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Full name and IC No: Nur Hidayah Bt Mohd Abu Bakar Date: 7/3/2021
(940424075170)

Assignment (Asgmt) Declaration Form

Semester/Year JANUARY 2021 (JULY 2017)

Student’s Name Nur Hidayah Binti Mohd Abu Bakar

Student’s ID No: 041170619

Course Code BMG302/03

Course Title ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Class Code 4-OBV3

Assignment No: TMA 2

No. of pages of this 13

Assignment (including
this page)

Tutor LEE KEE CHIN

Course Coordinator KAJARI A/P B.SHANKAR

T-DF Assignment Declaration Form (1/2020 version #003)
QUESTIONS 1
Explain with examples the five (5) stages of group development. (25 marks)

There are five stages of group development. The first stage is the forming. The

forming stage is about team orientation. In the forming stage members get to know one

another. Rules are not fully defined or clear at this stage. Members started to feel anxious. At

this stage, morale is usually at its highest. Members are also enthusiastic to get to know each

other. Members are usually tactful and polite in their conversations. They are also overly

positive about the project, because it’s new, and new is always exciting. At this initial stage, a

glimpse of a future project leader may emerge, as the person who possesses the largest

knowledge about the project’s subject takes unofficial charge. The position of this unofficial

leader may also be occupied by the strongest authority figure in the team. An example of a

forming stage is Daisy, Adam, Daniel, Mark, and Stella. The 5 of them are neighbours and

they realize they all have substantial experience in gardening. So, they decide to split the fees,

buy one of the neighbouring fields, and grow a 120sq feet vegetable garden. They are all

really excited about the prospect of having access to fresh vegetables every day they

understand the benefits such a project would have for their family’s everyday meals. The 5 of
them get together every afternoon during a week to discuss plans. A general idea of what

types of vegetables they could grow is forming and includes tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis,

and peppers. At the last moment, Daisy also suggests they grow 20sq feet of broccoli. They

all agree with everyone’s suggestions and are eager to get started. Daisy will find the best

location based on proximity to water supply, space, and sun exposure. Adam knows how to

test soil acidity and is familiar with soil supplements, so he wants to handle soil preparation.

Mark, Stella, and Daisy will handle sowing, while Adam will handle the fertilizing. Daniel

will make sure the garden is weed and pest-free at all times. Daisy suggests he also waters the

garden, along with her, Mark, and Stella. It’s the end of March, and they want to have a fully-

formed garden by the beginning of June.

Second stages will be storming. This is a stage about power struggle. Tensions

started to occur and members will start to compete for leaderships and positions. At this

stage, members start competing for positions and roles in the group. Reality starts to set in,

and members begin to realise that their differences in values and opinions are actually a cause

for conflict. At this stage, tension arises as disagreements and conflicts occur. Members test

the boundaries of the group, and some may even challenge the authority of the group’s

leadership. Groups that are unable to move pass this stage sometimes will disband. Groups

that are forced to stay on, despite not really settling their differences are left with disgruntled

members filled with dissatisfaction and low commitment. Groups that successfully move pass

this stage will move on to the norming stage. As an example, things get tense for Adam,

Daisy, Daniel, Mark, and Stella as they set their plan into motion, while their 5 personalities

and opinions clash. Daisy called a lot of shots in the Forming stage, so she emerges as the

dominant team leader in this stage. She proposes a clear schedule and takes charge of

contacting the local store to see what supplies they can get here, and what supplies they may

need to go to the city for. She wants to go to the city to buy seeds because they cannot get the
broccoli seed she wants in local store. However, Daniel voices his concerns about Daisy’s

idea to grow broccoli in the first place because he believes it’s more difficult to grow the

broccoli than the other vegetables. Mark questions the fertilizer Adam wants to use, and

Daisy agrees. Moreover, Adam, who’s generally a dominant personality, raises some other

questions they were all too polite to discuss in the Forming Stage: how will they split the

vegetables once the garden begins to produce? Stella takes a back seat in their discussions as

she’s generally a more laid back person, and is fine with whatever they decide. Yet, Daniel

wants her opinion about the broccoli, and she’s expected to pitch in with the discussion about

splitting the vegetables. In the end, they manage to weather the storm of opinions. Daisy has

a change of heart about the broccoli. Adam’s choice of fertilizer prevails. They’re now left

with 120sq feet and 4 types of vegetables, so they decide to use 30sq feet for each vegetable

type. They’ll split the gardening fees equally, but they’ll split the final products based on the

number of people in their families, and their needs.

Third stages will norming. This stage bring sense of cooperation, unity and

integration. This is a stage where relationships among the members improve and members

started to accept each other. The norming stage is achieved when members begin to resolve

their differences. At this stage, members begin to be more tolerant of each other’s limitations.

Members also begin to acknowledge one another’s strengths and contributions. Members

socialise more frequently and are more committed to remain within the group at this stage.

Example of this stage Adam, Daisy, Mark, Daniel, and Stella are now mostly content with

everyone’s opinions concerning the type of fertilizer and seeds they’ll use. Daisy voices her

passion for broccoli one more time. But, she’s now quickly persuaded against the idea when

Stella sends her a research paper on the subject. They’ve polished out most questions and

bought everything they need. To buy what they need, they’ve even made a road trip to the

city together they’ve used this time to bond and get to know each other better. Daisy still
stands out as the unofficial team leader (with Adam as her close second), but others are given

a more prominent role as they all take over their duties.

Fourth stage will be performing. Cohesion and synergy is achieved at this stage.

Members move in unity to achieve the goal. At this stage, all members exert maximum effort

towards goal achievement. A synergistic effect occurs within the group, as each member

moves in unison. Conflict, if any, is resolved quickly and has a minimal impact on group

morale. Productivity and performance is at its peak during this stage. This phase is

maintained until the goals of the team are achieved. An example for this stage will be Daisy,

Adam, Mark, Daniel, and Stella get to serious work. Daniel consults with Adam about using

a “weed’n’feed” combination to fertilize the soil and kill weeds at the same time (and cost).

Ultimately, they decide against it. Adam finishes soil preparation in a couple of days and lays

down the fertilization schedule for the following period. Mark, Stella, and Daisy perform the

sowing. They also split the watering duties, while Daniel takes care of the weeds every

couple of days. They’re careful to water each type of vegetables according to their prescribed

water needs and in accordance with whether it’s been raining that week or not. Adam carries

out his fertilization schedule regularly. They have a well-oiled system for who does the

watering, and when. The watering schedule is also well synced with Adam’s soil fertilization

process and Daniel’s weed removal. Daniel also uses a natural homemade combatant on a

regular basis. In order to understand how and when each of them spends time working in the

garden, they track their time. They feel proud when they see that they each spend about 4

hours a week on gardening, as that means a larger amount of vegetables will produce well.

They get together once or twice a week to discuss their progress with the garden and chat

about their lives. They’ve grown much closer since the day when they first decided to start

the gardening project, and not a day goes by without at least two of them meeting. June is

approaching, and the vegetable garden is almost fully-grown.

 The last which is the fifth stage will be adjourning. Accomplishment are celebrated

and group is disbanded. Once the goals of the team have been successfully achieved (as in the

case of temporary project teams), the group will then disband. Accomplishments are

celebrated, and some members may even feel sad to disband because they enjoyed working

together. Alternatively, disbandment may also occur to non-project teams (i.e., permanent

teams) because of organisational restructuring (French et al. 2015). The garden is in full

bloom, and the 5 neighbours enjoy the fruits (or shall we say, “Vegetables”) of their labor.

Each time someone wants to use peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, or zucchinis in their meals,

they just go to the garden and take what they need. New vegetables appear daily, and the

garden is a complete success. The team even gets a commendation from the county council

for their initiative. Time passes in bliss, and the vegetable garden helps many delicious meals

spur into being. But, one day, Adam gets a job abroad, and Daisy’s job gets her relocated to a

different county they both need to move in a couple of weeks. Soon after, Mark declares that

he needs to move to the city in a couple of months because his son is starting school. Stella

and Daniel believe the garden is too much work for two people only, so they all decide to sell

it. They feel sad that their project is ending. They’re also sad that they won’t get to see each

other on a regular basis, as they’ve grown quite close. In the end, they sell the garden, and go

their separate ways, capping off the project as a complete success in every way. It feels like

the end of an era.

QUESTIONS 2

(a) Explain Ravi’s behaviour in terms of sources of power. (15 marks)

Knowledge is power. Expert power is derived from possessing knowledge or expertise in a

particular area. Such people are highly valued by organizations for their problem solving

skills. People who have expert power perform critical tasks and are therefore deemed

indispensable. The opinions, ideas and decisions of people with expert power are held in high

regard by other employees and hence greatly influence their actions. Possession of expert

power is normally a stepping stone to other sources of power such as legitimate power. For

example, a person who holds expert power can be promoted to senior management, thereby

giving him legitimate power. Expert power is derived from the personal characterises (e.g.,

knowledge and skills) possessed by an individual that are valued by others. Unlike the

previous three sources of power (legitimate, reward, and coercive), expert power is

independent of the position an individual holds in the organisational hierarchy. This is an

example of how Ravi has been outstanding in what he does and he is well-known for the

accuracy of his cuts.

(b) Suggest what the management can do to change the behaviour of Ravi’s and other

workers like him.

First is persuasion. The art of persuasion is a subtle, yet useful in influence tactic. It elicits

compliance by using a combination of emotional appeals, factual evidence and logical

arguments. Next in this tactic, you promise another person rewards or benefits in exchange

for compliance. This may either be future benefits (i.e., something you promise to give) or

past benefits (i.e., reminding the person that you have helped them in the past). Give reward

to Ravi so that he will share his knowledge with other workers. Employees should be
receiving support including Ravi to facilitate empowerment, employees should be given

adequate support from their superiors, peers, and subordinates and offer any further aid

required. Next is access to resources. To facilitate empowerment, employees should also be

given sufficient resources to complete the task. For example, the marketing team is provided

with sufficient financial resources, manpower, equipment, materials, and a reasonable

timeframe to accomplish their tasks. After that, access to opportunity. To facilitate

empowerment, employees should be given opportunities for personal growth. For example,

employees in your department are given opportunities to attend training classes, self-

development courses, and given the chance to learn new skills and knowledge via weekly

workshops.
Question 3

With the help of a diagram, explain the communication process. (20 marks)

In the first stage of this process, the sender forms a message, and encodes this message into

words or gestures. (Let’s say you plan to tell your classmate to “hurry up” because both of

you are catching the bus. You encode your message “please hurry up”, via the gesture of

pointing to your watch with one finger tapping rapidly on your watch).

The encoded message is then transmitted to the receiver via a communication channel. (Using

back the example, the channel used to communicate your message is via face-to-face

conversation). Upon receiving your encoded message, the receiver (your friend) then tries to

decode (i.e., interpret) your message.

When the message is successfully decoded (i.e., understood), the receiver then provides

feedback to the sender (you) that he understands. The receiver shows that he understands
your message by encoding his own feedback (into words or gestures) and then re-transmitting

it back to you. (For example, your friend shows you that he understands by giving you a

‘thumbs-up’. He then displays 5 fingers in the air and points to his own watch. This is to

indicate that he knows, and he will be ready in 5 minutes).

In the last stage of the process, the sender (you) then receives the encoded message

(feedback) from your friend and attempts to decode (interpret) it.

The process above may appear simple, but in reality it could be distorted by the presence of

noise. Noise inhibits and distorts the effective exchange of information between a sender and

a receiver. Noise (also known as ‘barriers to effective communication’) will be discussed in

the following section.

Question 4

Figure above relates the readiness level of a follower for completing a particular job objective

to the “optimum” leadership style of a manager for maximizing follower job performance.

Keep in mind that the figure represents two different phenomena. The appropriate leadership

style (leader behaviour) for given levels of follower readiness is portrayed by the curved line

running through the four leadership quadrants. The readiness level of the individual or group

being supervised (follower readiness) is depicted below the leadership model as a continuum

ranging from low level to high-level readiness. In referring to the leadership styles in the

model, we use the following shorthand designations: (1) high risk/low-relationship will be

referred to as leader behaviour style S1; (2) high-task/high-relationship behaviour as leader

behavioural style S2; (3) high-relationship/low-task behaviour as leader behaviour style S3;

and (4) low-relationship/low-task behaviour as style R4.

In terms of follower readiness, it is not simply a question of being ready, but a question of

degree. As can be seen in Figure 2, some benchmarks of readiness can be provided for

determining appropriate leadership style by dividing the readiness continuum into four levels.

Low levels of task-relevant readiness are referred to as readiness level R1; low to moderate as

level R2; moderate to high as readiness level R3, and high levels to task-relevant readiness as

level R4.
 REFERENCE

1. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-sources-power-organizations-14467.html

2. https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development

3. https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-models/situational-leadership-model-

hersey-and-blanchard/

4. COURSE MATERIAL WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY UNIT 1-4

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR