ASSIGNMENT UNIT I

Question: Explain the Difference between groups and teams?

Answer:

Group: A group is a collection of individuals, people or a population with similar

beliefs, goals and attitudes. These beliefs, goals and attitudes can be short lived or
permanent. It is the belief system which holds the people in a group together. In a
diverse country like India, many groups can be seen, which are formed on the
basis of religion, culture, etc. The activities of the group may or may not shape the
outlook of the society. A group has voluntary membership and there is no defined
qualification status to join a group. One can join and exit any group as per his/her
convenience. Group members may or may not have time bound agendas to fulfill.
Overall and basic characteristic of a group is that it is flexible in its functioning and
organisation. Various groups are formed worldwide and at all levels of the society
which come forward to support social causes but still society could not relieve
itself from many social problems. Therefore, groups may not help to solve any
problems but they surely help in reducing some, and helping the ones who’ve
suffered in some way or the other in the society. Groups help create awareness
and they are by and large society oriented.

Hence, Some traits of group which can be found from above information are.

1. Groups are informally organized.

2. Groups are flexible in functioning.
3. Groups do not have any fixed standard.
4. Groups may or may not have time bound goals.
5. Goal achievement in a group may or may not affect the society or an
organisation at large.
6. Groups are society oriented as they are most commonly seen working
for a social cause.
7. There is no limit to the number of members in a group.
 8. Membership is voluntary and welcoming of all age groups and
capacities.
9. Minor clash of opinions may or may not affect the working of a group.
10. A group may or may not require a formal setup or an institution to
work.

Team: A team is also a collection of individuals but these are formally and very
carefully organized. A team comes with a goal, the goal is problem and solution
oriented and the goal has to be fulfilled. Team has to work as a single unit
wherein it is mandatory for each and every participant to contribute to enable the
team to realize the collective goal. There are a fixed number of members in a
team which are organized based on fixed terms of eligibility. The fulfillment of the
goal is time bound and critical opinion of one or all matters in a team. There is a
sense of cooperation, unison, division of work, shared responsibility among the
members of a team. In order to fulfill the goals, a team may require funds,
resources or a proper institution. A team is evaluated based on its performance
and results. The example of a team is as basic as a sports team, which if performs
well, gets appreciated and if fails to perform, gets criticized too. At times, one
particular member or a leader of a team is appreciated for his individual
contribution. So, team comes with responsibility and is driven by opinions, morale
and motivation level of its members. Team usually functions under the guidance
of a formal organisation.

Some traits of team which can be found from above information are.

1. Teams are formally organized.

2. Teams have monitored functioning.
3. Teams have fixed standards.
4. Teams have time bound goals.
5. Goal achievement in a team affects the organisation at large.
6. Team is known by its achievements in the past.
7. There is a limit to the number of members in a team.
8. Membership is granted to most eligible and trusted people.
9. Minor clash of opinions definitely affects the working of a team.
 10. A team definitely required a formal setup or an institution, resources
and funds to work.

Therefore, from all the above information, we can understand the difference
between a group and a team.

ASSIGNMENT UNIT II
Question: How does planning reduce the risks of uncertainty?

Answer:

PLANNING: Planning is a strategy-making activity. It is done in accordance with

the goals of the organisation, challenges which the organisation might face,
opportunities and resources which organisation has and the expected
consequences of the plan, if implemented. All of these factors when considered
must be in line with organizational goals. Planning is done to reduce wastage – of
time, of money, of resources, of energy. Planning as important to an organisation
as it is important for an individual to plan his day. Without planning there is a
possibility of confusion and often this might further lead to loss in an
organisation.

Now, there are various types of risks and uncertainties based on the type of
organisation which is largely a business oriented ones, these are most expected to
happen in an organisation; these are enlisted below,

1. Political/Regulatory Risk, pertaining to the impact of political decisions and

changes in regulation
2. Financial Risk, depending upon the degree of financial leverage or debt
burden
3. Interest Rate Risk, The impact of changing interest rates
4. Social Risk due to the impact of changes in social norms, movements, and
unrest
5. Environmental Risk about the impact of changes in the environment
 6. Operational Risk related to the uncertainty about a business’s operations,
including its supply chain and the delivery of its products and services
7. Management Risk due to the impact that the decisions of a management
team have on a business
8. Legal Risk related to lawsuits or the freedom to operate
9. The degree of competition in an industry and how much impact, the
choices of competitors will have on a business.
10.Risks related to patenting, copyrights, leakage of sensitive information etc.

But at the same time due to awareness and technological advancement, many of
these risks can be avoided or at least controlled due to planning. Like for example,
I will again take up these 10 risks and will present a mechanism of planning which
might help to tackle with them and that’s what is required for an organisation to
include in its planning to enable it to get rid of some basic risks.

1. Political/Regulatory Risk, pertaining to the impact of political decisions

and changes in regulation
What can be done in advance?
2. Financial Risk, depending upon the degree of financial leverage or debt
burden

What can be done in advance?

3. Interest Rate Risk, The impact of changing interest rates

What can be done in advance?

4. Social Risk due to the impact of changes in social norms, movements, and
unrest
What can be done in advance?

5. Environmental Risk about the impact of changes in the environment

What can be done in advance?
6. Operational Risk related to the uncertainty about a business’s
operations, including its supply chain and the delivery of its products and
services
What can be done in advance?

7. Management Risk due to the impact that the decisions of a management

team have on a business
What can be done in advance?

8. Legal Risk related to lawsuits or the freedom to operate

What can be done in advance?

9. The degree of competition in an industry and how much impact, the

choices the competitors will have on a business.
What can be done in advance?

10.Risks related to patenting, copyrights, leakage of sensitive information

etc.
What can be done in advance?
ASSIGNMENT UNIT III
Question: Explain various personality traits influencing OB?

Answer:

The study of organizational behavior is challenging and interesting at the same

time as it relates to individuals or a group working together in an organisation.
This study relates itself to the expected behavior of an individual in an
organisation. In an organizational set-up, no two individuals can behave in same
manner, despite similar working conditions. Even though, there are no absolutes
in human behavior yet the success and productivity of an organisation depends
on it. This makes Organizational Behavior an important subject of study.
Therefore, the factors which govern or affect the human/ employee behavior in
an organisation are also studied along under this subject. Organizational Behavior
as a subject depends on effectiveness of the employees and their level of interest
in the organisation and its goals. Thus, Organizational Behavior is studied as a
behavioral concept keeping in mind the human resources and its sound upkeep as
well as the organisation it works with. So what are the expectations of
organizational behavior from the employees is discussed in terms of required and
influencing personality traits as follows:

1. Self Confidence: No organisation ever wants a lazy and an under confident

employee. Confidence in general and self confidence to be specific are the
pre requisites of a job profile, be it any. To establish a positive atmosphere
in an organisation, employees need to be confident about their conduct
and problem solving abilities. Organisation gives an employee a platform to
groom him or herself and self confidence along with some initiative makes
an employee well suited for the organisation as well as the world outside of
it. So open mindedness and confidence in speech and body language very
well influence an organizational behavior.
2. Good Communication Skills: Every employee in an organisation, including
the manager himself has a life beyond the walls of the organisation he
works in. There are times when family demands to be attended to.
 Although no one likes to indulge in family affairs while in office but what
happens outside the organisation often affects the employee behavior at
work. Therefore, an employee should have good communication skills to be
able to express himself in a comprehensive manner. Good communication
skills lead to good interpersonal skills. When an employee is given freedom
to express and the employee chooses to make calm conversations in
difficult times regardless of it being personal or professional, organisation
can maintain its harmony.
3. Time management and efficiency: These are the most important and most
frequently talked about in an organisation. Time management and
efficiency are interdependent. If individuals in an organisation are self
managed specially in terms of time – if they are punctual, they follow and
respect the deadlines; it would all contribute collectively towards
organizational efficiency. Only a well managed organisation can enhance its
levels of efficiency over a period of time. A well managed organisation has
least conflicts among its members because most of the members are
dedicated towards contributing in fulfilling the goals of the organisation.
4. Situational awareness: While an employee is in the organisation, it
becomes important for him to be attentive and aware about what’s going
on in his surroundings. He must be proactive and capable of taking initiative
when some problem arises. Employees must nurture respect for their
fellows and their managers, they must discuss about productive ideas and
should be least involved in gossips and badmouthing the management.
They should be oriented towards constructive criticism than it being only
criticism. Employees at times, must also make an effort to understand why
an organisation is doing the things it is doing. All organisations seek
cooperating and well behaving employees.
5.  Social Adaptability: An organisation is a diverse platform where employees and
managers come from different backgrounds with variety of experiences. In a diverse
organizational atmosphere, cultural barriers can lead to organisational conflicts.
Therefore it is important to be tolerant towards others opinions about situations.
Social adaptability encourages harmony in an organisation. Many organisations
arrange for culture exchange programs to enable employees understand better.
Employees should be tolerant and should nurture respect for their fellow employees.
6.     Sympathy with empathy: Everyday cannot be a good day for everyone in an
organisation. An employee has probably got a bigger world outside the organisation.
Every employee has a family to look after. So in times like these when a fellow
employee needs help one should be ready to understand the situation and do
whatsoever is possible. Bullying should never be appreciated in an organisation. It is
important for every employee in an organisation to show sympathy and empathy
when situation demands. It very well influences the organisational behaviour
because it helps reduce stress amongst employees and maintain harmony in the
organisation.

7.     Loyalty: This is the most basic personality trait required in an organisation

which also influences organisational behaviour. Every organisation appreciates loyal
employees. Loyalty and integrity of an employee goes hand in hand. Loyal
employees gain more respect in an organisation and confidence in the the
management of an organisation. Loyal employees are most looked up on in an
organisation. Loyalty of an employee can tell how much he is attached and
interested in developing the organisation. Trustworthy employees also help maintain
harmony in an organisation therefore influencing the organisational behaviour
towards the positive side.

8.     Knowledge of competitors: It is important for the employees to not only know

about their respective fields but also, about the competition existing in the market.
Employee should be aware about the information they have of their organisation and
their competitor. Employee should be Proactive and always interested in giving ideas
to create a better and fair competition. The competitor should not stress out the
employees in an organisation rather it should motivate them to do better. Not all
employees come with search level of optimism, but such trait it is looked for in the
personality of an employee.

9.     Knowledge of latest technology: Technology is advancing day by day and

with increasing competition, competitors are using unethical methods to collect
sensitive information from the organisations. Therefore organisations seek smart
employees with good knowledge of latest technologies and hacking methods. They
want their organisations to be safe by keeping thie employees in control. Leakage of
sensitive information can upset the routine and working of an organisation an
organisation can also face huge loss due to the same. Leakage of sensitive
information is an accident which can be caused due to ignorance of employees.
Therefore employees should be intelligent enough to control their behaviour. 

10. Revolutionary thinking: Every organisation has evolved over a period of time.

The evolution of an organisation is a mix of great ideas merged into  Technology,
sustainability and successful implementation. But down the line it all starts with an
idea that is feasible and works for the benefit of the entire organisation in the coming
future. Any employee working at any position can give good ideas only if, the
employees thought process is oriented to Revolutionary thinking. Therefore thought
process, attitude of the employee matters as much as his overall grooming before
and after joining the organisation.

Therefore above mentioned are some insights of personality traits which are
desired in an empoyee and these further help in an organisation to keep the
organisational behaviour on its positive side.