POM 2008 FINAL TEST PAPER

POM 2008 FINAL TEST PAPER

1.Draw self explanatory diagrams / figures for the following. Avoid explaining the diagram.

1.1   Unity of Direction

1.2   Herzberg’s comaparion of Job satisfaction and Job dissatisfaction factors.

1.3   Tannenbaum and Schmidt theory of Continuum of leadership behavior

A) 1.1

          

             1.2

     1.3

2.Answer the following.  2.1  How pertinent  today is  Taylor’s assumption that management and labor had a common cause? Why?  2.2 Which of Fayol’s principles of management do you observe in use in organizations today?

A)                      Taylor believed sincerely that scientific management practices would benefit both the employee and the employer through the creation of larger surplus, and hence the organization would receive more income. He believed that management and labour had a common interest in increasing productivity. Even in today's organizations, this holds true. Only when the organization is in a good condition, workers will get more incentives and the attrition rate will also be low. More and more people will be employed and the wages will also be on a rise. The increase in productivity will also motivate the employer to expand the present facility. The sales will rise and hence the profits. This will ultimately result in conditions favourable to workers.

                              The principles of management proposed by Fayol, which we observe in organizations today are

Division of work

Authority

Discipline

Unity of command

Unity of direction

Subordination of individual interest

Remuneration

Centralization

Scalar chain

Order

Equity

Stability of tenure of personnel

Initiative

Espirit De Corps

3. Identify THREE important differences of Matrix structure compared to hierarchical organization? Suggest measures to overcome the limitations of the Matrix form of organization?

A)

 Matrix structure: The matrix structure, also called “multiple command system”, is a hybrid type of organization. An organization with a matrix structure has two types structure existing simultaneously. Employees have in effect two bosses – that is, they work in two chains of command. One chain of command is functional or divisional and the second is a horizontal overlay that combines people from various divisions into a project led by a project or group manager. As organizations have become more global, many use a type of matrix form in their international operations,

Advantages: The matrix structure is an efficient means for bringing together the diverse specialized skills required to solve a complex problem. Problems of coordination are minimized here because the most important personnel for a project work together as a group. By working together, people come to understand the demands faced by those who have different areas of responsibility. It gives the organization a great deal of cost-saving flexibility.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage is that not everyone adapts well to a matrix system. In addition, morale can be adversely affected when personnel are rearranged once projects and the new projects begun. Also, if hierarchies are not firmly established and effectively communicated, there is a danger that conflicting directives and ill-defined responsibilities will tie manager’s hands.

4.What is Seven S Model? Discuss the same with reference to Mandi project @ NITIE?  

A)

Seven S model: The consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. has proposed the Seven-S model for successful strategy implementation.

Structure: In today’s complex and ever-changing environment, a successful organization may make temporary structural changes to cope with specific strategic tasks without abandoning basic structural divisions.

Strategy: The development of strategies poses less of a problem than their execution.

Systems: This category consists of all the formal and informal procedures that allow the organization to function, including capital budgeting, training, and accounting systems. Systems can overpower expressed strategies.

Style: Style refers to the substantive and symbolic actions undertaken by top managers. It communicates priorities more clearly than words alone, and may profoundly influence performance.

Staff: Successful organizations view people as valuable resources who should be carefully nurtured, developed, guarded and allocated. Top managers devote time and energy to planning the progress and participation of existing managers.

Skills: The term skills refer to those activities organizations do best and for which they are known. Strategic changes may require organizations to add one or more new skills.

Superordinate goals: This refers to guiding concepts, values, and aspirations that unite an organization in some common purpose. Superordinate goals are often captured in mission statement. They have deep meaning within the organization.

5.Explain the concept of Motivation  by appropriately utilizing Newton’s three laws of motion. Apply and illustrate your own motivation for  Hamara Dhandha program @ NITIE in terms of these three motivation principles.

A)

NEWTON's First law

A body that is at rest will remain at rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This means that people tend to keep doing what they are doing - unless and until they are acted upon by a new force. In physics the "force" is an outside push or pull. In business, this force is provided by the force of character of the leader. Some people do not have enough motivation to move themselves. They need to be pulled along by the will power of the team Leader. That leader provides the motive force that is necessary to overcome the inertia of the many. That is the job of the leader.

 

NEWTON's Second law

Force = mass x acceleration.

The amount of energy needed to be successful is proportional to: The size of the goal x how quickly you want to get it. If you want to achieve big goals quickly: Then you must apply mega watts of energy and will power.  If you want big goals but are willing to take your time: Then lower levels of energy persistently applied for decades will suffice. Notice that in both cases you must exert your force of will.

NEWTON's Third law

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you want a certain effect, you must initiate the correct actions. Don't expect to get rich without effort. If you want to be a champion, you must pay the price.

6.Refer to Group decision making process.. Give your plan on how to achieve Effective Group Decision Making Process by illustrating the relationship between the three factors viz., Individual’s  Decision in group,  Group as a whole Decision and Expert decision on the issue.

A)                                    Group decision making (also known as collaborative decision making) is a situation faced when individuals collectively make a choice from the alternatives before them. This decision is no longer attributable to any single individual who is a member of the group. This is because all the individuals and social group processes such as social influence contribute to the outcome. The decisions made by groups are often different from those made by individuals. Group polarization is one clear example: groups tend to make decisions that are more extreme than those of its individual members, in the direction of the individual inclinations. There is much debate as to whether this difference results in decisions that are better or worse. According to the idea of synergy, decisions made collectively tend to be more effective than decisions made by a single individual. However, there are also examples where the decisions made by a group are flawed, such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the incident on which the Group think model of group decision making is based.

                                        Factors that impact other social group behaviors also affect group decisions. For example, groups high in cohesion, in combination with other antecedent conditions (e.g. ideological homogeneity and insulation from dissenting opinions) have been noted to have a negative effect on group decision making and hence on group effectiveness. Moreover, when individuals make decisions as part of a group, there is a tendency to exhibit a bias towards discussing shared information (i.e., shared information bias), as opposed to unshared information.

7. Identify FIVE important things as an entrepreneur you have to take care with respect to the subject of Organizational Design.  Discuss the same with reference to your own enterprise which you floated as part of  Hamara Dhandha program @ NITIE.
A)
 Planning: Planning implies that managers think through their goals and actions in advance and that their actions are based on some method, plan, or logic rather than on a hunch. The process of establishing goals and a suitable course of action for achieving those goals is called planning. Relationships and time are central to planning activities.

Organizing: Organizing is the process of arranging and allocating work, authority, and resources among an organization’s members so they can achieve the organization’s goals. Managers must match an organization’s structure to its goals and resources, a process called organizational design.

Leading: Leading involves directing, influencing, and motivating employees to perform essential tasks. Relationships and time are essential to leading activities. Managers lead in an attempt to persuade others to join them in the pursuit of future that emerges from planning and organizing activities.

Controlling: The manager must be sure the actions of the members do in fact move the organization towards its stated goals. Through the controlling function, the manager keeps the organization on track. It involves establishing standards of performance, measuring current performance, comparing with established standards and taking corrective action.

8.Refer to the film - Three monks Film. Identify and discuss the importance of FIVE  system related measures that were evolved to have shown in the film contributing Monastries Performance Excellence.  You need to give specific illustrations from the three monks film.

A)

Authority: A fire is needed to make the monks alert and work collectively, which they were unwilling, when they were free. Some authority is needed to oversee the tasks done by the subordinates. Also, the Hawthorne’s effect states that the productivity will increase when there is supervision and when the workers get to know that they are being observed.

Innovation: Initially they used to follow a difficult method of getting water for many days. Even after two monks came in, there was no change in the method. But they found the innovative method of getting water only after the stress that they endured during the fire. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Job selection: The fat monk is assigned the job of standing near the pool considering that he cannot move faster when compared to the other two. The tall monk took the job of carrying the water from the pulley to the tent as he is quicker in his movements. The first monk took the job of pulling up the pulley as he is more capable of doing it when compared to the tall monk and the fat monk. Each of the workers should be assigned suitable work based on his abilities and the laziest worker should not become a bottleneck for others.

Synergy: The process of getting water has been simplified after the three monks worked together when compared to the time when there was only one monk. So, when the work is properly divided between the team members, the output increases more than that will increase when all those members work individually.

9.Explain the Fielder and Chemers theory of ‘ Effective leadership varies with the situation ‘ ?  Draw a diagram for the same

A)                                               The  contingency  model  of  leadership  effectiveness  was  presented  in  its  most  complete form  in  Fiedler  (1967)  and  Fiedler  and  Chemers  (1974). The  model  predicts  that  a leader’s  effectiveness  is based  on  two  main  factors:  a leader’s attributes,  referred  to  as task  or  relationship  motivational  orientation (formerly  referred to  as  style),  and  a  leader’s  situational  control  (formerly  referred  to  as  situational favorability).The  model  predicts  that  leaders  who  have  a task  motivational  orientation compared  to  those  who  have  a  relationship  orientation  or  motivation  will  be  more successful  in  high-  and  low-control  situations.  Relationship  oriented  leaders  compared to  task-oriented  leaders  will  be  more  effective  in  moderate  control  situations. A  leader  is  designated  as  “in  match”  in  situations  where  the  model  predicts  high group  performance  and  “out  of  match” in  situations  of low  group  performance.