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Name Sayan Bhattacharya

Batch 40 ePGDM
Subject Assignment - OBHRM

Answer : 1

Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is the individual behavior and group dynamics in organizations. The study of
Organization is a process of combining and inter-relating the various organs of a systems and building
relations among themselves or of an institution in a sequence based on a purpose. These organs include
tasks, jobs, responsibilities, roles, individuals, working and social groups, materials, machines, services,
information, computers, intranet, internet, etc. The purpose of grouping these organs or parts is to
channelize all the resources towards the achievement of the strategies of the company. Grouping of
these parts is like building relationships among the building blocks of jobs, individuals and groups. To be
specific, Organization is a consciously coordinated social entity with a relatively identifiable boundary. It
functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common strategy or goal or set of goals.

Human behavior is complex and dynamic. The study of human behavior helps to understand varied
behavior of diversified groups and take steps to unify the diversified behavior and channelize these
unified behavioral aspects towards the Organizational strategies and goals.

Groups

Human Human Organizational

Models Behaviour Behavior

Organizational
Structure

Popular Definitions of Organizational Behavior :

o John W Newstrom and Keith Davis define the term Organizational Behavior as “the study and
application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups – act within
organizations. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively”.
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o Stephen P Robins defines organizational behavior as “a field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within organizations for the
purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s effectiveness”

o Steven L McShane and Mary Ann Von Gilnow define organizational behavior as “the study of
what people think, feel and do in and around organisations”.

o Fred Luthans define Organizational behavior as “the understanding, prediction and

management of human behavior in organisations”.

Organizational behavior can be defined as studying, predicting and managing human behavior caused by
individuals , groups and structures towards the requirements of organizational strategies.

There are three levels of analysis of Organizational Behaviour, as follows :

 Individual level of Analysis : It describes how Organization behavior and Managers are
concerned with individual perception, attitudes, personality, values, motivation and emotions.
 Group level of Analysis : It involves the study of human in groups, inter and intra-group conflicts,
leaderships, power, interpersonal communications, networks and roles.
 Organizational level of analysis : it involves the study of organizational culture, structures,
diversity, external environmental factors, etc.

Impact of Globalization and Information Technology on Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior are influenced by both External and Internal factors. Impacts of External factors
such as Globalization and Technology are discussed below:

Globalization of business is , in a very simple term, is buying and selling of goods and services by people
from different countries. Globalization means increasing the base of operations to multiple countries,
expanding workforce with a minimal impact in investment and creating a broader range of consumers.
The integration of global politics, economies and cultures , religious views of different countries are the
effect of globalization of business.

Globalization is not an one dimensional term. Nay aspects of one country can influence another
(economically, culturally or politically ), globalization is usually at play.

Effect of globalization in many aspects are as follows:

a) Industrial – Emergence of worldwide production markets and broader access to range of foreign
products both for companies and individual consumers.
b) Financial – Influence of worldwide financial markets and borrowers.
c) Economic and Political – World economies and politics play a significant role in driving the
business.
d) Competition – With globalization, competition also increases.
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e) Cultural Consciousness – Growth of cross cultural awareness and gender diversity.

All these factors contribute Organizational Culture and behavior. As globalization has fostered the
thought of multiculturalism, the relationship between culture and organizational behavior has become
increasingly valued. Today workforce of an Organization is made up of people from different nations and
different culture. These diversity in workforce has created a large shift in organizational behavior. These
diverse people bring different values, beliefs, way of working, diverse thought process and ethics.
Besides there are different gender, age, race, ethnicity among them. Cultural diversity is geared toward
having a deep respect and understanding of the various people in the organization. This aspect of the
organization is strengthened by having feedback, teamwork, team-building activities and interpersonal
communication. During such engagements, individuals are able to interact and appreciate each other’s
culture; consequently, an accommodating culture and organizational behavior is established within the
organization.

Leadership might be universal in terms of a kind of social process but that the content of leadership was
affected by the culture. Different cultures would lead to different contents, styles and effectiveness of
leadership. In most situations, leadership styles might not reveal leaders’ personal will, but reflect the
culture and tradition of the societies they are in.  Moreover, the effectiveness of leadership would also
be influenced by local social context. Defining, measuring and rewarding performance in the same way
does not work well across functions, business units and occupations. In a diversified workforce
employees have varied beliefs, ethics, values, priorities and perception. So to keep that diversified
workforce as a whole unit, compatible with the overall organizational strategy is huge challenge for
leaders. Some of the challenges of globalization are as follows:

Increase of unemployment - Unemployment will increase with increasing competition. Multinational

companies may have a limited number of shareholders.

Overall, globalization brings both opportunities and threats to an Organizational behavior.

Information Technology is the key driving factors in globalization and thus impacts Organizational
behavior. Some of the aspects of technology are Communication, Minimizing Distancing, Workforce
Environments, Efficiency, Accessibility, Technological Innovation.

Communication: Communication has become easier than before with the help of technology. Long gone
are the days, when we used to send hand written letters and wait for a response. In todays world,
electronic communications like emails, texts, video conferencing, interactive documents, social
networks, app-based chats and communications has broken the distance between two entities. In one
way, tone and attitudes become harder to detect, increasing complexity of the organization and in
another way affecting the streamlining of the formal communication channels of an organization, thus
affecting organizational behavior.

Minimizing distancing: In todays world, one need not to be present to one place to verify different
aspects of business. With help of video conferencing and high technology photographs, satellites, real
time images, televisions, computers , one can easily avoid to be present physically at one place.
Organizational behavior which comprises of the human behavior towards a common set of goals also
gets influenced by technology in terms of distancing.
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Workforce Environments: Technology has shifted the way the workplace looks today. While many
people still go into the office for their workday, other employees have the option to work remotely.
Some companies even operate strictly online and do not require a brick and mortar workplace. In
addition, video conferences have replaced in-person meetings and changed the dynamic of many
professional, working relationships.

Efficiency: Technology allows companies to be more organized than ever before. Filing a document can
be done instantaneously and retrieved just as easily. The speed of the internet and the availability of
technology allows for a much more efficient workday. Documents can now be signed electronically and
sent wherever they need to go quickly. Training and development can now be offered online and allows
individuals to complete training on their own time, eliminating the need to work around many schedules
to conduct a training event.

Accessibility: Technology enables people to be constantly in touch with their work. Email and
smartphones oftentimes prevent people from unplugging from their job. While this can be avoided by
setting aside technology when you are off work, some companies now expect an immediate response to
questions or concerns. While for some this may be a welcomed advantage, for other it can potentially
lead to burnout and frustration. Accessibility of technology is a necessity for almost every organization.
A power outage or lack of internet access can completely shut down a company.

Technological Innovation: Innovation is a process of translating knowledge within and beyond the
boundaries of an organization in a manner that results in a competitive advantage for the
organization. The impact of the innovation will be both positive and negative depending upon the
participants ability to adjust.

Answer : 2

Challenges faced by HR Professionals in today’s Global Management

Human Resources are the people that an organization employs to carry out various jobs, tasks and
functions in exchange for wages, salaries and other benefits. Human resources includes everyone from
CEO, who is responsible for the overall effectiveness of the company, to the custodian who cleans the
workspace after everyone leaves for their home and everyone is a vital ingredient that helps determine
the overall effectiveness of the organization. HRM or Human Resource Management is basically the
management of the human resources in an organization. It is a process where people and organizations
are brought together so that goals of each are met. In today’s dynamic and global environment, it is very
necessary for an organization to have right resources especially their employees, to survive and succeed.
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The challenges faced by the HR professionals in today’s dynamic environment are the challenges
occurred in every section of HRM functions. Broadly challenges are categorized in the following
functions of HRM i.e.

a) Manpower Planning
b) Recruitment and Selections
c) Trainings and Developments
d) Performance Managements
e) Compensation Management
f) Career Management and Development
g) Industrial Relations and Labor Laws
h) Managing Diversity at Workplace

1. Challenges faced in Manpower Planning

Manpower planning or Human resource planning is the process of forecasting an organization’s future
demand for and supply of right type of people in the right number. Manpower planning if used properly
leads to the maximum utilization of human resources, reduces excessive labor turnovers and high
absenteeism, improves productivity and aids in achieving the objectives of any organization. Barriers or
challenges are as follows:

I. Manpower plans suffer from inaccuracy as it is difficult to prepare long range forecasts
accurately. There could be changes in economic conditions, technology, market and labor force
which may make the long term plans unreliable.
II. Most of the times, operating managers or non-HR Managers are not involved in the manpower
planning which renders the planning ineffective.
III. Imbalance may occur between short term and long term planning due to pressure in the
priotisation of the work delivery.

2. Challenges faced during Recruitment and Selections

Recruitment is the process of searching for and obtaining application of jobs, so that the right people
can be selected from the pool. Selection is the process of choosing candidates with the necessary
qualifications and competence , out of the pool of job applicants. During the whole process of
Recruitment and Selections, HR Professional face challenges in each of the events, such as :

I. Searching: Need to decide how to search effectively and through which media.
a. Internal Sources: Present employees, Employee Referral or Past Employees
b. External Sources: Professional Bodies, Advertisements, Employment Exchanges, Campus
Recruitment, walk-ins, Consultants, Contractors, Competitors, Job Portals, Previous
Applicants. All these needs to be evaluated carefully, to meet the right candidate.
II. Screening: Scrutinisation and short listing of the candidates.
III. Preliminary Interview: Scrutinize and eliminate unqualified job-seekers.
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IV. Selection Tests: Need to conduct tests for the selection process. In today’s global environment,
the tests can be over Internet.
V. Employment Interview: Arranging the interview of the candidate by the manager.
VI. Reference and Background check: Verify the information provided by the employee.
VII. Selection Decision, Physical Examination and job Offer: All these needs to be taken care, for
every employee selected.

3. Challenges faced during the Job Analysis and Human Resource Planning

I. Support from Top Management: For a job analysis to be successful the top management has to
make it clear to all employees that their participation is extremely important. In most of the
cases, it is not communicated properly thus rendering the entire process ineffective.
II. Relying on a single source or method
III. No Training provided to employees.
IV. Distortion of activities: In many situations, employees perceived job analysis as a threat to their
current employment.

4. Challenges faced during Performance Managements

Performance Appraisal is an integral functions of HRM and is an objective assessment of an individual’s

performance against well defined benchmarks. There will be lot of challenges which HR professional
face while doing the performance review, such as

I. Halo Effect: This takes place when only one aspect of the individual’s performance influences
the evaluation of the entire performance of the individual.
II. Rater Effect: This includes favoritism, stereotyping and hostility.
III. Initial efforts and Recent efforts effect: The rater influenced by the performance of either initial
days or near the ending days.
IV. Past spillover effect: The Rater is influenced by the earlier performance effects.
V. Status effect: The Rater holds the view that employee’s job is of high level and hence over rates
the performance.
VI. Leniency or Severity: Neither linient nor severe is good
VII. Tendency to play safe: The Rater is unsure on how to evaluate.

5. Challenges faced during Compensation Management

Compensation is the total reward received by an employee in exchange for services performed for an
organization. It can include both direct pay (salary and wages) and indirect pay(benefits program).
Challenging factors which influence the compensation benefits are as follows:

I. External Factors:
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a. Labour Markets: Demand and Supply of Labor regulates the salaries and wages of the
employees. HR People needs to be fully aware of the demand and supply of the right
labors in order to decide for the salaries and wages.
b. Labour Unions: The presence or absence of labour unions offent determines the
standard salaries and wages.
c. Labor Laws: Labor Lawas has been paased to ensure that the emplyees are not exploited
by the organizations. HR people need to be aware of such laws of the country.
d. Cost of Living: Unless HR professionals are aware of cost of living of the country, they
cannot effectively decide on the compensation.
II. Internal Factors:
a. Business Strategies: If the strategy of the company is to achieve growth rapidly, the
compensation will be higher than the competitors. HR Professionals needs to be aware
of such competitors and business strategy of the organization.
b. Performance Appraisal: Organization needs to retain the right employees and
performance appraisal is one way to satisfy the employee.
c. Employee: Employee related factors like performance, seniority, experience and
potential determine and employee’s compensation.

6. Challenges faced in compliance with the labor laws

Every company finds a challenge in working with laws, regulations, and rules in another country.
These vary dramatically from one country to another, and companies often need the help of good
advisers to unravel and comply with the different rules and policies.

7. Challenges faced during developing Agile Leaders

An organization needs flexible leaders who can adapt to the changes and challenges of operating in
a global environment. They must be able to bring the local context and culture into their decisions
and relation- ships within each country.

8. Efficient coordination and collaboration.

A global company must be connected and orchestrated in its work. Employees must be
synchronized in their projects and efforts, and they must collaborate on a routine basis. This gets
more difficult when different languages and long distances are involved.

9. Improving productivity. 

In addition to lowering production costs, there must be more output. The gross productivity of a
firm, revenue divided by employees, must be continuously improved as technology is used,
capability is enhanced, and engagement and motivation kick in to deliver a very powerful workforce.

10. Address inequality at the firm level. 

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This issue can be addressed in two ways. First, make sure that the firm moves beyond the minimum
wage, if employees are at that level. If organizations boost their low-level employees, the increased
household income of that group will drive demand for goods and services. At the same time, it is
important to be mindful of the differences between executive pay and regular employee wages,
perhaps setting a particular ratio that makes sense to the organization and the shareholders.

11. A communication strategy should be developed for globalization issues.  

When the organization is drastically impacted by events outside the home country, employees must
understand why. For example, if the employees’ 401(k) plans have been reduced because of the
debt default of Greece or falling oil prices, the organization needs to be proactive in explaining this.
This requires very important communication efforts.

12. Workplace Diversity:

Multiple generations. Ethnic and cultural differences. These are just a few of the many factors that
make workplace diversity a continual challenge for small businesses.

13. Few other Global HR Challenges are as follows:

I. Major Issues in Global Workforce such as

a. Culture and Communication: Diversified culture and communications
b. Labor Law Conflict: Different countries different laws.
c. Talent Gap: Gap remains for high skilled jobs
d. Interest Conflict: Employees working in other nations have their own national
interest that conflicts with your corporate goals.
e. Managing Workplace Change, culturally and ethically.
f. Balancing work and personal life.

II. Changing Management Policies: Management Policies keep on changing for different
countries based on External and Internal factors affecting economies, compensation
benefits, strategies, labor workforce, etc. To keep up and accommodate all the factors of
different countries and with changing Management policies, its is very difficult for HP people
to do the right job and maintain the common organizational goal.

14. Inculcation Innovation: To inculcate the innovation culture in employees is the biggest
challenge for an HR person and Innovation is needed for our rapidly changing environments.
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Answer : 3

Abraham Maslow’s need “Hierarchy Theory”.

Motivation is the process of arousing and sustaining goal-directed behavior. Motivation theories
attempt to explain and predict observable theories. Motivation theory may be broadly classified into
i) Internal, ii) Process and iii) External theories.

Internal theory of motivation give primary consideration to variables within the individual that lead to
motivation and behavior. Process theories of motivation emphasize the nature of the interaction
between the individual and the environment. External theories of motivation focus on the elements in
the environment, including the consequence of behavior, as the basis for understanding and explaining
people’s behavior at work.

The hierarchy of needs theory exemplifies the Internal theories.

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, proposed a need theory of motivation emphasizing psychological and
interpersonal needs in addition to physical and economic needs. His theory was based on need
hierarchy. Later his theory was also explained through Theory X and Theory Y. It was also reformulated
in an ERG theory of motivation using a revised classification scheme for basic human needs.

Maslow's hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up
of the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid, as depicted in Fig.
1.0

Self-
actualiz
ation
Esteem
Social

Safety and Security

Physiological

Fig. 1.0
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Maslow conceptually derived the five need categories from the early thoughts of William James and
John Dewry, coupled with the psychodynamic thinking of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler.

Physiological Needs: Physiological needs are the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. They are
the most essential things a person needs to survive. They include the need for shelter, water, food,
warmth, rest, and health. A person’s motivation at this level derives from their instinct to survive.

Safety and Security Needs: The second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of safety needs.
Safety, or security needs, relate to a person’s need to feel safe and secure in their life and surroundings.
Motivation comes from the need for law, order, and protection from unpredictable and dangerous
conditions.

There are many examples of safety needs in modern society. To find stability and security, a person
must consider their physical safety. This means seeking protection from the elements, violent
conditions, or health threats and sickness. Additionally, an individual needs economic safety to live and
thrive in modern societies. This refers to the need for job security, stable income, and savings.

Social Needs ( Love and Belongingness): The third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is love and
belonging needs. Humans are social creatures that crave interaction with others. This level of the
hierarchy outlines the need for friendship, intimacy, family, and love. Humans have the need to give and
receive love; to feel like they belong in a group. When deprived of these needs, individuals may
experience loneliness or depression.

Esteem Needs: The fourth level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is esteem needs. Esteem needs are
related to a person’s need to gain recognition, status, and feel respected. Once someone has fulfilled
their love and belonging needs, they seek to fulfill their esteem needs.

Maslow broke up esteem needs into two categories: the need for respect from others and the need for
respect from oneself. Respect from others relates to achieving fame, prestige, and recognition. Respect
from oneself relates to dignity, confidence, competence, independence, and freedom.

Self-Actualization Needs: The fifth and final level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is self-actualization
needs. Self-actualization relates to the realization of an individual’s full potential. At this level, people
strive to become the best that they possibly can be. The self-actualization needs can be different, such
as:

o Obtaining Skills: A person may want to achieve a superb technical skills in business
management.
o Education: A person may be keen to learn and achieve happiness.
o Life Dreams: A person may have a dream to travel the world.
o Seeking Happiness: One person may strive to become the best parent and can seek happiness.
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Lower levels in the hierarchy serve as the foundation for higher levels. If your foundation shakes, then
you get pulled back down to a lower level to stabilize your foundation before moving back up the
hierarchy. If not, you’re led to thoughts and feelings of stress and anxiety.

Criticism of Maslow Need Hierarchy Theory

While Maslow’s theory may be correct from an intuitive stand point, Maslow’s theory do not explain the
following :

o A person may seek two or more levels of needs at the same time, like self-actualization, esteem
and social needs. Example of such cases are a starving artist.
o Maslow’s theory do explain the conflict between the two needs.
o In today’s cultural diversity, it has been observed cultural or social cultural needs are at top
most priority with respect to any other.

Conclusion: Maslow was pointing us to the need for a greater balance between the many priorities we
must juggle. His beautifully simple visual cue is, above anything else, a portrait of a life lived in harmony
with the complexities of our nature. We should, at our less frantic moments, use it to reflect with
newfound focus on what it is we might do next.

References

Text Book OBHRM by Stephen Perkins

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