Program: PGDM 2015-17Trim I, End Term Exam paper, Subject:Leaderhip and Organization Behaviour

K. J. SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH,

Vidyavihar, Mumbai- 400077

PGDM, IB, RM, COMM - 2015-17,Trim I, End Term Exam paper

Leadership and Organization Behavior

Maximum Marks: 50
Duration: 3 hours
Date: 8/9/2015
Instructions

1. Question 1 is compulsory (20 marks)

2. Attemptany 5 questions from question 2 to 7 ( 6 marks each)

QUESTION 1

Case

Malushka loves to hire new people. As manager of the Medicare Reimbursement

department of a large hospital, she sees it as a great responsibility to aggressively pursue
and hire the best people. She has already experienced the challenges of hiring the wrong
person. She knows a bad personality match could undermine the culture she worked so
hard to build. Malushka plans to do everything in her power to never repeat the mistake
of a bad hire again.
This latest hiring however is proving to be a bigger challenge than she expected. The
problem is that the position requires a good deal of specialized knowledge. Malushka
needs someone who knows that current Medicare regulations and who would be able to
decipher new ones. The pool of candidates with this knowledge is extremely small.
Truthfully, she has interviewed only 3 candidates with the skills and knowledge that she
requires.
Avanti, the first candidate,was interviewed two weeks ago. She knew the regulations
better than anyone Malushka has ever met. Every question which Malushka asked,
Avanti could answer well. But Avanti seemed to be an extremely extroverted person
needing and wanting a lot of social involvement at work. Neena, the second candidate
interviewed had relevant experience with exceptional qualifications and credentials. But
she came across to Malushka as shy and quiet. She seemed intimidated by the position
itself, probably stemming from her lack of prior experience in healthcare and left
Malushka wondering if she could take on the role confidently. Sharan, the nephew of one
of the members of the board of directors was the third candidate interviewed.He seemed a
good fit to the position, but his background check revealed attitudinal issues reported by
his previous employer.
Jindal, the main person with whom the candidate would be working with, was an
introvert. He rarely spoke to anyone and preferedthat people spoke to him as little as
possible. The job by nature demanded expertise, restricting social involvement and

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Program: PGDM 2015-17Trim I, End Term Exam paper, Subject:Leaderhip and Organization Behaviour

required the job incumbent to be straight jacketed and methodical. Jindal was a valued
resource and Malushkawas keen not to team him with a wrong hire.
Malushka’s immediate manager, Vishal had garnered repute in the hospital for being an
aggressive and antagonistic boss. He was known to favor his in-groups within the
department, and Malushkawas not part of Vishal’s circle. She had` reported issues in the
past, wherein she has felt threatened and pressurized as a subordinate. Malushka often
found herself in situations where she was operating against her best interest and better
judgment to avoid any conflict with Vishal. Avanti, was Vishal’s ex-colleague from his
previous organization and both of them had shared great camaraderie as coworkers.
Vishal had overtly expressed his opinion to Malushka, stating that he would like Avanti
to be hired. This seemed to to add to Malushka’s dilemma.
a. Assuming Malushka follows the rational model of decision making, mention the
detailed steps which she would follow. (10 marks)
b. How would thedecision put Malushka in a conflicting position in the organization
with various stakeholders? Identify antecedents to the conflict process in the case.
(5 marks)
c. Outline conflict management intentions/strategies and elucidate how these
conflicts are likely to be resolved. (5 marks)

QUESTION 2

Korra, which makes customized jeans in Delhi’s Okhla industrial area, includes the name
of the tailor with the brand label. “This is the only place where my name is known to the
person who uses the product and it feels very good,” said Wakil, one of the tailors, who
worked at an assembly line for a factory in Kanpur earlier.

Explain the Job Characteristic Model of Motivation. Which factor of the Job
Characteristic Model is being used to motivate the tailors and explain?

QUESTION 3

Air India pilots, under the banner of their recognized union-the Indian Commercial Pilot
have called for a week long secret ballot to decide whether to strike work to protest
against the government to 's move to keep the national carrier's pilots-in-command out of
the 'workman' category which prevents them from forming a union or participating in
strikes.

What is Job Satisfaction? What are the different ways in which employees express their
dissatisfaction? In the example cited above, how are the pilots expressing their
dissatisfaction?

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Program: PGDM 2015-17Trim I, End Term Exam paper, Subject:Leaderhip and Organization Behaviour

QUESTION 4

Richard Branson has always had the reputation for doing things differently,which has
reflected in Virgin companies the world over. He has also sprinkled his views on business
and life into decades of interviews, books and launches. While most people are familiar
with his rallying cry of "….. let's do it", there are plenty more helpful hints from the
smiley man with the beard. He believes, “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun,
and it has to exercise your creative instincts”. He also believes that “Records are made to
be broken. It is in man's nature to continue to strive to do just that.''

Using the dimensions of big 5, evaluate Richard Branson’s personality based on the
description in the case.

QUESTION5

International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) began dismissing U.S. workers, part of a $1

billion restructuring to help the company meet profit goals as it adapts to shifts in the
technology industry. Workers in New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,
Oklahoma and North Carolina were fired, according to Alliance@IBM, an employee
group. The Armonk, New York-based company had a headcount of 431,212 at the end of
2013, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier -- its first decline in a decade. “IBM continues
to rebalance its workforce to meet the changing requirements of its clients and to pioneer
new, high-value segments of the IT industry,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
At any given time, IBM has more than 3,000 job openings in its growth units, including
its cloud business and nanotechnology, the company said.

What are the elements of organizational structure? What are the factors causing change
in the organizational structure of IBM

QUESTION 6

Your boss has been reading several books on leadership. You notice that every few
months he is spouting a different approach and philosophy. Can you identify which
“leadership theory of the month” he is studying and briefly explain the rationale behind
any 3 of these theories from the examples given below?

a. You have noticed that your boss is often asking you what types of peers you least like
to work with.
b. Suddenly your boss begins sending people to training to help them develop more
effective leadership styles.
c. This month your boss seems less concerned about his leaders than he is about the
people who work for them and whether these employees are willing and able to

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Program: PGDM 2015-17Trim I, End Term Exam paper, Subject:Leaderhip and Organization Behaviour

perform particular tasks.

d. Now your boss seems to be trying to analyze each leader according to which
employees they interact with most and least, and which employees they rate highest
and lowest.

QUESTION7

Write a Short Note on any 3 of the following:

1. Difference between groups and teams

2. Socialization process of organizational culture
3. Anchoring bias
4. Hofstede Framework
5. Types of power bases

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