Internal Examination 2020

Saraswati Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University

Subject: Organizational Behavior

Full Marks:100

Candidates are requested to write the answers in their own words as

far as practicable.

Group A:Case Analysis

Read the given case carefully and answer the following:6*5=30

Alex and Stephanie have a few things in common. Both are students at
their state's university, and both work full-time at a local supermarket
to make ends meet and help pay for college. Though the pay isn't great,
it's a steady job that allows them some flexibility, which helps when
scheduling classes. Both students joined the supermarket two years
ago, and, given their similar situation, became friends quickly.

Although Stephanie seems to enjoy her job, arriving and leaving work
each day with a smile on her face, Alex often grumbles and complains
about his work. Much of time, Alex complains about his boss, Dan, who
oversees the produce department .Stephanie works for Jonathan, a 10-
year veteran who everyone generally admires for his friendly demeanor
and relaxed management style.

Most employees want to work for Jonathan, as he often assigns his

employees different duties each week so workers don't get bored.
Stephanie ,for instance, can be working at the checkout counter one
week ,stocking shelves the next, and the store's culinary centre the
following week.
The culinary centre is a new service that the store is test-marketing.
Employees show customers how to create exciting recipes from start to
finish. It's Stephanie favorite place in the store to work. She is also
responsible for taking customers around the store to locate ingredients
for a culinary centre recipe ,many of the ingredients being some of the
store's finest. And she enjoys allowing customers to sample what she
cooks. So far, the culinary centre is a success, and many of the store's
more expensive ingredients are becoming difficult to keep in stock. To
help with this issue, Jonathan encourages his employees to notify him
immediately when an item is running low and even empowers
employees to reorder items from vendors. By doing this, Stephanie has
quickly grasped how the supermarket operates.

Alex's supervisor, in contrast, prefers most of his employees to work in

the same area each day-Alex is one of those employees. Dan believes
that the best way to master a job is to do it over and over again. This
means that Alex has to stock the same produce areas each day. As
boxes of produce are delivered to the store's supply room, Alex unloads
their contents onto the shelves. Alex also must constantly reorganize
the produce already on the shelves to make them look as orderly as
possible. Most of the time, though, he doesn't feel inclined to do either
task.

After a particularly boring morning of restocking apples (the store had

apples on sale that day), Alex met Stephanie for lunch in the in the
break room. After sitting down, Alex reached into his lunchbox and
pulled out an apple , a look of disgust on his face. "Ugh..........If I have to
look at another apple ,I'm going to be sick."
"Bad day again?" asked Stephanie as Alex stuffed the apple back into
his lunchbox.

"I stocked apples all morning--what do you think? "Alex retorted.

"Why don't you tell Dan you want to do something else?"Stephanie

inquired.

"I see that he lets Denies work in other areas." Stephanie leaned closer.
"I've even heard that she gets paid more than you. Is that true? "she
whispered.

"Apparently ,she gets paid $2 more an hour, but I do the same things
that she does. Oh, that's right. One thing I don't do is tell Dan what a
cool shirt he has on or how awesome his car is. They're both pathetic if
you ask me," frowned Alex.

"Two dollars more an hour, but she's been here for only 3 months!"
Stephanie exclaimed." And I know that You work just as hard as she
does. No wonder you're so irritated all the time."

"I don't even care any more. What's the point? If I stock more apples, or
something meaningless like that, what does it get me---another sticker
that says 'good job'? Ooooh, that's really great. Thanks a bunch Dan!"
replied Alex, punctuating his last sentence with a sarcastic thumbs-up ."
Anyway, enough about my day. How's yours going?"

"Pretty good, actually. Jonathan and I met earlier today, and we both
set a goal for me to sell 10 bottles of truffle oil next week."

"Wow. That stuff is pretty expensive., isn't it?" asked Alex.

"Thirty five dollars for four ounces, "replied Stephanie. "It'll be tough,
but I found a pretty good recipe that I'll be making for customers who
stop by the culinary centre." She paused, then said ,"I think I'll be able
to do it. I've made quite a few similar recipes before ,and even though
this one is more difficult, it shouldn't be too bad. Besides, if I sell the oil
Jonathan said that he'll give me a $75 bonus. So I'm definitely going to
give it a shot. The nice thing is that I'll be able to do this on my own,
without someone breathing down my neck."

"Well, that's certainly more than I'll be making this week," said Alex.
"This job is okey, but I'd probably leave if I could. It's too risky right now
to just quit. If I can't find something, then I'll be in trouble when that
next tuition bill comes around."

"look on the bright side. At least you make more than Jean. She's been
here for 7 years, still working in the deli," replied Stephanie.

"That's true, sighed Alex as he returned to his lunch. He looked up at

the clock. They had been at lunch for a half hour already. Dan was quite
the stickler about keeping lunch to a minimum. Although store policy
allowed employees 45 minutes for lunch, Dan often pushed his
employees to keep it to 30 minutes. As Alex quickened his chewing,
Dan strolled into the break room and opened the refrigerator, his back
to Alex and Stephanie.

Wheeling around with a soda in hand, Dan commented, "Bit of a long

lunch, hey Alex?"

Alex could feel the blood rising to his face. "It's been exactly a half hour,
and I'm almost finished," he said.
"Well, we're running low on apples again. So quit lying around and get
back to work." Dan walked toward the door, stopped, and turned
around. "I thought that college students were supposed to be smarter
than this. At the very last I would hope that they could tell time." He
added, "I guess the university must have glossed over your application."
And with that, Dan left.

"What a jerk," said Stephanie after Dan was out of earshot.

"What else is new," said Alex. "I'd guess I'd better get back to work."
Alex got up and returned what was left of his lunch to the refrigerator.
When he opened the door, he noticed a sandwich labeled with a post-it
note that read "Dan's." After glancing quickly to the door, he casually
swept the sandwich onto the floor. Stephanie turned around at the
sound.

"oops," smirked Alex. He paused, staring down at the sandwich."Five

second rule!"he said as he picked up the sandwich, being sure to smear
the underside of it on the floor. After putting it neatly back on the shelf,
Alex turned to Stephanie."Well Steph, have a good one. I think maybe
I'll take my time on those apples.

Q.N.1. How can expectancy theory be used to explain the differences in

motivation in between Alex and Stephanie? What specifics from the
case apply to expectancy theory?

Q.N.2. Alex states that he is underpaid for the work he does. What
motivational theory does this apply to , and how would it explain Alex's
behavior?
Q.N.3. Using concepts of organizational justice, explain why Alex knocks
his boss's lunch to the floor. What should Alex's boss do to improve the
fairness of his treatment?

Q.N.4. Using concepts from the emotions and moods ,explain why Alex
retaliates toward his supervisor. Was his behavior driven purely by
emotion, or did cognition also play a role? How so?

Q.N.5. Compare and contrast Alex and Stephanie in terms of each

person's level of work stress. How might stress affects their attitudes
and behaviors within their work environment?

Q.N.6. Discuss Alex and Stephanie in terms of each person's job

attitudes (for example, job satisfaction, organizational commitment).
What factors might be responsible for any differences.

Group B: Analytical Questions

Attempt all the questions given below : 7*10=70

Q.N.1."Behavior is generally predictable, so there is no need to formally

study OB". In the light of this statement, give your opinion.

Q.N.2.Emotional intelligence is one's ability to detect and to manage

emotional cues and information. How might emotional intelligence play
a role in responding to abusive customers? What facets of emotional
intelligence might employees posses who are able to handle abusive
customers?

Q.N.3. One day your boss comes in and she is nervous ,edgy, and
argumentative. The next day she is calm and relaxed. Does this
behavior suggest that personality traits are not consistent from day to
day?
Q.N. 4. "Companies are at a crossroads right now because those that
capitalize on post-COVID opportunities will find themselves in a good
position to retain their talent and attract people when the situation
stabilizes. By contrast, those that fail to change will be left behind,
exposing their employees to increased risks of financial distress, facing
layoffs and closures."Do you agree or not? Give your reasons.

Q.N.5." There is no set formula on what organizations can do or cannot

do to motivate the employees. The best approach would be to let
employees find their own niche within the organization and let them
actualize their potential instead of forcing them to do work that is not to
their liking. Apart from this, many industry veterans are also of the view
that employees have to find their company that suits them and hence,
clinging on to jobs that do not motivate them is counterproductive".
Give your logic.

Q.N.6." We can improve our attitude by waking up and believing that

the day is going to be great. We can also keep awareness of our negative
thoughts or those things that may prevent us from having a good day.
Spending time with positive people can help improve our own attitude as
well". Do you agree or not? Give your opinion.

Q.N.7. "Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are the

important concepts that determine the attitudes of employees at the
workplace". Comment.

The End
.