NMIMS University 2008 M.B.A - Individual & Group Behavior in Organizations - Question Paper

Q. 1) choose the most improper ans of the following: (10)

1) The biggest pre-requisite for a manager today is

a) dynamism
b) creativity
c) adaptability
d) empathy


2) The man who propounded the 14 principles of management, which are used even today was:

a) Henri Fayol
b) Elton Mayo
c) Louis Depardieu
d) Elton Mayo




3) Job Satisfaction is concerned with the employee’s attitudes towards

a) their organization
b) their colleagues
c) their job
d) their work setting


4) The statement that “satisfied workers will not necessarily be highest producers” is

a) false
b) true
c) partly false
d) not based on research

5) People who accept themselves are more likely to see

a) negative aspects of other people
b) positive aspects of other people
c) creative aspects of other people
d) acceptable aspects of other people


6) The principle related to the Gestalt schools of Psychology is the principle of

a) closure
b) proximity
c) similarity
d) continuity

7) Substantiating the contribution of heredity in determining individual personality, the research obtained identical strange similarities in the lives of identical twins called

a) Peter Twins
b) John Twins
c) Jim Twins
d)Roger twins

8) The theory which is based on the reward-cost results of interaction is known as

a. balance theory
b. exchange theory
c. interaction theory
d. affiliation theory

9) When a motivated drive is blocked or hindered before it reaches its goal, this leads to

a. conflict
b. stress
c. frustration
d. negativism


10) The two-dimensional graphical representation of leadership styles through the Managerial grid was propounded by

a. Blake & Mauton
b. Spencer & Arlington
c. Duke & Wilmar
d. Freud & Jung



Q.2) learn the subsequent case study and ans the case ques. provided below:
(30)


Prakash Gupte is a sales representative with Beta Water Purifiers. Prakash is a star sales representative with the highest sales turnover record for five consecutive months. He is an aggressive and a dynamic sales person with a strong target-orientation. His marketing manager Shreyans Desai is very proud of his accomplishments. Based on his performance appraisal, Prakash has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Manager (Marketing). He is now needed to supervise the work of six sales representatives and to manage sales targets for his area.

After assuming charge as an Asst. Marketing Manager, Prakash set the targets for the 1st month and communicated these to the sales representatives in a direct and explicit manner. four sales representatives obtained the targets to be too ambitious but reserved their comments. After the meeting they explained the problem informally and dispersed. Prakash called the fortnightly review meeting to take stock of the situation. He was extremely disappointed to know that all the 6 representatives were trailing behind in target achievement. He was very blunt in communicating his disappointment and told their team to get their targets by the end of the month. After the meeting, all the 6 representatives expressed their displeasure with the meeting and obtained the demand of Prakash unreasonable. They commonly perceived him to be a difficult person to deal with. They thought of approaching Shreyans for this. Harish and Sameer, 2 of the representatives met Shreyans and explained this with him. Shreyans was a little upset with Prakash, but he thought to himself that Prakash is very efficient but lacks tact to work with people. He assured the duo that he will speak to Prakash in this regard.

Shreyans called Prakash for an informal chat and advised him to go a little easy with people. Prakash was clearly agitated about this since he took this as a personal affront, as he sensed during this meeting that someone must have complained about his behavior to Shreyans. Instead of going easy with the team, he turned more bitter in his approach. He called a meeting of all the sales representatives, and indirectly communicated his displeasure with the incident. He once again made it clear that the targets were attainable but needed a greater sense of commitment from the group. Obviously the sales representatives did not like this. At the month-end briefing, Prakash was absolutely disappointed with the team for having under-achieved on the targets’ count. He rebuked them for going slow on their work and told them sternly to adhere to the targets in the next month. Deepak, on of the sales representatives, objected to highly monthly targets and suggested that the targets be made more reasonable. To this Prakash retorted by saying that the targets were absolutely reasonable. Obviously the team was disheartened with this. They all decided to collectively approach Shreyans this time and seek his intervention. When they met Shreyans to brief him about the situation, Shreyans was sure that he had made a mistake somewhere.

:


CASE ques.

i)What happened when Prakash got promoted to the position of Asst. Manager (Marketing)? Why did this happen?

ii)If you were entrusted with the responsibility of managing six sales representatives & creating an effective sales team, how would you do it?


Q.3) “Individual & Group Behavior is 80% Psychology and 20% Management”, do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your response by giving reasons.

Q.4) What is intellectual ability? Mention and elucidate the various dimensions of intellectual ability.

Q.5) discuss personality development with the help of stage theories

Q.6) elaborate the pre-conditions or antecedents that lead to inter-group conflicts? What strategies would you use to resolve these conflicts?

Earning:   Approval pending.