (finds attractive) certain famous people and grants them power to tell them what product to buy.

Timing is an interesting aspect of the testimonial advertising type of referent power. Only professional athletes who are in season for example football players who are in top-form are used in the advertisement, because then they are visible, they are the forefront of the public’s awareness and consequently they have referent power.

In an organizational setting, referent power is much different from the other types of power. For example, management with referent power must be attractive to subordinates so that subordinates will wand to identify with them, regardless of whether the managers later have the ability to reward or punish or whether they have legitimacy. In other words, the manager who depends on referent power must be personally attractive to subordinate

5.	Reward Power

This source of power depends on the person’s having the ability and resources to reward others. In addition, they target of this power must value these rewards. In an organizational context, managers have many potential rewards such as pay increases, new equipment, promotions, favourable work assignments, more responsibility, praise, feedback and recognition available to them.

To understand this source of power more completely, it must be remembered that the recipient holds the key. If managers offer subordinates what they think is a reward (for example, a promotion with increased responsibility), but subordinates do not value it (for example, they are insecure or have family obligations that ate more important to them than a promotion), then managers do not really have reward power. By the same token, managers may not think they are giving a reward to
 


subordinates (they calmly listen to chronic complainers); the managers nevertheless have reward power. Also, managers may not really have the rewards to dispense (they may say that they have considerable influenced with top management to get their people promoted), but as long as their people think they have it, they do indeed have reward power.

6.	Information Power

This is based on the leader’s possession of or access to information that is perceived as valuable by others. This power based influences others because they need this information or want to be in on things.

7.	Connection Power

This basis of power is based on the leader’s “connections” with influential or important persons inside or outside the organization. A leader high in connection power induces compliance from others because they aim at gaining the favour or avoiding the disfavour of powerful connection.

	Cost of Using Power

It is important to consider the cost involved in attempting to use a resource to influence another person’s behaviour. Sometimes, the cost will be so high that the user of the power will prefer to abandon its use. This is an ideal situation. Nevertheless, it is wiser to use power when the cost of using such power is very low.

For instance, a manager who has the power to terminate the employment will in doing so, consider the cost of hiring a substitute with its attendance recruitment difficulty. On the other hand, the risk of being perceived by other employees as wicked and unjust is also costly. Therefore the more costly it is to use a resource, the less power are held over another person.

	Power Blocs

Power blocs (also called potential influences) simply refer to those that possess certain qualities strong enough to influence an organization’s decision. Some of these power blocs are identified and discussed as follows:

1.	Board of Director: They are the governing council of the organization and most decision often originates from this body.
 


2.	Management: They day to day running of the organization is vested in the management. In this sense, management is rewarded as a powerful organizational position, that is, individuals who have authority and responsibility in getting thing done. Such individual (e.g. functional managers) enjoy the power of employment. By the virtue of their position they influenced the employees and consequently become a recognizable bloc within the organization.

3.	The Employees: They are responsible for the operational and administrative work of an organization. Some of these employees exert expert and information power on members of the organization; hence they are accorded some respect.

4.	Labour Union: Workers do come together under the umbrella of a union, to exercise their right within the organization. In other words, the function of mediating and bargaining between the worker and management are left for the union to handle. This has made the union a powerful bloc within an organization (i.e. unionized organization) because they can use all available weapons (e.g. demonstration, go slow, slow-down, overtime ban, sit-in work-in or the strike) at their disposal to influence the management decision.

5.	Government: Although this is an external power bloc, it influences the organization. Climate may not be over locked. For instance, they government seldom fix minimum and maximum wage which companies should pay their employees and at times they fix an operational budget which a company should use in a financial year. In summary, they concept of power control is very important toward organizational development. Hence its inclusion in the study of organizational behaviour is to say the least appropriate.

4.0	CONCLUSION

This unit has discussed power and other closely related concepts like authority, influence, and concluded that the use of power is leadership.

5.0	SUMMARY

The concept of power is closely related to the concept of leadership, for power is one of the means by which a leader influences the behaviour of followers. Power is a resource which may or may not be used. The use of power resulting in the probability that a person or group will adopt the desired behavioural change is defined as “influence”.
 



6.0	TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT

How would you define the term power bloc? Identify and discuss the different power blocs available in your present organization.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

French, W. L. & Bell, C.H. (1995). Organizational Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organizations Improvement. (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Gbolahan, G. & Adebakin, M. A. (2009). Organizational Behaviour: A Basic Introduction. (2nd ed.). Shomolu – Lagos: Nukucanu and Brothers Enterprises.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and Organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.).London: Pitman
Publishing.

Stewart, R. (1991).  Managing Today  and  Tomorrow.	New York:
Macmillan.
 


UNIT 2	THE CONCEPT OF STATUS AND OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Meaning of Status
	Sources of Status
	Status Comparison and Reactions to Comparison
	Occupational Prestige
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

Status is another characteristic of individual which generally affects behaviour. In a social system, status cannot and must not be ignored because of its importance to most people. In this unit, you will be exposed to the study of status as an influencing variable on behavior in an organizational setting.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of the unit, you should be able to:

•	explain different perspectives as to the meaning of status
•	state the different sources of status.

	MAIN CONTENT

	The Meaning of Status

Status is another characteristic of individual which affects behavior. In a social system, status cannot and must not be ignored because of its importance to most people. In this context, it is common to see people with high status act differently from people with low status. As a concept, status is defined as the social rank of a person in relation to other people in a social system. Psychologists described status as the rank we confer on a person according to our perception of him. Status is therefore a product of social interaction and no one is assumed to have it unless it is conferred on him by that interaction.
 


The terms role and status are sometimes used interchangeably but the distinction is instructive. While status defines who a person is. Role defines what such a person is expected to do. Status can either be Formal or Informal; it is formal when the rank is designated by the authority structure of the organization and it is informal when it is accorded to people because of feeling towards them. It must also be pointed out that key elements in status are ranking and comparison. Individuals are bound together in status system or status hierarchies which defined their rank in relation or relative to other within the system. Simply put therefore, status is the worth of an individual as estimated by a group or class of persons.

	Sources of Status

There are basically two main sources of status: the social system based on value perception and the organization. Status is commonly conferred on people by the social system based on some factors such as wealth, occupation, culture, personal achievement, education, family background, etc.

i.	Occupation: This confers status in two ways. Whatever we do to bring progress to others bring status and places one in a social class.
ii.	Wealth: Society gives status to individual through the organization of wealth principally because of the reward and the cost invested in sharing his wealth to others. E.g. a philanthropist.
iii.	Culture: A chief, elders, priests are given status from the community either because of hard work, old age or environmental demand.
iv.	Personal Achievement: Here, the concept of “self-made man” plays an important role. Military generally, scientist managers, sports figure acquire celebrity status because of personal achievement can bring lasting recognition and prestige.
v.	Education: In modern industrial society, individual who lacks the expected educational qualifications is almost ineligible. The amount of formal education an individual can obtain will affects his occupation. Income level, reputation etc.
vi.	Family Background: The achievements and status of one’s parents and grandparent also contribute to a great deal in giving high status to people from that family.
vii.	Leisure time: The way people spend their leisure time gives them status. This can arise from being a member of a social club such as the rotary, inner wheel, oriental, Tennis club etc. These clubs are actually for the opulence and those who cannot reach this height often place them in high esteem.
 


Unlike the individual sources, the organization also gives status through any of the following ways. These are:

i.	Organization association
ii.	Occupation (e.g. Supreme Court Judges)
iii.	Organizational level (e.g. Managing Director)
iv.	Salary grade level (e.g. 3.5 Million naira for furniture allowance)
v.	Workloads (e.g. Number of publications or research articles a lecturer has to his credit).

	Status Comparison and Reactions to Comparison

Status comparison refers to act of ranking others and comparing ourselves to such rank people. It can also be used to measure the values or worth of one’s status among others. It is a truism that characteristically, high status people:

i.	enjoy more power and influence
ii.	receive more privileges from their group
iii.	tend to participate more in significant group activities
iv.	tend to interact more with their peers than with those of lower rank.
v	have opportunity to play a more important role in an organization.

As a result, lower status members tend to feel isolated from the mainstream and show more stress symptoms than higher ranked members.

This comparison in status can be viewed from two major perspectives namely:

i.	Distributive Justice
ii.	Status congruence

Distributive Justice

This (also called natural justice) is the perception that person’s outcome is directly proportional to the effort and costs he has invested. This is sometimes measure by comparing oneself with others on the same outcome, based on the amount of investments (or efforts).

Hence, distributive justice is said to be at play if the outcome of certain set of members in a group is higher because they have invested more (in terms of efforts) in the course of their jobs. On the other hand, it is injustice if somebody’s income is higher because he/she is the favourite of the CEO and not necessarily due to hard work.
 


ii.	Status Congruence

Congruence implies that all the characteristics and attribute of a person are greater than, equal to or lower than the corresponding attributes of a person with whom he can be compared. Thus, the manager as compared with the assistant manager must have a higher income, a bigger office, more clerical staff and better experience. In other words, the manager is said to enjoy benefit/outcomes congruent/equal to/ with his status. Example of in congruence is: supervisors earning less than their subordinates.

For example status symbols serve as reward; tells the amount of authority possessed; serves as communication facilitators. Titles and physical appearance are some obvious symbols used to designed status. It is important to note that for an organization to be effective, distributive justice and status, congruence must be allowed to take its course. When inequality is perceived it created disequilibrium and attempt are always made by the people either in an organization or social system at ensuring equilibrium in status. People must therefore be able to assess the costs, investments and rewards of similarly positioned co-worker so that they can make an accurate comparison either their own status/outcomes.

	Occupational Prestige

The relationship between status, occupational prestige and job satisfaction cannot be over-emphasized. Occupation prestige is the importance attached to a profession based on the quality and length of training required of such occupation. It is specially related to a person’s education and income. For example in modern industrial society, a person prepares himself for occupational life by obtaining an education, which in turn, prepares him for a more significant occupational role. This is further rewarded with more economic (income) and social status. The point therefore is that people tend to be assigned to a class status according to their occupations.

Occupational prestige hence becomes one of the most basic systems of stratification in modern societies. A skilled occupation for instance enjoys high status more than non-skilled occupations. Even among the skilled occupations, workers in the oil and banking industries enjoy more prestige than their counterparts in teaching profession.
 


The importance of occupational prestige can therefore be enumerated as follows:

ii.	It helps a counselor to diagnose status problems and conflicts
iii.	It influences the kinds of promotion and transfer an employee will take.
iv.	It helps to determine who will be the informal leader of a group composed of different occupations.
v.	It enables “status seekers” to qualify themselves for high status jobs so that they can become better adjusted.
vi.	It serves as a motivator to those seeking to advancement in the organization.

In relation to the status concept, job satisfaction refers to the contentment experienced when a want is satisfied. Technically speaking, job satisfaction is the difference between the amount of some valued outcome a person receives and the concept that create a feeling of enthusiasm and happiness during and after working hours. Indeed, the usefulness of job satisfaction to the social interaction (which in turn gives rise to status) can be summarized as follows:

i.	It gives management an indication of the general levels of satisfaction in a company
ii.	It reduces turnover, absenteeism and consequently high productivity.
iii.	It gives the staff a feeling of belongingness.
iv.	Job satisfaction affects the employee’s life outside the job.
v.	It ensures valuable communication from or in all directions.

One may therefore rightly conclude that, status, like power, is also a function of social interaction in a social system. And it is rather conferred than possessed.

4.0	CONCLUSION

This unit discussed status and concludes that for an organization to be effective, distributive justice and status, congruence must be allowed to take its course. When inequality is perceived, it creates disequilibrium and attempts are always made by the people either in an organization or social system at ensuring equilibrium in status.

5.0	SUMMARY

Status, like power, is a function of social interaction in a social system. And it is rather conferred than possessed. Key elements in status are ranking and comparison. Status are commonly conferred on people by
 

 

the social system based on wealth, occupation, culture, background etc.
 

the possession of some factors such as personal achievement, education, family
 

6.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Explain in clear terms the concept of occupational prestige to bring out its importance.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Gbolahan G. & Adebakin, Moruf A. (2009). Organizational Behaviour: A Basic Introduction. (2nd ed.). Shomolu – Lagos: Nukucanu and Brothers Enterprises.

Hicks, H.G. & Gullet, C.R. (1976).	Organizations: Theory and
Behaviour. McGraw-Hill: Kogak Usha Limited.

Musaaz, J.C.S (1982). The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration. Nigeria: Macmillan Press.
 


UNIT 3	PERCEPTION

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Stuff of Perception
	The Principles of Perceptual Selectivity
	Social Perception
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

Perception is one of the most important cognitive processes. Basically cognitions are bits of information and the cognitive processes involve the ways in which people process that information. In other words, the cognitive processes suggest that humans are information processor (e.g. computers). However people’s individual differences and uniqueness are largely the result of the cognitive processes. Perception is the chief mechanism by which human beings comes to know the world outside them. Understanding of this concept is what this unit seeks to equip you with as a learner.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	state the meaning of perception
•	list and discuss the principles of perceptual selectivity
•	explain the issues influencing in social perception.

	MAIN CONTENT

	The Stuff of Perception

Perception plays a key role in human behaviour. Generally speaking, people behave according to what they believe they see, not the “objective reality”. Indeed, how people act is often largely a function of how they interpret their current surroundings, both physical and social.
Even when exposed to the same situation, information or events, different persons often report sharply contrasting reactions through an active complex process. This is known as perception.
 


Perception is often defined as ‘the process of actively selecting, organizing and interpreting information brought to us by our senses in order to understand the complex world around us.’ Perception “translates” (or processes) the stimuli (situations) received by the senses into impressions (pictures) of the world. Although perception is a very private process, in almost all situations, our behaviour is strongly determined by the process of perception, and the interpretation of physical of social reality it yields.

	The Principles of Perceptual Selectivity

At any given time, numerous stimuli (situations) are constantly confronting everyone. The noise of the air conditioner, the sound of other people talking and moving and outside noises from cars, planes or street repair work are a few of the stimuli that literally swept/ flood on us from our various senses, plus the impact of the total environmental situation. Yet we do not perceive the world around us as a random collection of sensations, instead, we recognize specific objects and orderly patterns of events. The most important aspect of perception that contributes to this orderliness lies in the selective nature of perception. Perceptual selectivity is a discussion that is concerned with how and why people select out only a very few stimuli at a given time in the face of numerous inputs/stimuli that floods us from our senses. It is essentially a study of the external variables that gain an individual attention.

Attention is probably the crucial first step in perception. Unless a stimulus (situation) is noticed, it cannot be perceived and interpreted. Thus, attention acts as a kind of filter with respect to perception such that only what passes through our notice can have any impact on our interpretation of the world around us. In many cases, stimuli (situations) that succeed in capturing our attention tend to be viewed as more important than ones that do not.

For example, people noticed most in a group tend to be viewed as being the most influential and therefore, as the most capable of leadership various external and internal attention factors affect perceptual selectivity. The external factors consist of outside environmental influences such as intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion, and novelty and familiarity.

1.	Intensity: The intensity principle of attention states that the more intense the external stimulus, the more likely it is to perceive a loud noise, strong odour, or bright light will be noticed more than a soft sound, weak odour, or dim light.
 


Advertisers use intensity to gain the consumer’s attention for example a bright packaging and television commercials that are slightly louder than the regular programme. Similarly supervisors may yell (shout) at their subordinates to gain attention.

2.	Size: This principle says that the larger the objects, the more likely it will be perceived. For example, the maintenance engineering staff may pay more attention to a big machine than to a smaller one even though the smaller one cost as much and is as important to the operation. In advertising, a full-page spread (in a newspaper) is more attention getting than a few lines in the classified section.

3.		Contrast: The contrast principles states that external stimuli which stand out against the background or against what people are expecting will receive signs which have block lettering on a yellow background or white lettering on a red background are attention getting similarly, a worker with many years of experience hardly notices the deafening noise on the factory floor of a typical manufacturing operation. However, if one or more of the machines should come suddenly to a halt, the person would immediately notice the difference in noise level.

4.	Repetition: The repetition principle states that a repeated external stimulus is more attention setting than a single one. The explanation is that “a stimulus that is repeated has a better chance of catching us during one of the periods when our attention to a task is waning. In addition, repetition increases our sensitivity or alertness to the stimulus”.

5.	Motion: The motion principle says that people will pay more attention to moving objects in their field of vision than they will to stationary objects. Workers will notice materials moving by them on a conveyor belt but they may fail to give proper attention to the maintenance needs of the stationary machine next to them.

6.	Novelty and Familiarity: The novelty and familiarity principles states that either a novel or a familiar external situation can serve as an attention getter. Now objects or events in a familiar setting or events in a new setting will draw the attention of the perceiver. Switching from a typewriter to a word processor may not motivate the clerical staff but it will increase their attention until they become accustomed to the new job.

The Motivational Factors: This can be thought of as an internal form of attention getting that is largely based on the individual’s complex
 


psychological makeup. People will select stimuli or situations from the environment that appeal to them, and such personal influences on attention include motives, attitudes and past experience.

1.	Motives: One personal factor that strongly affects our immediate surroundings is our current motives. The impact of this internal state can be readily illustrated: Assuming you are in a business meeting, what stimuli or events you notice will to a large extent depend on your current motivational state. If it is close to lunch time and you are hungry, you any focus on the delicious smell of food entering the room from a nearby restaurant, or the sound of the snack tray in the nearby dining hall. In short, what you notice will be strongly affected by your current or motives.

2.	Attitudes: A second personal factor that often exerts a strong impact upon attention is our attitudes or values. Typically, we notice stimuli about which we have clear positive or negative feelings (strong attitudes) much more readily than ones toward which we are neutral. Thus, an individual who is strongly opposed to some plan of actions (e.g. actualization of 1993, June 12 election results) would be highly sensitive to even indirect references to it during a meeting. Similarly, a manager who really likes one of her subordinates will probably notice his performance than that of other subordinates toward whom she has weaker personal feelings.

3.	Past Experience: The selective nature of perception is often affected by our past experience. We tend to notice those aspects of the world around us that are familiar, or fit with cognitive frameworks established through past experience. Unfortunately, such difference in perspective can sometimes lead to major problems of communication. Since persons trained in different fields and holding different jobs tend to perceive the same events, objects or situations differently, they often find it difficult to “get through” (or listen objectively to one another. The important task for managers therefore is that of noticing such differences and assuring that they do not result in unnecessary and potentially harmful friction.

	Social Perception

As members of an organizational setting, we are often (frequently) interested in why people around us (other organizational participants) act the way they do. Sometimes we are interested in their traits, goals and motives. This is quite natural. This is because other persons-bosses, co-workers, subordinates etc. are also interested in us. However our
 


understanding (even if partially) of such complex issued is possible only through an active process of social perception.

The social aspect of perception has important role in organizational behaviour, social perception is directly concerned with how one individual perceive other individuals. Briefly, it is an active attempt we make to combine, integrate and interpret information about other persons and in this way, to form useful “picture” of them a basic grasp of what they are like and what essentially makes them what they are. However since human beings are extremely complex social perception too, is a complicated affair.

Characteristics of Perceiver and Perceived

A recent research study has come up with some characteristics which on the one hand greatly influence how a person perceives others in the environmental situation and on the other hand characteristics of person being perceived which influence social perception.

Characteristics of the perceiver reveal a profile of the perceived as follows:

1.	Knowing oneself makes it easier to see others accurately
2.	One’s own characteristics affect the characteristics one is likely to see in others.
3.	People who accept themselves are more likely to be able see favourable aspects of other people.
4.	Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.

Research has also revealed certain characteristics of the person being perceived as follows:

1.	The status of the person being perceived will greatly influence others perception of the person.
2.	The person being perceived is usually placed into categories to simplify the viewer’s perceptual activities. Two common categories are status and role.
3.	The visible traits of the person perceived will greatly influence the perception of the person.

These characteristics of the perceiver and the perceived suggest the extreme complexity of social perception. Organizational participants must (therefore) realize that their perceptions of another person are greatly influenced by their own characteristics and of the characteristics of the others being perceived. For example, knowing that your boss is ambitious and self-disciplined may help you to act in ways that please
 


him or her. Similarly, knowing that some members of your departments have a bad temper and are easily irritated can assist you in avoiding several kinds of trouble with such people.

Attribution

Attribution simply refers to how a person explains the cause of another’s or of his or her own behaviour. In our efforts to understand other persons, we actually focus on several different issues. Two of the most important of these involve attempts on our part to identify their major traits or characteristics and efforts to determine whether their actions stem mainly from internal or external causes. Therefore applied to social perception, attribution – is the search for causes (attributions) in making interpretations of other persons or of oneself behaviours.

For example, what the manager attributes the cause of a subordinate’s behaviour to will affect the manager’s perception of and resulting behaviour towards, the subordinate. If the subordinate’s outstanding performance is attributed to a new machine or engineering procedure, the perception and resulting treatment will be different from the perception and resulting treatment, if the performance is attributed to ability and driver. The same is true of attributions made of one’s own behaviour. Perceptions and hence behaviour will vary depending on whether internal (personal attributions) or external (situational attributions) are made.

Stereotyping

This is another important area of social perception that is particularly relevant to the understanding of organizational behaviour, because it is one of the “common errors” or problems that creep into social perception. The term stereotype refers to the tendency to perceive another person (hence social perception) as belonging to a single or category. In other words stereotypes means beliefs suggesting that all members of a particular group (e.g. a racial, ethic, occupational, religious or political) share the same traits and behaviours.

Stereotyping greatly influences social perception in today’s organizations. It has become a frequently used term to describe perceptual errors. In particular it is employed in analyzing prejudice. Stereotyping may however attribute favourable or unfavourable trait or characteristics to the person being perceived. Common stereotype groups include the various members of functional and staff specialists for example economists, computer programmers and engineers. There is a consensus about the traits or characteristics possessed by the members of these categories. Yet in reality there is often a discrepancy between
 


the agreed-upon traits of each category and the actual traits of the members. For example, not all musicians are womanizers and marry more than one wife. On the contrary, there are individual differences and a great deal of variability among members of these groups. In spite of this, other organization members commonly make blanket perceptions and behave accordingly.

The halo effect

This is another common error in perception and is very similar to stereotyping. Whereas in stereotyping the person is perceived according to a single category or group but under the halo effect, there is a tendency for our overall impressions of others (blanket perception) to affect our evaluations of their specific traits or behaviours. Such effect can be positive (a favourable halo) or negative (a rusty halo in nature). Halo is often discussed in performance appraisal when a rater makes an error in judging a person’s total personality and/or performance on the basis of a single trait such as intelligence, appearance, dependability or cooperativeness whatever the single trait is, it may override all other traits or characteristics in forming the perception of the person. Examples of the halo effect are the extremely beautiful woman secretary who is perceived by her male boss as being an intelligent, good performer, when, in fact, she is a poor typist and quite dense.

There are three (3) conditions under which the halo effect is most marked:

i.	When the traits to be perceived are unclear in behavioural expressions.
ii.	When the traits are not frequently encountered by the perceiver.
iii.	When the traits have moral implications

Many research studies have pointed out how the halo effect can influence perception. For examples one study documented the impact of the halo effect on employee perception in a company that was in receivership. Although that company paid relatively high wages and provide excellent working conditions and at least average supervision, the employees did not perceive these favourable factors. The insecurity produced an inverse or negative halo effect so that insecurity dominated over the pay and positive or favourable conditions of the job.
 


4.0	CONCLUSION

Perception plays a key role in human behaviour and in this context; this unit discussed various issues relating to Perception as the chief mechanism by which human beings comes to know the world outside them.

5.0	SUMMARY

Perception is the chief mechanism by which human beings comes to know the world outside them. Organizational participants must however realize that their perceptions of another person are greatly influenced by their own characteristics and of the characteristics of the others being perceived.

6.0	TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT

The social aspect of perception has important roles in organizational behaviour. Comment on these roles.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

French, W. L., Kast, F. E. & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1985). Understanding Human Behaviour in Organization. New York: Harper and Row.

Handy, C. B. (1993). Understanding Organizations. (4th ed.). London: Penguin.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and Organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.). London.
 


UNIT 4	PERSONALITY CONCEPT

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	Conceptual Descriptions of the Meaning of Personality
	Determination of Personality
	Theories of Personality Development
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

Conceptually, personality has not been easily defined. Personality is not something that different people have more or less of it. Personality is not an evaluative thing hence it is not something desirable or undesirable, it is not something good or bad rather it is the most enduring and persistent characteristics of a person by which he is unique and different from any other human being. Personality forms the main focus of this unit.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	explain the meaning of the term personality
•	clearly highlight and discuss each determinant factors of personality
•	comment on the theories of personality.

	MAIN CONTENT

	Conceptual Descriptions of the Meaning of Personality

The concept of personality is difficult to define for two reasons:

1.	It is viewed differently by different theorists. For example, Sigmund Freud said that it is made up of behavioural patterns resulting from the handling of childhood sexual impulses. Other theorists emphasize different origin of personality, therefore since emphasis differs, definitions must also differ.
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


2.	It is complex and variable i.e. a person can show variety of behaviour which makes it difficult for us to pin him down to a particular behaviour e.g. how do you explain a person who appears to be devout Christian or church goers on Sundays, shy and meek but he is a tax evader. But this does not mean that there is nothing like personality. The word personality is derived from the word person meaning mask. It has been defined differently by different psychologist. Some see it as the psychological qualities of a person or the qualities of a person by which his presence is felt anywhere.

It has also been defined as the outstanding qualities of a person or the impression we hold about a person. So in every parlance of conversation, we describe a lousy, mouthy person as having no personality. By saying that, we equate personality to social success, so we say a person who is good, popular, tall, and well-dressed as having a personality. This is misleading. Rather they are the laymen’s views of the concept. Social scientists have seen it differently. Personality is not something that different people have more or less of it. It is not something good or bad, so the lousy mouthy person and the positive agreeable person have equal personality even though they are different personalities

Personality is not an evaluative thing, hence it is not something desirable or undesirable, it is not something good or bad rather it is the most enduring and persistent characteristics of a person by which he is unique and different from any other human being by which he resemble and act like all human beings or like some human beings. This implies that personality has both organic as well as the perceived aspect. The organic related to an individual’s genetic code, the perceived relate to the social stimulus value of an individual in which he presents himself to a significant others.

Summarily, therefore, personality represents the phenotype in an expression the genotype essence of man, that part of him that is most representative. It is therefore regarded as consisting relatively long lasting behaviour patterns that yield fairly consistent reactions to different – situations e.g. if an individual is aggressive or authoritarian, we may on the long run find out that he is kind and which may turn out to be the most representation of him and which differentiated him from other people.

For instance, a person who appears persistent and aggressive may be as a result of his being in a consistently frustrating situation which can evoke aggressiveness or aggressive behaviour in any one. To that extent, aggressiveness is not his personality meaning that for a person’s
 


personality to be determined he must watched over a long period of time especially form adolescent to adulthood because a person’s personality becomes predictable as he moves or passed from adolescent to adulthood.

	Determination of Personality

Various factors have been listed as responsible for the determination of personality.

•	His inherited body constitution, that is, physiological make-up (genetic inheritance)
•	Social or cultural determinant
•	Roles determinant
•	Situational determinants.

(A)	Inherited Body Constitution

It has been urged and tested that certain ongoing biological processes in the body account for personality. This is why in treating a psychiatric patient (megalomania or psychic maladjustment), it is first established whether or not there have been an organic damage.

Many studies have been taken also to test that certain genes contribute to the development illness in people. Someone like Williams Sheldod has used the physical appearance of people to determine their personality types like endomorphic and ectomorphic personality.

The Endomorphic is an excretion of excess visceral (excess fat) He says such person is jolly-loving, pleasure seeking etc. The Mesomorphic is an indication of bones and muscles, wide shoulders, narrow hips, square jaws, huge and strong we call them morons, imbeciles, nit wit etc.
The Ectomorphic is tall, thin, stoop shoulder, an indication of sensitive nervous system; he says that they are intelligent.

(B)	Social or Cultural Determinant

It emphasizes the role of the social environment especially with respect to individual’s experiences as members of a culture. Culture is a total way of life of people (repertoire) which is shared and transmitted from generation to generation through the process of socialization.

For a society to function properly there must be a shared pattern of behaviour which determines that you expect of people and what people and what people expect of you. Each member gets socialized into those social behaviours and which in turn mold an individual. To this extent
 


we can say that a culture produces its personality types meanings that a culture develops certain personality traits in common with which every member of the culture is recognised, each member of the culture represents this typical personality but with some individual derivations. For example, some cultures develops somewhat aggressive personalities others develop placid or submissive personalities, other develop active agile persons, Zulus are war like because culture teach them to be so.

(C)	Role Determinant

Sociologist define role as the behaviour that is associated with a social status position. We as human beings have our roles to perform for a number of reasons. In certain cases the culture defines individual role. So because we are males or females we have certain roles called sex roles. As fathers or mothers we have parental role as defined by the culture. For example, In Nigeria men are domineering. In the USA women are domineering.

Similarly, individual are born into masculine sex role and feminine sex role and so in Nigeria, it is the father’s role to provide the bread and finance the home. The mother stays at home, cook the food and take care of the children. This may be viewed differently by some other societies. Similarly, some people find themselves in different social classes each of which has its own roles to perform. For example, some people are in the lower class, others in the middle and yet others in the upper. It is often said that lower class people exhibit greater tendency towards aggression.

(D)	Situational Determinant

This suggests that the situation in which a person is placed makes an input on the personality. This is what Kurt Lewin calls Eco behaviour. That environment is a source of input for personality output. In order words, the personality is an expression of the interaction between environment and the individual. For example, sometimes some people in prison never committed any crime but they, however, were locked up because they could not clear themselves from the charges pressed against them, it is therefore noticed afterwards that such persons develop into criminals because they have been made to develop dependency syndrome while in the prison. Along this line is the unique experience of the individual which make great impact on the personality, very relevant here are experiences in the home.
 


	Theories of Personality Development

We shall consider two (2) main theories and these are:

1.	The psycho-analytical theory of personality
2.	The trait theory of personality

1.	Psycho-Analytical Theory: Psycho-analytical theory implies the analysis of the psycho (inner self). Sigmund Freud was the founder and dominant figure of the psycho-analytical school of thought. The theory is anchored on two (2) premises:

a.	One is that adult problems have their roots causes in childhood experiences.
b.	That all mental problems are personality problems and they are rooted in childhood experience.

Sigmund Freud argued that the personality is made up of three units:

i.	Id : (seeks for pleasure at all time)
ii.	Super-ego
iii.	Ego
Fig. 4.1: Sigmund Freud Compartmentalization of Personality

Underlying them is what we call libido (which-means lust). This is sexual energy possessed by all infants and it is responsible for most of our behaviour. Libidinal urges find expression and in doing that creates tension in the individual. The tension needs release, if release is not found in real life the desires appears as dreams, fantasies and other psychological disturbances such as phobia. For example, man may fear repressions because of his sexual wishes about the mother which he represses because they are wrong.
 


a)	The ‘Id’ is the unit that contains an individual’s basic desires. It is an instinctual irrational energy that is present at birth. It functions by seeking pleasure irrespective of who is hurt.

b)	The ‘super-ego’ opposes the ‘Id’. It can be equated to conscience. It represents the age of recognition of moral laws and constraints within the society as interpreted to him by the parents and enforced by a system of reward and punishment. The unit tries to place restriction on pleasure seeking by the children and helped him to imbibe the culture of discipline, good behaviour and other good attitudes etc.

c)	The ‘ego’ is a controlling unit. It is reality principle which helps the child to be aware of the world around him. It deals with both the aggressive desires of the Id and the repressive forces of the super-ego.

It gives the child the ability to distinguish between the things of the mind and the external world with respect to the ‘super-ego’. It therefore allows the child to plan and reason and behaves like people around, it is a controlling device. So Freud argued that what an individual becomes as an adult depends on how well the ‘ego’ is able to strike the balance between the constantly conflicting ‘Id’ (pleasure seeking unit of man) and the ‘super-ego’ (the restriction imposing and repressing unit of man).

	Freudian Development Stages

This psycho-analytical theory of personality ideas are further explained in Freudian developmental stages. Freud believes the individual’s pass through a sequence of human development, that as individuals develop from infancy to adulthood, he is punctuated by developments arising at certain stage and that with normal development, an individual will move from one stage to another but that the most important and critical to the individual are the ages 0 to 13 years. During this period the individuals passes through a number of critical experiences fixation (denial or prolonged stay or the inability of the ego to restore normalcy between the Id and the super-ego). Fixation implies that the energy will stay on and the experience if it’s not resolved will cause problems in adult life.

1.	Oral Stage: Corresponds with the age (0 – 1year) during this time, the infant derive pleasure around the region of the mouth precisely of the lips where the libido is first expressed. Usually, the infant consume food which he enjoys and so learn quickly that the lips produce pleasure, therefore, he puts any convenient device or object into his mouth whether hungry or not. Sigmund
 


Freud argued that there is a parallel between adult and infants behaviours especially if fixation has taken place. Such behaviours are excessive smoking, kissing, thumb sulking all of which give pleasurable sensations around the mouth. Other behaviours may include over eating, drinking, biting.

2.	Anal Stage: (about 1-3 years) Freud believes that the infant feels pleasurable experience around the anus. When enough food has been consumed an elimination process becomes inevitable. In other to avoid discomfort the child defecates anywhere, anytime, without control. If there is fixation the child grows into a stingy, miserly and passive. Other behaviours that go with persons like this are hoarding behaviour (anything, information, personal effect etc.) may be too rigid, may be excessively neat.

3.	Phallic Stage: (4-5 years) Freud claim that the child derives pleasure from his/her genital organ & this is where Freud developed his most controversial theory by claiming that infants possess sexual aggression, in a boy towards his mother and in a girl towards her father. He believes that it is a stage of infantile sexuality in which the boys enters into the “Oedipus conflict” and the girl into “Electoral conflict”.

In resolving the conflict, the ‘Ego’ tries to strike a balance between the warring “Id” and the “Super-Ego” using the process of identification, meaning that it tries to help the child to like the same sexed parents (boy likes his father and girl likes her mother). For example, the boy will try his father’s shoes on, sit on his seat/chair, talk like him and imitate him in various ways. The same thing goes for the girl. The more the child identifies with the same sex parents the less fear he/she has for him/her. If there is fixation at this stage, the individual becomes shameful in the presence of the opposite sex; fear for women if a man, and fear for man if a woman. Other tendencies include homosexuality, lesbianism, and envy for male role.

4.	After this stage, the child passes through a prolonged latency (dormant) stage (roughly 5years–puberty). During this period, the child tries to repress all sexual wishes and both boys and girls don not want to come into contact.

5.	Genital stage (13 years and above). The child gets over the crises relating to the drives towards the parents having realised that it cannot be fulfilled. He/she therefore becomes realistic and identifies with people of his/her age group of any sex. It is from here that the child enters into adolescent stage at which he wants
 


his presence anywhere, wants to assert himself and thinking that he has all answers to his/her problems.

Freud argued that problems in later life may be related to prolonged stay or denial at any of the stages. His ideas have been used to explain all sorts of abnormal behaviours such as perversion (behaviours that deviate from normal standard): for example, lesbianism, homosexualism, thumbs sulking, and smoking etc. It has been used to cure those undergoing mental illness (psychotherapy). Advertisers used Freud concept as related to sexual aggression in the individual. They do this through adverts that have sensuous appeals or sexual appeal.

	Trait Theory of Personality

A trait is a single component of personality and the trait theory is anchored on the premise that a combination of trait constitutes a personality type. A major figure in the trait school was “Eysenck” who proposed a two dimensional theory of personality. He argued that many important aspects of personalities could be understood through a combination of two dimensions namely:

1.	Stable (normal) vs. unstable (abnormal)
2.	Introverted vs. extroverted

1.	At the stable (normal) end are those whose emotions are controlled and not easily aroused. They are generally kind, reliable and easy tempered (have emotional stability). At the unstable or abnormal end are those who are moody, touchy, and anxious i.e. easily aroused.
2.	The introvert tends to withdraw to himself in times of emotional distress or conflict. He is shy, timid and prefers to work alone. The extrovert by contrast loses himself among people when he is under stress. He tends to be sociable and social, and he may be involved in such occupations as sales promotion and public relations job.

Eysenck argued that if we divide the two dimensions at the mid-point of distribution four personality types emerge namely:

1.	Stable introvert (phlegmatic) = passive, careful, thoughtful, calm, religious.
2.	Unstable introvert (melancholic) = too quiet, unsociable, reserved, pessimistic.
3.	Stable extrovert (sanguine) = lively, careful, easy going, responsive, outgoing.
 


4.	Unstable extrovert (choleric) = tough, restless, aggressive, excitable, changeable, impulsive.

Eysenck discovered an agreement between his classification and the ancient Greeks analysis of personality. The Greeks believed that a combination of characteristics or traits add-up to a personality type.

 
Passive
1.	Careful PHLEMALIC	Thoughtful (Stable Introvert) Calm
Reliable
 
2.	Too quite MELANCHOLIC: (Unstable Introvert)
 

Unsociable Reserved Pessimistic
 


 
Lively
3.	Careful
SANGUINE	Easy going
(Stable Extrovert) Responsive Outgoing
 
Tough
4.	Restless
CHOLERIC Aggressive (Unstable Extrovert) Excitable
Chargeable
impulsive etc.
 


Fig. 4.2: Eysenck’ Four Classifications of Trait-based Personality Types

The understanding of these traits implies the understanding of why individuals behave the way they do especially in organizations. Having such knowledge will then assist us in our effort to carry along with people

4.0	CONCLUSION

We have in this section considered the concept of personality, the determinant factors of personality and the theories of personality. We conclude here that personality is regarded as consisting relatively long lasting behaviour patterns that yield fairly consistent reactions to different – situations.

5.0	SUMMARY

Personality is made up of behavioural patterns resulting from the handling of child hood sexual aggression impulses. Most theorists emphasize different origins of personality, therefore since emphasis differs, definitions must also differ. Personality is not an evaluative thing. Hence, it is not something desirable or undesirable. It is not something good or bad; rather it is the most enduring and persistent
 


characteristics of a person by which he is unique and different from any other human being by which he resemble and act like all human beings or like some human beings. This implies that personality has both organic as well as the perceived aspect.

6.0	TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Explain the two dimensional theories of personality using a well- illustrated diagram.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

French, W. L., Kast, F. E. & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1985). Understanding Human Behaviour in Organization. New York: Harper and Row.

Gross, R. D. (1987). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour.
New York: Edward Arnold.

Handy, C. B. (1993). Understanding Organizations. (4th ed.). London: Penguin.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and Organizational Behaviour. (4th ed). London: Pitman Publishing.

Robbins, S. (1992). Essentials of Organizational Behaviour. ( 3rd ed.).
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Stewart, R. (1991). Managing Today  and Tomorrow.	New York: Macmillan.
 


UNIT 5	WORK GROUPS

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Meaning of a Work Group
	Characteristics of Groups
	Types of Groups
	The Purpose of a Group
	Theories of Group Formation
	Group Dynamics
4.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
5.0	Conclusion
6.0	Summary
7.0	References/Further Reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

Individuals in organizations seldom work in isolation from others. Workers are deliberately banded into groups in the form of departments, units, divisions, and the like. Hence, groups are a characteristic of all work situations and almost everyone in an organization will be a member of one or more groups. Basically, work is a group-based activity and for the organization to function effectively it requires good teamwork. This unit will expose you to the discussion on work groups and decision making.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	explain the meaning of a work group
•	comment on the characteristics and types of work group.

	MAIN CONTENT

	The Meaning of a Work Group

A work group is a set of two or more people who see themselves as a group and are interdependent with one another for a purpose, and communicate and interact with one another on a more or less continuing basis. In many cases (but not always), they work closely together physically. The essential feature of a group is that its members regard themselves as belonging to the group. Although there is no single,
 


accepted definition, most people will readily understand what constitutes a group. A popular definition by Schein (1988), regards the group in psychological terms as any number of people who interact with one another, are psychologically aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group.

A group is more than a collection of individuals; rather, through their interactions, new forms and new properties are created that need to be identified and studied in themselves. The goals may pertain to specific tasks, but it may also mean that the people share some common concerns, values, or ideology. Thus, group members are attracted to each other by some social bonds.

Groups are an essential feature of the work pattern of any organization. Members of a group must co-operate in order for work to be carried out, and managers themselves will work within these groups. People in groups influence each other in many ways and groups may develop their own hierarchies and leaders. Group pressures can have a major influence over the behaviour of individual members and their work performance. The activities of the group are associated with the process of leadership. The style of leadership adopted by the manager has an important influence on the behaviour of members of the group.

	Characteristics of Groups

1.	One obvious characteristic of a group is that it is composed of two or more individuals engaged in social interaction. People interact-verbally by mutually influencing each other. People must influence each other in same way to be considered a group.
2.	Group must also have some structure i.e. some stable pattern of relationships between members. A group structure is determined, impart, by cohesiveness i.e. – the present member faced to remain in their group. And it is also influenced by the informal rules that operate in groups referred to as norms. Similarly, it is determined by the many roles played by group members.
3.	A third characteristic of social group is that they share common goals groups from for some reasons their members come together to achieve some goals that they unifying interest that helps sustain the group.
4.	A goals characteristic of group is that their members perceived themselves as a group. People must reason with each other as similar in some ways, as sharing some common fate. Group members recognized each other and are able to differentiate who is and who is not part of the group.
 


	Types of Groups

There are numerous types of groups. There are small and large groups, primary and secondary groups, membership and reference groups, in and out groups and formal and informal groups. Each type has different characteristics and different effects on its members.

According to Charles H. Cooley, primary groups are those characterized by intimate face-to-face association and cooperation. They are primary in several senses, but chiefly, in that they are fundamental in forming the social nature and ideas of the individuals. Often, the terms Small group and Primary group are used interchangeable. Technically, there is a difference. A small group has to meet only criterions the assign precise numbers, but the accepted criterion of small size. Usually, no attempt is made to assign precise numbers, but the accepted criterion is that the group must be small enough for face to face interaction and communication to occur. In addition to being small, a primary group must have a feeling of comradeship. Loyalty and common sense are of values among members. Thus, all primary groups are primary groups. Two examples of primary groups are the family and the peer group.

Besides, there are also other classifications of groups that are important to the study of O.B. Two important distinctions are between membership and reference groups, and between in- groups and out- groups. These differences can be described as follows:

Membership groups are those to which the individual actually belongs, while reference group is one with which the individual identifies or to which he would like to belong. The in-group represents a christening of individuals holding prevailing values in a society or at least having a dominate place in social functioning. The out- groups are the conglomerated looked upon as subordinated or marginal in the culture. All these types of groups have relevance to the study of organizational behaviour but the formal and informal types are most directly applicable.

Formal groups are created (usually by managers), to fulfill specific tasks clearly related to the enterprise’s purpose. They can be permanent like departments in an organization, or temporary, like committees or task forces, which are often formed to achieve a purpose and then disband.

Two very common examples of formally designated groups in modern organization are the command and task group.
 


A command group consists of superior and the immediate subordinates. The members and structure of command groups are formally determined and are represented in the organization chart. The superior is granted authority over the members of the command group. Formal groups are formed by their members and may either be in achieving organization objectives or serve other needs of the members (such as social needs). There are three types of information group (or cliques).

1.	The horizontal clique i.e. a group of people who work in the same area and are of the same rank and status for example, all supervisors.
2.	The vertical clique is a group of people of different rank and status within the same department for examples lecturers starting from Asst. lecturer to a chief lecturer.
3.	The mixed clique is a group of people of different rank and status from different departments in different locations e.g. NASUP.

The latter two (II & III) types of groups may form because their members have known each other in the past or know each other off the job.

	The Purpose of a Group

The purpose of any group is to generate specific benefit to the (specific members and the environmental of the group. In other words, groups have many functions and advantages for individuals and the organization. Thus by becoming a member of a group, a person fulfills at least four of needs:

1.	Social and Affiliation Needs

Groups serve as the primary mechanism for fulfilling social need (Maslow) and affiliation need (McClelland) through friendship and support. The work group is the most likely place to find understanding, companionship and comradeship at work.
Job problems can be discussed with group members and this often applies to personal problems as well. So employees join work groups and work at being accepted in order to satisfy their need for affiliation (social need).

2.	Identity, Recognition and Esteem (Ego) Needs

The second reason people become involve in work groups is that the group can provide the recognition-ego (esteem) needs described by Maslow. It can also make a significant input to a person’s identity development because a major part of the identity of those for whom
 


work is important comes from the workplace. Indeed most middle class and upper-class.

3.	Security and Power Needs

Groups can help employees satisfy their security needs (Maslow) or their need or power (McClelland). If a group supports an employee against “arbitrary” demands by outsiders (other groups, managers, clients), it gives that employee more control over his or her destiny. It gives the employee a sense of power and therefore dignity. The evidence is fairly strong that most employees join unions to protect themselves against what they perceive to be arbitrary acts by supervisors or superiors.

4.	Other Needs

Groups serve a series of other purposes in addition to those just discussed. One is to help establish and stabilize perceptions of the workplace. Another benefit of groups is that they promote communication. It may be the give-and-take in a formal meeting, or can take the form of the grapevine, which is the informal communication through which group members became aware of “what is really going on in the firm”.

(a)	Socialization of New Employees: Sociologists described the process of orientating new employees as socialization. By this they mean teaching the new employee the work norms, that is, how to behave at work. In some cases, group “slows down” employees who are “working too hard” and showing up other members; So is the opposite also. If an employee is not working hard enough, the group pressures him or her to “get inline”.

This pressure takes the form of talking to the employee, slumming or ignoring him or her, or in extreme cases, physical pressures. Thus, the group orientates and integrates the new employee into the organizational ‘work rules and norms and keeps the employee under control. The supervisor cannot watch every employee all the time, but the group can.

(b)	Getting the job done: Although theoretically the enterprise is responsible for training the new employee and getting the work


done, this (task is often accomplished by the work group. Usually the new employee gets some training on how to do the
job, but this is rarely enough to get the job done well. The work group really teaches the employee how t cope with the job, how to handle the numerous techniques taught in the training programme that are needed to get the job done. Many parts of the

181
 


job may have to be done by two or more people someone in the work group helps out at such times. This work groups facilitate both training and operations and therefore are beneficial to the organization.

(c) Decision making: In addition, groups are used for decision making, negotiating and bargaining thus, group members with diverse backgrounds may bring different perspectives to the decision-making process. Hence some decisions turn out better when several people make them jointly than if one person
makes them alone.

	Theories of Group Formation

Some classic theories have been put forward to explain group formation or why people affiliate with one another.

1.	The most basic theory explaining affiliation is propinquity. The word propinquity simply means that individuals affiliate with one another because of spatial or geographical proximity. The theory would predict that in an organization, employees who work in the same area of the plant or office manages with offices close to one another would be more probably form into groups than those who are not physically located together. There is some research evidence to support the propinquity theory and on the surface it has a great deal of merit for explaining group formation. The drawback is that it is not analytical and does not begin some of the complexities of group formation.

2.	Interaction Theory: George Hormans based his theory on three elements that are directly related. These are activities, interactions and sentiments. According to this theory, the more activities persons share, the more numerous will be their interactions and the stronger will be their sentiments (that is how much the other persons are liked or disliked); the more interactions among persons, the more will be their shared activities and sentiments; and the more sentiments persons have for one another, the more will be their shared activities and interactions. The major element is interaction. It is believed that informal groups form as a consequences of frequent interaction in common activities. The Horman’s theory tends a great deal to the understanding of group formation and process. Participants in an organization interact not just in the physical propinquity sense, but also to solve problems, attain goals, facilitate coordination, reduce tension and achieve a balance tend to form into powerful groups.
 



3.	Balance Theory: This was propounded by Theodore Newcomb and it states that persons are attracted to one another on the basis of similar attitudes towards commonly relevant objects and goal. Many management specialists believe groups will be formed and maintained to the degree that members are similar to each other. The more similar they are, the greater the likelihood of group formation. Such similarities may be in the areas of work values, life experiences, education, socioeconomic status, sex, age, religion, ethnic background and the like.

4.	Exchange Theory: This is one group formation theory receiving the greatest emphasis in more recent times and it is similar in functioning to the work motivation theory. Exchange theory of groups is based upon reward cost outcome of interaction. A minimum positive level (rewards greater than cost) of an outcome must exist in order for attraction or affiliation to take place. Rewards from interactions gratify (satisfy) needs, while cost incur (attract) anxiety, frustration, embarrassment or fatigue. Propinquity, interaction and common attitudes (similarity) all have roles in exchange theory.

Stages of Group Formation
There have been many descriptions and studies of the formation and development of groups. A typical analysis of group development includes four stages; initial formation; development of goals, elaboration of structure and development of leaders.

Stage 1
Initial formation (Forming stage):
A number of people with the abilities necessary to achieve an organizational goal are assembled and assigned a tasked. At this stage of development, it is important that individuals recognize the social need to belong to the group and that they are willing to give and receive friendship and other marks of affiliation for it is in their self-interest to do so.

Stage 2
Development of goals (Storming stage):
At this stage, the group seeks to establish common task goals. To the extent that these goals are clearly understood, generally agreed on and relevant to the needs of individuals, they are more likely to be achieved.
 


Stage 3
Elaboration of structure (Norming stage): At this stage, coordination becomes paramount. Formal leaders are appointed by management and communication in encouraged in an attempt to re-enforce the structure.

Stage 4
Development of leaders (Performing stage): To supplement the formal leadership of the supervisor (boss or company executive), informal leaders develop. These are the people group member turn to when they encounter problems. Leadership studies have identified at least two leaders of work groups: the task leader (usually the formally appointed leader), who pays primary attention to formal goal achievement and the social leaders (informal leader) who provides “social maintenance”.

A drawback of this analysis of group development is its orientation towards groups formed by enterprise self. In reality, similar groups evolve within formal groups or across them.

3.5	Group Dynamics

Just as there is no one definition of the word group, there is also no universal agreement on what is meant by group dynamics. One normative view is that groups dynamic described how a group should be organised and conduct. In democratic leadership, member participation and overall cooperation are stressed.

Another close view group dynamics from the perspective of the internal nature of groups, how they form, their structure and processes and how they function and affect individual members, other groups and the organisation as a whole. It is this relationship that holds group members together and the strength of the interaction that a group has, determines group effectiveness. An Effective Work Group is one whose members function as a team and participate fully in group discussions, whose goals are clearly developed, and whose resources are adequate to accomplish its goals. The following factors can influence group effectiveness.

1.	Size of Group

The effective group is relatively small. Theoretically, as a group gets larger it could become more effective, this is because the potential for greater variety of talents is greater. Members have a better chance of finding people they like to work with. But the disadvantages of such a large size far outweigh its advantages. For example, more efforts must be used to get the group to function; splinter groups may form; larger groups take longer to function and may not be able to function at all. Yet
 


again, as the group gets larger, it becomes less efficient, since most members of necessity participate less. Thus, size is an important variable in group effectiveness. This is because inter-person relationship is more frequent and it tends to be faced affairs.

2.	Eye Contact and Location of Members

Group whose members are located close together and can interact frequently and easily, are likely to be more cohesive and effective than those whose members are separated by greater distance. Eye movements, direction of gaze and mutual eye contact are important nonverbal interactions that influence group effectiveness. The easier it is to communicate in person the more likely the group is to be cohesive.

3.	Nature of Task

Homogeneous group (those whose members are alike in age, education, status, and experience) are better when the task or goal requires mutual cooperation and conflict-free behaviour and if the task is simple. Heterogeneous groups are more effective where the task is complex, if speed is not important and if creativity is desirable.

4.	Cohesiveness

Group cohesiveness is the degree to which group members are of one mind and thus can act as one body. Sometimes cohesiveness is thought of as group loyalty, solidarity or pride. Cohesiveness results from homogeneity of membership, stability of members over time and high status. In general cohesive groups are more effective.

5.	Group Norms
Group norms are shared values about the kind of behaviours that are acceptable and unacceptable as work. They develop over time and are re-enforced by group pressures or the members to conform. Norms can affect performance positively or negatively. The effects of norms on productivity or performance are affected by cohesiveness. In general, if the group is very cohesive and performance (or high productivity) is a group norm, performance will be high. If the group is less cohesive, the norms will be less powerful.

4.0   TUTOR -MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What are the functions of a work group?
 


5.0	CONCLUSION

Groups are formed as a consequence of the pattern of organization structure and arrangements for the division of work, for example the grouping together of common activities into sections. Groups may result from the nature of technology employed and the way in which work is carried out, for example the bringing together of a number of people to carry out a sequence of operations on an assembly line. Groups may also develop when a number of people of the same level and status within the organization see themselves as a group; for example, departmental heads of an industrial organization, or employees of local councils.

6.0	SUMMARY

Groups are deliberately planned and created by management as part of the formal organizational structure. But groups can also arise from social processes and the informal organization.

The informal organization arises from the interaction of people working within the organization and the development of groups with their own relationships and norms of behaviour, irrespective of those defined within the formal structure. This leads to a major distinction between formal and informal groups.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Burns, B. (1992).   Managing Change:   A   Strategic   Approach   to
organizational Development and Renewal. London: Pitman.

Elliot, R.D. (1990). ‘The Challenge of Managing Change.’ Personnel Journal, Vol. 69, No 3, March.

Hill, W. L. & Jones, R. J. (2004). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. (6th ed.). New Delhi: Biztantra.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.). London: Pitman Publishing.
 


MODULE 3

 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
 
Communication in Organizations
Motivation Motivational Processes Money
organizational Structure
 


UNIT 1	COMMUNICATION IN ORGANISATIONS

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	Defining Communication as a Concept
	Communication Process Model
	The Communication Function in an Organization
	Barriers and Breakdowns in Communication
	Achieving Effective Communication
4.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
5.0	Conclusion
6.0	Summary
7.0	References/Further Reading

	INTRODUCTION

In all aspect of human living, the process of communication is a central element. Studies of managers at all levels consistently find that most of a manager’s time is spent in communication and that most of this is verbal communication. The differences usually involve who managers communicate with and what they communicate about. Management is often defined as “the responsibility for achieving desired result through the effective use of people.” However to achieve this, it is necessary to communicate with “people”. Communication is therefore fundamental to good management. Indeed, communication should be seen as a purposeful business activity to enable the organization to achieve its objectives smoothly and the individuals who work for it to give their best work to the organization. This unit deals with the fundamental issue of communication.
 


2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	explain what communication means
•	describe communication process model
•	list and explain factors that give to communication breakdown in an organization
•	comment freely on measures to achieve effective communication.

	MAIN CONTENT

	Defining Communication as a Concept

Although the term communication has enjoyed a free and widespread usage by everyone in modern society, the term can hardly be precisely defined by many. In a broad term, communication may be defined as the process of meaningful interaction among human beings.

This definition includes all means by which meaning is conveyed from one person to another such as gestures, facial expressions, and postures of the body communicate meaning to others. Even sometimes, silence can convey meaning and therefore must be considered as part of communication. Managers as involve in two kinds of communication which are interpersonal and organizational.

Interpersonal Communication: This is the process of exchanging information and transmitting meaning between two people or in a small group of people.

Organizational Communication: This is the process by which managers develop a system to give information and transmit meaning to large numbers people within the organization and to relevant individuals and institutions outside it. In brief, communication is defined as the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver, with the information being understood by the receiver. This definition then becomes the basis for the discussion of the communication process.

	Communication Process Model

A model of the communication process is the basis framework for understanding what steps are involved in communication. Communication begins when two conditions exist:
 


(i)	Some individual or group as an idea or concept
(ii)	This person or group wishes to make such information know to someone







Thought	Encoding	TRreacnespmtiosnioDnec
		of Message






Fig.3.1: Communication Process Model

The model first showed that in an organization, specific person may wish others to influence them, to assist them with their work, to obtain input they need for performing their own jobs, to affect decisions, to correct others past mistakes to dazzle or impress them with their vast knowledge. In any case, the first thing or step to step is that the sender has the idea or concept (thinking) for the massage: its purpose-Then he or she encodes the massage into the form in which it will be transmitted
i.e. words, body movements, writing, even facial expression or observation actions that convey a specific meaning. The massage is transmitted verbally by a medium (in person, on the phone) or in writing, and then informal. Thus the sender has completed the initial phase of communication.

The receiver has to be ready for the massage so that it can be decoded into thought. A person thinking about an exciting football game may pay insufficient attention to what is being said. Hence the receiver must first perceive the massage; see it or hear it with the senses. Then he or she decodes it and this involves “translation” the massage into terms that have meaning for the receiver. Thus comes understanding of course there is important element to consider feedback. This is when the receiver reverses the process and transmits back to the original sender.

Such feedback is an essential part of communication in many settings. It is especially valuable in organizations where communication seems to flow downward from supervisors and managers to subordinates. Providing such persons with an opportunity to offer feedback yields several benefits.
For example, it can enhance their belief that their views really count, and so increase their commitment to the organization similarly, it
 


permits them to participate in decision making and other organizational processes. Such participation can be beneficial from the view of work elated attitudes. The benefits or feedback are not in any case restricted to receiver. However, such information can also aid senders (e.g. managers) by keeping them informed as to whether their message has been understood, by providing them with evaluation of their ideas and by enhancing their understanding of the perceptions of the subordinates.

	The Communication Function in an Organization

It is no exaggeration to say that the communication function is the means by which organized activity is unified. It may be looked upon as the means by which social inputs are fed into the social system. In its broadest sense, the purpose of communication in an enterprise is to effect change that is, to influence action toward the welfare to the enterprise. Communication is essential for the internal functioning of enterprises because it integrates the managerial functions.

Especially, communication is needed to:

(i)	establish and disseminate goals of an enterprise
(ii)	organize human and other resources in the most effective and efficient way
(iii)	help personal relation since communication is the chief means by which organization members work together
(iv)	also helps to hold the organization together by making it possible for members for influence and another and to react to one another
(v)	needed for the manager’s function of planning, organizing, leading and controlling to be accomplished. The process of communication therefore makes it possible for managers to carry out their responsibilities.

The success of an individual in an organization is partly due to his position in the hierarchy, partly to his competence and to a very large extent upon the existence of a complete and well organized communication system. An important aspect of communication in a business organization is its relationship to organizational structure.

Written and oral acts of communication tie the organizational units and positions together into a total pattern or total framework. It links the supervisory presence with their subordinates providing for the dissemination of ideas order.
 



	Barriers and Breakdown in Communication

It is probably not surprising that managers frequently cite communication breakdowns as one of their most important problems. Yet, every organization, whether it is comprised of as few as a handful of employees or a complex enterprise such as a government department or multinational enterprise, require efficiency in its communication network in order to survive or to meet their profit, product service quality or other objectives because of inadequate communications, which is manifested in the distortion of messages, friction between individuals and a general lack of morals. Thus, the perspective manager will first look for the cause of communication problems instead of just dealing with the symptoms. Barriers can exist in the sender, in the transmission of the message, in the receiver or the feedback.

The principal barriers to communication include the following:

1.	Lack of planning: Good communication seldom happens by chance, too often people start talking and writing without first thinking, planning and stating the purpose of the message.
2.	Semantic distortion: Another barrier to effective communication can be attributed to semantic distortion, which can be deliberate or accidental. An advertisement saying “we sell for less” is deliberately ambiguous; it releases the question: less what? Words may evoke different responses.
3.	Poorly expressed messages: No matter how clear the idea in the mind of the sender, it may still be marked by poorly chosen words, omissions, lack of a coherence poor organization of ideas, awkward sentence structure platitudes, unnecessary jargon and a failure to clarify the implications of the message. This lack of clarity and precision can be very costly.
4.	Organization and structure problems: In large-scale enterprises, where it is necessary to have several layers of supervisor in the organizational structure, communications may suffer due to losses in transmission.

Where people are separated by great physical distance and status in an organization, oral communication will be difficult to enforce. Massages are then conveyed in written form and here, the senders and receivers may not easily achieve the desired effect. Inefficiency may further result in the form of incorrect translation a loss part of the message and poor retention of information.

5.	Status problems: Inefficiency in communications may also result from the differences in rank or status of transmitters and
 


receivers. People or low in status tend to be slow to communicate with superior, thus resulting in a lack of necessary upward flow of information.

Also receivers who are at the lower levels in the organizational hierarchy may be inclined to interpret messages in terms of their own positions, back ground and experience and their perceptions of the superior’s intentions. Communication may suffer too because of the listener’s mistrust of the communication.

6.	Information overload: One might think that more and unrestricted information flow would help to overcome communication problems. But unrestricted flow may result in too much information. People respond to information overload in various ways. First, they may disregard certain information; people make errors in processing it. Third, people may delay processing information either permanently or with the intention of catching up in the future. Fourthly, a person may filter information. Chances are that attention will be given first to matters that are easy to handle, while more difficult but perhaps critical messages are ignored. Finally, people respond to information overload by simply escaping from the task of communication. In other words, they ignore information or they do not communicate information because of an overload.
7.	Poor listening and premature evaluation: There are many talkers but few listeners. Listening demands full attention and self-discipline. It also means avoiding premature evaluation of what the other person has to say. A common tendency is to judge, to approve or disapprove what is being said, rather than trying to understand the speaker’s frame of reference. Yet listening without making hasty judgments can make the whole enterprise more effective and more efficient.
8.		Change Issues: The purpose of communication is to affect what may seriously concern employees e.g. shifts in time, type and order of work, communications concerning changes are skills to be used. Communications concerning changes are unlikely to be received in full by receivers. People tend to resist change and are likely to ignore or filter out those matters which threaten existing positions or cause some conflict.

9.	Other Communication Barriers: Beside the mentioned barriers to effective communication, there are many others. In selective perception people tend to perceive what they expect to perceive. In communication this means that we hear what we want to hear and ignore other relevant information. Closely related to perception is the influence of an attitude, which is the
 


predisposition to act or not to act in a certain way; it is a mental position regarding a fact or state. Clearly if we have made up our minds, we can objectively listen to what is said.

	Achieving Effective Communication

While it is unlikely that any organization will ever achieve a condition of perfect communication, there are a number of steps which if taken, are likely to lead to an improvement in communication. Hence, in order to deals with the barriers of organizational communication, it is important first to recognize that communication is an inherently difficult process. For one thing, the verbal and visual symbols we use to describe reality are far from being precise. Another reason that communication is inherently difficult is that human beings perceive and interpret reality through the filter of their individual backgrounds, needs, emotions, values and experiences.

Comprehending the barriers to communication and taking steps to minimize them are therefore the first step towards improving manager’s ability to communicate effectively. A sound, basic communication programme is the key to effective communication. A sound programme includes the fundamental concept that communication is an executive skill and that opportunities for developing the personal skills of executives in all aspect of human activity/relation should be provide.

Whether oral or written, the effectiveness of communication requires the following conditions.

(i)	A known comprehensive communication structure.
(ii)	A code (rule) governing the relations among people occupying various roles.
(iii)	A quality of relationship among people immediately connected with each other.
(iv)	Communication must be an active one, not a passive process.
(v)	Communication must be sincere and open.

The American Management Associations (AMA) has codified a number of communication principles into what it calls the ten commandments of good communication. Those commandments which are designed to improve effectiveness of organizational communication include:

1.	Seek to clarify your ideas before communicating. The more systematically we analyze the problem or idea of message to be communicated the clearer it becomes.
2.	Examine the true purpose of each communication. The communicator must be clear, in his preparation, as to his key aim.
 


3.	Consider the total physical and human setting whenever you communicate. This is because inappropriate or uncomfortable seating, poor temperature control, shoddy visual material, telephone interruptions, extraneous noise will all contribute failure.
4.	Consult with others where appropriate in planning communications. This planning of the communication should not be done in a vacuum. Instead, other should be consulted and encouraged to participate for example in the collection of facts analysis message and selection of the appropriate media.
5.	Be mindful, while you communicate, of the overtones as well as the basic content of your message. There is a saying that the tone makes the music. Similarly, in communication the tone of voice, the choice of language and congruency between what is said and hoe it is said influence the reactions of the receiver of the message.
6.	Take the opportunity, when it arises, to convey something of help or value to the receiver.
7.	Follow up your communication. Too often, information is transmitted without communicating, since communication is complete only when the message is understood by the receiver. And one never knows whether communication is understood unless the sender gets feedback. This is accomplished by asking questions requesting a reply to a letter and encouraging receivers to give their reactions to the message.
8.	Communicate for tomorrow as well as today.
9.	Be sure you actions support your communications.
10.	Seek not to be understood but to understand – be a good listener.

Information Necessary in organizational Communication

As noted earlier, if the aim is to enable people to give their best, then what are the things they need to know? There are three main areas of necessary information:
Job Content: - examples include: details of the individual’s own function, responsibilities and authorities the results expected and how performance is assessed: how the job affects and is affected by others and how it affects costs/expenses changes to the systems, targets.
Job Context-: examples include: details of the organization structure, conditions of employment; how to pay and prospects are assessed; change in of proceedings.
General Background: - the overall management philosophy; major company developments/innovations; external developments – such as legislation-affecting the company.
 


The precise nature of the information required can vary significantly from level to level, whilst a general manager and an office junior may each need to know about the company’s corporate objectives, detail and method of the presentation will be very different.

4.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Highlight and comment on the ten commandments of good communication.

5.0	CONCLUSION

Communication is fundamental to good management. Indeed, communication should be seen as a purposeful business activity to enable the organization to achieve its objectives smoothly and the individuals who work for it to give their best work to the organization.

6.0	SUMMARY

Communication is the means by which social inputs are fed into the social system. In its broadest sense, the purpose of communication in an enterprise is to effect change that is, to influence action toward the welfare to the enterprise. Communication is essential for the internal functioning of enterprises because it integrates the managerial functions.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

French, W. L. & Bell, C.H. (1995). organizational	Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organization Improvement. (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
French, W. L., Kast, F. E. & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1985). Understanding Human Behaviour in Organization. New York: Harper and Row.
Handy, C. B. (1993). Understanding Organizations. ( 4th ed.). London: Penguin.
Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour (4th ed.). London: Pitman Publishing.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed). London: Pitman Publishing.

Stewart, R. (1991). Managing  Today and  Tomorrow.	New York: Macmillan.
 


UNIT 2	MOTIVATION

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	Motivation Concept and Characteristics
	Theories of Motivation
	Content and Process Theories of Motivation
	Human Resources Model: Theory X and Y
	Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
	Alderfer’s Modified Need Hierarchy Theory
	Herzberg’s two-Factor Theory
	McClelland Needs Theory of Motivation
4.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
5.0	Conclusion
6.0	Summary
7.0	References /Further reading

1.0	INTRODUCTION

One of the most vital areas in managing human resources effectively lies in knowing how to get people to give of their best. Any amount of planning and organizing will not compensate for the effects of disinterest, frustration and boredom at work. Low productivity, high turnover, absenteeism and counterproductive behaviour can often have their roots in the poor motivation of employee. Good  motivation is central to the effective management of people.

Motivation is one part of the managerial function of directing. Broadly defined, motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. A motive is a need or desire within a person to achieve some goals or objective and understanding human motivation is a complex matter with no precise answers. Although the causes of motivation are not perfectly understood, the results of having motivated people in an organization are obvious and highly beneficial. As a consequence, managers have tried to understand the conditions and influences that motivate people so that they can manage activities and create an organizational atmosphere that encourages positive motivational effects.

Over the year, therefore, steady progressions of theories and studies have attempted to address these issues. This paper is particularly intended to survey the major studies and theories of employee motivation. The ultimate objective is to provide some ground rules for a
 


basic understanding of what motivates people at work. This unit and the next comprehensively examine the issues that get people to give their best on their jobs.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	define the term motivation to bring out its underlying characteristics
•	explain and differentiate clearly the variants of the content theories of motivation.

	MAIN CONTENT

	Motivation Concept and Characteristics

Motivation is a term that has been used frequently in many contexts. Thus, a precise unitary definition would not only be arbitrary but probably also dysfunctional. Broadly speaking, however, motivation is a general term applying to the entire drives, desires, needs, wishes, and similar forces. To say that managers motivate their subordinates is to say that they do those things which they hope will satisfy these drives and desires and induce the subordinates to act in a desired manner. According to McFarland (1977), “motivation refers to the way in which urges, desires, aspiration and, or needs direct, control or explain the behaviour of human beings.” Motivation is that energizing force that induces or compels and maintains behaviour.

The study of motivation is indeed concerned, basically, with why people behave in a particular or certain way. In general terms it is concerned with why people choose a particular cause of action in preference to others, and why they continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and problems. Mitchell (1982) in his review of motivation theory identifies four common characteristics, which underlie the definition of motivation these are:

(i)	Motivation is typified as an individual phenomenon. Every person is unique and all the major theories of motivation allow for this uniqueness to be demonstrated in one way or another.

(ii)	Motivation is described, usually as intentional. Motivation is assumed to be under the worker’s control, and behaviours that are influenced by motivation such as effort expended, are seen as choices of action.
 


(iii)	Motivation is multifaceted. The two factors of greatest importance are:

(a)	gets people activated (arousal) and
(b)	the force of an individual to engage in desired behaviour
(direction or choice of behaviour).

(iv)	The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behaviour. Motivation is not the behaviour itself, and it is not performance. Motivation concerns actions and the internal and external forces, which influence a person’s choice of action. On the basis of these characteristics, Mitchell defined motivation as: “the degree to which an individual want and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviours.”

People’s behaviour is determined by what motivates them. The underlying concept of motivation is some driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goals in order to fulfill some need or expectation.

This concept gives rise to the basic motivational model, which is illustrated in Figure 2.1. The model according to Mullins (1996, pp.480) underscores the fact that employees’ performance is a function or product of both ability level and motivation.

Performance = Function (Ability x Motivation)

Therefore, if the manager is to improve the work of the organization, attention must be given to the level of motivation of its members. The manager must also encourage staff to direct their efforts (their driving force) towards the successful attainment of the goals and objectives of the organization.

NEED OR	result in	DRIVING FORCE	to achieve	DESIRED
EXPECTATION		(behaviour in		GOALS
		action)		
    Feed back
 


Fig. 2.1: A Simplified Illustration of the Basic Motivational Model
(Adopted from Mullins, 1996, p. 481)
 


Motivation is a complex subject and an individual motive may be quite complex and often conflicting (Kootz and Weirich, 1993). A person may be motivated by a desire for economic goods and services (a better house, a new car or a trip), and even these desires may be complex and conflicting (should one buy a new house or a new car?). At the same time, an individual may want self-esteem, status, a feeling of accomplishment or a relaxation.

Generally speaking, motivation is an internal psychological process the presence or absence of which is inferred from observed behavioural performance. Three elements are observable from the concept of motivation namely:

(a)	It is sustained: it is maintained for a long time
(b)	It is goals directed: that is, it seeks to achieve an objective, and
(c)	It results from a felt need - an urge directed towards a need.

It is important to differentiate between motivation and satisfaction. Motivation refers to the drive and effort to satisfy want of goals. Satisfaction refers to the contention experienced when a want is satisfied. In other word, motivation implies a drive toward an outcome and	satisfaction	is	the	outcome	already	experienced.	From	a management point of view then, a person might have high job satisfaction but have a low level of motivation for the job or the reveres might be true. There is the probability that highly motivated persons find their positions rewarding but are being paid considerably less than they desire or think they desire which will probably make them search for other jobs.

	Theories of Motivation

There are many competing theories, which attempt to explain the nature of motivation. These theories are all at, least partially true, and all help to explain the behaviour of certain people at certain times. However the search for a generalized theory of motivation at work appears a vain or futile quest. Nevertheless, any theory or study, which aids an understanding of how best to motivate people at work, must be useful.

	Content and Process Theories of Motivation

Generally speaking, writers who have thought and written about motivation have considered two distinct but interrelated sets of ideas: content theories and process theories.
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


Content theories focus on those specific things, which actually motivate the individual at work. The environmental or personal characteristics that serve to energize, activate, or motivate the individual. These theories are concerned with identifying people’s needs and their relative strengths, and the goals they pursue in order to satisfy these needs. The emphasis here is on what motivates. Process theories are concerned with explaining how the individual chooses to engage in a particular behaviour.

It focuses more on how behaviour is initiated, directed and sustained. Process theories place emphasis on the actual process of motivation. The attempt is to identify the relationship among the dynamic variables, which make up the motivation.

Motivational Contents

Major content theories of motivation, according to Mullins (1996, pp. 489), include:

(a)	Human Resources model: Theories X and Y
(b)	Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model
(c)	Alderfer’s modified need hierarchy model
(d)	Herzberg’s two-factor theory and
(e)	McClelland’s achievement motivation theory.

	Human Resources Model: Theory X and Y

In an important study, behavioural scientist Douglas McGregor concluded that managers had radically different beliefs about how best to use the human resources at a firm’s disposal. He classified these believes into sets of assumptions that he labeled “Theory X” and “Theory Y” the basic differences between these two theories are highlighted in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X	Theory Y
1.	People are lazy	1. People are energetic
2. People lack ambition and	2.	People are ambitious and
	dislike responsibility.	seek responsibility
3.	People are self-centered	3.	People can be selfless
4.	People refuse change	4.	People want to contribute to
			Business growth and change
5.	People are gullible and	5.	People are intelligent
	Not very bright.		


200		
 


Managers who subscribe to theory X tend to believe that people are naturally lazy and uncooperative and must therefore be either punished or rewarded to be made productive. Thus if Theory X view is adopted, the clear implication is that Management must direct, persuade, punish and control activities of people and management must seek to coerce and modify people’s behaviour to fit the needs of the organization. The assumptions of Theory Y are close to Maslow’s “self actualizing man” and if these views are adopted; it will considerably alter management’s priorities and tasks.

Management’s essential task becomes to harness the inherent qualities of people by arranging conditions and methods of operations so that people can achieve their own goals best by directing their own efforts towards organizational objectives. Cooperation rather than coercion is required although Theory X and Theory Y distinctions have been criticized for been too simplistic and for offering little concrete basis for action. Their value lies primarily in their ability to highlight and classify the behaviour of managers in light of their attitudes toward employees.

	Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

One of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation is the hierarchy of need theory put forth by psychologist Abraham Maslow (1954). Maslow, according to Koontz and Weirich (1993) saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy ascending from the lowest to the highest, and he concluded that when one set of needs is satisfied this kind ceases to be a motivator. Maslow classified these needs into five basic types and suggested that they are arranged in the order or hierarchy of importance shown in Figure 2.2.

According to Maslow, needs are hierarchical because lower-level needs must be met before a person will try to satisfy those on a higher level.
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR




Fig. 2.2: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

(1)	Physiological needs are basic necessities for physical survival and include food, water, shelter, and sleep. Businesses address these needs by providing both comfortable working environments and salaries sufficient to buy food and shelter.
(2)	Security needs are the needs to be free of physical danger and the fear of losing a job, property food or shelter. Many employers thus offer pension plans and job security.
(3)	Social needs include the needs for friendship and companionship as social beings. Making friends at work can help to satisfy social needs, as can the feeling that you belong in a company.
(4)	Esteem needs: According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong they tend to want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need produces such satisfactions as power, prestige, status and self- confidence. Respected job titles and large offices are among the things that businesses can provide to address these needs.
(5)	Need for self-actualization: Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming – to maximize one’s potential and to achieve something new and meaningful. Challenging job assignments can help satisfy these needs.

Maslow’s theory recognizes that because different people have different needs, they are motivated by different things and the arrangement of needs appear to have a realistic basis and has been influential in the study of motivation. Unfortunately, it provides few specific guidelines relating Maslow’s theory to the work situation.
 


Furthermore, post Maslow’s model researchers found that:

(i)	Hierarchy varies widely, not only for different people but across different cultures
(ii)	There is little evidence to support Maslow’s theory that human needs form a hierarchy
(iii)	There is also doubt about the time which elapses between the satisfaction of a lower level need and the emergence of a higher level need.

	Alderfer’s Modified Need Hierarchy Theory

A modified need hierarchy model has been presented by Alderfer (Mullins, 1996). The model rearranged Maslow’s five levels of need into only three levels based on the core needs of Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG theory). This relationship is shown in Figure 2.2 below:

Table	2.2:	Relationships	among	Maslow’s,	Alderfer’s,	and Herzberg’s Theories of Motivation

Maslow’s hierarchy	Alderfer’s	Herzberg’s
of needs	EGR theory	two- factor theory
Physiological	Existence	Hygiene Factors
Safety		
	
Relatedness	
Social		
		


Motivators
Esteem		
	
Growth	
Self-Actualisation		

(1)	Existence needs are concerned with sustaining human existence and survival and cover physiological and safety needs of a material nature.
(2)	Relatedness needs are concerned with relationships to the social environment, and cover love or belonging, affiliation, and meaningful interpersonal relationships of a safety or esteem nature.
(3)	Growth needs are concerned with development of potential, and cover self-esteem and self-actualization.
 


Like Maslow, Alderfer suggests that individual progress through the hierarchy from existence needs, to relatedness needs, to growth needs, as the lower-level needs become satisfied. However, Alderfer suggests that these needs are more of a continuum than hierarchical levels.

More than one need may be activated at the same time. Individuals may also progress down the hierarchy. There is a frustration-regression process. For example, if relatedness or growth needs are not satisfied then problems will arise ostensibly on the existence level. People complaining about pay, fringe benefits, working conditions and so on may really be expressing an underlying frustration with unsatisfied relatedness or growth needs. Alderfer suggests that this “transfer effects” takes place because it is easier to argue about tangible things than about intangible feelings. People tend to pick on pay, grading or working conditions when in fact the real problem lies in a different area and its only when the manager applies himself to analyzing and solving the real, underlying problems that complaints will be die away.

Unlike Maslow’s theory, the result of Alderfer’s work suggest that lower level needs do not have to be satisfied before a higher-order need emerges as a motivating influence. ERG theory states that an individual is motivated to satisfy one or more basic set of needs. Therefore if a person’s needs at a particular level are blocked, then attention should be focused on the satisfaction of needs at the other levels. For example if a subordinate’s growth needs are blocked because the job does not allow sufficient opportunity for personal development, then the manager should attempt to provide greater opportunities for the subordinate to satisfy existence and relatedness needs.

	Herzberg’s Two – Factor Theory

A further influential insight into motivation was provided by the researches of Frederick Herzberg and his associates (Koont’z and Weirich, 1993) in which they claimed to find a two-factor theory of motivation in their research. According to them, job satisfaction and dissatisfaction depend on two factors:

(I) Hygiene Factors which are such things as company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions, interpersonal relations, salary, status, job security and personal life. These were found by Herzberg, et al to be only dissatisfiers and not motivators. In other words, if they exist in a work environment in high quantity and quality, they yield or bring about no dissatisfaction.
 


Their existence does not motivate in the sense of yielding satisfaction; their lack of existence would, however, result in dissatisfaction. Herzberg called them maintenance, or job context factors.

(ii) In the second group, Herzberg listed certain satisfiers - and therefore Motivators- all related to job content. They included achievement, recognition, challenging work, advancement and growth in the job. Their existence will yield feeling of satisfaction or no satisfaction (not dissatisfaction. These factors are shown in table 2.3. Factors shown to the left of the centre are those that were cited as having a negative effective, those to the right being positive.

The first group of factors (the dissatisfiers) will not motivate people in an organization; yet they must be present, or dissatisfaction will arise. The second group or the job content factors, Herzberg found to be real motivators because they have the potential of yielding a sense of satisfaction. Clearly this theory suggests that managers should follow a two-step approach to enhancing motivation. First they must ensure that hygiene factors-working conditions, clearly stated policies- are acceptable. This practice will result in an absence of dissatisfaction. Then they must offer motivation factors- recognition, added responsibility- as means of improving satisfaction and motivation.

Research suggests that although two- factor theory works in some professional settings, it is not as effective in clerical and manufacturing settings (Herberg’s research was limited to professional – accountants and engineers only). In addition, one person’s hygiene factors may be another person’s motivation factor. For example, if money represents nothing more than pay for timed worked, it may be a hygiene factor for one person. For another person, however, money may be a motivation factor because it represents recognition and achievement.
 





LOW						HIGE
40	30	20	10	0 10	20	30	40
































Fig.2.3: Herzberg’s Motivation/Hygiene Factors (Adapted from White, M. (1981); Management 1 Vol. 1, Study Course 300, the CII Tuition Service, p. 2/6)

	McClelland Needs Theory of Motivation

In the 1960s and 70s David McClelland has examined very closely differences between individual unlike other psychologists who have studied common factors in human motivation. He contributed to the understanding by identifying three types of basic motivating needs. According to Koontz and Weirich (1993), McClelland classified these basic motivating needs as the need for power (n/PWR), need for affiliation (n/AFF), and need for achievement (n/ACH). All three drives or motives (power, affiliation and achievement) are of particular relevance to management, since all must be recognized to make an organization work well.
 


According to McClelland the best managers also have a high desire for power-power in the sense of a concern to influence and shape people and events in the direction they considered right and best. Of interest is the discovery that managers with a high need for achievement and power tend among other things:

(i)	to be interested in excellence for its own sake
(ii)	not to work harder when money was the sole reward
(iii)	to judge situations on the basis of opportunities for excellence rather than prestige.
.
Perhaps the most interesting of McClelland’s insight was that authoritarian managers (i.e. in the mode of McGregor’s Theory X) tended to have subordinates with low need for achievement. Managers of staff or employees with a high need for achievement tend to manage differently; setting high standards certainly, but also fostering an encouraging and supportive atmosphere and not being directive in telling staff exactly what to do.

The question is however often asked, whether all managers should rate high on achievement motivation. People who do rate high tend to advance faster than those who do not. But because so much of managing requires other characteristics besides achievement drive, every company should probably have many managers who, while possessing fairly strong achievement motivation, also have a high need for affiliation. This latter need is important for working with people and for coordinating the efforts of individuals working in groups.

4.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Maslow’s theory recognizes that because different people have different needs, they are motivated by different things. Discuss the substance of Maslow’s theory.

5.0	CONCLUSION

The study of motivation is indeed concerned basically with why people behave in a particular or certain way. In general terms it is concerned with why people choose a particular cause of action in preference to others, and why they continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and problems. Generally speaking, writers who have thought and written about motivation have considered two distinct but interrelated sets of ideas: content theories and process theories. This unit discussed the content theories of motivation including the Human resources model, The theory X and Y Maslow’s hierarchy
 


of needs model; Alderfer’s modified need hierarchy theory and Herzberg’s two – factor theory.

6.0	SUMMARY

Good motivation is central to the effective management of people. Motivation is one part of the managerial function of directing. Broadly defined, motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. A motive is a need or desire within a person to achieve some goals or objective and understanding human motivation is a complex matter with no precise answers. Although the causes of motivation are not perfectly understood, the results of having motivated people in an organization are obvious and highly beneficial. As a consequence, managers have tried to understand the conditions and influences that motivate people so that they can manage, organize activities and create an organizational atmosphere that encourages positive motivational effects.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Hicks, H.G. &   Gullet   C.R.   (1976).   Organizations:   Theory   and
Behaviour. McGraw-Hill: Koga Usha Limited.

Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H. (1983). Management: A Book of Readings.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.) London: Pitman Publishing.
 


UNIT 3	MOTIVATIONAL PROCESSES

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction	
2.0	Objectives	
3.0	Main Content
	3.1	Process theories of Motivation
		3.1.1	Expectancy Theory of Motivation
		3.1.2	Equity Theory of Motivation
		3.1.3	Goals Setting Theory
		3.1.4	Attribution Theory
		3.1.5	Reinforcement Theory
	3.2	Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement
		3.2.1	Job Enrichment
		3.2.2	Job Enlargement
4.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
5.0	Conclusion	
6.0	Summary	
7.0	References/Further Reading
1.0	INTRODUCTION

Good motivation is central to the effective management of people. Motivation is one part of the managerial function of directing. Broadly defined, motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. A motive is a need or desire within a person to achieve some goals or objective and understanding human motivation is a complex matter with no precise answers. Although the causes of motivation are not perfectly understood, the results of having motivated people in an organization are obvious and highly beneficial. As a consequence, managers have tried to understand the conditions and influences that motivate people so that they can manage organize activities and create an organizational atmosphere that encourages positive motivational effects. In this unit our attention is shifted to the interrelated aspect of the process theory of motivation.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	list and discuss the typologies of the process theory of motivation
•	explain the related issues of job enrichment and job enlargement.
 


	MAIN CONTENT

	Process Theories of Motivation

Practical considerations of motivation inevitably lead managers to the question of how needs or outcomes can be harnessed or linked to behaviours the organization wishes to encourage. That is, how can needs or outcomes serve to motivate certain types of behaviour? This is the basic question about the process motivation. Over the years, many process theories have been proposed in several different branches of psychology. These include:

(a)	Expectancy theory of motivation
(b)	Equity theory of motivation
(c)	Goal Setting theory
(d)	Attribution theory
(e)	Reinforcement theory

	Expectancy Theory of Motivation

One approach that many believe goes far in explaining how people are motivated is the expectancy theory. One of the leaders in advancing and explaining this theory is the psychologist victor H. Vroom. He holds that people will be motivated to do things to reach a goal if they believe in the worth or value of that goal and if they see that what they will do will help them in achieving it (Koontz & Weihrich, 1993).

Expectancy theory has been used to explain choices between different actions, such as decisions about what job to accept. It has also been used to explain the level of intensity regarding a single activity – such as whether or not an employee will attempt to be a high, average, or low performer. The theory is thus obviously aimed at explaining behaviours of interest to organization. The Expectancy theory is frequently referred to as a cognitive theory one in that it emphasizes the importance of the ability to think, to perceive and to understand in determine voluntary activity. There is however three concepts that people presumably think about to understand the process of motivation. These concepts are:

(i)	Valence of Outcomes. The feeling about specific outcomes is termed valence. This is the attractiveness of, or preference for a particular outcome to the individual. Vroom distinguished valence from value. Valence is the anticipated satisfaction from an outcome. This may differ substantially from value, which is the actual satisfaction provided by an outcome.
 


(ii)	Instrumentality Perceptions. A second concept has to do with individuals’ beliefs about the connection or linkage between some activity and an outcome. The valence or attractiveness of an outcome derives therefore, from their instrumentality. This leads to a distinction between first-level outcomes and second –level outcomes.

(iii)	Expectancy Perception. People develop a perception of the degree of probability that the choice of a particular action will actually lead to the desired outcome. Expectancy is therefore the probability that a particular action will lead to a desired outcome.

Instrumental-extent to which
First-level outcomes lead to
Second- level outcomes
Expectancy-Perceived						
Probability that effort		Second-level outcomes
will lead to first-level		Need Related
Outcomes						
						Praise from
						Superior
First-level outcomes
Performance related.
For Example:					High wages
Effort						
Expended	Level of		High			
(Motivational	Performance		Productivity			Promotion
force)			
 
		
						
						Friendship of
						Coworkers

Fig. 3.1: Basic Model of Expectancy Theory (Adopted from Mullins, 2000).

Expectancy theory posits that for an employee to be motivated to be a high performer, then such employee must believe that:

a.	High performance was attainable through effort (high effort- performance expectancy)
b.	High	performance would lead to outcomes (high performance
–outcome instrumentalities
c.	The outcomes were generally attractive (Positively valent or attractive outcome)

It must however be noted that the motivational components of the theory speak only of the effort an individual may be expected to expend toward
 


the accomplishment of some activity. Actual accomplishment depends not only on motivation but also on ability. Thus, the complete theory states that:

Behaviour (e.g. Performance) => Motivation X Ability.

	Equity Theory of Motivation

An important factor in motivation is whether an individual feels or perceive fairness or belief that he has been equitably rewarded for his labour and services. One way to address this feeling or perception is through equity theory.

Equity theory focuses on social comparisons of people by evaluating their treatment by the organization relative to the treatment of others. According to Adams, (1972) and Jacques (1961), in their equity theory, an employee is not so much concerned with the absolute amount of money (or the total compensation) paid out to him but with the perceived relationship of what he gets with what others (i.e. his counterparts) receive (Banjoko, 1996). This approach holds that people begin by analyzing what they contribute to their jobs (time, effort, education, experience, and so forth) relative to what they get in return (salary, benefits, recognition, security). The result is a ratio of contribution to return. They then compare their own ratios to those of other employees.

Depending on their assessments, they experience feelings of equity (satisfaction) or inequity (dissatisfaction). i.e.:
?
Equity	
OA 	
=	
OA 			
	IA		IB			
Where =	A = The Employee	and	B = The Relevant Other
?
Inequity (Dissatisfaction)	
 OA	
>	
 OB
	IA		IB
Here Mr. A. is dissatisfied because he receives the same compensation as Mr. B. even though the ratio of his output to inputs is greater than that of Mr. B. Such perception or feeling of equity in pay can lead to serious tension. Griffin et al., (1999), however, noted that for an individual to feel equitably treated, the two ratios do not have to be the same-they need be only fair.

When people feel that they are being inequitably treated, they may do various things to restore fairness. For example; (1) they may ask for
 


raise, (2) reduce their efforts (3) work shorter hours or (4) just complain to their bosses. (5) They may also rationalize, (6) find different people with whom to compare themselves, or (7) leave the job altogether. The concern has nevertheless been expressed that people may overestimate their own contributions and the rewards others receive.

	Goal- Setting Theory

Another theory sometimes considered under the heading of motivation to work is goal theory, or the theory of goal – setting. This theory is based mainly in the work of Locke (Mullins, 1996). The basic assumption of goal setting theory is that people’s goal or intentions play an important part/role in determining behaviour.

The belief is that people strive to achieve goals in order to satisfy their emotions and desires. Goals guide people’s responses and actions. Goals direct work behaviour and performance, and lead to certain consequences or feedback.

Generally speaking, effective goals tend to have two basic characteristics.

1.	They are moderately difficult: while a goal that is too easy does little to enhance effort and motivation, a goal that is also too difficult also fails to motivate people.
2.	They are specific. A goal of “do your best” for instance, does not motivate people nearly as much as a goal like “increase profit by 10 percent” (Griffin et al., 1999). The specificity and clarity of this goal serves to focus attention and energy on exactly what needs to be done.

Goal theory has a number of practical implications for the manager (Mullins, 1996). An important aspect of goal setting is the employee’s participation in the goal setting process. When people help to select the goals that they are asked to work toward, they tend to accept them more readily and are more committed to achieving them.

Similarly, complete, accurate and timely feedback and knowledge of results is usually associated with high performance. Feedback provides a means of checking progress on goal attainment and forms the basis for any revision of goals. A number of research studies? Locke (as cited; Mullins, 2000) has attempted to examine the relationship between goal setting and performance. Although, almost inevitably, there are some contrary findings, the majority of evidence suggests strong support for the theory, and its effects on motivation.
 


	Attribution Theory

A more recent approach to the study of motivation is attribution. This is the process by which people interpret the perceived causes of behaviour. The initiator of attribution theory is Heider, who suggests that behaviour is determined by a combination of perceived internal and external forces.

(a)	Internal forces relate to personal attributes such as ability, skill, and amount of effort or fatigue.
(b)	External forces relate to environmental factors such as organizational rules and policies, the manner of superiors, or the weather.

According to this theory, behaviour at work may be explained by the locus of control. That is whether the individual perceives outcomes or consequences as controlled by themselves, or by external factors. Judgments made about other people will also be influenced strongly by whether the cause is seen as internal or external.

The basic criteria in making attributions and determining whether an internal or external attribution is made, is suggested by Kelley (1973) in: Mullins, 1996 p. 155). Kelly suggested three basic criteria:

(i)	Distinctiveness: How distinctive or different was behaviour or action in this particular task or situation compared with behaviour or action on other tasks or situations?
(ii)	Consensus: Is behaviour or action different from those displayed by most other people in the same situation?
(iii)	Consistency: Is the behaviour or action associated with an enduring personality or motivational characteristic over time, or at usual situation caused by external factors?

Kelley hypothesized that people attribute behaviour to internal forces or personal factors when they perceive low distinctiveness, low consensus and high consistency. Behaviour is attributed to external forces or environmental factors when people perceive high distinctiveness, high consensus, and low consistency as illustrated in Figure 1.5:
 




INTERNAL	Low	Distinctiveness High		EXTERNAL
FORCES	Low	Consensus	High	FORCES	(ENVIRONMENT)
(PERSONAL)	Low	Consistency	Low		

 
Fig.3.2: Representation of Attribution Theory

The implication of attribution theory for managers is that employees with an internal control and a high achievement motivation are more likely to believe that they can influence their level of performance through their own abilities, skill or efforts. Employees with an external control orientation and with record of failure of performance on their tasks are more likely to believe that their level of performance is determined by external factors beyond their influence.

	Reinforcement Theory

One final and entirely different approach which must be considered is that of the behaviouralists. The psychologist Skinner of Harvard developed an interesting – but controversial – technique for motivation. This approach, called positive reinforcement or behaviour modification (Koontz and Weihrich, 1983) holds that individuals can be motivated by proper design or creation of their work environment and praise for their performance and that punishment for poor performance produces negative results. Behaviourist believes that human behaviour can be understood and shaped. The tools to use are:

(i)	Positive reinforcement
(ii)	Negative reinforcement
(iii)	Punishment

Positive reinforcement is a pleasant term which is almost synonymous with reward. It can vary from praise or a gift to promotion or a pay rise. It is a powerful tool for encouraging behaviours. Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. This is when someone avoids doing something to avoid punishment and does something else instead. While negative reinforcement encourages action but in a different direction, punishment suppresses it.

Perhaps the strength of the skinner’s approach is that it is so closely akin to the requirements of good management. It  emphasizes removal of obstruction to performance, careful planning and organization, control through feedback, and the expansion of communication. This technique
 


has however been criticized for it looks too simple to work, and so many behavioral scientist and managers are skeptical about its effectiveness.

	Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement

Two commonly used practical methods of putting all the different theories of motivation into action are job enrichment and job enlargement. Research and analyses of motivation point to the importance of making jobs challenging and meaningful. This applies to managers and non-managers.

	Job Enrichment

This is basically where the job is expended on a vertical plane. It rears to the practice of giving workers the opportunity to have greater responsibility for their work and to take greater control over how to do their jobs. In other words, job enrichment entails the attempt to build into jobs a higher sense of challenge and achievement such that, the employee whose job is been enriched is allowed to work on more levels or different aspect of the same basic job. Ideally, the person is allowed to see the work through from start to finish. So if a job is extended to include other duties, possible of a higher level with more responsibility the job is enriched.

Generally speaking, a job may be enriched by giving it variety. But it may also be enriched in the following ways.

o	Giving workers more freedom in deciding about such things as work methods, sequence and pace or letting them make decision about accepting or rejecting materials.
o	Encouraging participation of subordinates and interaction between workers.
o	Giving workers a feeling of personal responsibility for their tasks
o	Taking steps to make sure that people can see how their task contributes to a finished product and the welfare of an enterprise. o Giving people feedback on their job per romance, preferably
before their supervisor gets it.
Involving workers in analysis and change of physical aspects of the work environment, such as layout of office or plant, temperature, lighting and cleanliness.

In summary, the process of  job enrichment  is a conscious effort to implement some assumptions about motivation to work by including in a job factors which Herzberg has termed motivators. The approach gives
 


an individual more scope, autonomy, responsibility, variety and seeks to satisfy an individual’s higher order needs.

Advantages

i.	more workers are able to do various jobs; this can overcome the problem of absenteeism
ii.	Teams can do their one checking and less supervisor are needed
iii.	All companies that have introduced programmes of job enrichment claimed that it led to reduction in labour turnover, raised productivity and improved employees’ morale.

Disadvantages

i.	Possible high cost of re-designing plant or re-tooling.
ii.	Unless all levels of workers and management are committed to change, especially change that affect the basic content of their jobs, job enrichment
iii.	May not work. It takes a long time to change attitudes.
iv.	It is easier to introduce only if there is an end product
v.	Some persons do not want responsibility and this must be considered a substitute for an appropriate pay scheme.

	Job Enlargement

Job enlargement follows the same concept but on a horizontal plane. This can be termed “more of the same job” or the horizontal loading of jobs. It is done by adding tasks on duties of the same type and level but without adding more responsibility on needed more skill. Hence job enlargement refers to the practice of expanding the content of a job by increasing the number and variety of tasks on duties performed at the same level. For example, a production line worker who installed only the bumper on a car may have his job enlarged to install both the bumper and the front hood. Job enlargement attempts to make a job more varied by removing the dullness associated with performing repetitive operation.

Advantages

(i)	Reduction in worker fatigue and relief from boredom where work is specialized and repetitive.
(ii)	Employee/worker can exercise more control over his working space and use a wider range of skills.
 


Disadvantages

(i)	Although personal satisfaction is increasing it may not produce a more technical work. Reductions in output and quality have been noted in a number of cases.
(ii)	Some workers resist change and may not wish for enlargement of their jobs.
(iii)	The actual system of production is in the matter of technology, where specialized machinery and assembly line technique may not leave much scope for enlargement of jobs.

Some management writers are of the opinion that job enlargement or enrichment may not be desirable in all cases. Some employees who derive satisfaction from relating to their co-workers may not like change which give time for social interaction. Yet again, the true effects of enlargement or enrichment, designed to improve job scope and depth respectively, may well depend upon the employee’s personality, background and values. It should however be pointed out that limitations of job highly skilled workers, professionals and managers already contain varying degree of challenge and accomplishment. Perhaps this could be enriched considerably more than they are. But this can probably be done best by modern management technique such as MBO and introducing more status symbols in the form of title and facilities.

4.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

One way to address employees feeling or perception of fairness is through equity theory of motivation. Explain how this theory helps to address this perceptual concern of employees.

5.0	CONCLUSION

Over the years, many process theories have been proposed in several different branches of psychology. You have learnt in this unit, the major process theories which include:

•	expectancy theory of motivation
•	equity theory of motivation
•	goals setting theory
•	attribution theory
•	the reinforcement theory.
 


6.0	SUMMARY

Broadly defined, motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. A motive is a need or desire within a person to achieve some goals or objective and understanding human motivation is a complex matter with no precise answers. Although the causes of motivation are not perfectly understood, the results of having motivated people in an organization are obvious and highly beneficial. As a consequence, managers have tried to understand the conditions and influences that motivate people so that they can manage organize activities and create an organizational atmosphere that encourages positive motivational effects. In this unit our attention is shifted to the interrelated aspect of the process theory of motivation.

7 .0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Banjoko, S. A. (1996). Human Resources Management: An Expository Approach. (1st ed.). Yaba – Lagos: Saban Publisher.
Hicks, H.G. & Gullet, C.R. (1976).	Organizations: Theory and
Behaviour.

Hill, W. L. & Jones, R. J. (2004). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. (6th ed.).	New Delhi: Biztantra.
Koontz, H & Weihrich, H. (1993).	Management: A Book of Readings.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. McGraw-Hill, Kogak Usha Limited.
Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.). London:

Musaaz, J.C.S. (1982). The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration. Nigeria: Macmillan Press.
 


UNIT 4	MONEY
CONTENTS
1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
3.0	Main Content
	3.1	Perspectives as to the Concept of Money
	3.2	Why do People Work?
	3.3	How to Motivate and Improve Employee Performance
4.0	Tutor-Marked Assignment
5.0	Conclusion
6.0	Summary
7.0	References/Further Reading
1.0	INTRODUCTION

Despite the tendency in recent years to downgrade the importance of money as an organizational reward, there is ample evidence that money can be positively reinforcing for most people. In other words, money can never be over looked as a motivator, whether money in the form of wages, piece work (getting paid for units produced at a certain quality level) or any other incentive pay, bonuses, stock options, company paid insurance, or any other thing that may be given to people for performance, money is important. This unit discusses money as a positively reinforcing reward system in an organization.

2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

•	comment on the different views as to the role money can play and also its limitation
•	explain the reasons people work
•	discuss how to motivate and improve employee performance.

	MAIN CONTENT

	Perspectives as to the Concept of Money

In terms of Maslow’s hierarchy, money is often equated only with the most basic level of man’s needs that is, the physiological needs. It is viewed in the material sense of buying food, clothing and shelter. But as some writers have pointed out, money is often more than monetary value. It also has a symbolic as well as economic material meaning. It can provide power and status and can be a means of measuring
 


achievement. Economists and most managers have place money high on the scale of motivators, while behavioural scientists tend to place it low. Probably neither view is right or wrong. But if money is to be a kind of motivator, then the managers must remember several things.

•		That money is not likely to be more important to people who have “arrived” in the sense that their money needs are not so urgent, money is an urgent means of achieving a minimum standard of living, although this has a way of getting higher as people become affluent.

If money is to be an effective motivator, people in various positions, even though at a similar level, must be given salaries and bonuses that reflect their individual performance. In fact, it appears that unless bonuses to managers are based on a major extent of individual performance, an enterprise is not buying much motivation with them. The way to ensure that money has meaning as a reward for accomplishment is to base compensation as much as possible on performance.

It is almost certainly true that money can motivate only when the prospective payment is large relative to a person’s income. The trouble with many wages and salary increases and even bonus payments is that they are not large enough to motivate the receiver; they may keep the individual from being dissatisfied and from looking for another job. So, unless they are large enough to be felt they are not likely to be a strong motivator.

It is noted that in most kinds of business and other enterprises; money is used as a means of keeping an organization adequately staffed and not primarily as a motivator. Various enterprises make wages and salaries competitive within their industrial and their geographic area so as to attract and hold people.

Money as a motivator tend to be dulled somewhat by the practice of making sure that salaries of various managers in a company are reasonably similar, in other words, we often take great care to be sure that people on comparable levels are given the same or nearly the same compensation, this is understandable since people usually evaluate their compensation in the light of what their equals are receiving.

Limitations
Money can be used as a reward even if it is not sufficient to motivate performance in the first places. Thus money can be used as a symbol of appreciation or approval even under those conditions where its intrinsic value is not greatly appreciated. However, whether or not money is
 


valued for its intrinsic purchasing power, the limits of the use of money as a special motivational technique are important.

1.	Money rewards are costly to the enterprise. There are likely to be cheaper ways (and ways which do not attract income tax) by which to reward satisfactory performance.

2.	Once money has been used as a signal for motivation, it is likely that it will be expected again, and it may be difficult to discontinue the practice. Moreover expectations may spread through the organization making it difficult to resist the use of money for other people and by other managers. Discontinuation may provide a stronger signal (of apparent dissatisfaction) than payment provides satisfaction. Such payments may then become a nuisance to the organization.

3.		The manager will need to use judgments in rewarding behaviour by a variety of means. Too small a sum of money may be seen as an insult and act as demotivator, just as too large a sum could also reduce the manager’s control.

4.	Payment may be subject to contractual limits, for individuals and for groups. Payment may thus be improper just as they may be inappropriate. This would be the case, for example, if they fall outside a wage agreement.

5.	Equity between members of the group may be difficult to preserve. Moreover, a given amount of money may be perceived differently by each person so that it is not obvious how much effect the reward will have on each recipient.

6.	Where the individual is likely to go through a tax barrier, the motivation goes as in coal mining, where high wages cause absenteeism to minimize tax payments.

In short, money may well be a powerful motivator. It is certainly a major reason for working. But when it comes to signaling satisfaction or dissatisfaction, the massage may be more appropriately communicated in other ways.

	Why do People Work?

The question as to why people work qualifies for varied and multiple answers. Generally, the significance of work to an individual will depend on a number of variables. But historically, two opposing attitudes toward work have been held by employees:
 



1.	Work is a means to an end. It is usually unpleasant, but we must work to reach the ends we desire and pay our living cost. In other words, it is a way of obtaining the necessary income required to live a valued way of life; hence it is accentual life interest.

2.	Work is an end in itself and is very satisfying. A person gains fulfillment through work.

Comparisons of labour forces and attitude to work in different countries show that (for example in the USA, Israel etc.) Work itself is a cherished value. In 1971, President Nixon stated: “Labour is good in its self. A man or woman at work...becomes a better person by virtue of the act of working”

In other countries however, it is seen almost as a punishment.

3.	The significance of work will also depend on sociological factors because attitudes toward work and a job are developed from the total culture; from the person’s experiences, educational background, age are from attitudes the individual sees in friends and family. Certain individuals have a high need for job security; for example, if an individual is married with a mortgage and children to support, work will hold more significance than for an individual who is single and living at home with their parents, schools, further education and friends all from our attitude to work.

4.	People also work for spiritual or religions reason. For example the protestant ethics maintain that work pleases God. The Catholic says that to work is to pray and in several places in the Bible and Quran, the need to work is emphasized e.g. II Thessalonians 3:10 in the Bible says: If any would not work, neither should he eat.

5.	Yet again, the social Darwinism tried to explain that work has survival value. As it is often expressed, in any given situation the fittest survives. An individual survival is then seen in relation to the kind of job he does while the individual is counted fit when he is able to work. Hence work is seen as a requirement necessary for survival.

6.	The psychologist believed that work is a primary reinforcer and so attached to work are food, shelter, social esteem and approval, meaning that, work has both moral value and inherent goodness.
 


In other words, it is supposed to be something that is inherent to the individual because work is inherently good.

In conclusion, it may be said that work is both an instrumental activity as well as an end in its self. While today’s employees have varying work attitudes that may differ by age, sex, race education, and experience, the attitude that work is a means to an end is probably more widespread among blue-collar workers. The attitude that work is an end of itself is found among many professional, technical, managerial and other white-collar workers. Ona (1984) of the central bank training school has argued that, the very fact that one had a job satisfied his needs because work gives a feeling of being tied into the larger society, of having to do and of having a purpose in life (i.e. it gives you a sense of being a member of society). The question why people work then is a question about the complex human goal, needs and motives. Therefore, if work is so important, people should therefore be motivated to work and motivation in turn will generate satisfaction and influence performance.

	How to Motivate and Improve Employee Performance

It is a truism that everyday managers must make decisions on the basis of inadequate information. This applies to motivation, too. Although there is not yet a comprehensive explanation of motivation, the effective manager will mentally combine the major theories and do the best he or she can to apply them to each situation. Richard steers and Lyman Carter make the following suggestions about using motivation theory to improve employee performance.

1.	If managers want to improve employees’ attitudes and performance, managers must be active in influencing motivation processes. Shifts toward more positive work attitude or better motivational climates do not just happen. Managers have to make them happen.

2.	Before managers attempt to improve  the motivation levels  of others, they should have a clear view of their motives, strength, and weaknesses and how they themselves are perceived by others at work.
3.	Managers should understand that peers’ employees’ and supervisors’ abilities, attitudes, and motives differ: that one set of rewards is not likely to lead to equal effect or performance on the part of everyone.

4.	High performance and effect to increase managers must define superior performance and reward superior performers. At the
 


time of the reward the link between superior performance and reward must be clearly communicated.

5.	High performance also requires that employees know what is expected of them on the job and that employees are placed in the types of jobs that will satisfy their needs.

6.	Motivation and performance are also affected by supervisor’s style and social interaction (group dynamics) at work. Managers should determine whether these two factors facilitate performance.

7.	Work attitude are important to motivation and performance. Managers need to use attitudes surveys more frequently to assess employees work attitudes and then take steps to improve the less desirable attitudes.

8.	The motivation of many employees will be improved if they participate more fully in processes aimed at attaining organizational effectiveness.


4.0	TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

In what ways can motivation be to improve employee performance?

5.0	CONCLUSION

Motivation has be seen in this context as the cause of one’s behaviour. It is the driving force or impulse which moves somebody towards a desired action or activity. It is an influencing force that gives rise to behaviour. The initial concept of motivation was based on the hedonistic view which assumes that man is a pain-avoiding and pleasure-seeking animal and that given alternative; he will not choose the option that will cause him pain. Another school of thought attributes behaviour to various instincts.

This school of thought believes that man has certain basic instincts which course him to act in certain ways. Sigmund Freud classified these basic instincts into: Sex, aggression or self-preservation, death. A third school of thought attributes man’s behaviour to various motives of needs. Man spends his or her life trying to satisfy these needs.
 


6.0	SUMMARY

Money can never be over looked as a motivator, whether money in the form of wages, piece work (getting paid for units produced at a certain quality level) or any other incentive pay, bonuses, stock options, company paid insurance, or any other thing that may be given to people for performance, money is important. Economists and most managers have tended to place money high on the scale of motivators, while behavioural scientists tend to place it low. However, money is certainly a major reason for working. But when it comes to signaling satisfaction or dissatisfaction, the massage may be more appropriately communicated in other ways.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H. (1980). Management: A Book of Readings.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Mitchell, T. R. (1987). People in Organizations: An Introduction to organizational Behaviour. (3rd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.) London: Pitman Publishing.

Musaaz, J.C.S. (1982). The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration. Nigeria: Macmillan Press.

Robbins, S. (1992). Essentials of organizational Behaviour.     (3rd ed.).
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Stewart, R. (1991). Managing  Today  and  Tomorrow.	New York: Macmillan.
 


UNIT 5	ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

CONTENTS

1.0	Introduction
2.0	Objectives
	Main Content
	The Meaning and Nature of organizational Structure
	Meaning of organizational Structure
	Dimensions of Structure
	Levels of organizational Structure
	Dimensions of People – organizational Relationship
	Clarification of Objectives
	Clarification of Tasks
	The Division of Work
	Forms of Relationship in Organization
	Types of organizational Structure
	Common Features of Organizations
	Influence of Technology on Organization
	Problems of Work Organization
4.0	Conclusion
5.0	Summary
6.0	Tutor- Marked Assignment
7.0	References/Further Reading

	INTRODUCTION

In every organization, there are some positions and responsibilities arising from the operations associated with the mission, goals and objectives for the existence of the organization. The formal distribution of tasks, the definition of authority and responsibility and the relationship between members of the organization is usually established on the basis of an organizational structure. Organization may exist on a small scale basis, which can allow the distribution of authority and responsibilities on somehow informal basis. However, as the organization grows, with increasing size, there is greater need for a carefully designed and purposeful form of organizational structure. This calls for the entrenchment of a formal structure. The structure cannot, in most cases, be held sacrosanct in all operational situations.

There is also need for a continual review of the structure to ensure that it is the most appropriate form for a particular organizational development, and in keeping with the dictates of both the internal and external environment. In this study unit, therefore, you will be taken through the general overview of the field of organizational behaviour.
 


2.0	OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be to:

•	explain the meaning of organizational structure
•	identify and explain levels of organization structure
•	mention and discuss dimensions of people-organization relationship
•	identify and explain forms of relationship in organization
•	mention and discuss types of organizational structure
•	identify and explain common features of organizations
•	discuss how technology impacts on organization
•	identify and analyze problems inherent in work organization.

	MAIN CONTENT

	The Meaning and Nature of Organization Structure

	Meaning of Organization Structure

According to Mullins (2000), structure is the pattern of relationships along the positions in the organization and among members of the organization. The purpose of structure is the division of work among members of the organization, and the coordination of their activities so they are directed towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. The structure defines tasks and responsibilities, work roles and relationships and channels of communication.

Structure makes possible the application of the process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed and controlled. According to Drucker (1989), the organization structure should satisfy three requirements. These requirements are as follows:

1.	It must be organized for business performance

The more direct and simple the structure the more efficient it is because there is less change needed in the individual activities directed to business performance and results. Structure should not rest on past achievements but be geared to future demands and growth of the organization.
 


2.	The structure should contain the least possible number of management levels

The chain of command should be as short as possible. Every additional level makes for difficulties in direction and mutual understanding, distorts objectives, sets up additional stresses, creates inertia and slack, and increases the difficulties of the development of future managers moving up through the chain. The number of levels will tend to grow by themselves without the application of proper principles of organization.

3.	organizational structure must make possible the training and testing of future top management

In addition to their training, future managers should be tested before they reach the top. They should be given autonomy in positions of actual managerial responsibility while still young enough to benefit from the new experience. They should also have the opportunity of at least observing the operation of the business as a whole, and not be narrowed by too long an experience in the position of a functional specialist. Drucker suggests that, in order to satisfy these three requirements, the organizational structure must be based preferably on the principle of regional decentralization, with activities integrated into autonomous product businesses with their own product and market, and with responsibility for their profit and loss. According to Drucker, if regional decentralization is not possible then the organizational structure should be based on the principle of functional decentralization with integrated units having the maximum responsibility for major and distinct stages of the business process.

The objectives of organizational structure, according to Knight (1977), are as follows:

(i)	The economic and efficient performance of the organization and the level of resource utilization.
(ii)	Monitoring the activities of the organization.
(iii)	Accountability for areas of work undertaken by groups and individual members of the organization.
(iv)	Coordination of different parts of the organization and different areas of work.
(v)	Flexibility in order to respond to future demands and developments, and adapt to changing environmental influences.
(vi)	The social satisfaction of members working in the organization.

According to Knight, these objectives provide the criteria for structural effectiveness. Structure, though, is not an end in itself, is a means of improving organizational performance.
 


	Dimensions of Structure

According to Mullins (2000), the variables which determine the dimensions of organizational structure can be identified in a number of ways but are usually taken to include the grouping of activities, the responsibilities of individuals, levels of hierarchical authority (the scalar chain), span of control and formal organizational relationships. The dimensions of structure can however be identified in a number of ways. Child, (1988) suggests six major dimensions as components of an organization structure which are as follow:

•	Allocation of individual tasks and responsibilities, job specialization and definition
•	Formal reporting relationships, levels of authority and spans of control
•	grouping together of sections, departments, divisions and larger units
•	Systems for communication of information, integration of effort and participation
•	Delegation of authority and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the use of discretion
•	Motivation of employees through systems for appraisal of performance and reward.

Mintzberg (1979) suggesting another approach to the identification of dimensions of structure, gives a set of nine essential design parameters which form the basic components of organisation structure.

•	How many tasks should a given position in the organisation contain and how specialised should each task be?
•	To what extent should the work content of each position be standardised?
•	What skills and knowledge should be required for each position?
•	On what basis should positions be grouped into units and units into larger units?
•	How large should each unit be; how many individuals should report to a given manager?
•	To what extent should the output of each position or unit be standardised;
•	What mechanisms should be established to facilitate mutual adjustment among positions and units?
•	How much decision-making power should be delegated to the managers of the units down the chain of authority?
•	How much decision-making power should pass from the line managers to the staff specialists and operators?
 


These nine design parameters, according to Mullins (2000), can be grouped under four broad headings: design of position, design of superstructure, design of lateral linkages and design of decision-making systems.

Information technology is an additional dimension of structural design. The computer based information and decision-support systems influence choices in design of production or service activities, hierarchical structures and organization of support staffs. Information technology may influence the centralization/decentralization of decision-making and control systems (Mullins, 2000).

According to Mullins (2000), the impact of information technology will have significant effects on the structure, management and functioning of most organizations. The introduction of new technology will demand new patterns of work organization. It will affect individual jobs, the formation and structure of groups, the nature of supervision and managerial roles. Information technology results in changes to lines of command and authority, and influences the need for restructuring the organization and attention to the job design. Mullins maintains that new technology has typically resulted in a ‘flatter’ organizational pyramid with fewer levels of management required. In the case of new office technology, it allows the potential for staff at clerical/operator level to carry out a wider range of functions and to check their own work.

The result is a change in the traditional supervisory function and a demand for fewer supervisors.

Structure provides the framework for the activities of the organization and must harmonize with its goals and objectives. The first step, therefore, is to examine the objectives of the organization. Only when objectives have been clearly defined that alternative forms of structure be analyzed and compared.

	Levels of Organization Structure

According to Parsons (1980), organizations are structured in layers. This implies that the determination of policy and decision-making, the execution of work, and the exercise of authority and responsibility are carried out by different people at varying levels of seniority throughout the organization structure. Therefore, it is possible to look at organizations in terms of interrelated levels in the hierarchical structure such as the technical level, the managerial level and the community level. These are discussed below.
 


1.	The Technical Level

The technical level is concerned with specific operations and discrete tasks, with the actual job or tasks to be done, and with performance of the technical function.

Examples are: the physical production of goods in a manufacturing firm; administrative processes giving direct service to the public in government departments; the actual process of teaching in an educational establishment.

2.	The Managerial Level

The technical level interrelates with the managerial level, or organizational level, which is concerned with the coordination and integration of work at the technical level. Decisions at the managerial level relate to the resources necessary for performance of the technical function, and to the beneficiaries of the products or services provided.

Decisions will be concerned with:

•	Mediating between the organization and its external environment, such as the users of the organizations’ products or services, and the procurement of resources and
•	The ‘administration’ of the internal affairs of the organization including the control of the operations of the technical function.

3.	The Community Level

In turn, the managerial level interrelates with the community level or institutional level, concerned with broad objectives and the work of the organisation as a whole. Decisions at the community level will be concerned with the selection of operations, and the development of the organisation in relation to external agencies and the wider social environment. Examples of the community level within organisations are:

•	The board of directors of joint stock companies
•	Governing bodies of educational establishments which include external representatives
•	Trustees of non-profit organizations.

Such bodies provide a mediating link between the managerial organization and coordination of work of the technical organization, and the wider community interests. Control at the institutional level of the organization may be exercised, for example, by legislation, codes of
 


standards or good practice, trade or professional associations, political or governmental actions, and public interest.

In practice, all these levels are interrelated, and there is not a clear division between determination of policy and decision-making, coordination of activities and the actual execution of work. Most decisions are taken with reference to the execution of wider decisions, and most execution of work involves decision. Decisions taken at the institutional level determine objectives for the managerial level, and decisions at the managerial level set objectives for the technical level.

Therefore if the organization as a whole is to perform effectively, there must be clear objectives, a soundly designed structure and good communication (both upwards and downwards, among the different levels of the organization (Mullins, 2000).

The managerial level, for example, would be unable to plan and supervise the execution of work of the technical function without the knowledge, expertise, practical know-how and enthusiasm of people who are closest to the actual tasks to be undertaken. People operating at the technical level should, therefore, make known to higher levels the practical difficulties and operational problems concerning their work. It is the duty of the managerial level to take appropriate action on this information, and to consult with people at the community or institutional level (Mullins, 2000).

	Dimensions of People – Organization Relationship

	Clarification of Objectives

Clarity of objectives is necessary in order to provide a basis for the division of work and grouping of duties into sub-units. The objectives for these sub-units must be related to the objectives of the organization as a whole in order that an appropriate pattern of structure can be established.

According to Mullins (2000), clearly stated and agreed objectives will provide a framework for the design of structure, and a suitable pattern of organization to achieve those objectives. The nature of the organization and its strategy will indicate the most appropriate organizational levels for different functions and activities, and the formal relationships between them. Clearly defined objectives will help facilitate systems of communication between different parts of the organization and extent of decentralization and delegation. The formal structure should help make possible the attainment of objectives. It should assist in the performance
 


of the essential functions of the organization and the major activities which it needs to undertake.

	Clarification of Tasks

According to Woodward (1980), tasks are the basic activities of the organization which are related to the actual completion of the productive process and directed towards specific and definable end-results. To ensure the efficient achievement of overall objectives of the organization, the results of the task functions must be coordinated. There are four essential functions that the organization must perform. These are as stated below.

(i)	The good or service must be developed.
(ii)	Something of value must be created. In the case of the business organization, this might be the production or manufacture of a product; in the case of the public sector organization, the provision of a service.
(iii)	The product or services must be marketed. They must be distributed or made available to those who are to use them.
(iv)	Finance is needed in order to make available the resources used in the development, creation and distribution of the products or services provided.

There are other activities of the organization called, element functions which are not directed towards specific and definite ends but are supportive of the task functions and an intrinsic part of the management process. These include personnel, planning, management services, public relations, quality control and maintenance. In other organizations, noticeably in service industries, personnel can be seen as closely associated with a task function. But in the majority of organizations, the personnel function does not normally have any direct accountability for the performance of a specific end-task.

These two kinds of functions, task and element, differ in a number of ways and these differences have important implications for organization. Failure to distinguish between the two types of functions can lead to confusion in the planning of structure and in the relationship between members of the organization. According to Woodward, for example, activities concerned with raising funds for the business, keeping accounts and determination of financial policy are task functions. But management accounting, concerned with prediction and control of production administration, is an element function, and is primarily a servicing and supportive one.
 


Relationships between the accountants and other managers seemed better when the two functions were organizationally separate. This is the case especially in divisionalised organization when each product division has its own accounting staff providing line managers with the necessary information to control their own departments.

	The Division of Work

According to Mullins (2000), work has to be divided among its members and different jobs related to each other within the formal structure of an organization. The division of work and the grouping together of people should, wherever possible, should be organized by reference to some common characteristic which forms a logical link between the activities involved. It is necessary to maintain a balance between an emphasis on subject matter or function at higher levels of the organisation, and specialisation and concern for staff at the operational level.
,
Work can be divided, and activities linked together in a variety of ways as follows:

(i)	Major Purpose or Function

The most commonly used basis for grouping activities is according to specialization, the use of the same set of resources, or the shared expertise of members of staff. It is a matter for decision in each organization as to which activities are important enough to be organized into separate functions, departments or sections. Work may be in departments and based, for example, on different tasks and element functions as discussed above. See figure. 5.1.

(ii)	Product or Service

In division by product or service, as shown in figure 5.2, the contributions of different specialists are integrated into separate, semi- autonomous units with collective responsibility for a major part of the business process or for a complete cycle of work. This form of grouping is more common in the larger diversified organizations and may be used as a means of sub-dividing departments into sections.

A good example is the bringing together of all activities concerned with a particular production line, product or service. In a hospital where medical and support staff are grouped together in different units dealing with particular treatments such as accidents and emergency, medical and surgery, the danger is that with grouping by product or service, the
 


divisions may attempt to become too autonomous, presenting management with a problem of coordination and control.

(iii)	Location

In division by location, as shown in Figure5.3, different services are provided by area or geographical boundaries according to particular needs or demands, the convenience of consumers or for ease of administration.

Examples are the provision of local authority services for people living in a particular locality; the site of hospitals or post offices, the provision of technical or agricultural further education in industrial or rural areas, sales territories for business firms, or the grouping of a number of retail shops under an area manager. Another example is provided by organizations with multi-site working and the grouping of a range of similar activities or functions located together on one site.

One problem with grouping by location is difficulty in the definition of the geographical boundaries and the most appropriate size for a given area.	The	improvement	in	communications,	particularly telecommunications, tends, however, to reduce the importance of location. For example, administrative staff may no longer need to be located within the main production unit.

Fig. 5.1: Division of Work by Major Purpose or Function


Fig.5.2: Division of Work by Product or Service
 


 

Fig.5.3: Division of Work by Location Legend:
R&D - Research and Development P - Product
M - Marketing F - Finance

(iv)	The Nature of the Work Performed

Division may be according to the nature of the work performed where there is some special common feature of the work, such as: the need for speedy decisions, accuracy, confidentiality /security, or where local conditions require first-hand knowledge not immediately available elsewhere. Another example may be the grouping together of equipment or machinery which is noisy or which produces dust, fumes or unpleasant odours.

(v)	Common Time Scales

Division may be according to time scales, for example, shift working and the extent to which different tasks should be undertaken by different shifts. In a further education college, there may be separate departments or groupings to deal with the different needs of full-time day students and part-time evening students.

Another example of activities grouped according to time is in a hotel. Activities in the kitchen tend to be short term, especially when guests in the restaurant are waiting to be served, and a range of different tasks have to be coordinated very quickly. Other activities, for example, market research and forecasting future room occupancy, are longer-term decisions, and subject to different organizational requirements.
 


(vi)	Common Processes

When common processes are used in a range of different activities, this may be used as the basis of division. This method of grouping is similar to the division by nature of the work, but includes, for example, the decision whether to establish a centralized resource centre for all departments of the organization or to allow each department to have its own service.

In the manufacturing industries, a range of products may pass through a common production facility or configuration of machines which may be grouped together in a single unit. For example, a batch production engineering firm having departments based on like skills or methods of operation. Services using expensive equipment such as mainframe computers may need to be grouped together in this way for reasons of efficiency and economy.

(vii)	Staff Employed

The allocation of duties and responsibilities may be according to experience, or where a particular technical skill or special qualification is required: for example, the division of work between surgeons, doctors and nurses; or between barristers, solicitors and legal executives. Another good example is the sharing of routine work processes among members of a supervised group. In smaller organizations, the allocation of work may be on an ad hoc, personal basis according to the knowledge and skills contributed by individuals. Work may also be planned deliberately to give a variety of tasks and responsibilities to provide improved job satisfaction or to assist in the training of staff.

(viii)	Customer to be Served

Separate groups may be established to deal with different consumer requirements. A good example is the division between trade or retail customers, or between home or export sales. In hospitals, there are different groupings dealing with, for example, patients in the gynecology, pediatric and children’s wards. In large clothes shops, there may be separate departments for men, women and children’s clothing.

Another example is the provision of canteen services which may be grouped by customer demand according to price; range or standard of meals available, speed of service; or type of customer. This gives rise to separate facilities; for instance, directors’ dining room, staff dining room, and separation of students’ dining room from lecturers’ dining room in educational establishments.

238
 


These different ways of dividing work can be combined in various forms most suitable for organizations in terms of their scope of operations. Some activities might be grouped according to one method and the other according to operational activities. Decisions on the methods of grouping will include considerations of:

•	The need for coordination
•	The identification of clearly defined divisions of work
•	economy
•	The process of managing the activities
•	avoiding conflict
•	The design of work organization which takes account of the nature of staff employed, their interests and job satisfaction.

The management team must decide upon the most significant factors which will determine the methods for division of work and linking of activities appropriate to the changing circumstances within the particular organization.

SELF -ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Mention and explain the various ways through which operations of an organization can be organized.

	Forms of Relationship in Organization

Some formal relationships between individual positions will arise from the defined pattern of responsibilities in any organizational structure. These individual authority relationships may be identified as line, functional, staff or lateral.

The design of organizational structure in terms of the principle of line, functional, staff or lateral, determines the pattern of role relationships and interactions with other roles, discussed in the next unit.

(i)	Line Relationships

In line relationships, authority flows vertically down through the structure, for example, from the managing director to managers, section leaders, supervisors and other staff. There is a direct relationship between superior and subordinate, with each subordinate responsible to only one person. Line relationships are associated with functional or departmental division of work and organizational control. Line managers have authority and responsibility for all matters and activities within their own department.
 


(ii)	Functional Relationships

Functional relationships apply to the relationship between people in specialist or advisory positions, and line managers and their subordinates. The specialist offers a common service throughout all departments of the organization, but has no direct authority over those who make use of the service. There is only an indirect relationship. For example, the personnel manager has no authority over staff in other departments – this is the responsibility of the line manager. But, as the position and role of the personnel manager would have been sanctioned by top management, other staff might be expected to accept the advice which is given.

The personnel manager, however, could be assigned some direct, executive authority for certain specified responsibilities such as, for example, health and safety matters throughout the whole organization. Note, however, that specialist in a functional relationship with other managers still have a line relationship with both their own superior and their own departmental subordinate staff.

(iii)	Staff Relationships

Staff relationships arise from the appointment of personal assistants to senior members of staff. Persons in a staff position normally have little or no direct authority in their own right but act as an extension of their superior and exercise only ‘representative’ authority. They often act in a ‘gatekeeper’ role. There is no direct relationship between the personal assistant and other staff except where delegated authority and responsibility have been given for some specific activity.

In practice, however, personal assistants often do have some influence over other staff, especially those in the same department or grouping. This may be partial because of the close relationship between the personal assistant and the superior, and may partially dependent upon the knowledge and experience of the assistant, and the strength of the assistant’s own personality.

(iv)	Lateral Relationships

Lateral relationships exist between individuals in different departments or sections, especially individuals on the same level. These lateral relationships are based on contact and consultation and are necessary to maintain coordination and effective organizational performance.
 


Lateral relationships may be specified formally, but in practice, they depend upon the cooperation of staff and in effect are a type of informal relationship.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Mention and explain the different forms of relationship in organization.

	Types of organizational Structure

1.	Line and Staff Organization

An area of management which causes particular difficulty is the concept of line and staff. As organizations develop in size and work becomes more complex, the range of activities and functions undertaken increase. People with specialist knowledge have to be integrated into the managerial structure. Line and staff organization is concerned with different functions which are to be undertaken. It provides a means of making full use of specialists while maintaining the concept of line authority. It creates a type of informal matrix structure.
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According to Mullins (2000), the concept of line and staff relationships presents a number of difficulties. With the increasing complexity of organizations and the rise of specialist services, it becomes harder to distinguish clearly between what is directly essential to the operation of the organization, and what might be regarded only as an auxiliary function. The distinction between a line manager and a staff manager is not absolute. There may be a fine division between offering professional advice and the giving of instructions.

Friction inevitably seems to occur between line and staff managers. Neither side may fully understand nor appreciate the purpose and role of the other. Staff managers are often criticized for unnecessary interference in the work of the line manager and for being out of touch with practical realities. Line managers may feel that the staff managers have an easier and less demanding job because they have no direct responsibility for producing a product or providing a service for the customer, and are free from day-to-day operational problems.

Furthermore, staff managers may feel that their own difficulties and work problems are not appreciated fully by the line manager. Staff managers often complain about resistance to their attempts to provide assistance and coordination, and the unnecessary demands for departmental independence by line managers. A major source of difficulty is to persuade line managers to accept, and act upon, the advice and recommendations which are offered.
 


2.	Functional Organization

Under this structure, the division of work and the grouping together of people is organized by reference to some common characteristic which forms a logical link between the activities involved. This emphasizes functions of the organizational operations as well as specialization. The most commonly used bases for grouping activities according to function are: specialization; the use of the same set of resources; and the shared expertise of members of staff. It is a matter for decision in each organization as to which activities are important enough to be organized into separate functions, departments or sections. Work may be departmentalized and based on differentiation between task and element functions.

3.	Project Organization

The division of work and methods of grouping described earlier tend to be relatively permanent forms of structure. With the growth in newer, complex and technologically advanced systems, it has become necessary for organizations to adapt traditional structures in order to provide greater integration of a wide range of functional activities. In recent years, greater attention has been given, therefore, to more flexible forms of structure and the creation of groupings based on project teams and matrix organization. Members of staff from different departments or sections are assigned to the team for the duration of a particular project.

Therefore, a project organization may be set up as a separate unit on a temporary basis for the attainment of a particular task. When this task is completed, the project team is disbanded or members of the unit are reassigned to a new task. Project teams may be used for people working together on a common task or to coordinate work on a specific project such as the design and development, production and testing of a new product; or the design and implementation of a new system or procedure. For example, project teams have been used in many military systems, aeronautics and space programmes. A project team is more likely to be effective when it has a clear objective, a well-defined task, and a definite end-result to be achieved, and the composition of the team is chosen with care.

4.	Matrix Organization

The matrix organization is a combination of:

(i)	Functional departments which provide a stable base for specialized activities and a permanent location for members of staff
 


(ii)	Units that integrate various activities of different functional departments on a project team, product, programme, geographical or systems basis. As an example, ICI is organized on matrix lines, by territory, function and business. A matrix structure might be adopted in a university or college with grouping both by common subject specialism, and by association with particular courses or programmes of study.

Therefore, the matrix organization establishes a grid, or matrix, with a two-way flow of authority and responsibility. On the basis of the functional departments, authority and responsibility flow vertically down the line, but the authority and responsibility of the project manager flow horizontally across the organization structure.

Fig. 5.4: A Matrix Structure

Reasons for the use of a matrix structure include the following:

(i)	More than one critical orientation to the operations of the organization. For example, an insurance company that has to respond simultaneously to both functional differentiation such as life, fire, marine, motor, and to different geographical areas.

(ii)	A need to process simultaneously large amounts of information. For example, a local authority social services department seeking help for an individual will need to know where to go for help from outside agencies such as police, priest, and community relations officer; and at the same time whom to contact from internal resources within the organization such as the appropriate social worker, health visitor or housing officer
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


(iii)	The need for sharing of resources. This could only be justified on a total organizational basis such as the occasional or part-time use by individual departments of specialist staff or services.

Matrix organization offers the advantages of flexibility, greater security and control of project information and opportunities for staff development. Nevertheless, there are difficulties associated with matrix structure. Developing an effective matrix organization, however, takes time and a willingness to learn new roles and behaviour which means that matrix structures are often difficult for management to implement effectively.

There may be a limited numbers of staff reporting directly to the project manager with extra staff are assigned as required by departmental managers. This may result in a feeling of ambiguity. Staff may be reluctant to accept constant change and prefer the organizational stability from membership of their own functional grouping. Matrix organization can result in a more complex structure. By using two methods of grouping, it sacrifices the unity of command and can cause problems of coordination. There may be a problem of defining the extent of the project manager’s authority over staff from other departments and of gaining the support of the functional managers.

Functional groups may tend to neglect their normal duties and responsibilities. According to Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990), matrix structures have proved all but unmanageable. Dual reporting leads to conflict and confusion; the proliferation of channels of communication creates informational log-jams; and overlapping responsibilities result in a loss of accountability.

	Common Features of Organizations

A basic aim for the study of organizations is to indicate both the common features of organizations and the main distinguishing features between different types of organizations. It provides a useful framework for the comparative study of organizations. Some of these common features of organizations are as discussed below.

1.	organizational Sub-systems

The transformation or conversion of inputs into outputs is a common feature of all organizations. Within the organization (system) as a whole, each of the different transformation or conversion activities may themselves be viewed as separate subsystems with their own input- conversion-output process interrelated to, and interacting with, the other
 


sub-systems. The analysis of an organization could perhaps be based upon the departmental structure as sub-systems.

The important point is the interrelationships and coordination of sub- systems in terms of the effectiveness of the organization as an integrated whole. The interrelationship and interdependence of the different parts of the system raise the question of the identification of these sub- systems.

The boundaries are drawn at the discretion of the observer and sub- systems are identified according to the area under study. These sub- systems may be identified, therefore, in a number of different ways, although there is a degree of similarity among the alternative models.

2.	Socio-technical System

According to Mullins (2000), the socio-technical system is concerned with the transformation or conversion process itself, the relationships between technical efficiency and social considerations and the effect on people.

Researchers observed that new methods of work and changes in technology disrupted the social groupings of workers, and therefore, brought about undesirable changes to the psychological and sociological properties of the old method of working. As a result, the new method of work could be less efficient than it could have been despite the introduction of new technology. The recommendation calls for a socio- technical approach in which an appropriate social system could be developed in keeping with the new technical system. It has been observed that there are three sub-systems common to any organization. Such are the:

•	Technological sub-system
•	Sub-system of formal role structure
•	Sub-system of individual members’ feelings or sentiments.

Another form of analysis result in seeing the organization as an open, socio-technical system with five major sub-systems such as follows:

•	Goals and values – the accomplishment of certain goals determined by the broader system and conformity with social requirements.
•	Technical – the knowledge required for the performance of tasks, and the techniques and technology involved.
•	Psychological – the interactions of individuals and groups, and behaviour of people in the organization.
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


•	Structure – the division and coordination of tasks, and formal relationships between the technical and psychosocial sub- systems.
•	Managerial – covering the whole organization and its relationship to the environment, setting goals, planning, structure and control.

An alternative model is suggested by Hersey and Blanchard, who identify four main interrelated sub-systems.

•	Human / social focuses on the needs and motivations of members of the organization and styles of leadership.
•	Administrative / structural focuses on authority and responsibility, and the structure within the organization.
•	Informational / decision-making focuses on key decisions and information needs necessary to keep the organization operational.
•	Economic / technological focuses on the work to be undertaken and its cost effectiveness related to the goals of the organization.

Another useful model is that of Leavitt who suggests the organization consists of four main elements – task, structure, information and control, and people – which interact with each other and with the external environment.

•	Task – involves problem-solving and improving organizational performance.
•		Structure – refers to patterns of organization, authority and responsibility, and communications.
•	Information and control – techniques for controlling and processing information, such as accounting techniques.
•	People – involves attitudes and interpersonal relations.

According to Mullins (2000), from the above analysis therefore, five main interrelated sub-systems as a basis for the analysis of work organizations.

(i)	Task – The goals and objectives of the organisation and the nature of inputs, outputs and the work activities to be carried out in the transformation or conversion process.
(ii)	Technology – The manner in which the tasks of the organisation are carried out and the nature of work performance. The materials, systems and procedures and equipment used in the transformation or conversion process.
(iii)	Structure – patterns of organisation, lines of authority, formal relationships and channels of communication among members.
 


That is the division of work and coordination of tasks by which the series of activities are carried out.

(iv)	People – the nature of the members undertaking the series of activities, such as their attitudes, skills and attributes needs and expectations, interpersonal relations and patterns of behaviour, group functioning and behaviour; informal organization and styles of leadership.

(v)	Management – coordination of task, technology, structure and people, and policies and procedures for the execution of work. Corporate strategy is the direction of the activities of the organization as a whole and its interactions with the external environment.

The attention given to organizational sub-systems can be related to developments in management thinking and organizational behaviour. The classical approach emphasized the structural and the managerial sub-systems and the development of general principles of organization. The human relations approach emphasized the psychological and sociological aspects and gave attention to the importance of people in the organization and such factors as the social needs of individuals, motivation		and	group		behaviour.	The		systems	approach	focuses attention on the organization as a whole, as a socio-technical system, and considers the interrelationships between the different sub-systems and the importance of environmental influences. The contingency approach	concentrates	on	situational	factors	as		determinants	of alternative forms of organization and management.

3.	Interaction between Organization and Environment

An open systems approach is an attempt to view the organization as a purposeful, unified whole in continual interaction with its external environment. The organization (system) is composed of a number of interrelated parts (sub-systems). Any one part of the organizations’ activities affects other parts. Managers cannot afford to take a narrow, blinkered view. They need to adopt a broader view of the organizations’ activities.

Managers should recognize the interrelationships between various activities and the effects that their actions and decisions have on other activities. Using the above framework of five main interrelated sub- systems which are task, technology, structure, people, and management; a useful basis for the analysis of organizational performance and effectiveness can be provided.
 




 

Fig.5.5: Organizational Sub-systems

Task - the nature of the work activities to be carried out Technology - the manner in which activities are carried out Structure - patterns of organization and formal relationships within which activities are carried out
People - the nature of members undertaking the activities Management
- effective coordination of the sub-systems and direction of activities of the organization as a unified whole.

The manager must realize that in order to improve organizational effectiveness, attention should be focused on the total work organization and on the interrelationships between the ranges of variables which affect organizational performance. The organization is best viewed as an open system and studied in terms of the interactions between technical and social considerations, and environmental influences. Changes in part of the system will affect other parts and thus the whole organization.

The open systems approach provides a series of activities, Transformation or conversion process, Interrelated sub-systems, Task Technology Management Structure, People, perspective in which to compare and contrast different types of organizations and their methods of operation.
 


4.	Situational Organization

The analysis of organizational effectiveness requires an understanding of relationships within the organizations’ structure, the interrelated sub- systems and the nature of its external environment.

Irrespective of the identification of sub-systems, the nature and scale of the series of activities involved in converting inputs to outputs will differ from one organization to another in terms of the interrelationships between technology, structure, methods of operation, and the nature of environmental influences. Contingency models of organization highlight these interrelationships and provide a further possible means of differentiation between alternative forms of organization and management.

The contingency approach takes the view that there is no one best, universal form of organization. There are a large number of variables, or situational factors, that influence organizational performance. Contingency models can be seen as an ‘if-then’ form of relationship. If certain situational factors exist, then certain organizational and managerial variables are most appropriate. Managers can utilize these models to compare the structure and functioning of their own organization (Mullins, 2000).

	Influence of Technology on Organization

According to Mullins (2000), the systems and contingency approaches have drawn attention to the importance of technology in the structure, management and functioning of work organizations. It is important to note that the meaning of technology is interpreted broadly to include both:

•	The physical aspects of machines, equipment, processes and work layout (machine technology) involved in the transformation or conversion process; and
•	The actual methods, systems and procedures involved (knowledge technology) in carrying out the work of the organisation and transforming or converting inputs into outputs. There is a close interrelationship between the machine side of technology and the specialist knowledge side of technology. The nature of technology can, therefore, be applied to the analysis of all organisations.

In a university, for example, the machine side of technology would include:
 

•	blackboards or whiteboards
•	overhead projectors
•	computers
•	televisions and video recorders
•	closed circuit television
•	scientific and engineering equipment
•	library facilities.

The knowledge side of technology would include:

•	lectures
•	seminars and
•	tutorials
•	case studies
•	role-playing
•	practical laboratory work
•	visiting speakers
•	project and assignment work
•	examinations.

The work processes of a university and other educational establishments give rise to the specialist study of educational technology. A university will receive inputs of students and, through the process of educational technology, ‘transform’ them and return them as outputs into the broader society.

1.	Technology and the Behaviour of People

According to Mullins, the nature of technology can influence the behaviour of people in work organizations in many ways including the following:

•	It influences the specific design of each member’s pattern of work including the nature and variety of activities performed, and the extent of autonomy and freedom of action.
•	It affects the nature of social interactions, for example, the size and nature of work groups, the extent of physical mobility and of contacts with other people. A person working continuously on a single, isolated machine in a mass production factory will have very limited social interactions compared with, say, a team of receptionists in a large conference hotel.
•	It can affect role position and the nature of rewards. People with higher levels of specialist technical knowledge and expertise such as engineers or systems analysts tend to receive higher status and pay than machine operators on an assembly line.
 


•	It can impose time dimensions on workers and may require set times for attending to operations and a set pace of work; for example, the mechanical pacing of work on a mass-production assembly line.

•	It can result in distinguishing features of appearance; for example, the requirement to wear a standard uniform or protective clothing, compared with a personal choice of smart clothes.

2.	Technology and General Climate of Organization

Technology is a major influence on the general climate of the organization and the behaviour of people at work. The nature of technology is also a potential source of tension and stress that affect motivation and job satisfaction. The systems approach should serve to remind managers that activities managed on the basis of technical efficiency alone are unlikely to lead to optimum improvements in organizational performance. It is important to maintain the balance of the socio-technical system. Changes to the work organization as a result of new developments in technology must take account of human and social factors as well as technical and economic factors.

3.	Information Technology

The importance of the effective management of technical change has been highlighted by recent and continuing developments in information technology. The term ‘information technology’ originated in the computer industry, but it extends beyond computing to include telecommunications and office equipment. Advances in technical knowledge, the search for improved economic efficiency and government support for information technology have all prompted a growing movement towards more automated procedures of work.

The impact of information technology demands new patterns of work organization, especially in relation to administrative procedures. It affects the nature of individual jobs, and the formation and structure of work groups. There is a movement away from large-scale, centralized organization to smaller working units. Processes of communication are increasingly linked to computer systems with the rapid transmission of information and immediate access to other national or international offices. Improvements in telecommunications imply that support staff need no longer be located within the main ‘production’ unit. Modern methods of communication may reduce the need for head office clerical jobs.
 


Changes brought by information technology relate to the nature of the management task itself. Information technology bears heavily on the decision-making processes of the organization and increasingly forms an essential part of management information and corporate strategy.

4.	Technology and Conditions of Work

The growth of information technology implies that individuals may work more on their own, from their personal work stations or even from their own homes, or work more with machines than with other people. One person may be capable of carrying out a wider range of activities. There are changes in the nature of supervision and in the traditional hierarchical structure of jobs and responsibilities.

Computer-based information and decision support systems provide an additional dimension of structural design. They affect choices such as division of work, individual tasks and responsibilities. The introduction of information technology undoubtedly transforms, significantly, the nature of work and employment conditions for staff. Advances in technical knowledge tend to develop at a faster rate with consideration for related human and social consequences. For example, fatigue and low morale are two major obstacles to the efficiency of staff. Research is now being conducted into possible health hazards such as eye strain, backache, general fatigue and irritability for operators of visual display units. This concern has prompted proposals for recommended working practices for VDU operators. There has been a call for regular health checks and eyesight tests for operators, and a 20-minute break every two hours.

5.	Technical Change and Human Behaviour

Mullins (2000) observes that failure to match technical change to the concomitant human and social considerations means that staff may become resentful, suspicious and defensive. People’s cognitive limitations, and their uncertainties and fears, may result in a reluctance to accept change.

The psychological and social implications of technical change, such as information technology and increased automation, must not be underestimated. New ideas and innovations should not be seen by members of staff as threats.

The manager has to balance the need for adaptability in meeting opportunities presented by new technology with an atmosphere of stability and concern for the interests of staff. The manner in which technical change is introduced into the organization will influence
 


people’s attitudes to work, the behaviour of individuals and groups, and their level of performance.

6.	Technology and Work Design

According to Mullins, continued technical change is inevitable and likely to develop at an even greater rate. Managers must be responsive to such change. Information technology and automation create a demanding challenge. The systems nature of organizations emphasizes the interrelationships among the major variables or sub-systems of the organization. The implementation and management of technological change needs to be related to its effect on the task, the structure and the people.

Managers need to develop working practices based on an accurate understanding of human behaviour and the integration of people’s needs with organizational needs. It is important to avoid destructive conflict, alienating staff including managerial colleagues, or evoking the anger and opposition of unions. At the same time, it is important to avoid incurring increasing costs or a lower level of organizational performance caused by delays in the successful implementation of new technology.

What needs to be considered is the impact of technical change on the design of the work organization, and the attitudes and behaviour of staff. It will be necessary for managers and supervisors to develop more agile skills in organization. This calls for the effective management of human resources and a style of managerial behaviour which helps to minimize the problems of technical change. The management of conflict and organizational change is discussed in detail in other units.

	Problems of Work Organization

As observed by Mullins, the important point is not so much whether competing sub-groups and conflict are seen as inevitable consequences of organization structure, but how conflict, when found to exist within the structure, is handled and managed. There are many potential sources of conflict arising from structure, which include the following:

1.	Differences in perception.

Individuals see things in different ways. They all have our own unique picture or image of how we see the ‘real’ world. Differences in perception result in different people attaching different meanings to the same stimuli. As perceptions become a person’s reality, value judgements can be a potential major source of conflict.
 
BUS322	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR


2.	Limited resources

Most organizational resources are limited, and individuals and groups have to fight for their share; for example, at the time of the allocation of the next year’s budget or when cutbacks have to be made, the greater the limitation of resources, then usually the greater the potential for conflict. In an organization with reducing profits or revenues, the potential for conflict is likely to be intensified.

3.	Departmentalization and specialization

Most work organizations are divided into separate departments with specialized functions. Because of familiarity with the manner in which they undertake their activities, departments tend to turn inwards and to concentrate on the achievement of their own particular goals. When departments need to cooperate with each other this is a frequent source of conflict. Differing goals and internal environments of departments are also a potential source of conflict. For example, a research and development department is more likely to be concerned with the long- run view and, confronted with pressures for new ideas and production innovation, the department is likely to operate in a dynamic environment and with an organic structure. A production department, however, is concerned more with short-term problems such as quality control and meeting delivery dates. The department tends to operate in a more stable environment and with a bureaucratic structure.

4.	The nature of work activities

Where the task of one person is dependent upon the work of others, there is potential for conflict; for example, if a worker is expected to complete the assembly of a given number of components in a week but the person forwarding the part-assembled components does not supply a sufficient number on time. If reward and punishment systems are perceived to be based on keeping up with performance levels, then the potential for conflict is even greater.

In sequential interdependence where the work of a department is dependent upon the output of another department, a crisis situation could arise, especially if this situation is coupled with limited resources; for example, where the activities of a department, whose budget has been reduced below what is believed necessary to run the department efficiently, are interdependent with those of another department, who appear to have received a more generous budget allocation.
 


5.	Role conflict

A role is the expected pattern of behaviours associated with members occupying a particular position within the structure of the organization. In practice, the manner in which people actually behave may not be consistent with their expected pattern of behaviour. Problems of role incompatibility and role ambiguity arise from inadequate or inappropriate role definition and can be a significant source of conflict.

6.	Inequitable treatment

A person’s perception of unjust treatment such as in the operation of personnel policies and practices, or in reward and punishment systems, can lead to tension and conflict. For example, according to the equity theory of motivation, the perception of inequity will motivate a person to take action to restore equity, including changes to inputs or outputs, or through acting on others.

7.	Violation of territory

People tend to become attached to their own ‘territory’ within work organizations; for example, to their own area of work, or kinds of clients to be dealt with; or to their own room, chair or packing space. Jealousy may arise over other people’s territory; for example, size of room, company car, allocation of a secretary or other perks; through access to information, or through membership of groups. A stranger walking into a place of work can create an immediate feeling of suspicion or even resentment because people do not usually like ‘their’ territory entered by someone they do not know, and whose motives are probably unclear to them.

Mullins observes that ownership of territory may be conferred formally, for example, by organizational charts, job descriptions or management decisions. It may be established through procedures, for example, circulation lists or membership of committees. Or it may arise informally, for example through group norms, tradition or perceived status symbols. The place where people choose to meet can have a possible, significant symbolic value. The relevant strategies for managing conflicts arising from work organization include the following:

(i)	Clarification of goals and objectives

The clarification and continued refinement of goals and objectives, role definitions and performance standards will help to avoid misunderstandings and conflict. Focusing attention on super-ordinate
 


goals that are shared by the parties in conflict may help to diffuse hostility and lead to more cooperative behaviour.

(ii)	Resource distribution

It may not always be possible for managers to increase their allocated share of resources, but they may be able to use imagination and initiative to help overcome conflict situations; for example, making a special case to higher management; flexibility in virement headings of the budget; delaying staff appointments in one area to provide more money to another area.

(iii)	Personnel policies and procedures.

Careful and detailed attention to just and equitable personnel policies and procedures may help to reduce areas of conflict. Examples are: job analysis, recruitment and selection, job evaluation; systems of reward and punishment; appeals, grievance and disciplinary procedures; arbitration and mediation; recognition of trade unions and their officials.

(iv)	Non-monetary rewards

Where financial resources are limited, it may be possible to pay greater attention to non-monetary rewards. Examples are job design, more interesting, challenging or responsible work, increased delegation or empowerment, flexible working hours, attendance at courses or conferences, unofficial perks or more relaxed working conditions.

(v)	Development of interpersonal/group process skills

This may help to encourage a better understanding of one’s own behaviour, the other person’s point of view, communication processes and problem-solving. It may also encourage people to work through conflict situations in a constructive manner.

(vi)	Group activities

Attention to the composition of groups and to factors which affect group cohesiveness may reduce dysfunctional conflict. Overlapping group membership with a ‘linking-pin’ process, and the careful selection of project teams or task forces for problems affecting more than one group, may also be beneficial.
 


(vii)	Leadership and management

A more participative and supportive style of leadership and managerial behaviour is likely to assist in conflict management; for example, showing an attitude of respect and trust; encouraging personal self- development; creating a work environment in which staff can work cooperatively together. A participative approach to leadership and management may also help to create greater employee commitment.

(viii)	organizational processes.

Conflict situations may be reduced by attention to such features as: the nature of the authority structure; work organization; patterns of communication and sharing of information, democratic functioning of the organization, unnecessary adherence to bureaucratic procedures and official rules and regulations.

(ix)	Socio-technical approach

Viewing the organization as a socio-technical system in which psychological and social factors are developed in keeping with structural and technical requirements, will help in reducing dysfunctional conflict.

4.0	CONCLUSION

The discussion has exposed you to the fact that organizational structure relates to pattern of relationships along positions in the organization and among members of the organization, which defines tasks and responsibilities, work roles and relationships and channels of communication among organizational members. You have understood that essential factors are normally taken into consideration in designing organization structure. There are different types of structure and relationship in organization. Organizational structure is affected by technology as a critical aspect of the external environment.

5.0	SUMMARY

This study unit has been used to discuss:

•	The meaning and nature of organizational structure; that structure defines positions and responsibilities, and it keeps on changing.
•	Levels of organization structure such as technical, management, and community levels.
•	Dimensions of people–organization relationship such as clarification of objectives, clarification of tasks, and division of work.
 


•	Forms of relationship in organization in areas of line, staff, function and lateral relationships.
•	Types of organizational structure like line and staff, functional, project and matrix organizations.
•	Common features of organizations such as organizational sub- systems, socio-technical system, interaction between the organization and the environment, and situation organization.
•	Influence of technology on organization in areas of behaviour of people, organizational climate, conditions of work, information technology, and work design.
•	Problems of work organization such as differences in perception, limited resources, specialization, nature of work, role conflict, and violation of territory.

6.0	TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1.	Discuss the essential design parameters which form the basic components of organization structure according of Mintzberg.
2.	Mention and discuss the forms of relationship in organization.

7.0	REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Atkinson, P. (1985). “The Impact of Information Technology and Office Automation on Administrative Management.” British Journal of Administrative Management, Vol. 35, No. 3, June.

Child, J. (1988). Organization: A Guide to Problems and Practice, Second Edition. New York: Paul Chapman.

Drucker, P.	F.	(1989).	The	Practice	of	Management. London:
Heinemann Professional.

Mullins, L. J. (2000). Management and organizational Behaviour. (4th ed.) London: Pitman Publishing. Stewart, R. (1991). Managing Today and Tomorrow. London: Macmillan.

Woodward, J. (1980). Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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