Lesson-7(Chapter-14:Leading Effective Teams+Chapter-15: Implementing Situational Leadership)

DQ No.1: What are Dumaine’s four guidelines for the most effective use of teams?

DQ No. 1: Answer:
A team comprises a group of people who work together to attain a specific goal. For instance, a football team, a team of advisers, and problem solving team are some of the examples of teams. A team can be much more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy to generate performance greater than the sum of the individuals' performance. A team can be very beneficial for achieving organizational goals when it works as a competitive strategy in such a way so that organizational productivity and efficiency increases, and employees' absenteeism and turnover decreases.

According to Dumaine, there are 5 species in the kingdom of teams.  They are problem-solving teams, Management teams, Work teams, virtual teams, and Quality circle teams. Likewise, he has provided four guidelines for the most effective use of teams as shown below:

1.      Use the right team for the job:  A team should be formed to fit the job requirement for improving the team effectiveness. For instance, when a problem occurs, a problem-solving team should be formed and then it should be disband.

2.      Create a hierarchy of teams: A hierarchy must be made to back up coordination and communication. Creating a hierarchy helps to make the organizational structure so that team effectiveness can be achieved.

3.       Build trust: Team spirit can be helpful in order to increase performance readiness of people. It is important to build trust among team members for its effectiveness.

4.       Address "people” issues: People are very important assets so that their issues must be taken seriously to maintain and build team more effective and efficient.

In a nutshell, it is concluded that Dumaine has given us very important guidelines for the effective use of teams. They need to be applied as per the situation so that team can play a pivotal role for achieving its specific goals and organizational goals.

References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

DQ No. 2: Explain the three steps to implementing performance management

DQ No.2: Answer:

Performance management is the process of integrating the situational leadership concept and the ACHIEVE model. In other words, performance management includes managerial activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. It focuses on the performance of the organization, a department unit, employee, and many other areas. Literally, there are three major steps for implementing the performance management. They are described as follows:

1.      Performance Planning:  First of all, managers or leaders need to define an effective Performance Planning in implementing the performance management. Making a performance planning by setting objectives and directions is useful way for followers to develop plans in order to achieve those objectives.

2.      Performance Coaching: Secondly, in order to develop employees’ performance, they need to be provided coaching session on a routine basis.  Performance coaching is done for day-to-day feedback and development activities designed for tracking the performance plans. Managers give the positive feedback to employees who deserve recognition for spectacular performance. This is helpful for identifying performance problems, diagnose the cause of problems, and reach agreement with other followers on steps to be taken to solve these issues.

3.      Performance Review: Last but not least is Performance review in which overall evaluation performance is done for the specific planning period. It can be done between managers and employees by meeting periodically to update ad ensure alignment of the employee’s major roles and responsibilities. It should contain no surprises for the participant provided for the entire process has been faithfully followed.

In Summary, the situational leadership approach to performance management could be helpful for leaders or managers to individualize these three basic steps by selecting managerial techniques that fit the different situation confronted by each of their followers. Thus, it is necessary for any leaders or managers to have basic ideas about performance management and its major steps so that an effective performance can be easily achieved in the organization.

References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

http://www.wexleyconsulting.com/adept%20step%201.htm

Lesson-6(Chapter-11: Building Effective Relationships + Chapter-12: Effective Communication)

DQ No. 1: If you completed the LEAD self instrument, would you be able to assess your leader’s style? Why or why not?

DQ No.1: Answer:                                                             

The LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description) instrument for leadership studies was developed and designed to measure the three aspects of leaders’ behavior. Based on this instrument, leaders’ behaviors can be measured on the following three ways:

1.      Leadership Style:

In this measurement, leadership style can be divided into primary style and secondary style. In primary style of leadership, leaders are more comfortable and most likely to use basic behavioral pattern when attempting to influence the activities of others (i.e. a favorite). On the other hand, in secondary style of leadership, leaders are not comfortable with their styles so that they tend to use on occasion when the favorite style or primary style doesn’t work.

2.      Style range or flexibility:

“Style range is the extent to which leaders are able to vary their leadership styles. Leaders differ in their ability in different situations.”(P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson, 2008). Although different leaders have different leadership styles, some leaders tend to be effective only in one leadership style and some tend to be good more than one leadership style according to the situations. This kind of measurement could be helpful for assessing leaders’ leadership styles. 

3.      Style adaptability:

Style adaptability refers to the degree to which leaders are able to vary their style appropriately to the demand of a given situation. In this measure, it doesn’t matter which styles are going to be used, but it only matters how this style is going to fit the situation. Thus, adaptability is very important than style range because if the style is not fit with the situation then it all becomes worthless to have different leadership styles.

Based on the above three aspects of measurement tools, it would be possible to assess    leaders’ styles for me because they are relevant with the leadership styles. Also, they are reflecting the LEAD self instrument in which leaders can perceive their own leadership styles and the LEAD other instrument in which other can perceive the leader’s styles. For knowing leaders’ styles, systematically research is conducted to collect data and by analyzing the data, a LEAD profile is made. In this profile, a leader gets an opportunity to see if there is any deviation between LEAD self and LEAD others’ perceptions, then a corrective action can be taken to shift or adjust the leadership styles. That’s why we are able to assess the leadership styles of any leaders.

References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

-          https://www.coursehero.com/registerForm.php

2: Provide four examples of powerless verbal communication.

DQ No.2: Answer:

The communication is a process of exchanging thoughts, ideas, opinions, information and emotions etc. between two parties: senders and receivers in such a way in which the sender’s intended message is understood by the receiver. Communication can be verbal or non-verbal or formal or informal. Whatever its forms may be, firstly people encode their thoughts into symbols, and once the symbols are created, secondly, they are then formed into a message, which can be one symbol or a set of symbols and lastly, the message is then placed into a channel for distribution, either verbal or nonverbal communication or a combination of both. Verbal communication refers only to spoken words. All leaders should be aware that words could be perceived as powerful or powerless. The four powerless verbal communications are briefly discussed below:

1.      Hedges: A hedge means a mitigating word or sound used to lessen the effect of conversation. It creates the doubts for listeners. For instance:

-          I think it will be better to work.

-          You may find the right person.

2.      Gap-filling sounds: Gap-filling sounds refer to the use of distracting words that distracts making an effective communication. It shows a lack of confidence in delivering messages. For example, the use of “ums” and “ers”

-          What kind of movies do you like? Ums……….horror and thriller!!

3.      Tag Questions: It reflects the lack of surety in delivering messages to listeners. For instance,

-          We need your advice, don’t you think so?

-          You did well job, didn’t you?

4.      Disclaimers: a disclaimer refers to a statement in which a person says I didn’t know or not responsible for something. It shows the arrogant and proud behavior to listeners. For instance:

-           I would do that, but I am not the leader.

-          I could handle the organization, but I am not the CEO of that organization.

In summary, powerless verbal communications refer to distracters in delivering messages to listeners so that all leaders should be well aware about them. Therefore, leaders should try to avoid the use of powerless languages while communicating with others because they are perceived as less competent, dynamic and attractive.

References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

-          https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100424064227AAJZ5jH

https://www.coursehero.com/tutors-problems/Operations-Management/6522653-Provide-four-examples-of-powerless-verbal-communication-Powerless

Lesson-5(Chapter-9: Situational Leadership+Chapter-10: The Situational Leader and Constructive Discipline

DQ No.1: The effective and infective cycles are similar in some ways, although they have opposite effects. What are the similarities? What are the effects of each? Share your personal experiences with either or both of these cycles.

DQ No.1: Answer:

The effective cycle refers to a cycle in which people’s high expectations meet with high performances. In addition, the effective cycle is a process in which subordinates respond to the high expectations of their managers with high performances. The basic difference between effective and ineffective cycle relates with the effect of performance. If there is a positive effect in the performance then it is called effective cycle. Likewise, if there is a negative effect in the performance then it is called ineffective cycle. In the following paragraphs, I will examine the some of the similarities between effective and ineffective cycles and their effects on the performance, and try to come up with my own experience:

The similarities of the effective and ineffective cycles are as follows:

1.      Connection between People’ expectations and performances:

It seems quite similar between effective and ineffective cycle when people performances are led by their expectation and efforts. Both of them are linked with people performance and expectation.

2.      The spiraling effect of the cycle:

It should be noted that there is always spiraling effect whether there are effective or ineffective cycles. It can go upward or downward but spiraling effect is always there. If result is a positive then upward spiraling effect and if there is a negative result then downward spiraling effect.

3.      Determination of the performance readiness levels:

The organizations often strive to be effective in achieving their goals. However, they need to consider the employees’ performance readiness levels so that effectiveness can be achieved by moving readiness level 2 to level 2 and so forth. Both are helpful in determining employees’ performance readiness for achieving a common goal.

4.      The effect of new people:

 Organization can’t run without people but when new people or employees enter into the organization, they can affect the organizational performance and goal attainment. If entered persons have effective skills, abilities and experiences then organizational progress goes towards positive direction and vice-versa.

The effects of effective and ineffective cycles are discussed below:

When there is effective cycle takes place in the organization again and again, the upward spiraling effect occurs. If there is upward spiraling effect, people expect high and that lead s to high performance. In this situation, high expectation results in high performance and even more productivity.

However, when there is ineffective cycle takes place, the downward spiraling effect occurs. In this case, low expectations result in low performance, which motivates the low expectations and produces even lower productivity. This situation may create the interpersonal problems, hostility, and slowdown in work performance.

One of My personal experiences with effective cycle:

Although there were lots of subjects available while studying BBA, I always expected Marketing as my best subject. For my own interest, I used to give more efforts in studying and organizing more programs related to marketing. As a result, after some years, it seems that my performance in the marketing had increased drastically as I expected. So, it was my experience with effective cycle where I was able to improve my effectiveness in the field of marketing for my future aspiration.

In short, it can be noticed that people’ expectation can lead to people’s performance and they are directly related. Thus, we need to expect for high performances and sufficient efforts should be put to achieve these performances.

DQ No. 2: How can a leader recognize a regressive cycle, and what should the response be?

DQ No. 2: Answer:

The developmental cycle and the regression cycle can be used to examine the performance readiness level of the followers. For achieving organizational objectives, leaders should be able to communicate, diagnose and adapt with the situation and other people so that performance can be improved.

A regressive cycle refers to the situation in which the followers’ performance readiness level moves downward instead of moving upward. A leader can recognize a regressive cycle when their followers start to behave less willingly than they had in the past. The regressive cycle occurs when there is a huge decrease in the followers’ productivity. A leader had to identify the regressive cycle by making a comparison between past performance readiness level and present performance readiness level, and if it is a lower performance readiness level than before then it is regarded as a regressive cycle.

However, dealing with regressive cycle is very complex task for any leaders so that they must a must determine the situation first and affecting other variables.  If there is the condition of a regressive cycle, a leader should always strive to reduce it for improvement of the performance. For this, a leader needs to increase the task-relevant performance readiness of an individual or group beyond where it has been in the past. It is inevitably true that when an individual or group is becoming less effective, a leader should make an intervention in the regressive cycle. This can be resolved by creating a positive attitude, inspiring the employees, communicating with them, being proactive and supportive. Also, leaders must know the followers’ readiness level and should cope with situational leadership styles to integrate the followers’ readiness level. Therefore, it is important to note that leaders got to use suitable leadership style to fit the present level of performance readiness for reducing a regressive cycle and producing the reasonable results.

Having discussed these, it would be wise for any leaders to recognize the regressive cycle and then they have to analyze the situational leadership styles in order to come up with a positive response. I think that responses should be provided as per the situation and leadership styles.

      References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

-          http://www.studymode.com/essays/How-Can-a-Leader-Recognize-a-1869610.html

Lesson-3:( chapter-5Leader Behavior: Situational Approaches + Chapter-6: Determining Effectiveness )

DQ No.1: Why study situational approaches to leadership?

DQ No.1: Answer:

Any leadership process consists of three major components such as the leader, the follower, and the situation. ‘Situational approaches to leadership’ refers to the interplay among these three components in order to find the relationships that will have potential impacts on understanding and predicting individuals’ behaviors. Nowadays the relationships among leader, follower and situation are becoming increasingly complex with rapidly changing environment. To cope with these changing difficulties, it is essential for leaders to have different approaches according to different situations so that they can perform effectively in order to achieve organizational goals.

 Herbert Spencer (1884) (and Karl Marx) said that the times produce the person and not the other way around.^[30] This theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics; according to this group of theories, no single optimal psychographic profile of a leader exists. According to the theory, "what an individual actually does when acting as a leader is in large part dependent upon characteristics of the situation in which he functions."^[31]

The following four theories and models try to provide a clear concept about situational approaches to leadership: Tannenbaum-Schmidt Continuum of leader behavior, Fielders contingency Model, the House-Mitchell-goal theory, and The Hersey-Blanchard Tridimensional Leader Effectiveness Model. There are various reasons about why we need to study situational approaches to leadership. Some of the major reasons are explained in the following paragraphs.

1.      To behave in a flexible manner:

A leader cannot be effective without knowing how to behave with followers in the given situations.  Leaders must know what level of flexibility is needed to perform given tasks effectively so that attainment of goals would be easy. Thus, situational approaches could be paramount to understand the followers and situations with sufficient levels of flexibility.  It would be hard for leaders to behave if they are not well familiar with the other two components: Follower and situation.  Every leader wants to be flexible with them, but for that he/she needs to study ‘situational approaches to leadership’.

2.      To be able to diagnose the leadership style appropriate to the situation:

A leader may not know which leadership style is the best to fit the situation unless he/she is aware of ‘situational approaches to leadership’ concept. These leadership approaches can provide a platform where leaders can find out which leadership style is the most appropriate. In short, we can say that these will help the leaders to diagnose a better style so that organizational goals can be accomplished.

3.      To be able to apply the appropriate style:

Finding which leadership style is the best is not enough for leaders. They must know how to apply that style effectively in the situations. To do this, leadership approaches play a pivotal role and can contribute a lot for maintaining good leadership process in any organizations. A leader, for instance, is totally unknown about how and what leadership styles will have a greater impact on given situations but he/she would like to pursue a higher productivity in the organization. What do you think? Is it easy to apply all of a sudden without knowing its application? Obviously, I do not think that it is easy because leader should be well-known about its implications and how does it matters in the performance of organization.

To nutshell, it can be said that situational approaches need to be studied not only because of above mentioned reasons but also they examine the fit between the leader and the situation and provide guidance for leaders for achieving the organizational effectiveness.

      References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

-          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership

DQ No.2: what is meant by the term “degree of integration of goals” and how can we achieve true integration?

DQ No.2: Answer:

Before talking about the degree of integration of goals, it is better to have an idea about goals. A goal is nothing more than a desired result or purpose that an individual or organization plans to achieve in the future. To be an effective goal, the goals must be SMART enough where S stands for Specific, M stands for Measureable, A stands for Achievable, R stands for Realistic and T stands for Time-bound. In the context of organizations, there are various types of goals set up by the organization.

The degree of integration of goals refers to extent that individuals and groups perceive their own goals as being satisfied by the attainment of organizational goals. In other words, it is the certain level of integration in which organizational goals and objectives are congruent with individuals/ groups’ goals. 

On the other hand, a true integration refers to the process of sharing organizational goals by all: Individuals, management and organization. In other words, it is the best integration among individual goals, groups’ goals and organizational goals in which the highest level of performances can be achieved. As shown in the figure, this can be done by reducing the gap between the individuals’ goals and organization’s goals.  To achieve a true integration, the leader should always try to move from left side to right side by matching both individual and management goals with organizational goals.

The true integration can be achieved by applying the following actions:

1.      By setting up goals clearly: The organization should set up the goals precisely and it should be like –KISS “Keep It Simple and Straight”.

2.      By creating a loyalty environment among themselves: Leaders should be able to create a loyalty between themselves and followers.

3.      By being an influential spokesperson:  Leaders should have speaking ability to influence others to do the certain tasks very effectively. Leaders should communicate organizational goals with accomplishment of their own need satisfaction.

 References:

-          P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

-          http://www.accel-team.com/techniques/goal_congruence.html

Lesson-2( Chapter-3: Motivating Environment+ Chapter-4:Leadership: Trait and Attitudinal Approaches )

DQ1. Are the motivation theories discussed in this chapter exclusive to the United States or are they more widespread? What are the popular motivational theories in different countries? Are they the theories discussed in chapter 3 or are there other theories of motivation? How do these other theories, if any, compared to the traditional motivation theories?

QD.1: Answer:

Are the motivation theories discussed in this chapter exclusive to the United States or are they more widespread?

The word ‘motivation’ has been derived from the word motive, which means will to do something. Motivation is goal-directed behavior. It is the set of forces that direct an individual’s behavior to achieve organizational goals. When we talk about motivational theories, it is essential to relate them to the situations (environment). Before determining whether these theories are exclusive to the United States or more widespread, it is better to have an idea about how theories are made. Behavioral theories cannot be developed by studying a single person’s behavior, but it includes a set of research activities conducted over a large number of people from different background so that its results or outcomes could be more applicable to all people in all situations.

Motivational theories are mainly concerned with the various factors which affect people to behave in a certain ways. It always seeks to answer why some people are highly motivated and others are not. Although people have no exact behaviors, they may have more or less the same types of behaviors whether they are in United States or any parts of world. Therefore, these motivational theories are not different from country to county but it is true that they need to be applied according to the situational frameworks because different people may get motivated by different ways in different situations.

What are the popular motivational theories in different countries?

The popular motivational theories in different counties are as follows:

·         Maslow’s needs theory: In this theory, there are 5 hierarchical need from lower level to higher level such as Physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Once a lower level need is fulfilled, people try to satisfy a higher level of need. For this reason, motivation occurs as people progress from lower level to higher level needs.

·         Alderfer’s ERG theory: This theory explains the needs of people in three ways. First, E stands for Existence needs which is needed for human survival (similar to Maslow’s physiological and safety needs). Second, R stands for relatedness needs which is needed for being social with others (similar to Maslow’s social and esteem of others’ needs). Third, G stands for growth needs which is necessary for higher growth (similar to Maslow’s needs for self-esteem and self –actualization).

·         Herzberg’s Motivation-hygiene theory: This theory says that two factors such as motivators and hygiene factors play a pivotal role in determining the level of people’s satisfaction. Motivators (job content, recognition and growth etc.) motivate and satisfy, whereas hygiene factors (work relations, security and money etc.) can create or reduce dissatisfaction but do not motivate people.

·         McClelland’s theory: This theory is mainly concerned with three basic needs such as need for affiliation (similar to Maslow’s social need), need for power (similar to Maslow’s esteem need) and need for achievement (similar to Maslow’s self-actualization). According to McClelland, everyone has some level of these needs to some extent, but people with high need for achievement can do perform better than others.

·         Theory X and theory Y: Theory X believes that most people are by nature lazy so that they prefer to be directed, don’t involved in taking responsibility and only want safety, whereas theory Y believes that most people are not by nature lazy so that they can be reliable, self-directed and creative at work if motivated properly.

·         Immaturity-maturity theory: This theory tells us that how immature people (like infants) can be changed into mature people (like adults). This theory also believes that mature people having characteristics like active, independent, many behaviors, more interests, long perspective, leadership, self-awareness can be very effective in achieving organizational goals.

·         Other theories: There are lots of other theories which are more or less associated with motivating people. They are, Expectancy theory, Equity theory, Goal setting theory, and Reinforcement theory etc.

Are they the theories discussed in chapter 3 or are there other theories of motivation?

In chapter 3,   the following theories have been discussed as important motivational theories:

·         The hawthorne studies

·         Theory X and theory Y

·         Informal work groups

·         Increasing interpersonal competence

·         Immaturity-maturity theory

·         Motivation-hygiene theory

There are lots of other theories of motivation which are also very important for understanding and motivating people in an effective way. They are somehow different but the core thing is, all these theories are associated with motivating people in different ways. Some of these important theories have been already discussed above so it is not necessary to explain again here.

How do these other theories, if any, compared to the traditional motivation theories?

Let’s talk about traditional theories, the theories which were developed very long time ago when there were no any or very few theories were made. These traditional theories are the breeding grounds for developing the modern theories so that they have contributed lots for making new modern theories. For instance, Maslow’s hierarchical needs theory is considered as one important theory of the traditional theories. The modern theories, like Alderfer’s ERG theory, Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, McClelland’s theory and Argyris’s theory, are more or less related with Maslow’s theory. Therefore, it is certainly true that traditional theories are the foundation for emergence of modern theories, and

These modern theories will be the cornerstone for making a new theory in days to come.

The comparisons of the most important motivational theories are shown in the following table:

Maslow’s needs theory	Argyris’s theory	Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene	Alderfer’s ERG theory	McClelland’s     theory
Self-Actualization	Maturity	Motivators	Growth	Needs for Achievement
Ego or esteem Needs				Needs for power
Social Needs	Immaturity	Hygiene factors	Relatedness	Needs for Affiliation
			Existence
Safety Needs
Physiological  Needs

References:

P. Hersey, Kenneth H.Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson. (2008). Management Of Organization Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall.

DQ No.2. Are there traits that have been identified with successful leaders? Do research in popular business periodicals and identify traits that seem to be associated with managerial success. Are these traits applicable in all situations? Can a person’s future success be predicted by knowing that person’s traits? Why or why not?

DQ No.2: Answer:

Are there traits that have been identified with successful leaders?

Leadership is the process of leading and influencing people towards achieving organizational goals. People may not become successful leaders easily until and unless having leadership traits. Although many experts have identified different traits associated with successful leaders such as empathy, consistency, honesty, direction, communication, flexibility and conviction, Warren Bennis has categorized them into following four common traits:

1.      Management of Attention

It is the ability of a leader in which leader precisely communicates organizational goals or directions so that it gets more attention from followers.

2.      Management of meaning:

This is the ability to create an organizational meaning so that followers can understand the common goals clearly.

3.      Management of trust:

Leaders should be reliable and consistent with the followers. They should be able to create a credible and honesty environment which allow for better performance and growth within the organization.

4.      Management of self:

A successful leader should have an ability to identify one’s self and to apply one’s skills within the limits of one’s strengths and weaknesses.

Traits that seem to be associated with managerial success:

The managerial success is not just the result of traits but having traits can improve the probability of being a successful organization. By doing research in popular periodicals, the following traits have been identified which are more or less associated with the effective performance of any organizations. They are shown below:

—  Communication

—  Leadership

—  Adaptability

—  Emotional Intelligence

—  Hard work and conscientiousness

—  Alert to social environment

—  Ambitions and achievement-oriented

—  Assertive

—  Integrity  and commitment to growth

—  Cooperative

—  Decisiveness

—  Dependable

—  Dominant(Ability to influence others)

—  Energetic(High Activity Level)

—  Persistent

—  Self-Confident

—  Willing to assume risks and responsibilities  

  Are these traits applicable in all situations?

Yes, personal traits could be more or less applicable in all situations whether it could be autocratic or democratic leadership styles. After doing more research on Traits, Bennis found out that these traits are more or less applicable in the following 7 characteristics of Effective Performance:

1.      Business Literacy: personal traits help to know what the business is all about.

2.      People Skills: person’s traits can be used to motivate or to bring out the best in people.

3.      Conceptual Skills: these traits could be helpful to think systematically, creatively, and inventively to solve various problems.

4.      Track Record: Managers could use these traits to know the progress of an activity and track recording accordingly.

5.      Taste-: managerial traits can have ability to choose the right people who are really necessary for the organization.

6.      Judgment: personal traits can help to make quick decisions with new information.

7.      Character: these traits will clearly reflect the character of each individual.

Can a person’s future success be predicted by knowing that person’s traits? Why or why not?

An individual’s success or failure cannot be determined fully by considering just one’s traits as a major factor. There are lots of things in our lives which play an integral part to make us successful. Thus, we cannot say exactly whether the person is going to succeed or not by knowing his/her personal traits. However, they could be plus points for making one’s success. For clear understanding, it can be expressed in the following equation:

Person’s success=F (PT, OP, SV)

Where, PT=Person’s traits

              OP= Other People

              F= Function

             SV= Situational Variables (environment, objects, events and coincidence etc.)

From above education, it can be said that an individual’s success is the function of various factors such as person’s traits (persons having more such traits are likely to be successful in the future), Other people (persons who stay in touch with successful people are inclined to be successful), and situational Variables (persons who work under the perfect environment will get more opportunities to succeed). We have to note here is that an individual may be failure too if these factors play negative roles.

Hence, it can be said that having particular traits increases the probability that an individual will be successful and it is sure if we keep other factors constant. Therefore, person’s success can be predicted partially but not surely because individual’s success or failure is more or less affected by all the above factors. 

Lesson-1: (Chapter-1:Management: An Applied Behavioral Sciences Approach + Chapter-2: Motivation and Behavior)

DQ No.1: Answer

Is management an art or a science or both?

Management has been realized as one of the major parts of any organizations. But the question here is that is management an art or a science or both? In the past it was profoundly perceived as an art but these days it is being perceived as a science. Although there is a controversy, whether it is an art or a science, I believe that it is both, the oldest of arts and the youngest of sciences.

Management can be seen as an art. Art refers to application of knowledge and skills to bring out the desired results. The essential elements of art include practical knowledge, personal skills, result oriented, creativity and improvement through continuous practice. Like any other art, Managements, for instance, need to apply these practical knowledge and personal skills creatively in order to achieve the desired goals. Thus, the similar features and functions can be identified between the fields of management and art so that it can be viewed as an art.

On the other hand, Management can be viewed as a science. Science is a systematized body of knowledge gathered by verifiable observation and experiment. The essential features of science include universally applicable principles, cause and effect relationship between various factors, and development through experiments, validity and predictability. These features also can be applied in the management field so that it can be viewed as a behavioral science. However, it is not an exact science as physics, chemistry and other physical sciences.

Having said all the above, it is clear that management is both, an art and a science because there are some similar features and functions among the arts, sciences and management. Thus, if a coin is management then its two sides are art and science.  We cannot separate them and both are very essential for the success of management.

Managers can be developed?

Of Course, managers can be developed by acquiring or developing the managerial skills which are very necessary for the better performance of management. They are as follows:

1.      Human Skills: Human skills refer to the ability of managers that are directly linked to managing people effectively by planning, organizing, leading and controlling functions.

2.      Conceptual Skills: Conceptual skills mean the ability to analyze and diagnose the various complex situations and solve them accordingly.

3.      Technical skills: they are the abilities of managers to apply knowledge, methods and techniques in order to solve managerial tasks.

Hence, managers are not born and they can be developed by making them aware of above three skills and abilities.

There are lots of characteristics which discriminate between the successful managers and unsuccessful managers.  They can be of following types:

Characteristics of successful Managers:

1.      Panning:

Successful managers are those who can make a smart planning. They should know what needs to be done by when. For instance, if someone gives them a task then they are able to plan the steps involved in order to achieve that goal and communicate the steps to the employees to carry those steps out.

2.      Organization:

There are lots of resources available in the organization, but successful managers cannot stay like a statue. They have to organize the resources in an effective manner so that organizational goals can be achieved easily.

3.      Leadership:

Leadership is the process of leading and influencing other people to do the certain tasks effectively. Like a good leader, manager also should be able to lead and influence other employees so that organizational goals can be achieved.

4.      Controlling:

Controlling is every manager’s job so that managers should be able to establish the standards and measure the actual performances and find deviation if any, and corrective action should be taken accordingly.

5.      Communication and coordination

Effective communication is essential for the success of any organization. It is a two way process where managers should be able to exchange the intended messages with their employees. Good managers also should be able to listen employees’ views effectively.

6.      Staffing:

Staffing refers to managing human resources by matching employees’ abilities and skills into organizational roles and structures. Thus, manager should be able to estimate manpower, recruitment, selection, training and development of personnel.

7.      Motivation

Motivation is the process of inspiring others to do the stated job more enthusiastically. Managers should have motivational power over their employees so that organizational objectives will be achieved.

8.      Proactive problem-solving

This is the age of globalization and business situations are getting more difficulties years after years. For handling such difficulties, managers should be able to solve them actively.

9.      Educational Qualification

Nowadays educational qualification has become more important than ever before. So, every manager should have their job-related qualification to get a managerial job. Hence, manager must be educated enough to get the things done through other people.

10.  Up-to-date with PEST environment:

It has now become impossible to be a successful manager without being aware of Political-legal, Economical, socio-cultural and Technological factors. Therefore, managers should be updated with changing environmental factors if they want to succeed in their chosen areas.

DQ No.2: Answer:

Can attitudes be changed?

An attitude refers to the way an individual feels towards objects, people and events. Attitude is the foundation of behavior which can be changed with a continuous effort. People think attitudes as a simple concept, but in reality, it is very complex and has a great impact on the behavior of each individual. Attitudes can be changed from positive to negative and vice versa, but it is not possible all of a sudden because there are many factors at play into it.

1.      Experience:

It is one of the major sources of attitude formation. Being familiar with new experiences, we can change our attitudes. For instance, if I don’t like the job of company ‘A’ because it pays lower salary so I have negative attitude towards company A. However, it can be changed by shifting from lower paid company to higher paid, let say company ‘B’.

2.      Relationship(association):

An individual’s relationship with others also can help to change the attitudes because different people have different background -age, race, sex, income-class, education etc.

3.      Family, peer groups and society:

Attitudes are more importantly shaped by their family, peer groups and society. Literally, attitudes can be changed by leaving the family, changing groups and society. Therefore, all these play a vital role in changing the attitudes of an individual.

4.      Personal factors:

Attitudes are the combining result of person’s affective, cognitive and behavioral components. In fact, person’s attitude is directly influenced by his/her internal psychological world so that by changing his/her beliefs, values, knowledge, emotions and feelings and so forth, attitudes can be changed.

The relationship between attitudes and job satisfaction

Different persons have different attitudes at different times. Even the same person has different attitudes towards different situations, people and events. Job satisfaction refers to an individual’s favorable psychological state towards his/her job. In other words, it is the amount of agreement between a person’s expectation and the rewards that the work provides. The relationship between attitudes and job satisfaction is influenced by the salary, the work itself, promotion opportunities, supervisions and co-workers etc. In short, there is a direct and positive relationship between attitudes and job satisfaction.  For instance, if a person has a high level of job satisfaction means that person has a positive attitude toward the job and vice versa. The job satisfaction, job involvement and the organizational commitment are likely to increase when there is a favorable attitudes towards the job.

Do drug rehabilitation programs focus on attitudes, behavior, or both?

Attitudes and behaviors are directly linked with each other so that they affect each other. Drug rehabilitation programs are very useful to help people who are addicted with taking drugs. The main thing we have to know is that the relationship between rehabilitation programs, attitudes and behavior.

Drug rehabilitation programs focus on both, attitudes and behavior. Attitudes cause the behavior of each individual because behavior is more observable but attitudes are the result of psychological state so less observable. However, both of them are affected by rehabilitation programs and reason for this is that they are interlinked and cannot be isolated one from another.

 Can students give examples of times when their behavior was very different from their attitudes?

The behavior and attitudes of each individual may not be the same all the time. When there is disagreement between people’s attitudes and behaviors then dissonance takes place in the mind so that we need to resolve this problem as soon as possible. The following is an example of how my behavior was different from my attitude.

My behavior was very different from my own attitude when I used to go the college for my bachelor degree. At that time, I had a positive feeling towards all teachers so I was excited to learn more by interacting with the class teacher. I think it was OB class. When a teacher came in my class and asked me to give the definition of organizational behavior, I was shocked at the first because I didn’t have any knowledge about what is OB so I couldn’t answer my teacher’s that question.  But the teacher scolded me a lot and I started showing the behavior of not interacting with the teacher though I liked to interact with him. In this situation, my attitude was to love asking and interacting with the teacher but in reality, I couldn’t behave like that. So there was a difference between my attitude and my behavior towards that teacher.