ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Notes (For the First Internals)

1. What Is Organisational Behaviour?

1. OB is a systematic study of the actions and reactions of individuals, groups and Subsystems.
O.B. is the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people- as
individuals and as members of groups -act within organizations. It strives to identify ways in
which people can act more effectively.
2. OB is a field of study that investigates the impact those individual, groups and structures
have on behaviour within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards
improving an organizations effectiveness.
3. OB is the study and understanding of individual and group behaviour, patterns of structure in
order to help improve organizational performance and effectiveness.
Organizational Behaviour derives its body of knowledge base from the following disciplines:
1. Psychology: The science or study of individual human behaviour
2. Sociology: The study of group human behaviour
3. Social Psychology: Studies influences of people on one another
4. Anthropology: Study of the human race, and culture
5. Political Science: Behaviour of individuals in political environment.

2. What Are the Three components of OB?

The Three components of OB are:
1. Affective, - this component is the person s emotions or feelings about an object
2. Behaviour, this component is the Intention to act
3. Cognition include the beliefs, opinions and information the person has about an object,
This is known as the (ABC) Model:
AFFECTIVE response is an emotional response that expresses an individuals degree of
preference for an entity.
- For an example: from my heart, I love my job.
- A component is the person s emotions or feelings about an object.
BEHAVIOURAL - intention is a verbal indication or typical behavioural tendency of an

individual.
B component is the intention to act. (I am going to get to work early with a smile on my face)
COGNITIVE response is an evaluation of the entity that constitutes an individuals beliefs
about the object. (From brain- my job is interesting).
"C" component include the beliefs, opinions and information the person has about an object .
3. What Do Managers Do?
Managers are individuals who achieve goals through other people. They:
1. Make decisions
2. Allocate resources
3. Direct activities of others to attain goals
4. Where Do Managers Work ?
A consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or more people that functions on a
relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.
5.What are the Typical Management Functions That a Manager Is Expected To Perform?
1. Planning:
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and
developing plans to coordinate activities.
2. Organizing:
In determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them,
how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom and where decisions are to be made.
3. Leading:
A function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective
communication channels and resolving conflicts.
4. Controlling
Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any
significant deviations.
6.List Some of the Challenges That Study of Organizational Behaviour Helps A Manager to
Counter ?

1. Responding to Globalization
i) Increased foreign assignments
ii) Working with People from different cultures
iii) Managing people at work in workplaces to faced with the challenges of competition.
2. Managing workforce Diversity
i. Embracing diversity- age, sex, education, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds.
ii. Changing demographics- expectations, behaviour and value systems of employees of
different age groups differ.
3. Improving quality and productivity
4. Improving customer service
5. Stimulating innovation and changes
6. Working in networked organizations
7. Creating a positive work environment
8. Improving ethical behaviour
7. Describe The Four Approaches TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
There are mainly four approaches to organizational behaviour. They are:
Human resources approach

Contingency approach

Productivity approach

Systems approach

i. Human Resources Approach

The human resources approach is concerned with the growth and development of people
towards higher levels of competency, creativity and fulfillment, because people are the
central resource in any organization. This approach help employees become better in terms of
work and responsibility and then it tries to create a climate in which they can contribute to the
best of their improved abilities. This approach is also known as 'supportive approach' because
the manager's primary role changes from control of employees to providing an active support
for their growth and performance.
ii. Contingency Approach

A contingency approach to organizational behaviour implies that different situations require

different behavioral practices for effectiveness instead of following a traditional approach for
all situations. Each situation must be analyzed carefully to determine the significant variables
that exist in order to establish the more effective practices. The strength of this approach is
that it encourages analysis of each situation prior to action. Thus, it helps to use all the current
knowledge about people in the organization in the most appropriate manner.
Iii.Productivity Approach
Productivity is a ratio that compares units of output with units of input. It is often measured in
terms of economic inputs and outputs. Productivity is considered to be improved, if more
outputs can be produced from the same amount of inputs. But besides economic inputs and
outputs, human and social inputs and outputs also arc important.
Iv.Systems Approach
A system is an interrelated part of an organization or a society that interacts with everyone
related to that organization or society and functions as a whole. Within the organization
'people' employ 'technology' in performing the 'task' that they are responsible for, while the
'structure' of the organization serves as a basis for co-ordinating all their different activities.
The systems view emphasizes the interdependence of each of these elements within the
organization, if the organization as a whole is to function effectively. The other key aspect of
the systems view of organization is its emphasis on the interaction between the organization
and its broader environment,, which consists of social, economic, cultural and political
environment within which they operate.
Organizations are dependent upon their surrounding environment in two main ways:
First, the organization requires 'inputs' from the environment in the form of raw material,
people, money, ideas and so on. The organization itself can be thought of as performing
certain 'transformation' processes, on its inputs in order to create outputs in the form of
products or services. Secondly, the organization depends on environment such as, public to
accept its output. The systems view of organization thus emphasizes on the key
interdependencies that organizations must manage. Within themselves the organizations must
trade off the interdependencies among people, tasks, technology and structure in order to
perform their transformation processes effectively and efficiently. Organizations must also
recognize their interdependence with the broader environments within which they exist.
8. What Are The Four Elements Of Organisational Behaviour?

The key elements in the organisational behaviour are people, structure, technology and the
environment in which the organisation operates.

People: People make up the internal and social system of the organisation. They
consist of individuals and groups. The groups may be big or small; formal or
informal; official or unofficial. Groups are dynamic and they work in the organisation
to achieve their objectives.
Structure: Structure defines the formal relationships of the people in organisations.
Different people in the organisation are performing different type of jobs and they
need to be (elated in some structural way so that their work can be effectively coordinated.
Technology: Technology such as machines and work processes provide the resources
with which people work and affects the tasks that they perform. The technology used
has a significant influence on working relationships. It allows people to do more and
work better but it also restricts' people in various ways.
Environment: All organizations operate within an external environment. It is the part
of a larger system that contains many other elements such as government, family and
other organizations. All of these mutually influence each other in a complex system
that creates a context for a group of people.

9. What Are The Limitations Of Organizational Behaviour?

Organizational behaviour cannot abolish conflict and frustration but can only reduce
them. It is a way to improve but not an absolute answer to problems.
It is only one of the many systems operating within a large social system.
People who lack system understanding may develop a 'behavioral basis', which gives
them a narrow view point, i.e., a tunnel vision that emphasizes on satisfying employee
experiences while overlooking the broader system of an organization in relation to all
its public.
The law of diminishing returns also operates in the case of organizational behaviour.
It states, that at some point increase of a desirable practice produce declining returns
and sometimes, negative returns. The concept implies that for any situation there is an
optimum amount of a desirable practice. When that point is exceeded, there is a
decline in returns. For example, too much security may lead to less employee
initiative and growth. This relationship shows that organizational effectiveness is
achieved not by maximizing one human variable but by working all system variables
together in a balanced way.
A significant concern about organizational behaviour is that its knowledge and
techniques could be used to manipulate people without regard for human welfare.
People who lack ethical values could use people in unethical ways.

10. What is the FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR?

The growing interest in organizational behaviour stems from both a philosophical desire by
many people to create more humanistic work places and a practical need to design more
productive work environments. As a result of these forces, organizational behaviour is now a
part of the curriculum of almost all courses including engineering and medical.
The field of organizational behaviour has grown in depth and breadth. The keys to its past
and future success revolve around the related processes of theory development, research and
managerial practice.
Although organizational behaviour has certain limitations, it has a tremendous potential to
contribute to the advancement of civilization. It has provided and will provide much
improvement in the human environment. By building a better climate for people,
organizational behaviour will release their creative potential to solve major social problems.
In this way organizational behaviour will contribute to social improvements. Improved
organizational behaviour is not easy to apply but opportunities are there. It should produce a
higher quality of life in which there is improved harmony within each individual, among
people and among the organizations of future.
11. What is Leadership?
Leadership is an integral part of management and plays a vital role in managerial operations.
It provides direction, guidance, and confidence to the employees and helps in the attainment
of goals in much easier way. In business and industrial organizations, managers play the role
of leader and acquire leadership of subordinates, their efforts towards the achievement of
organizational goals and activate the individuals of an organization to make them work.
Leadership influences behavior of the individuals. It has an ability to attract others and
potential to make them follow the instructions. Individuals can be induced to contribute their
optimum towards the attainment of organizational goals through effective leadership.
Leadership acquires dominance and the followers accept the directives and control of a
leader. Leadership provides direction and vision for future to an organization.
DEFINITION
Leadership is the art of influencing and inspiring subordinates to perform their duties
willingly, competently and enthusiastically for achievement of groups objectives.

a. According to Wendell French, "Leadership is the process of influencing the

behavior of others in the direction of a goal or set of goals or, more broadly,
toward a vision of the future
b. According to Keith Davis, Leadership is the process of encouraging and helping
others to work enthusiastically towards objectives.
c. According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "Leadership is the art or process of
influencing people so that they will strive willingly towards the achievement of
group goals".
d. According to Peter Drucker, "Leadership means the lifting of man's visions to
higher sights, the raising of man's performance to higher standard, the building of
man's personality beyond its normal limitations".
e. According to Grey and Starke, "Leadership is both a process and a property. As a
process, it is used for non-coercive influence lo shape up the goals of a group or
organization, to motivate behavior toward the achievement of those goals and to
help define group or organizational culture. As a property, leadership is the set
multi characteristics attributed to those who are perceived to be leaders".
Thus, leaders are people who are able to influence the behaviour of others without recourse to
threats or other forms of force towards the individuals. Leaders are the people who are
accepted by the other individuals, as a superior person to them.
12. What Are Some Of The Key Features Of Leadership?
The key features of leadership are:

Leadership is the process of influencing behaviour of individuals of an organization.

Leadership uses non-coercive methods to direct and coordinate the activities of
the individuals of an organization.
Leadership directs the individuals to attain the tasks assigned to them by following the
instructions of their leaders.
A leader possesses qualities to influence others.
Leadership gives the individuals, a vision for future.
Leadership is a group activity. Leader influences his followers and followers also
exercise influence over his leader.
Leadership is meant for a given situation, given group for a pre-determined period of
lime.

Leadership is continuous process of influencing behavior. It encourages liveliness in

the group.

13. What Is The Importance Of Leadership?

The following points can help us in gauging the importance of leadership:

A leader should act as a friend of the people whom he is leading.

A leader must have the capacity to recognize the potentials of the individuals and
transform them into realities.
A leader should have the confidence of the individuals of the organization.
A leader must be able to unite the people as a team and build up team spirit.
A leader should be able to maintain discipline among his group and develop a sense of
responsibility.
A leader must be able to build up a high morale among the individuals of the
organization.
A leader should motivate his people to achieve goals.
A leader should try to raise the morale of the individuals and should maintain ethical
standards among the individuals.
A leader should act as a link between the work groups and the forces outside the
organization.

14. What is The Difference between Leadership and Management?

Leading and managing go together but some differences exist between the two. The
following are the differences between the leadership and the management:

Management takes rational and logical decisions while leadership takes decision on
expectations of the followers. Leadership has an emotional appeal while management
acts on rationality.
The management establishes relationship through a lawful authority while leadership
establishes relationship through power.
Managers have formal authority but the leaders have no such authority.
All leaders are not managers and all managers are leaders.
Management is a process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the
activities of others to attain the organizational objectives. Leadership on the other
hand, is a process of influencing the behavior of the people to attain their assigned
tasks. A successful manager must possess both the managerial and leadership
qualities.

15. What are the different Styles or Types of Leadership?

Following are the main styles/types of leadership:
i. Autocratic or Authoritarian
In this type of leadership, there is a complete centralization of authority in the leader, i.e.,
authority is centered in the leader himself. He has all the powers to make decisions. He uses
coercive measures and adopts, negative method of motivation. He wants immediate
obedience of his orders and instructions. Any negligence on the part of subordinates results in
punishment. There is no participation from the subordinates in decision-making. A leader
thinks that he is the only competent person in the organization. According to Edwin B.
Filippo, there are three types of autocratic leaders:
1.

2.

3.

Hard Boiled or Strict Autocrat: Leader, under such type uses negative influence
and expects that the employees should obey his orders immediately. Noncompliance of his orders results in punishment. He makes all decisions and does not
disclose anything to anyone. He is quite rigid on performance.
Benevolent Autocrat: Benevolent autocrat leader uses positive influences and
develops effective human relations. He is known as paternalistic leader. He praises
his employees if they follow his orders and invites them to get the solutions of the
problems from him. He feels happy in controlling all the actions of his subordinates.
Manipulative Autocrat: Leader, under such type is manipulative in nature. He
creates a feeling in the minds of his subordinates and workers that they are
participating in decision-making processes. But he makes all decisions by himself.
Non-compliance of his orders also results in punishment.

ii. Democratic or Participative

Democratic or Participative leadership is also known as group centered or consultative
leadership. In this type of leadership, leaders consult their groups and consider their opinion
in the decision-making process. Leaders encourage discussion among the group members on
the problem under consideration and arrive at a decision depending on their consent.
Participation or involvement of the employees in the decision-making process is also
rewarded. Exchange of ideas among subordinates and with the leader is given
encouragement. Leaders give more freedom to their group members, who feel that, their
opinions arc honored and they are given importance. It develops a sense of confidence among
subordinates and they derive job satisfaction. It improves quality of decision as it is taken
after due consideration of valued opinions of the talented group members.

The demerit of this type of leadership is that it takes more time to arrive at a decision, as a lot
of time is wasted while taking the views from the employee. It is, therefore, very time
consuming.
iii. Laissez-faire or Free Rein
In this type of leadership, there is virtual absence of direct leadership. It is, therefore, known
as "no leadership at all". There is complete delegation of authority to subordinates so that
they can make decisions by themselves. Absence of leadership may have both positive and
negative effects. Free rein leadership may be effective if members of the group are highly
committed to their work. The negative aspect shows that the leader is not competent enough
to lead his group effectively. Members may feel insecure and develop frustration for lack of
decision-making authority.
iv. Bureaucratic
This type of leadership emphasizes the rules and regulations of an organization. The behavior
of a leader is determined by the rules, regulations and procedure to be followed under his
leadership. The leader and the subordinates both follow these rules and regulations.
Therefore, there is no difference between the management and the administration in this type
of leadership. The employees, themselves cannot do anything in this regard. It is the rules that
determine their performance.
v. Manipulative
This type of leadership manipulates the employees to attain their assigned tasks. A
manipulative leader is quite selfish and exploits the aspirations of the employees for his
gains. He knows very well the needs and desires of the employees but he does very little to
fulfill them. Due to such attitude, he has to face the hatred of the employees at times.
vi. Paternalistic
The paternalistic leadership believes in the concept that the happy employees work better and
harder. It maintains that the fatherly altitude is the right one for better relationship between
the manager and the employees. Everyone within the organization should work together like
a family.
vii. Expert Leadership
The expert leadership emerged as a result of complex structure of modern organizations. This
type of leadership is based on the ability, knowledge and competence of the leaders. He
handles the situation skillfully with his talent. The employees feel relieved as they are
working under a person who is expert and can handle the situation without any problem.

In modern organizations, human resources vary in terms of skill, knowledge and

competences. They differ in quality, determination and their attitude towards the organization.
They exhibit different behaviors as they differ in attitude and outlook also. The leader must
understand their behavior and accordingly can make use of the various types LEADERSHIPS.
The manager should assess the situation and adopt that type of leadership, which suits that
situation. He should remember that leadership is situational. If situation changes, the use of
leadership among its various types also changes. A successful leader is the one who assesses
the situation, studies the psychology of the subordinates and adopts the most useful type of
leadership to lead the people at work to accomplish the organizational goals.
16. List and explain the Different Theories of Leadership
A number of theories and approaches to study leadership have been developed. There are
broadly three theories of leadership.

Trait Theory
Behavior Theory
Contingency Theory
The Path-Goal theory

(a)The Trait Theory

This theory of studying leadership is taken into consideration to analyze the personal,
psychological and physical traits of strong leaders. The assumption made in this theory was
that some basic traits or set of traits differentiates leaders from non-leaders. For example, the
leadership traits might include intelligence, assertiveness, above average height, selfconfidence, initiative and understanding of interpersonal human relations. The existence of
these traits determines the importance of leadership. Possession of these traits helps the
individuals to gain possession of leadership. Since all individuals do not have these qualities,
only those who have them would be considered potential leaders.
Some of the weakness of this theory is:

All the traits are not identical with regard to essential characteristics of a leader.
Some traits may not be inherited, but can only be acquired by training.
It does not identify the traits that are most important and that are least important for a
successful leader.
It does not explain the leadership failures, in spite of the required traits.

It has been found that many traits exhibited by leaders are also found among followers
without explaining as to why followers could not become leaders.
It is difficult to define traits in absolute terms.
Thus, the trait theory has been criticized for lack of conclusiveness and predictability.

(b) The Behavior Theory

The behavioral theory assumed that effective leaders behaved differently from ineffective
leaders. It also identified the need of consistency of behavior of good leaders. This theory can
be more clearly understood with the help of following case studies.

The Michigan Studies: Researchers at the University of. Michigan, led by Rensis
Likert, began studying leadership in the late 1940s. Depending on broad discussions
with both the managers and sub-ordinates, the Michigan studies identified two forms
of leadership behavior. They are discussed as below:
Job-centered leadership behaviour: The first was called job-centered
leadership behavior, which focuses on performances and efficient completion
of the assigned tasks. A job-centered leader interacts with group members to
explain task procedures and oversee their work.
Employee centered leadership behaviour: The second behavior was identified
as employee centered leader behavior, which focuses on, high performance
standards to be accomplished. This can be done by developing a cohesive
work group and ensuring that employees are satisfied with their jobs. Thus, the
leader's primary concern is the welfare of the ordinates. The Michagan
researchers thought a leader could show signs of one kind of behavior, but not
both.
Most experts now agree that no single set of traits or behaviors appears to be common to all
good leaders. The universal approaches to leadership can help managers examine their own
leadership characteristics and match them against the traits most commonly identified with
good leaders. In order to understand the full complexity of leadership, contingency theory is
to be studied.
(c) The Contingency Theory
The main assumption of contingency theory is that the behavior of an appropriate leader
varies from one situation to another. The motive of a contingency theory is to identify key
situational factors and to specify how they interact to determine appropriate behavior of a
leader

The three most important and widely accepted contingency theories of leadership are as
follows:

The LPC theory: The first contingency theory of leadership is Fred Fielder's Least
Preferred Co-worker (LPC) Model. Fielder identified two types of leadership: taskoriented and relationship-oriented. Fielder believes that a leader's tendency to be taskoriented or relationship oriented remains constant. In- other words, a leader is either
task-oriented or relationship-oriented while leading his group members. According to
Fielder, the contingency factor favours the situation from the leader's point of view.
This factor is determined by leader-member relations, task-structure and positionpower, which are discussed as below:
Leader-member relations: A Leader-member relation refers to the nature of
relationship between the leader and his work group. If the leader and the group enjoy
mutual trust, respect, confidence and they like one another, relations will remain
good. If there is little trust, respect or confidence and. if they do not like one another,
relations will remain bad. Good relations are assumed to be favourable and bad
relations unfavorable.
Task-structure: Task-structure is the degree to which the group's task is clearly
defined. When the task is routine, easily understood, and unambiguous and when the
group has standard procedures, the structure is assumed to be high. When the task is
non-routine, ambiguous, complex, with no standard procedures and precedents,
structure is assumed to be low. High structure is more favourable for the leader and
low structure is unfavorable. If the task structure is low, the leader will have to play a
major role in guiding and directing the group's activities. If the task structure is high,
the leader will not have to pay much attention.
Position-power: Position-power is the power vested in the position of a leader in an
organization. If the leader has the power to assign work, administer rewards and
punishment, recommend employees for promotion or demotion, position-power is
assumed to be strong. If the leader does not have required powers, the position-power
is weak. From the leader's point of view, strong position power is favourable and
weak position power is unfavorable.
Fielder and his associates conducted various studies highlighting if a situation favors the
leadership and group effectiveness or not.
(d)

The Path-Goal theory

The path-goal model of leadership was introduced by Martin Evans and Robert House. Pathgoal theory says that a leader can motivate subordinates by influencing their expectations.
Leaders can motivate sub-ordinates by making clear what they have to do to get the reward
they desire. The path-goal model assumes that leaders can change their style or behavior to
meet the demands of a particular situation. This model identifies four kinds of leader
behavior: directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented. According to this

model managers can adjust their behavior to include any four kinds of leadership behavior
mentioned above. For instance, while leading a new group of sub-ordinates, the leader may
be directive in giving guidance and instructions to them. He may also adopt supportive
behavior to encourage group cohesiveness, to look after their needs and ensuring that they get
the rewards and benefits. As the group becomes more familiar with the task and as new
problems are taken into consideration, the leader may use participative behavior by which he
can participate with employees in making decisions and take their suggestions as well.
Finally, the leader may use achievement-oriented behavior to encourage continued high
performance of sub-ordinates.
Environmental characteristics are factors, which are beyond the control of subordinates. It includes task structure, the primary work group and the formal authority system.
For instance, when structure is high, directive leadership is less effective than when structure
is low. Sub-ordinates do not usually need their boss to repeatedly tell them how to do a
routine job. According to the path-goal theory, these environmental factors can create
uncertainty for employees. A leader who helps employees reduce such uncertainty can
motivate them. The figure 14.1 shows the path goal model of leadership.

Leaders do not always have control over environmental factors, but the theory emphasizes
that leaders can use the control they want, to adjust the environment and to motivate subordinates.

Explain the concept of attitude in organizations

Understand the method of formation of attitude
Discuss individual attitude in organizations and indicate their effect on behaviour
Explain the concept of perception and perceptual process
Describe perception attribution in organizations

17. How Do We Define Attitudes?

Attitude is a state of mind of an individual towards something. Attitude determines the
personality.
1. It remains unchanged for a long period of time unless he is influenced by external forces.
2. Attitude is often an evaluative statement that can be either favourable or unfavorable.
3. Feelings and beliefs held by an Individual.
4. Way in which an individual organizes his perceptions & knowledge about a particular thing.
E.g.: if person does not like a certain aspect of a job, he is said to have a negative attitude
towards the assignment.
18. How Are Attitudes Formed?
1. Attitudes are gained from parents, teachers & members of ones peer group.
2. Heredity also determines his personality & attitudes.
3. When a child begins his schooling & interacts with people, his attitudes are influenced by
people whom he likes, admires, respects or fears.
4. Individuals are more willing to modify their behaviour when they are influenced by the
behaviour of people whom they look up to.
5. It can be changed by providing new additional information and by involving people in
problem solving.
6. E.g.: Organizations helps employees to understand the competitive threats the
organization faces to make them realize the need for change which can be both positive
and negative.
Attitudes can be studied from what perspectives?
1. Characteristics
2. Components
3. Formation4. Measurement.
19. What Are The Components Of Attitude?
Attitude has three components, which are as follows:

Affective component
Cognitive component

Intentional component

The affective component of an attitude reflects 'feelings and emotions' that an individual has
towards a situation. The cognitive component of an attitude is derived from 'knowledge' that an
individual has about a situation. Finally, the intentional component of an attitude reflects how an
individual 'expects to behave' towards or in the situation. For example, the different components
of an attitude held towards a firm, which supplies inferior products and that too irregularly could
be described as follows:

"I don't like that company"Affective component.

"They are the worst supply firm I have ever dealt with"Cognitive component.
"I will never do business with them again"'Intentional component.

People try to maintain consistency among the three components of their attitudes. However,
conflicting circumstances often arise. The conflict that individuals may experience among their
own attitudes is called 'cognitive dissonance.
20. How Are Attitudes Formed And Changed?
Individual attitude are formed over time as a result of repeated personal experiences with
ideas, situations or people. One of the very important ways to understand individual behaviour in
an organization is that of studying attitude, which is situationally specific and learned.
An attitude may change as a result of new information. A manager may have a negative attitude
about a new employee because of his lack of job-related experience. After working with a new
person, a manager may come to realize that he is actually very talented and subsequently may
develop a more positive attitude toward him.
Work-Related Attitudes
People in an organization form attitude about many things such as about their salary, promotion
possibilities, superiors, fringe benefits, food in the canteen, uniform etc. Especially some
important attitudes are job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, organizational commitment and job
involvement.
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is an attitude reflects the extent to which an individual is gratified or fulfilled .by
his or her work. Extensive research conducted on job satisfaction has indicated that personal
.factors such as an individual's needs and aspirations determine this attitude, along with group
and organizational factors such as relationships with co-workers and supervisors, working
conditions, work policies and compensation.

A satisfied employee also tends to be absent less often, makes positive contributions, and stays
with the organization. In contrast, a dissatisfied employee may be absent more often may
experience stress that disrupts co-workers, and may keep continually looking for another job.
Organizational factors that influence employee satisfaction include pay, promotion, policies and
procedures of the organizations and working conditions. Group factors such as relationship with
co-workers and supervisors also influence job- satisfaction. Similarly, satisfaction depends on
individual factors like individual's needs and aspirations. If employees are satisfied with their
job, it may lead to low employee turnover and less absenteeism and vice-versa.
Organizational Commitment and Involvement
Two other important work-related attitudes arc organizational commitment and involvement.
Organizational commitment is the individual's feeling of identification with and attachment to an
organization. Involvement refers to a person's willingness to be a team member and work beyond
the usual standards of the job. An employee with little involvement is motivated by extrinsic
motivational factor and an employee with strong involvement is motivated by intrinsic
motivational factors.
There are a number of factors that lead to commitment and involvement. Both may increase with
an employee's age and years with the organization, with his sense of job security and
participation in decision-making. If the organization treats its employees fairly and provides
reasonable rewards and job security, employees are more likely to be satisfied and committed.
Involving employees in decision-making can also help to increase commitment. In particular,
designing jobs, which are interesting and stimulating, can enhance job involvement.
21. Describe the Importance Of Attitude In Organizational Behaviour
Attitudes of both workers and management react to each other and determine mutual
relationships.
Attitude is an understanding or learning of why employees feel and act the way; they do and help
supervisors in winning cooperation from them. So, it is very essential for the efficient working of
an organization.
From a personal perspective, attitudes provide knowledge base or prepare, our mental state, for
our interaction with others, and with the world around us. This directly affects organizational
behaviour, and in turn organizational working.
22. What is Perception?
Perception is an important mediating cognitive process. Through this complex process, people
make interpretations of the stimulus or situation they are faced with. Both selectivity and
organization go 'into perceptual, interpretations. Externally, selectivity is affected by intensity,

size, contrast, repetition, motion and novelty and familiarity. Internally, perceptual selectivity is
influenced by the individual's motivation, learning and personality. After the selective process
filters the stimulus situation, the incoming information is organized into a meaningful whole.
Individual differences and uniqueness are largely the result of the cognitive processes. Although
there are a number of cognitive processes, it is generally recognized that the perceptual process is
a very important one. It is a process that takes place between the situation and the behaviour and
is most relevant to the study of organizational behaviour. For example, the observation that a
department head and a subordinate may react quite differently to the same top management
directive can be better understood and explained by the perceptual process.
In the process of perception, people receive many different kinds of information through all five
senses, assimilate them and then interpret them. Different people perceive the same information
differently.
Perception plays a key role in determining individual behaviour in organizations. Organizations
send messages in a variety of forms to their members regarding what they are expected to do and
not to do. In spite of organizations sending clear messages, those messages are subject to
distortion in the process of being perceived by organizational members. Hence, managers need to
have a general understanding of the basic perceptual process.
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order
to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous
system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. For
example, vision involves light striking the retina of the eye, smell is mediated by odor molecules,
and hearing involves pressure waves. Perception is not the passive receipt of these signals, but is
shaped by learning, memory, expectation, and attention.
Perception involves these "top-down" effects as well as the "bottom-up" process of processing
sensory input. The "bottom-up" processing transforms low-level information to higher-level
information (e.g., extracts shapes for object recognition). The "top-down" processing refers to a
person's concept and expectations (knowledge), and selective mechanisms (attention) that
influence perception. Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but
subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside conscious
awareness. Psychologist Jerome Bruner has developed a model of perception. According to him
people go through the following process to form opinions:
1. When we encounter an unfamiliar target we are open to different informational cues and
want to learn more about the target.
2. In the second step we try to collect more information about the target. Gradually, we
encounter some familiar cues which help us categorize the target.

3. At this stage, the cues become less open and selective. We try to search for more cues that
confirm the categorization of the target. We also actively ignore and even distort cues that
violate our initial perceptions. Our perception becomes more selective and we finally
paint a consistent picture of the target.
23.Basic Perceptual Process
Perception is influenced by characteristics of the object being perceived, by the characteristics of
the person and by the situational processes.

Characteristics of the object include contrast, intensity, movement, repetition and

novelty.
Characteristics of the person include attitude, self-concept and personality.

The details of a particular situation affect the way a person perceives an object; the same person
may perceive the same object very differently in different situations. The processes through
which a person's perceptions are altered by the situation include selection, organization,
attribution, projection, stereotyping process, and the halo effect process. Among these, selective
perception and stereotyping are particularly relevant to organizations.
Selective Perception
Selective perception is the process of screening out information that we are uncomfortable with
or that contradicts our beliefs. For example, a manager has a very positive attitude about a
particular worker and one day he notices that the worker seems to be goofing up. Selective
perception may make the manager to quickly disregard what he observed. For example, a
manager who has formed a very negative attitude about a particular worker and he happens to
observe a high performance from the same worker. In this case influenced by the selective
perception process he too will disregard it.
In one sense, selective perception is beneficial because it allows us to disregard minor bits of
information. But if selective perception causes managers to ignore important information, it can
become quite detrimental.
Stereotyping
Stereotyping is the process of categorizing or labeling people on the basis of a single attribute.
Perceptions based on stereotypes about people's sex exist more or less in all work places.
Typically, these perceptions lead to the belief that an individual's sex determines which tasks he
or she will be able to perform. For example, if a woman is sitting behind the table in the office,
she will be very often, perceived as a clerk and not an executive at first. But it would induce
holding an exactly opposite assumption about a man. Stereotyping consists of three steps:
identifying categories of people (like women, politician), associating certain characteristics with

those categories (like passivity, dishonesty respectively) and then assuming that anyone who fits
a certain category must have those characteristics. For example, if dishonesty is associated with
politicians, we are likely to assume that all politicians are dishonest.
24. PERCEPTION AND ATTRIBUTION
Perception is also closely linked with another process called attribution. Attribution is a
mechanism through which we observe behaviour and then attribute certain causes to it.
According to Attribution theory, once we observe behaviour we evaluate it in terms of its
consensus, consistency and distinctiveness. Consensus is the extent to which other people in the
same situation behave in the same way. Consistency is the degree to which the same person
behaves in the same way at different times. Distinctiveness is the extent to which the same
person behaves in the same way in other situations. The forces within the person (internal) or
outside the person (external) lead to the behaviour.
For instance, if you observe that an employee is much more motivated than the people around
(low consensus), is consistently motivated (high consistency), and seems to work hard no matter
what the task (low distinctiveness) you might conclude that internal factors are causing that
particular behaviour. Another example is of a manager who observes that an employee is late for
a meeting. He might realize that this employee is the only one who-is laic (low consensus), recall
that he is often late for other meetings (high consistency), and subsequently recall that the same
employee is sometimes late for work (low distinctiveness). This pattern of attributions might
cause the manager to decide that the individual's behaviour requires a change. At this point, the
manager might meet the subordinate to establish some disciplinary consequences to avoid future
delays.
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
Social perception is concerned with how one individual perceives other individuals. Conversely,
impression management is the process by which the general people attempt to manage or control
the perceptions that others form about them. People often tend to present themselves in such a
way so as to impress others in a socially desirable manner. Thus, impression management has
considerable' implications for activities like determining the validity of performance appraisals.
It serves as a pragmatic, political tool for someone to climb the ladder of success in
organizations.
25. The Process of Impression Management
As with other cognitive processes, impression management has many possible conceptual
dimensions arid has been researched in relation to aggression, attitude change; attributions and
social facilitation, among other things. Most recently, however, two separate components of
impression management have been identified - impression motivation and impression
construction. Especially in an employment situation, subordinates may be; motivated to control

how their boss perceives them. The degree of this motivation to manage impression will depend
on factors like the relevance that these impressions have on the individual's goals, the value of
these goals, the discrepancy between the image one would like others to hold and the image one
believes others already hold.
Impression construction, the other major process, is concerned with the specific type of
impression people want to make and how they create it. Although some theorists limit the type of
impression only to personal characteristics others include such things as attitudes, physical
status, interests, or values. Using this broader approach, five factors have been identified as being
especially relevant to the] kinds of impression people try to construct: the self-concept, desired
and undesired identity images, role constraints, target values and current social image. Although
there has been a considerable research done on how these five factors influence the type of
impression that people try to make, there is still little known of how they select the way to
manage others' perceptions of them.
Employee Impression Management Strategies
There are two basic strategies of impression management that employees can use. If employees
are trying to minimize responsibility for some negative event or to stay out of trouble, they may
employ a demotion-preventative strategy. On the other hand, if they are seeking to maximize
responsibility for a positive outcome or to look better than what they really are, then they lean
use a promotion-enhancing strategy.
The demotion-preventative strategy is characterized by the following activities:

Employees attempt to excuse or justify their actions.

Employees apologies to the boss for some negative event.
Employees secretly tell their boss that they fought for the right thing, but were
overruled. Employees using this approach try to disassociate themselves from the group
and from the problem.

The promotion enhancing strategies involve the following activities:

Employees harbor a feeling that they have not been given credit for a positive outcome.
Employees point out that they did more, but received a lesser credit.
Employees identify cither personal or organizational obstacles they had to overcome to
accomplish an outcome and expect a higher credit.
Employees ascertain that they are seen with the right people at the right times.

Coping with Individual Differences

Individual differences and people's perception of them affect every aspect of behaviour in
organizations. Managers must never underestimate the differences between individuals.

Successful managers constantly monitor their own assumptions, perceptions and attributions,
trying to treat each individual as a unique person.
A group consists of a number of individuals working together for a common objective. Groups
have significant influence on an organization and are inseparable from an organization. They are
useful for the organization as they form foundation of human resources.
The study of group behavior is essential for an organization to achieve its goals.
Individual and group behaviors vary from each other. In 1920, Elton Mayo and his associates
conducted the Hawthorne experiments and came to know that the group behavior has great
impact on productivity. The importance of group behavior has been realized from time to time.
Human behavior consists of individuals, who move in groups. The knowledge of group
behavior as well as individual behavior is necessary for a manager. He must understand group
psychology and should also understand individual behavior in the context of group behavior. The
group in which he moves influences individual work, job satisfaction and effective performance.
Motivation
26. What Is Motivation?

1. Motivation is what drives someone to do something. It is the underlying reason for why people
do what they do. An example would be a person who goes to work every day to support their
family. That person's motivation is providing for their family so that is why they get up and go to
work daily.
2. Motivation is to encourage someone to do something or be better at something. You encourage
that person to move take their next step or thought.
Motivation is essentially about commitment to doing something. In the context of a business,
motivation can be said to be about...the will to work
Motivation can come from the enjoyment of the work itself and/or from the desire to achieve
certain goals e.g. earn more money or achieve promotion.
It can also come from the sense of satisfaction that we gain from completing something, or
achieving a successful outcome after a difficult project or problem solved.
Why does motivation matter in business? In short, peoples behaviour is determined by what
motivates them.

The performance of employees is a product of both their abilities (e.g. skills & experience) and
motivation. A talented employee who feels de-motivated is unlikely to perform well at work,
whereas a motivated employee can often deliver far more than is expected from them!
Motivated employees are an asset to any business or organization. When they perform well, the
company grows and makes a profit. Employee motivation also creates a better work
environment.

A motive is an impulse that causes a person to act.

Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal.

Motivation, like intelligence, cant be directly observed. Instead, motivation can only be inferred
by noting a persons behavior.

I think it is always hard for students to remember which of the motivation theories is which whose was the one with the two factors, who was that one with the light bulbs, and who was the
one with the triangle? Researchers have proposed various theories that try to explain human
motivation.
These theories include:
1. Drive Reduction Theories
2. Maslows hierarchy of needs theory,
3. Herzbergs Two Factor Theory of Motivation,
4. McGregors Theory X and Y,
5. Victor Vrooms Theory of Instrumentality or Expectancy
6. McClellands Theory of Needs
7. Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory
These theories are described in brief.

Drive reduction theories of motivation suggest that people act in order to reduce needs and
maintain a constant physiological state. For example, people eat in order to reduce their need for

food. The idea of homeostasis is central to drive reduction theories. Homeostasis is the
maintenance of a state of physiological equilibrium.
Drive reduction theories fail to explain several aspects of motivation:

People sometimes arent motivated by internal needs.

Example: Some people fast for long periods for political causes, despite feeling extreme hunger.

Sometimes, people continue being motivated even when they have satisfied internal
needs.

Example: People sometimes eat even when they dont feel hungry.

People are often motivated by external incentives as well as internal needs.

Example: If a person is hungry, he or she may choose to eat a salad rather than a cheeseburger
because he or she wants to be slimmer.
27. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
A motivation may be intrinsic, extrinsic, or both. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation to act
for the sake of the activity alone. For example, people have intrinsic motivation to write poetry if
they do it simply because they enjoy it. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is the
motivation to act for external rewards. For example, people have extrinsic motivation to write if
they do so in the hopes of getting published, being famous, or making money.
Incentives
An incentive is an environmental stimulus that pulls people to act in a particular way. Getting an
A on an exam may be an incentive that pulls a student toward studying.

28.Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

This note about Abraham Maslow might help a bit, as it gives some interesting background on
the man and his theory, and adds a bit of Application in the form of business examples for each
of the five layers, and also the results of Maslow's own research into people who he viewed as
'self-actualisers'.
In the 1970s, the psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that people are motivated by a
hierarchy of needs:

First, most basic level: physiological needs, such as the need for food, water, safety, and
security.

Second level: needs for social interaction, such as the need to belong.

Third level: needs for esteem, which include the need for respect from oneself and others.

Fourth level: needs for self-actualization, or realizing ones full potential.

Maslow believed people pay attention to higher needs only when lower needs are satisfied.
Critics argue that Maslows theory doesnt explain why higher needs often motivate people even
when lower needs are unsatisfied.
Example: Rathin lives in a very dangerous neighborhood and constantly worries about safety.
He makes little money at his job in civil-rights law, but he enjoys it because he believes that his
true calling is to fight injustice.
Critics also point out that people are sometimes simultaneously motivated by needs at different
levels.
Example: Anita might be motivated to join a theater club both because she wants to be part of a
close community and because she wants to be respected for her acting skills.

Abraham Maslow and the pyramid that beguiled business

The psychologist Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivation is 70 years old but continues to
have a strong influence on the world of business. What is it, and is it right?

There is a commonly reproduced symbol which many believe holds the secret to personal
fulfillment and business success.
It usually takes the form of a triangle, but variants in the shape of 3D pyramids and staircases are
not uncommon.
In 1943, the US psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper called A Theory of Human
Motivation, in which he said that people had five sets of needs, which come in a particular order.
As each level of needs is satisfied, the desire to fulfil the next set kicks in.
First, we have the basic needs for bodily functioning - fulfilled by eating, drinking and going to
the toilet. Maslow also included sexual needs in this group.
Then there is the desire to be safe, and secure in the knowledge that those basic needs will be
fulfilled in the future too. After that comes our need for love, friendship and company. At this
stage, Maslow writes, the individual "may even forget that once, when he was hungry, he sneered
at love".
The next stage is all about social recognition, status and respect. And the final stage, represented
in the graphic as the topmost tip of the triangle, Maslow labelled with the psychologists' term
"self-actualization".
It's about fulfillment - doing the thing that you were put on the planet to do. "A musician must
make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy," wrote
Maslow. "What a man can be, he must be."
While there were no pyramids or triangles in the original paper, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is
now usually illustrated with the symbol. And although the paper was written as pure psychology
it has found its main application in management theory.

Applying Maslow to business

Maslow's hierarchy

Business examples

Step 5 - Self-actualization

Opportunities for creativity and personal growth, promotion

Step 4 - Esteem needs

Fancy job title, recognition of achievements

Step 3 - Social needs

Good team atmosphere, friendly supervision

Step 2 - Safety needs

Safe working conditions, job security

Step 1 - Physiological

needs Salary, decent working environment

"There's no question it's had a profound influence on management education and management
practice," says Gerard Hodgkinson, a psychologist at Warwick Business School. "One of the
insights is that as managers we can shape the conditions that create people's aspirations."
The lesser-spotted self-actualiser

Maslow said only 2% of people reached the stage of self-actualization

He wanted to study self-actualisers but he said it was extremely difficult to find any

In 1970 he published a list of famous people he considered to have been self-actualisers the roll call included Einstein (pictured), Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Beethoven, Lincoln,
Eleanor Roosevelt and... Abraham Maslow

He believed they underwent "peak experiences"- moments of sublime inspiration and

ecstasy

He also said they were unusually creative, spontaneous and had a strange sense of
humour

Managers use Maslow's hierarchy to identify the needs of their staff and help them feel fulfilled,
whether it's by giving them a pet project, a fancy job title or flexible working arrangements, so
they can pursue their interests outside the workplace.

In the second half of the 20th Century, bosses began to realize that employees' hopes, feelings
and needs had an impact on performance. In 1960, Douglas McGregor published The Human
Side of Enterprise, which contrasted traditional managerial styles with a people-centered
approach inspired by Maslow. It became a best-seller.
Some managers began to move away from a purely "transactional" contract with a company's
staff, in which they received money in exchange for doing a job, to a complex "relational" one,
where a company offered opportunities for an individual to feel fulfilled, but expected more in
return.
"Our traditional organizations are designed to provide for the first three of Maslow's hierarchy of
human needs. Since these are now widely available to members of industrial society our
organizations do not provide significantly unique opportunities to command the loyalty and
commitment of our people."
The appeal of Maslow's hierarchy can be explained by the fact that it reflects a pattern of growth
we observe in children.
"I have a child who is six years old and I noticed that when he was an infant he couldn't care less
about public opinion," Kenrick says. "In kindergarten he started to worry about making friends
but he didn't really care about getting respect from those people. And now he's in the first grade
and you can see he's beginning to think about his friends' opinions and what status they hold him
in."
30. Abraham Maslow

Born 1908, in a slum in Brooklyn, New York

His parents were Russian Jews - he faced anti-Semitism as a child and in academia

Had an IQ of 195, but flunked some undergraduate courses - he couldn't focus on

anything that didn't interest him

He was shy and reportedly very humble, even after he became famous

He eventually became a public intellectual who wrote for a general audience

As well as influencing business leaders, Maslow's ideas fed into the counter-culture
movement - he had links with the psychedelic figurehead, Timothy Leary

The longevity of the hierarchy of needs can be explained by the pyramid which came to
represent it, and which "captures a complicated idea in a very simple way". Maslow's theories
have many supporters even today. But critics point to dozens of counter-examples. What about
the famished poet? Or the person who withdraws from society to become a hermit? Or the
mountaineer who disregards safety in his determination to reach the summit?

Muddying things slightly, Maslow said that for some people, needs may appear in a different
order or be absent altogether. Moreover, people felt a mix of needs from different levels at any
one time, but they varied in degree.
There is a further problem with Maslow's work. Margie Lachman, a psychologist who works in
the same office as Maslow at his old university, Brandeis in Massachusetts, admits that her
predecessor offered no empirical evidence for his theory. "He wanted to have the grand theory,
the grand ideas - and he wanted someone else to put it to the hardcore scientific test," she says.
"It never quite materialized."
However, after Maslow's death in 1970, researchers did undertake a more detailed investigation,
with attitude-based surveys and field studies testing out the Hierarchy of Needs.
"When you analyse them, the five needs just don't drop out," says Hodgkinson. "The actual
structure of motivation doesn't fit the theory. And that led to a lot of discussion and debate, and
new theories evolved as a consequence."
31. In 1972, Clayton Alderfer whittled Maslow's five groups of needs down to three, labeled
Existence, Relatedness and Growth. Although elements of a hierarchy remain, "ERG theory"
held that human beings need to be satisfied in all three areas - if that's not possible then their
energies are redoubled in a lower category. So for example, if it is impossible to get a promotion,
an employee might talk more to colleagues and get more out of the social side of work.
More sophisticated theories followed. Maslow's triangle was chopped up, flipped on its head and
pulled apart into flow diagrams. Hodgkinson says that one business textbook has just been
published which doesn't mention Maslow, and there is a campaign afoot to have him removed
from the next editions of others.
The absence of solid evidence has tarnished Maslow's status within psychology too. But as a
result, Lachman says, people miss seeing that he was responsible for a major shift of focus
within the discipline.

Unlike the psychoanalysts and behaviourists who preceded him, Maslow was not that interested
in mental illness - instead of finding out what went wrong with people, he wanted to find out
what could go right with them. This opened the door for later movements such as humanistic
psychology and positive psychology, and the "happiness agenda" that preoccupies the current
UK government.
Maslow's friend, management guru Warren Bennis, believes the quality underlying all Maslow's
thinking was his striking optimism about human nature and society.
"Abe Maslow, a Jewish kid who really grew up poor, represented the American dream," he says.
"All of his psychology really had to do with possibility, not restraints. His metaphysics were all
about the possibilities of change, the possibilities of the human being to really fit into the
democratic mode."
32. Frederick Herzberg Theory of Human Motivation
Frederick Herzberg's theory of motivation is also called 'Two Factor Theory', 'Dual Factor
Theory' and 'Hygiene / Maintenance Theory of Motivation'. This theory is based on the
information collected by him and his associates (in the USA in 1959) by interviewing two
hundred engineers and accountants. The information collected relates to the attitude of people
towards work. This attitude towards work depends on two sets of factors namely hygiene or
maintenance factors and the motivating factors.

Frederick Herzberg
Hygiene Factors of Two Factor Theory
According to Frederick Herzberg, the Hygiene Factors do little contribution to provide job
satisfaction. He called them "dissatisfiers' as their absence cause dissatisfaction but their
presence is not motivating but only prevent dissatisfaction. The hygiene factors meet man's needs
to avoid unpleasantness but do not motivate them to take more interest in the work. Hygiene
factors (when provided) create a favorable environment for motivation and prevents job
dissatisfaction. They are not an intrinsic part of a job, but they are related to the conditions under
which a job is performed. When employer is unable to provide enough of these factors to his
employees, there will be job dissatisfaction. However, if they are provided, they will not
necessarily act as motivators. They will just lead employees to experience no job dissatisfaction.
Such hygiene factors are as noted below.
Hygiene / Maintenance Factors are :1. Company's Policies and Administration,
2. Supervision,
3. Working Conditions,
4. Interpersonal Relations with superiors and other subordinates,

5. Salary,
6. Job Security,
7. Status,
8. Personal Life, and
9. Employee Benefits.
33. Motivating Factors of Two Factor Theory
Motivating Factors act as forces of job satisfaction. They create positive and a longer lasting
effect on employees performance and are related to work itself. Adequate provision of such
factors called are 'Satisfiers'. They make people happy with their jobs because they serve man's
basic needs for psychological growth. In addition, they also motivate employees in their work.
Such factors are five and are called motivators by Herzberg. The motivating factors are:
Motivating Factors are :1. Achievement,
2. Recognition for Accomplishment,
3. Increased Responsibility,
4. Opportunity for Growth and Development, and
5. Creative and Challenging Work.
Motivating factors motivate subordinates to take more interest in the work. They raise efficiency
and productivity of employees. According to Frederick Herzberg, motivating factors are essential
in order to provide job satisfaction and in order to maintain a high level of job performance.
Employees will not have job satisfaction if the motivating factors are not provided in sufficient
quality by the employer.

According to Frederick Herzberg, these two sets of factors are quite independent of each other. It
may be noted that hygiene factors, when satisfied, tend to eliminate dissatisfaction but do not
motivate an individual employee for better performance. The motivating factors will permit an

individual to grow and develop in a natural way. In brief, hygiene factors affect an individual's
willingness to work while motivating factors affect his ability and efficiency to work. This theory
can be compared to Maslow's theory of human needs as both the theories refer to needs and their
role in motivation. In addition, the assumptions in both the theories are identical.
Frederick Herzberg's theory has many limitations. They are related to research methodology
used, empirical validity and assumptions in the theory. His theory is criticized on many grounds.
Many have found the theory to be an oversimplification. Despite such criticism, Herzberg's two
factor theory has made a significant contribution towards improving manager's basic
understanding of human behaviour. His theory is simple to grasp, based on some empirical data
and guides managers to improve employee motivation. Herzberg provided stimulus to other
researchers to develop alternative theories of motivation.
Distinction between Maslow and Herzberg's Theory of Motivation.

How to Increase Employee Motivation

How to increase employee motivation? It's simpler than you might think. The trick is identifying
the right employee motivation strategies for your company and being willing to tailor it to
individual group needs.
What Motivates Employees?
What does this mean for businesses? That in order to motivate employees, all five need levels
must be addressed within the organization. Obviously, these needs will vary by individual and
that individual needs may change over time. Managers should strive to focus in on the key needs
for each employee and emphasize what the company offers that addresses those needs.
Although the process of management is as old as history, scientific management as we know it
today is basically a twentieth century phenomenon. Also, as in some other fields, practice has
been far ahead of theory.
This is still true in the field of management, contrary to the situation in some of the pure
sciences. For instance, Albert Einstein formulates a theory, which is later proved by decades of
intensive research and experimentation. Not so in the field of management.
Assumptions That People Make On What Motivates Other People:Theory X and Theory
Y of Douglas McGregor .
McGregor, in his book The H uman side of Enterprise states that people inside the organization
can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative, which falls under the category X
and the other is basically positive, which falls under the category Y. After viewing the way in
which the manager dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a managers view of the
nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or she tends to
mold his or her behavior towards subordinates according to these assumptions.
Under the assumptions of theory X :

Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it.
Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or threatened with
punishment to achieve goals.

Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are issued.

Most workers place a greater importance on security over all other factors and display
little ambition.

In contrast under the assumptions of theory Y :

Physical and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play.

People do exercise self-control and self-direction and if they are committed to those
goals.

Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exercise imagination,
ingenuity and creativity in solving the problems of the organization.

That the way the things are organized, the average human beings brainpower is only
partly used.

On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order needs
dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An
organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature, the word
authoritarian suggests such ideas as the power to enforce obedience and the right to
command. In contrast Theory Y organizations can be described as participative, where the
aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can achieve their
own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the organization.
However, this theory has been criticized widely for generalization of work and human behavior.
Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory :
*
*

Alderfer has tried to rebuild the hierarchy of needs of Maslow into another model named
ERG i.e. Existence Relatedness Growth.
According to him there are 3 groups of core needs as mentioned above.

The Existence group: is concerned mainly with providing basic material existence.

The Relatedness group: is the individuals need to maintain interpersonal relationship with
other members in the group.

Growth: The final group is the intrinsic desire to grow and develop personally.

The major conclusions of this theory are :

1. In an individual, more than one need may be operative at the same time.
2. If a higher need goes unsatisfied then the desire to satisfy a lower need intensifies.
3. It also contains the frustration-regression dimension.
Vrooms Valence x Expectancy theory :
Vroom's expectancy theory
...assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to
maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Together with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Victor
Vroom suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was not
as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's

performance is based on individuals factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience

and abilities.
The theory suggests that although individuals may have different sets of goals, they can be
motivated if they believe that:

There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance,

Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward,

The reward will satisfy an important need,

The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

The theory is based upon the following beliefs:

Valence
Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The
depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, time-off, benefits] or intrinsic
[satisfaction] rewards). Management must discover what employees value.
Expectancy
Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of
doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision employees need.
Instrumentality
The perception of employees as to whether they will actually get what they desire even if it has
been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and
that employees are aware of that.
Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence
interact psychologically to create a motivational force such that the employee acts in ways that
bring pleasure and avoid pain.

Valence of outcome x Expectancy act will be result in outcome (Instrumentality) =

Motivation Force

First Order Outcome is the behavior that results directly from the the effort an employee
expends on the job.
Second Order Outcome is anything good or bad that results from a first-order outcome.

Vrooms Expectancy theory is one of the most widely accepted theories of motivation to explain
how and why people make decisions. Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler extended Vrooms
Expectancy Theory to state that satisfaction is a result of performance. Vrooms Expectancy
Theory has broad application to many areas of human motivation like education, survey response
and even why people write blogs.
6.McClellands Theory of Needs :
David McClelland has developed a theory on three types of motivating needs :
1. Need for Power
2. Need for Affiliation
3. Need for Achievement
Basically people for high need for power are inclined towards influence and control. They like to
be at the center and are good orators. They are demanding in nature, forceful in manners and
ambitious in life. They can be motivated to perform if they are given key positions or power
positions.
In the second category are the people who are social in nature. They try to affiliate themselves
with individuals and groups. They are driven by love and faith. They like to build a friendly
environment around themselves. Social recognition and affiliation with others provides them
motivation.

People in the third area are driven by the challenge of success and the fear of failure. Their need
for achievement is moderate and they set for themselves moderately difficult tasks. They are
analytical in nature and take calculated risks. Such people are motivated to perform when they
see atleast some chances of success.
McClelland observed that with the advancement in hierarchy the need for power and
achievement increased rather than Affiliation. He also observed that people who were at the top,
later ceased to be motivated by this drives.
Managers as Motivators
As a manager, it's essential that you have a solid understanding of your strengths and weaknesses
when it comes to motivating your staff. A few points to keep in mind include:

Fear can be a good motivator, but it's only effective for a short period of time. Over the
long run, fear stifles creativity and fosters a more negative working environment.
You can't really motivate your employees, but you can create an atmosphere that reward
employees for taking the initiative to meet or exceed the department's or company's
goals.
What motivates you won't necessarily those who work for you. Each individual will have
slightly different needs and motivational (or de-motivational) triggers.

Developing an Effective Employee Motivation Program

It's not uncommon to think that developing an employee motivation program is going to cost
money and a lot of it. But some of the most basic-and effective-employee motivation tools are
free. Simply acknowledging an employee's contribution to the overall success of a project or the
company goes a long way toward boosting morale and improving attitudes.
Exposing employees to opportunities to learn new skills or abilities is another effective
motivator. And cross training employees benefits the company as well as makes employees feel
valued. The more skills an employee has, the more far-reaching their impact is within the
company. Additionally, sending staff members to seminars or other events related to their
position or function is a win/win: the employee feels valued and returns a better-informed, more
capable member of your staff.
Filling open positions in your company from within is also an effective motivator. By giving
employees first opportunity to apply for the job or jobs, you send the message that you value the
talent that's already on board and want to nurture it. The added bonus for the company is that
employees who are promoted have a shorter learning curve and ramp-up time than outside
candidates-the higher the position is, the more training time the company saves.
Employee Motivation Rewards
If you're considering instituting employee motivation rewards, you have several options that

keep expectations realistic and still get staff members excited. Depending on your company's
structure and budget, you might consider:

Launching an Employee of the Month, Quarter or Year program. The reward itself need
not be a huge investment and may be in the form of widespread recognition and/or
additional paid time off.
Organizing special events when goals or milestones are achieved or exceeded or for no
formal reason at all. Make it as big as an off-site gathering or as small as a surprise,
catered lunch.
Handing out movie theater ticket or rental vouchers, gift cards or other prizes for random
jobs well done.

Some companies choose to use their bonus structure as their primary employee motivation
reward program. Placing too much importance on the bonus structure however, can backfire
when bonuses are expected.
For example, if your company issues bonuses near the holidays, its impending arrival-or failure
to arrive-can function as a de-motivator, especially during difficult economic times. Why work
harder to turn things around when the reward isn't immediate or is far less than expected? If you
have other programs in place and keep employees informed of business conditions, you stand a
better shot at reducing the fallout from any bad news you may deliver and still provide them with
other motivational rewards.
Communicate openly and freely. Employees like to hear from their bosses, and a wellinformed employee always performs better than the one working in dark. Clearly define a vision
and strategy to move your company forward, and share it with employees.
2 Make employees feel as though they are part of the organization. Accept their input, and
involve them in decision-making. This gives a sense of belonging and motivates them.