MID TERM ASSIGNMENT

Lokesh Dutta (B025)

Sagar Nain (B040)

Vishakha Negi (B054)

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore

Organizational Behaviour

Dr. Shreeleakha P.

28th July, 2021

Question 1: Research shows that acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22

percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7

percent)1. Critically evaluate the impact of negative emotions in the workplace.

Formulate policies to enhance positive emotions in the working environment. (700

words, 10 marks)

We spend a large part of our lives at work, and careers can be both a source of positive and a

source of negative emotions and stress.

The National Institute of Mental Health states that persistent, chronic levels of stress and

negative emotions in a workplace can contribute to:

 High blood pressure

 Heart disease

 Dehydration

 Insomnia

 Compromised immune system

 Diabetes

 Digestive issues

Some common workplace negative emotions and their impacts are:

a. Anger - Workplace anger can arise from frustration, interpersonal conflicts with fellows

or bosses. Anger at work can lead to irrational behaviour, such as explosive outbursts

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 which can even lead to quitting one’s job. If we can remove ourself from the situation for

a whole and letting our anger subside, then we can take much more rational decisions

after getting calmer.

b. Envy - Incentives drives us to work harder so that we can also earn those rewards.

Unfortunately, workplace rewards aren’t always distributed fairly. This can lead to

negative emotional reactions, including envy. The key in dealing with envy is to analyse

the situation.

c. Fear or Anxiety - It’s disconcerting to think that fear would be common in the

workplace, but risk of losing a job can cause fear and uncertainty. workplace. In the

organizations, there are negative incentives which can lead fear among employees. For

example – If any employee is not able to complete 100 units of work today, their salary

will cut down.

d. Stress - Stress can be positive or negative. Having huge stress is negative for employees.

Due to huge workload, people often get stress or feel low in their life which will lead to

less utilization of their potential. Negative emotional states can create extra stress in our

body. This can lead to health issues if the stress becomes chronic or overwhelming.

Additionally, stress can lead to muscle tension and aches, cause malnutrition from a

decreased appetite and make it more difficult for your body to grow.
e. Guilt - The emotion of guilt goes deep into the psyche. The purpose of guilt is to seek

punishment and is the best way to punish yourself. Guilt is quite a manipulative emotion

as it pursues a way to control situations. The best way to eliminate guilt is to meet your

demands, and take steps to patch up interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.

f. Helplessness - A sense of helplessness at work, or a sense of anxiety, is a warning sign

that should not be ignored. A sense of hopelessness shows that one is concerned about

the career and where it is going could be a sign of depression. In any case, don’t ignore

these feelings if they persist.

The negative emotions in chronic form can become disorders that:

 Create and encourage a cycle of negative thought patterns

 Can lead a person to isolate, spurring more pervasive feelings of insecurity, low self-

esteem and loneliness

To change the emotional climate, the organization should hold some kind of activities to

strengthen the relationships. They should introduce a reward system for good behaviour too.

The managers should be taught to control his emotions and make them understand that by

showing their anger in the employees, they are actually causing loss to the company.

Some ways to enhance positive emotions are:

a) Allow for mistakes- No one is perfect—plain and simple. Mistakes are inevitable

and, although they don’t need to be simply accepted, they also aren’t grounds for a

scolding.
b) Company’s Wellness programs gives optimism to employees which helps them

remain positive in the workplace.

c) Share your gratitude - Write down five things you are grateful for at work then

share at least one with a co-worker.

d) People start expressing themselves openly - A person who is comfortable speaking

up about things are important. Along with it, listening to others talk about their own

opinions will lead to positive environment in workplace.

e) Company must offer people structured freedom to shape their own roles.

f) Build positive self-identities at work.

g) Get enough sleep.

h) Eating well-balanced meals and consuming the optimum calories helps one to reach

a healthy weight.

i) Exercising regularly to maintain mental peace.

j) Talk more with co-workers and family.

So, these are the points which can be implemented in order to make the positive

workforce environment.
Bibliography:

Robb-Dover, K. (2020, June 5). How Negative Emotions Affect Health. FHE Health –

Addiction & Mental Health Care. https://fherehab.com/learning/negative-emotions-

health

Robins, A., & St-Aubin, N. (2021, June 2). Managing emotions in the workplace (employees’

and yours). Officevibe. https://officevibe.com/blog/managing-emotions-in-the-

workplace

Gable, S. (2020). The Benefits of Positive Emotions at Work. Corporatewellnessmagazine.

https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/benefits-positive-emotions-work

StudyMoose. (2020, June 5). Is It Ok To Cry At Work, Case Study Free Essay Example.

https://studymoose.com/is-it-ok-to-cry-at-work-case-study-essay
Question 3: Evaluate OP’s value system. Justify the actions of OP against the

accountant and the LDC. While handling the labour minister, OP has shown escapist

tendency. Discuss. (1000 words, 10 marks)

Evaluate OP’s value system

Milton Rokeach, an American social psychologist says that values are the standards and

guidelines for one’s life influenced by experience, desire and specific situations. He proposed

a List including 2 set of values, the Terminal values and Instrumental Value. Terminal

Values signify the objectives of the life of a person, The end goals the person wants to

achieve through his or her behavior whereas Instrumental Values signifies the methods an

individual would like to adopt or their preferable mode of behavior for achieving his life's

aim.

Om Prakash’s value system was largely constructed on his education and his 15 years tenure

as an IFS officer. The major constituents of his value system when differentiated as terminal

and instrumental were:

Terminal -

An Exciting Life- Through the case we can observe that Om Prakash has lived a pretty active

life from being part of a feudal family and going to boarding school to working as an IFS

officer and in PF commission, He lived his life in quite diverse environment.

Wisdom- He has a mature understanding towards life and wasn’t guided by traditions. He

was open to reason and had keen interest in understanding the relationship between science

and technology.

National Security- He valued national security very much and wanted to remove the rot of

corruption from the system.

Sense of accomplishment- He made quite a lot of effort for removing corruption from the

rotting system. He made lasting contribution towards his goal of making a system devoid of

any corruption.

Equality and Self Respect- He wanted to live without guilt and self-respect, So when he

didn’t like a recruitee taking a back door entry through the minister, he thought of a way to

stop that.

Instrumental-

Responsible: Om Prakash believed in doing the right thing and abide by the law of the land.

This is pretty evident from the instance when he prepared a list of employees who were due

for transfer but also did his research for every case so he doesn’t do any injustice.

Imaginative: When Om Prakash received an order from the labour minister to transfer a

recruitee, he did not succumb to the pressure and instead found a way out of it.

Forgiving: When the accountant was suspended and he wanted to meet Om Prakash, he

instantly agreed to listen to accountant’s stance. After listening to his stance and looking at

his past records, Om Prakash let him go with a warning.

Helpful: He was aware of the fact that to serve people better; he needs to be connected better,

so he installed a direct phone line through which he could be contacted and helped a lot of

people who reached out to him.

Justify the actions of OP against the accountant and the LDC

The accountant- Suspending him was rational and ethically correct decision. However, after

the meeting with him and looking at his past record, Om Prakash took back the suspension

and left with him a mere warning. This can be justified too on basis of principles and

common work ethics. The behavior of the accountant towards his work had not been murky,

and there wasn’t any major backlash caused by his mistake. Additionally, the accountant felt

remorse on his mistake and acknowledged it. The accountant may just have forgotten about

the file as a memory overload or an emotional stress can sometimes cause in temporary

elimination of important information. Unless these mistakes keep happening or have been

consistent in his past records, He can be put back to his position with a warning. And

considering his past work records show no dark spot, it is highly likely that, something

similar could have happened. Plus, after being given a second chance, the accountant would

have been more careful and focused on his job and also had a good impression of the person

who gave him a second chance.

The LDC – Dismissing him from services and debarring him from applying for any other

government job was a good choice which can be justified by thinking of the future outcomes

and impacts that such employees can have on an organization or country as a whole.

Corruption destroys the system from the inside out, it builds an environment that encourages

the malpractices and destroys the fundamentals of having a system. Additionally, not giving

out any punishment or anything less than this would have set a wrong precedent that anyone

can get away with the corruption charges if caught. Moreover, the corruption or bribe cases

do not get reported or caught red handed too often, as both the parties involve voluntarily,

one as a compulsion and the other as a means to abuse the power and the authority. It was

also fund that even his father had been dismissed from the government on the similar

grounds, so it wasn’t a mistake, it was rather a trait.

While handling the labor minister, OP has shown escapist tendency. Discuss

While handling the labor minister, Om Prakash did show escapist behavior. Not only did he

imagine the consequences of getting in any sort of confrontations with politicians but also,

He also guessed that the candidate referred by the labor minister would be ineligible for the

job. Although that came out to be true later but not daring to refuse anything by a politician

because of his bias towards politicians and imagining the consequences are all signs of

escapism.

On the other hand, his escapist behavior made him think of some other tactful ways to uphold

his own sense of justice. The way he handled the situation was probably a little unethical but

if he had succumbed to the political pressure, it would not just have set a wrong precedent but

would also have created havoc in the system.

The escapist tendency also came out when he did not act against the new recruitee after

knowing for a fact that he was not eligible for the post and had been given a back door entry.

He just wanted to tactically handle the situation and not invite any trouble for himself.
Bibliography:

An economic–genetic theory of corporate corruption across cultures: An interactive effect

of wealth and the 5HTTLPR-SS/SL frequency on corporate corruption mediated by cultural

endorsement of self-protective leadership. (2014, June 1). ScienceDirect.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886914000889

ŠUmah, Š. (2018, February 21). Corruption, Causes and Consequences. IntechOpen.

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/58969

Memory loss prevalent in stressed employees. (2012, August 16). Occupational Health in

Auckland | Pre Employment Medical. http://workplacewellnesssystems.co.nz/memory-loss-

prevalent-in-stressed-employees/

D. (2021, July 28). Forgetting things at work? This could be why. Robertson Cooper.

https://www.robertsoncooper.com/blog/forgetting-things-at-work-this-could-be-why/

Mistry, M. (2015, May 12). 10 Signs You’re an Escapist (Both Good and Bad). Lifehack.

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-signs-youre-escapist-both-good-and-

bad.html

Longeway, J. (1990). JSTOR: Access Check. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27759220

Question 4: Critically analyse the generational issues in the company. How can Sarah

and Josh work together more effectively? Justify. (1000 words, 10 marks)

According to the case study, Sarah acts as traditional Generation X whereas Josh acts as

Modern Generation Y. The following discussions involved on these two generations -

Generation X and Generation Y.

Generation Y has a different attitude towards work as compared to other generations. Their

works don’t depend on them instead they depend on their work.

The Causes: -

 Joshes assumption in what his work ought to be like are totally not quite the same as

Sarah's. Josh needs energy and opportunity versus Sarah needs a more monotonous

lifestyle.

 Sarah behaves like his boss and guides him and anticipates that he should complete

the work. Josh then again fail to really understand what Sarah can show him and

thinks he is now undeniably not suited for the things Sarah makes him do.

 Sarah has negative feelings toward to younger, fresh hires because she learned in a

HR-training that she needs to ‘Compliment’ and ‘Sugarcoat’. So she gives praise even

though she feels like doing the opposite just because she thinks that she needs to do it.

Generation Y is making a difference by carrying their own set of work habits, demands, and

expectations. There has been a numerous of study on the topic of generation differences in

the company and how these differences had affected and influenced on the workforce unit.
While Josh brings new energy and spirit to the workforce, at the same time it also adds

complication to Sarah as she is trying hard to understand what motivates and inspires Josh.

Gen X as the preceding group - This generation is described as the most misunderstood,

disheartened, and ignored generation because a large number of Gen X parents were working,

they are left to make decisions on their own. Josh is able to handle each situation on its own

potential with given information he has at that time and responding in the best he can.

Generation X tends to be sceptical. Sarah is claimed as sceptical about changing the style

because she is not ready to change the methods which Josh was suggesting. Instead, she

prefers to use traditional methods that gives success to organization before too.

Generation Y is different. This generation is widely known to be self-reliant, self-assured

and goal-oriented. In spite the fact that Sarah has witness the beginning of the technology

era, Josh is technologically sophisticated. His knowledge about the digital world is far greater

than that of other generations. Generation Y is brought up in an environment with freedom

and choice because of the advancement of the technology.

The point of view of these two generations towards an ideal workplace are very different.

Generation X regards work as “a thing you do to have a life” whereas Generation Y gives the

impression that they desired a work-life balance in order to “define who they are in their

career.

Gen Y shows evidence of entitlement. Most millennials don’t see their employer as content

experts any longer because they can find the content information they need on the web.

Therefore the role of a manager must evolve into something more closely related to that of a

mentor, coach or facilitator.

Generation Y is more self-confident, efficient and optimistic. This is a great example of how

different Josh and Sarah are. Josh is willing to take the chance and a risk by going behind
Sarah’s back and contacting the CEO directly with his ideas. Versus Sarah had taken the safe

path and slowly worked her way up throughout a long time.

Generation Y raises challenges to Generation X managers. Team leaders are responsible in

training these young employees so that they can be valuable asset to the company.

Generations after generations have given some of the challenges within workforce. Each and

every generation has core values created by the epoch in which they were born and the

experiences they faced. These values changes work ethic and affected perceptions of others.

Possible Solutions for the problem -

 Employers can embrace a new organizational culture by understanding the value of

their employees and what they bring to the table and appreciate that

 Organisations can increase efficiency and create cohesion by offering incentives,

assigning a mentor, and creating useful work that gives individuals a greater sense of

fulfilment.

 Employers and managers should quit asking what Gen Y is not and start thinking

about establishing the right atmosphere of mutual understanding.

 Establishing workplace harmony and understanding differences made by

generalizations allows us to form a creative space of more productivity and work.

 Decreasing direct supervision so that Gen Y employees would have opportunities to

bear greater responsibilities, learn independently and prove themselves. This would

fulfil their need for interesting and challenging work that provides intrinsic

satisfaction.
Recommendation: -

A good leader is the one who is transparent of their choices and ethical to the bone but

also at the same time encourages openness and information sharing between their

subordinates and peers. Sarah might have allowed Josh to set up a Business plan

including budgeting and framework. During Josh's research, Josh may also have either

acknowledged and learned that his ideas are not as effortlessly carried out as he believed

it to be.

Perhaps Josh might have showed Sarah that it can be finished with the budget available

and opened her mind up with his fresh and groundbreaking thoughts. Josh would not have

felt like Sarah shut him down but more like she is a mentor, empowering him to walk his

own way. During his research he would have learned independently and without greater

supervision.
Bibliography :-

Kelly. (2019). Three Common Multi-Generational Workplace Problems (And How to Solve

Them). Kelly Services. https://www.kellyservices.us/us/business_services/business-resource-

center/managing-employees/three-common-multi-generational-workplace-problems-and-

how-to-solve-them/

H. (2021b, January 15). How To Manage Generational Diversity In The Workplace. Harver.

https://harver.com/blog/generational-diversity-in-the-workplace/

https://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_7_No_2_February_2016/17.pdf