Assignment on Administrative Processes and Human Behavior

1. Discuss the organizational development process – the steps, the benefits and the
implications to management.

As Keith Davis stated, the organizational development is an intervention strategy that

uses group processes to focus on the whole culture of an organization in order to bring
about change.

The necessity of organizational development comes into play, when the “…reward
structure on the job does not adequately reinforce conventional training and fails to
carry it over to the job…and many well-designed training programs failed because the
job environment provides inadequate support.” This means that organizational aspect
of change is needed when existing reward structure and conventional training
program doesn’t translate into needed internal upgrade of available human resource
that will fit to overall organizational objectives.

Second cause of organizational development’s necessity is “...the fast pace of change,

which requires organizations to be extremely effective in order to survive and
prosper.” This aspect pertains to competitiveness that is required under the rapid
development of technology, information, and human resource available.

The two causes speak of (1) internal changes or upgrades within the organization and
(2) external changes impact’s and organizational survival.

As it is said in the reference that we have photocopied, that approach to

Organizational Development varies but there are steps of the process under the
complete program such as:

a. initial diagnosis
b. data collection
c. data feedback and confrontation
d. action planning and problem solving
e. team building
f. intergroup development
g. evaluation and follow-up

In terms of benefits and implications to management, subscription to and application

of Organizational Development is imperative and critical to further the development
of the organization and effectively pursue its developing goals.

First consideration is what the characteristics of Organizational Development itself

tell us: “…it is an all-encompassing program aimed at assuring that all parts of the
organization are well coordinated.”

This is very important for the managers whose present-day role is becoming more and
more complex and strategic.
“Management is becoming less an art and more a science, a profession. Someone
must: 1. establish the goals and directions for the social organization; 2. shape a
productive enterprise out of human and material resources; 3. coordinate the various
subsystems of the organization; 4. solve or cause to be solved the numerous problems
facing the organization; 5. make certain that the total work of the organization and
each of its component parts are accomplished.”

This enormous task would require commensurate advancement in Organizational

Development.

Consider the manager who’s at the heart of the management process. The traditional
definition of a manager that engages in “…planning, organizing, staffing, directing
and controlling the work of subordinates” is now inadequate. The levelled-up tasks of
the managers under present competitive market forces, is to serve as a link for the
balance of the organization’s “networks of interdependent and interrelated
subsystems” where they perform task’s not only within their organizational line to
subordinates but also “outside the boundaries of the organization” or the “lateral-level
peer relationships.” Managers carry out negotiations with various people, internal and
external dimension of the organization “establishing information networks…
disseminating information, resolving conflicts, making decisions, allocating resources
and motivating subordinates.”

Manager’s “role set“ among supervisors, subordinates, peer, vendors, higher-ups and
customers must anticipate role conflicts and role ambiguities where Organizational
Development plays a crucial role that creates as an enabling environment for this
management process.

2. Explain, in detail, how a leader motivates his followers towards competence in the
job.

As it is said in the reference, “leadership calls for the ability of one to unite people for
them to collectively attain organization objectives.” Therefore a “leader has a number
of roles to play and has to exercise different styles of leadership that are compatible
with the nature of those he works with.”

According to Keith Davis, “leadership is defined as the ability to persuade others to

seek defined objectives enthusiastically. “ In effect, it binds the people in one
direction and motivates group members towards the attainment of organization’s
common objectives.

Good leader knows the right timing in taking his actions. Situation sometimes
requires staying at the background without pressuring the group instead of the usual
interaction; to stay calm at times of crisis or to delay decision-making to consider
different sets of variables in his/her decision.

“The leader, the followers and the situations are the variables that determine the
nature of the appropriate leadership behaviour called for by the circumstances. “

Under the Contingency Model of Leadership, Fiedler points out that “ leader’s
effectiveness is determined by the interaction of employee orientation with three
variables namely, 1. the followers, 2. the task to be undertaken and 3. the
organization. “

Given the above traits of a leader, one of the key ingredients for the motivation of the
followers towards each competencies or as a group, is the goal setting.
Goal setting focused on the identification of targets, as well as short and long-run
objectives, in which performance is directed. Workers need to feel and understand that
they have worthwhile goals that can be realized with the resources and leadership
available to them. Without goals group members will go in various directions in
confusion.

Leaders also uses arsenal of skills, where three of different types includes: 1.
technical, 2. human and 3. conceptual skills.

“Technical skill pertains to an individual’s knowledge and ability pertaining to certain

processes or techniques…Human skill is the ability to work effectively with others
and to bring about teamwork…Conceptual skill is the ability to think in terms of
models, frameworks and broad relationships such may be called for in long-range
planning.”

Leaders also use power and politics which are both inter-related and dialectical.
“Power has been defined as the ability to influence other people and events while
Politics is the way by which leaders earn and gain power.”

One style of leadership that effectively motivates followers is thru the positive method
of approach. “The utilization of rewards and economic matters as motivators are
forms of positive leadership…Positive leadership by and large results in higher job
satisfaction and performance among workers…Cooperation through positive
motivation is greatly elicited.”

Under supervisory chain of leadership, here I choose some of supervisor’s (which is

also a leader in this respect) important task that increases motivation of rank-and-file
employees towards their competencies::

1. creates a climate conducive to sound human relationship at the departmental

level in the organization
2. develops desirable attitudes that motivate employees to perform well on their
jobs
3. trains new as well as older employees to work efficiently, effectively and
safety
4. counsels and maintains discipline among employees
5. recommends personnel actions such as promotions, transfers, pay increases
and job separation
6. uses his knowledge of machine and equipment capacities; adjusts and
improves work procedures
7. coordinates departmental activities to meet goals economically

One effective style of management that develops and increases motivation among
employees towards competencies is the participative style of management. As it is
said, participation has excellent potential to improve cooperation and to develop much
better teamwork.

“Acceptance of change and the development of favourable teamwork that stimulates

better performance result when a high degree of participation is attained.”

“Participation may increase the power of both managers and employees…

Participation generally brings about higher and better quality output. It tends to
improve motivation because employees feel more accepted and involved in important
company matters. Likewise, their self-esteem, job satisfaction and cooperation with
management may show marked improvement. Participation of employees tend to
reduce conflicts and stress, more dedicated commitment to goals and faster
acceptance of changes. Participation should be made to apply to both the higher and
lower levels of the organizational hierarchy for both intellectual and manual workers.”

3. What is the path-goal relationship? How do leaders establish it?

“Goal-setting has led to a path-goal view of leadership, an outcome from the

expectancy model of motivation.”

Under the expectancy model, motivation is a product of:

1. valence (the desire to achieve a goal)
2. expectancy (the strength of the belief that a specific act will lead to the
desired goal)

The leader’s job in consonance with this path-goal model is to develop the desire to
reach goals and to improve paths leading to the goals so that goals can be readily
reached. It is said that “a leader’s behaviour should be towards motivating and
satisfying, to the degree, that his behaviour increases subordinate’s goal attainment
and clarifies the avenues to the identified goals.”

Leaders can establish the path-goal relationship through the following ways:

1. by giving better reward for goal attainment

2. by providing feedbacks about goal accomplishments
3. by improving or greasing the path toward the goal by providing a supportive
approach to assist employees attain their goals; by providing the needed
resources and training; by helping remove barriers along the way to the goals

Related to goal setting and the path-goal idea is what is referred to as management by
objectives.

Management by Objectives (MBO) connotes and embodies both a technique and a

philosophy of management.

“As a managerial approach, MBO reduces managerial or subordinate stress by

increasing the communication and shared perceptions between management and
subordinates. “
As a technique it aligns meeting points between the subordinates’ views and the
management’s point-of-view.

The philosophical dimension of MBO is by way of assimilating it thru the mindsets of

employees thereby rendering it effective, as it was accepted and practically validated.

By the path-goal theory of leader effectiveness, the initiation of structure by the

supervisors will increase the subordinate’s motivation if the action helps to clarify
previously ambiguous paths tot the accomplishment of work goals, if work goal
accomplishment is viewed as intrinsically desirable or as a means to extrinsic
rewards. Intrinsic rewards are increased by the subordinate’s participations in the
action plans.