GM11
Management
Functions and Organizational Behavior
(For CNM Cases)
Assignment - II
Assignment Code: 2016GM11A2 Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and
carry equal marks.
Section-A
1. i)
What is organizational
behavior (OB)?
ii) What are the
major behavioural science disciplines that contribute to OB? (8+12)
2. i) What
is perception, and what factors influence our perception?
ii) What is the
link between perception and decision making? How does one affect the other? (10+10)
3. i) What
are the main components of attitude?
ii) What
are the major job attitudes? In what ways are these attitudes alike?
(10+10)
4. i) Discuss
the steps in the control process.
ii) Explain why key
performance areas and strategic control points are important to designing control systems. (8+12)
Section-B
Case Study: “Job Satisfaction and Quality of Life”
Europeans
pride themselves on their quality of life, and rightly so. A recent worldwide
analysis of quality of life in general considered material well-being, health,
political stability, divorce rates, job security, political freedom, and gender
equality. The United States ranked 13th. The first 10 nations in the
list were all in Europe, except Australia, which ranked 6th. India
ranked a dismal 73rd in the study.
Many
Europeans would credit their high quality of life to their nations’ free health
care, generous unemployment benefits, and greater emphasis on leisure as
opposed to work. Most European nations mandate restricted work week hours and a
month or more of vacation time. Indian workers, however, usually have long
working hours and the fewest vacation days in the world. Juliet Schor, a
Harvard economist, argues the United States “is the world’s standout workaholic
nation” and that U.S. workers are trapped in a “squirrel cage” of overwork.
Some argue that mandated leisure time would force companies to compete within
their industry by raising productivity and product quality, rather than by
requiring workers to put in more hours.
Many
European nations limit the work hours employers can require. France, Germany,
and other nations have set the workweek at 35 hours. Recently, after much
debate, the French parliament voted to do away with the rule, to allow French
companies to compete more effectively by paying employees for longer hours if
required. Opponents say letting the individual decide how much to work will
inevitably detract from quality of life and give employers power to exploit
workers. A French union leader said, “They say it’s the worker who will choose
how much to work, but they are lying because it is always the employer who
decides.” Similarly, a senior manager working out of India in IBM says, “I
sometimes end up working 18 hours a day-10 hours at the office and 8 hours at
night taking calls from clients. It is not possible for me to decide how and
when I can sleep or schedule family time, because we, after all, have to
satisfy our clients.”
Case Questions:
5.
(i) Do you
think quality of
life of employees
would improve if they spent fewer hours
working?
(ii) Do you
think the government should mandate the work hours of an individual? Why
or why not? Do you think the French parliament was right to eliminate the 35 hour workweek limit?
(iii) Do you
think employers have an obligation to consider the quality of life of
their employees?
Could such an
obligation mean protecting
employees from being overworked?
(iv) What do you think
companies like IBM should do in India to relieve the stress of their employees? (5x4)
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