Course Plan of UKMM2023 Organisational Behaviour May 2020 Trimester

UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

FACULTY OF ACCOUNTANCY AND MANAGEMENT

ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021

MAY TRIMESTER

BACHELOR OF INERNATIONAL BUSINESS (HONS)

BACHELOR OF ACCOUNTING (HONS)

UKMM2023 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

Week 1 - Tutorial 1 – Introduction to Organisational Behaviour

1. Ice-breaking session
2. Overview of the Course Plan
3. Expectations and participations in class
4. A brief on coursework
5. Team formation for group assignment

Discussion question.

1. Organisational behaviour courses are useful only to people who will enter
management careers. Discuss the accuracy of this statement.
- The knowledge of organization behaviour is very necessary to everyone who going
the work in organization.
- The study of organization behaviour we can understand that what people think, feel,
and do in the organizations.
- The three main reasons for studying organizational behaviour (understanding,
predicting, and influencing) will benefit them as well.
- You may think of the technical knowledge/skills as providing what you need to know
and be able to do to be successful in your organization.
- On the other hand, organizational behaviour knowledge benefits everyone by
addressing issues that are needed to apply technical knowledge and skills.
- Knowledge of organizational behaviour provides valuable knowledge how to
address the issues when applying accounting, marketing, engineering or other ideas
in organizational settings.
- An individual’s success in their career is largely determined by his or her ability to
understand and apply concepts in motivation, communication, team dynamics and
other organizational behaviour topics.

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Course Plan of UKMM2023 Organisational Behaviour May 2020 Trimester

Week 2 - Tutorial 2 - Topic 1 – Introduction to the Field of Organisational Behaviour

- Topic 2 – Individual Behaviour and Processes

1. The changing workforce is one of the emerging trends in organisational behaviour.

Describe how the workforce is changing and briefly identify two consequences of
these changes for organisations.
- There are numerous workforce changes that students might correctly identify.
However, the textbook specifically refers to the following: (a) more ethnic diversity;
(b) visible minorities represent a large percentage of the workforce and are entering
occupations previously held mostly by men; and (c) younger people (Generation X
and Generation Y) are bringing somewhat different values and needs to the
workforce.
- There are several consequences of these workforce changes. Chapter 1 of the
textbook briefly identifies the following: (a) potentially better decision making, (b)
potentially better customer service, and (c) underrepresentation of women and ethnic
minorities in senior positions (i.e. discrimination).

2. A courier service lay off a large percentage of its production staff during last year's
recession. These low-skilled employees performed routine tasks filling orders. The
company now wants to rehire them. However, most of the unskilled employees have
since found employment in other companies and industries. Do you think the courier
company lost much intellectual capital in this situation? Explain your answer.
- Organizational memory refers to the storage and preservation of intellectual capital
— in other words, the knowledge that the organization possesses. The courier
company has lost some organizational memory, but probably not a great deal. The
amount of organizational memory lost may be fairly small in this situation. These
are unskilled employees, some of whom have moved to other industries. This
suggests that they might have been fairly replaceable and do not have much unique
knowledge for the organization. Similarly, the tasks are fairly routine, suggesting
that most knowledge is established within the task routines and thereby documented
in procedures manuals.
- However, some organizational memory loss has occurred because every employee
possesses some unique knowledge that is of value to the organization. For instance,
the laid off employees may have had undocumented knowledge about the
preferences of certain customers or the operation of certain equipment. When
employees leave the firm, they take this knowledge with them unless it is clearly
documented or retained in other ways within the organization.

3. Store #34 of CDA Hardware Associates has had below average sales over the past
few years. As head of franchise operations, you are concerned with the continued low
sales volume. The store manager wants you to diagnose the problem and recommend
possible causes. Use the MARS model of individual behaviour and performance to
provide four different types of reasons why employees at Store #34 might be
performing below average. Provide one example for each type of explanation. 
- According to MARS Model of Individual Behaviour and Performances, the four
reasons for the below average sales are:

1) Motivation

In this regard, Store #34 employees are not motivated enough to push up sales
figure. They may think that the current level is already satisfactory therefore they are
not motivated enough to approach and persuade customers to buy the hardware
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products.

Motivation has three components which are direction (targeted sales volume),
intensity (no extra effort to push towards that figure) and persistence (no drive to
continue the effort for certain amount of time).

To boost motivation, maybe the management could tie up store’s remuneration or

bonuses based on their individual sales volume. By establishing a target sale for the
store and the rewards in achieving it, employees will then become motivated in
pushing themselves to achieve the directed target.

The management may also announce a monetary bonus or a family day vacation for
the whole employees should the store target achieved certain preset target. This will
encourage all employees to become motivated in helping each other in achieving the
target.

2) Ability

Store #34 employees may not have the necessary ability to increase sales figure.
Maybe they are not taught the skills needed to push sales to customers such as
effective sales techniques. In this regard, the employees may be given classes or
seminar on how to boost sales, customer relationship and satisfaction etc.

Employees may also be ignorant of the company’s rules and procedures. In this
regard, they can be given a set of rules / guidebook to ensure they know the role of a
good salesperson. This will in turn boost the store’s sales.

Ignorance of the company’s products: Uninformed employees may therefore be

required to be briefed about the store and the products sold when they first started to
work there. From time to time, briefings can be made to update them on the current
developments of the existing range of products or introductions to new products.

Mismatch of workers’ capacity and capability with the work given to them may also
be a factor. The management should evaluate their staff’s personalities for example
those who are energetic, talkative and friendly can be positioned in the frontline or
sales units. Those who are moody, grumpy or introvert can be tasked to do inventory
etc.

3) Role Perceptions

The employees may not be aware of the tasks specifically assigned to them; the
relative importance of the tasks in achieving the company’s objective i.e. to get the
pre determined sales values and preferred behaviour in achieving those tasks.

In this case, maybe the company can conduct briefings or pep talk from time to time
to remind the employees what is required of them which are to boost sales and
achieved target.

The company may also nominate awards such as “Outstanding Employee of The
Month” so that other employees can emulate their peer who has outstanding and
exemplary performance. This will ensure the other employee can better understand
the example they are supposed to follow.

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4) Situational Factors

Sometime, some factors are beyond the employees or management control such as
economic condition or consumer preference for example:

i) The country is experiencing slow economic condition due to the current high oil
prices. In this case, the customers will prefer buying important things such as food
etc to hardware.
ii) Store #34 may also have not-updated inventory of hardware products or carry
unpopular brands therefore consumer are not interested to make purchases unless
urgently needed, this may also make consumers to prefer shopping elsewhere for
their hardware
iii) The situational factors may also be internal such as there are no budgets for the
sales department to spruce up display that may attract customers. Others are factors
of people, budget and physical facilities.

4. As the district manager responsible for six stores in a large electronics retail chain,
you have had difficulty with the performance of some sales staff. Although they are
initially motivated and generally have good interpersonal skills, many have difficulty
with the complex knowledge of the diverse range of store products, ranging from
computers to high fidelity sound systems. Describe three strategies you might apply
to improve the match between the competencies of new sales staff and the job
requirement.

(i) Select qualified people

Process of choosing individuals with the necessary qualification, professional
requirements to fill a job vacancy. During interaction for new staff,
management should look into hiring people who have both good
communication skills to deal with customer
(ii) Develop employee abilities through training
With fundamental basic or sufficient knowledge about this electronic field,
sales staff can be further sent for training in order for them to expand their
experience and know more in depth about the complexities of electronics. Sales
staff should be trained not just to handle regular customer but also to elder
people who find it harder to use such products

(iii) Redesign job to fit person’s existing abilities

Review job responsibilities and tasks and possibly reallocate them among the
staff to improve performance.
o Clarify exactly what is being done today vs the job description
o Identify any inefficiency in completing job
o Brain storming to solve problems

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Week 3 - Tutorial 3 – Topic 3 – Perception and Learning in Organisations

1. You are manager of a district that has just hired several recent university and
college graduates. Most of these people are starting their first full-time job,
though most of them have held part-time and summer positions in the past. They
have general knowledge of their particular skill area (accounting, engineering,
marketing, etc.) but know relatively little about specific business practices and
developments. Explain how you would nurture the self-concepts in these new
hires to strengthen their performance and maintain their psychological wellbeing.
Also explain how you might reconcile the tendency for self-enhancement while
preventing the new employees from forming a negative self-evaluation.

This answer can be approached systematically by reviewing each of the three dimensions and
four processes:
 Complexity
Wellbeing and likely performance can be enhanced by encouraging employees to develop
diverse strengths. Within the organization, manager might help employees to become
better technically as well as nurture their leadership talents. Managers should also
encourage employees to develop personal strengths outside od work, such as sports and
volunteering, and to recognize/reward these outside interests.

 Consistency
Managers can support self-concept by discovering the employee’s personality, values, and
competencies, and then guiding them into careers that are consistent with those personal
attributes. They can also help employees to understand “who they are”, so they personally
recognize when a role (at work or outside work) is incompatible with their personal
attributes and with other aspects of self.

 Clarity
Clarity tends to develop through experience and maturity. However, managers can help
this dimension of self-concept by developing the employee’s self-confidence when
dilemmas arise and by giving them experience and feedback in various roles. For
example, if the employee opposes or strongly encourages something in a meeting, the
manager can later thank the employee for standing up for his/her beliefs. Similarly, the
manager can offer supportive feedback when an employee recognizes that a particular role
or situation is incompatible with his/her strengths or character.

 Self-enhancement
This is perhaps the most difficult self-concept process to manage because people tend to
have more favourable image of themselves than in the case. The most important task for a
manager would be to ensure that the employee engages in some self-enhancement (which
then relates to a positive self-evaluation). At the same time, managers (and co-workers)
are challenged by employees who have substantially inflated self-concept (i.e. too much
self-enhancement). The latter part of this question refers to this issue. The best advice
might be the evidence on feedback that is discussed in Chapter 5. Specially, people prefer
to receive negative feedback from non-social sources. If self-enhancement is too strong,

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then the employee should experience more accurate information about themselves, but it
should arrive through non-social sources and privately. This “reality check” will sting, but
less so than if delivered by the boss or publicly displayed.

 Self-verification
This process refers to the motivation to receive feedback that is consistent with our self-
concept and to maintain that self-concept. Managers can play a role in this process by (a)
monitoring how well co-workers recognize the employee in terms of his/her concept, (b)
coaching and giving the employee opportunities to develop and demonstrate his or her
self-concept strengths.

 Self-evaluation
This is likely the most widely discussed self-concept process in managing employees.
Essentially, managers need to help employees to develop a strong, positive self-concept
around specific selves. This occurs by recognizing and rewarding employees for their
positive performance and other behaviours and by supporting them when they experience
negative shocks to their self-concept. Positive organizational behaviour practices (such as
strength-based or appreciative coaching) apply here. When employees experience
significant failures in one of their significant selves (e.g. failing a professional entrance
exam; losing a promotion opportunity), the manager can offer emotional support and
coach them to develop strengths in one or more of their other selves. Indeed, managers
can help avoid these majors shocks by nurturing a complex self-concept in employees (as
discussed above).

 Social self (social identity)

Managers can develop employee performance and wellbeing by steering employees
toward peers with desirable characteristics and away from those who can undermine the
employee’s self-concept. Specifically, employees work better around peers who
appreciate and support the employ’s talents, accept their self-view, and have a positive,
performance-oriented (yet balance) orientation toward their work and careers. As
employees define themselves with teams and work units where these values and norms
operate, they will guide the employee’s behaviour and performance.

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2. NuGas Corp. has just sent a dozen (mostly white male) managers from Germany
to its exploration site in a remote area of Indonesia. Few of these managers have
worked with Indonesian employees, so the company has asked you to design an
on-site one-day experiential training program to help these managers to minimize
perceptual problems that might otherwise occur. The program must be
experiential (i.e. participants interact with each other rather than attend an
awareness lecture) and the activities must help the managers to discover biases
that may be hidden or unknown to them. Describe the key features of this
training program and discuss its conceptual foundations. 

This question relates to Johari Window process. The answer may take several forms, but it
must relate to the two processes of feedback and disclosure.
With respect to feedback, the Indonesian employees and German managers might participate
in a role-play or simulation, and then the Indonesians evaluate the Germans on their
behaviours towards the Indonesian participants. Alternatively, the Indonesian participants
might describe their past experiences with Germans and how this affected them.
With respect to disclosure, participants could engage in an exercise that reveals something
about their past, perhaps a past experience with someone from other culture.
An important point is to note that Indonesian culture might not be as compatible with the
Johari Window process. In particular, Indonesian people might be more reluctant than
Germans to reveal their feelings or to criticize and evaluate in public. The process might be
adapted to fit these culture values, such as by having more anonymous feedback or by
engaging in exercises that focus participants on other people rather than themselves (e.g.
watch a video and then have participants comment on the behaviours of people in that video).

3. During a diversity management session, a manager suggests that stereotypes are a

necessary part of working with others. “I have to make assumptions about what’s in the
other person’s head, and stereotypes help me do that,” she explains. “It’s better to rely
on stereotypes than to enter a working relationship with someone from another culture
without any idea of what they believe in!” Discuss the merits of and problems with the
manager’s statement.

Before discussing about the merits of and problems with manager’s statement on supporting
people with stereotype personality, let’s be clear about the meaning of stereotype. Stereotype
is the process of assigning beliefs traits and qualities to group of people that are similar.
Stereotyping is when an opinion is formed about a person categorizing them to a certain
group of people based on either, class, looks, gender or background they belong to.
Stereotyping, or mentally grouping people based on personal characteristics and then
assigning traits to members of each group, is a pervasive human phenomenon. In this
question, there is fundamental dilemma that stereotyping is both a necessary and a
troublesome activity in the perceptual process.
Stereotypes can have positive (merits) and negative (problems) traits attached to it.
A stereotype is an over generalized, predetermined belief about a category of individuals.
Merits:
 Stereotypes can help to make a perception of someone, thus filling in missing information
about that person.
 Stereotypes can also place individuals into certain pre-established groups, which help to
organize information much more efficiently.
 Stereotypes can allow one to respond to problems quicker by applying past experiences.
Problems:

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 Generalizations about person are made, as their differences are ignored and assumptions
about them are created.
 Stereotypes can create employee discrimination. This is when an employee is treated
differently because of a certain category that they belong to.
 Stereotypes can also make it difficult for people to change their perceptions of a person
with regards to qualities that may be in conflict with the stereotype.

Week 4 - Tutorial 4 – Topic 4 – Workplace Emotions, Attitudes and Stress

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Case study 1 - Odd Couples

A 29-year old man and a 68 year old are paired together to learn from each other. How much could
they possibly have in common? At Randstad USA’s Manhattan office, such employee pairings are
common. Randstad Holding NV, a Dutch company, has used this pairing idea since its founding over
40 years ago. The founder’s motto was “Nobody should be alone.” The original intent was to boost
productivity by having sales agents share one job and trade off job responsibilities. Today, these
partners in the home office have an arrangement where one is in the office one week while the other
one is out making sales calls, then the next week, they switch.
Randstad executives figured that if they shared a job with someone whose own success depended on
theirs, they were certain to get all the nurturing they required.” The company looks for people who
will work well with others by conducting extensive interviews and requiring job applicants to shadow
a sales agent for half a day. “Everything about our organization is based on the team and group.” One
of the most interesting elements of Randstad’s program is that neither person is “the boss.”

a. What topics of individual behaviour do you see in this case? Explain.

b. What do you think about this pairing-up idea? Would you be comfortable with such an
arrangement? Why or why not?

c. What personality traits would be most needed for this type of work arrangement? Why?

d. What types of issues might a Gen Y employee and an older, more-experienced employee
face? How could two people in such a close-knit work arrangement deal with those issues?
That is, how could both make the adjustment easier?

Case 2:
Two college graduates recently joined the same major newspaper as journalists.
Both work long hours and have tight deadlines for completing their stories. They are
under constant pressure to scout out new leads and be the first to report new
controversies. One journalist is increasingly fatigued and despondent and has taken
several days of sick leave. The other is getting the work done and seems to enjoy the
challenges. Use your knowledge of stress to explain why these two journalists are
reacting differently to their jobs.

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Week 5 - Tutorial 5 – Topic 5 – Foundation of Employee Motivation

1. A large organization has hired you as a consultant to identify day-to-day

activities for middle managers to minimize distributive and procedural injustice.
The company explains that employees have complained about distributive injustice
because they have different opinions about what is fair (equity, equality, need) and
what outcomes and inputs have the greatest value. They also experience
procedural injustice due to misperceptions and differing expectations. Given these
ambiguities, what would you recommend to middle managers?

2. Your organisation wants to improve employee motivation. Employees already

have strong P-to-O expectancies and the outcome valences are quite favourable for
strong performance, but they seem to have a low E-to-P expectancy. Identify three
distinct types of strategies that would potentially increase employee motivation by
improving the E-to-P expectancy. 

3. Jack Smith and Sam Clemens are neighbours who work as purchasing managers
in different companies in the petrochemical industry. During one neighbourly
discussion, Jack learned that Sam's salary was nearly 15% higher than his even
though their job duties were similar. Other than this difference, both received
similar benefits and seemed to enjoy their jobs and colleagues. Jack was upset
about Sam's higher salary although he hid his emotions from Sam (after all, it
wasn't Sam's fault that they received different salary levels). Jack was frustrated
not only because Sam received a significantly higher salary, but also because
Jack was certain that he worked longer hours and was more productive than
Sam. According to Equity Theory research, what will Jack probably do to reduce
his upset feelings?

Week 6 - Tutorial 6 – Topic 6 – Decision Making and Creativity

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1. Ancient Book Company has a problem with new book projects. Even when
others are aware that a book is far behind schedule and may engender little
public interest, sponsoring editors are reluctant to terminate contracts with
authors whom they have signed. The result is that editors invest more time with
these projects than on more fruitful projects. As a form of escalation of
commitment, describe two methods that Ancient Book Company can use to
minimize this problem.

2. Creative Bench Strength Questions and Answers

1. There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced incorrectly.
What is it?

2. A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents. What time is it?
1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it between two people.

3. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs, each rung is one foot apart. The bottom
rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High
tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under
water?

4. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three? Three, if you follow the
mathematical orders of operation.

5. There is a room. The shutters are blowing in. There is broken glass on the floor.
There is water on the floor. You find Sloppy dead on the floor. How did Sloppy
die?

6. How much dirt would be in a hole 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide that has been dug
with a square edged shovel?

7. What is the significance of the following: The year is 1978, thirty-four minutes
past noon on May 6th.

8. What can go up a chimney down, but can't go down a chimney up?

9. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how
many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in the centre field?

10. What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?

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Week 7 - Tutorial 7 – Topic 7 – Team Dynamics

1. One of the emerging concepts in team dynamics is ‘virtual teams’. Describe this
concept, give one explanation why these teams are possible and give one explanation
why these teams are increasingly necessary.

2. Bangalore Technologies wants to use brainstorming with its employees and

customers to dentify new uses for its technology. Advise Bangalore’s president about
the potential benefits of brainstorming, as well as its potential limitations.

3. You have been assigned to a class project with five other students, none of whom you
have met before. To what extent would team cohesion improve your team’s
performance on this project? What actions wouldyou recommend to build team
cohesion among student team members in this situation?

Week 8 - Tutorial 8 – Topic 8 – Communicating in Team and Organisations

Case Study 2 - The Business of Blogs

As of July 2005 there were 9 million blogs on the Internet, with, estimates say, 40,000 new
blogs appearing each day. What are blogs? Blogs are short for “Web logs” You can think of
them as online diaries. The content of blogs ranges from daily business happenings and news
events to a recap of the homerun that someone’s niece hit during a softball game—in other
words anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can post a blog. Blogs can include

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photos, audio clips, and video clips. And blogs are dynamic in nature, changing each day with
every additional posting (For example, check out one popular blogging site,
www.blogger.com).

Some analysts believe that blogs are the biggest innovation in communication since the
Internet itself in that they are taking power away from the mass media, which traditionally has
decided on what news is worthy of reporting. However, a Pew Research Centre survey
suggests that many people have yet to catch on—only 27 percent of Internet users in America
read blogs—though this number is expected to increase dramatically. The implications of
blogs for businesses are numerous. On the positive side, corporations such as IBM can
monitor blogs to see what people are saying about the company. Such blogs can be posted by
employees, customers, or the general public. Movie studios can track blogs to determine
which films are generating positive public opinion and which are not. And advertisers can use
blogs to evaluate the success of advertising campaigns. Says Jeff Weiner, senior vice
president of Yahoo!, “I’m amazed people don’t get it yet. Never in the history of market
research has there been a tool like this.” Blogs present an unobtrusive and inexpensive means
of collecting data. By simply monitoring blogs, companies can determine what products
people are talking about. Blogs are a valuable business tool, but they have their downsides.
Many employees use blogs to post proprietary company information or to complain about
company practices. Hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals external to the company can
read private company information on a blog if it is divulged, regardless of whether the
information is credible.

But companies are fighting back. Mark Jen, once a programmer at Google, found this out. In
January of 2005, Jen posted a blog complaining that Google’s health plan was worse than that
of Microsoft’s, his former employer. He also wrote that one of Google’s touted perks, free
dinner prepared daily by an in-house chef, was a Google ploy to get its employees to work
past dinner. Google fired Jen shortly after reading his blog. A barrage of blogs in response to
Jen’s firing led Google to publicly comment on its blogging policy. A spokesperson for the
company stated that if the information is such that you wouldn’t e-mail it to strangers, don’t
blog it. Jen says that he understands Google’s decision and should have been more sensitive
to the company’s goals. Fortunately for Jen, his 15 minutes of fame landed him a job at Plaxo,
an Internet contact management company. His job at Plaxo? Coordinating blogging efforts to
promote the company. Blogs are likely to change the way that business information, as well
as information in general, is gathered and disseminated. In contrast to the contents of chat
rooms and e-mails, which tend to be temporary, a blog can last for as long as the person who
posted it desires. Those that blast a company for mistreatment may spread like a wildfire,
which leaves companies in a sticky position. What once was thought to be private information
may not be so private anymore.

a) What aspects of the communication process are blogs most likely to influence and
how?

b) Although the grapevine typically is thought of as occurring within a given

organization, blogging is a form of gossip that can reach beyond an organization’s
borders. How might blogging change the way that companies are affected by gossip?
What can companies do to guard against this?

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c) Although companies would prefer to reduce blogs that speak negatively about them,
what about blogs that detail mistreatment of employees or illegal work practices by
upper management? Should employees post these types of blogs even though they
may be reprimanded or terminated as a result?

d) Is it ethical for companies to actively monitor blogs to gain marketing information?

In other words, is the monitoring of blogs an invasion of privacy, or are bloggers
inviting corporations to gather information because of the public nature of the
postings?

Week 9 - Tutorial 9 – Topic 9 – Power and Influence in the Workplace

Discussion question.

1. You have just been hired as a brand manager of toothpaste for a large consumer
products company. Your job mainly involves encouraging the advertising and
production groups to promote and manufacture your product more effectively.
These departments are not under your direct authority, although company
procedures indicate that they must complete certain tasks requested by brand
managers. Name and describe the sources of power you can use to ensure that the
advertising and production departments will help you make and sell toothpaste more
effectively. 

2. What role does countervailing power play in the power relationship? Give an
example of one of your own encounters with countervailing power at school or work.

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3. In the mid-1990s, the CEO of Apple Computer invited the late Steve Jobs (who was
not associated with the company at the time) to serve as a special adviser and raise
morale among Apple employees and customers. While doing so, Jobs spent more time
advising the CEO on how to cut costs, redraw the organization chart, and hire new
people. Before long, most of the top people at Apple were Jobs’ colleagues, who began
to systematically evaluate and weed out teams of Apple employees. While publicly
supporting Apple’s CEO, Jobs privately criticized him and, in a show of
nonconfidence, sold the 1.5 million shares of Apple stock he had received. This action
caught the attention of Apple’s board of directors, who soon after decided to replace
the CEO with Steve Jobs. The CEO claimed Jobs was a conniving back-stabber who
used political tactics to get his way. Others suggest that Apple would be out of
business today if he hadn’t taken over the company. In your opinion, were Steve
Jobs’ actions examples of organizational politics? Justify your answer.

Week 10 - Tutorial 10 – Topic10 – Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

1. The chief executive officer of Creative Toys, Inc., read about cooperation in
Japanese companies and vowed to bring this same philosophy to the company.
The goal is to avoid all conflict, so that employees would work cooperatively
and be happier at Creative Toys. Discuss the merits and limitations of the
CEO’s policy.

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2. Conflict among managers emerged soon after a French company acquired a

Swedish firm. The Swedes perceived the French management as hierarchical
and arrogant, whereas the French thought the Swedes were naive, cautious,
and lacking an achievement orientation. Identify the source(s) of conflict that
best explain this conflict, and describe ways to reduce dysfunctional conflict in
this situation.

3. You have just been transferred from one unit of the organization to another
unit. On the last day of work in the first unit, your current manager calls your
new manager, informing her that you are a tough candidate and that you
possess an attitude. The would-be manager calls you, providing you with the
information, and expresses apprehension. How would you resolve this conflict?

Week 11 - Tutorial 11 – Topic11 – Leadership in Organisational Setting

1. Your employees are skilled and experienced customer service representatives

who perform nonroutine tasks, such as solving unique customer problems or
meeting special needs with the company’s equipment. Use pathgoal theory to
identify the most appropriate leadership style(s) you should use in this situation.
Be sure to fully explain your answer, and discuss why other styles are
inappropriate.

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Course Plan of UKMM2023 Organisational Behaviour May 2020 Trimester

2. Identify a current political leader (e.g., president, governor, mayor) and his or
her recent accomplishments. Now, using the implicit leadership perspective,
think of ways that these accomplishments of the leader may be overstated. In
other words, explain why they may be due to factors other than the leader.

3. You hear two people debating the merits of women as leaders. One person claims
that women make better leaders than do men because women are more sensitive
to their employees’ needs and involve them in organizational decisions. The other
person counters that though these leadership styles may be increasingly
important, most women have trouble gaining acceptance as leaders when they
face tough situations in which a more autocratic style is required. Discuss the
accuracy of the comments made in this discussion.

Week 12 - Tutorial 12 – Topic12 - Organisational Structure

Group Presentation and/or Discussion Questions

1. From an employee perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of working
in a matrix structure?

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Course Plan of UKMM2023 Organisational Behaviour May 2020 Trimester

2. Explain 2 benefits and 2 limitations of a network structure.

Week 13 - Tutorial 13 – Topic13 - Organisational Culture

1. Describe four types of artifacts on how corporate culture is deciphered.

2. Organisation used different strategies for merging or acquiring another company

which are having different organisational culture. Explain FOUR (4) types of
merging strategies and when it work best.

3. Describe the three stages of socialisation.

4. Is it possible to have a knowledge of what an organisational culture is before you

become a part of the organisation? How important is it for you to align yourself
with your organisational culture?

5. Suppose you are asked by senior officers of a city government to identify ways to
reinforce a new culture of teamwork and collaboration. The senior executive
group clearly supports these values, but it wants everyone in the organisation to
embrace them. Identify four types of activities that would strengthen these
cultural values.

Week 14 - Tutorial 14 – Topic14 - Organisational Change

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Course Plan of UKMM2023 Organisational Behaviour May 2020 Trimester

1. Employee resistance is a symptom, not a problem, in the change process. What are
some of the real problems that may underlie employee resistance?

2. Explain how communication and involvement are used to minimise resistance to

change.

3. Organisational change also requires driving forces. Explain.

4. According to the force field analysis model, what is the best strategy to move the
status quo to a desired state?

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