Q1. Do you think the modern approach of OB is relevant in current times?

Support your
views with in-depth justification.
A. Organizational Behavior is defined by Stephen P. Robins as “Organizational behavior is a
systematic study of the actions and attitudes that people exhibit within organizations.”
Organizational behavior deals with an expected behavior of an individual in an organization.
Two out of five individuals might behave in the same manner as a response to an event.
Human behavior is a very important study to analyze and strategize the development of an
organization, which sums up to be an organizational behavior.
Each team or department has its on concepts to achieve its goal or targets, which initiates in
development of organization.

Several researches in organizational behavior have proved to have a contribution in

development of an organization. Most of the approach/research is based for motivating
employees of the organization.

There are three kinds of approaches to organizational behavior as mentioned below :-

1. Classical Approach
2. Neo-Classical Approach
3. Modern Approach.
Modern approach of organizational behavior is made to overcome the limitations traditional
approach. For which Modern Approach consists of Systems approach and Contingency
approach.
1. Systems Approach - It was levied since 1950, as its approach is prepared for a better
coordination between ach system consisted in a modern organization, It is based on General
System Theory. It analyses the interrelationship and interdependence of each department in
an organization for the survival and development of an organization. It represents balanced
thinking on organization and its management.
For e.g.- If an organization has to achieve its goal, it is very necessary to have a clear
communication and proper coordination to complete and achieve its goal. If any
miscommunication takes place, it will be very difficult to complete a certain task which main
lead to chaos and failure. For achieving its goal, it is very necessary for an organization to
keep its employees motivated towards their work, and to have an efficient team of managers
who can take right decisions on right time.
2. Contingency Approach – Contingency approach is an analysis of Organization’s internal
environment with the external environment with consistent functioning of the organization
with demand and technology, without disturbing or breaking management principals
The major parts of contingency approach are environment, management principals and
techniques, and relationship between management principals with environments.
For e.g. If an organization tries to practice its activities without having a proper balance
between internal environment and external environment, it may not be able to achieve its task
 as it might lack in keeping a track with external environment, which may affect the quality of
its performance, in the market.
Hence, its concluded that it is very necessary to have a modern approach in current
times, to achieve the goals and have balance with external environment and its demand
and technology.
Q2. Briefly explain the Big Five personality traits & rate any 2 individuals from your
personal (relative or friend)/ professional life (manager /client / co-worker) on the same.
A. A personality trait means a long lasting attribute of a person that emerges in various
different situations. A personality can be easily differentiated from the personality of
another person by exercising traits.
According to the trait theory, every person has a unique set of characteristics, Each person
is unique in its own way.
Some of the assumptions made on the theory as follows :-
i. It is expected for traits to be relatively stable.
ii. It allows variations in traits of different individuals.
iii. It measures traits by using behavior indicators.
The Big Five Personality Traits are mentioned below :-
1. Agreeableness means when there is an individual’s tendencies with respect to
social harmony. This trait reflects how well the individual gets along with others,
how cooperative or skeptical they are, and how they might interact within a team.

2. Conscientiousness means a measure of individual beig careful, deliberate, self-

disciplined, and organized an individual is. Conscientiousness is often predictive
of employee productivity, particularly in lower-level positions.

3. Extraversion is a measure of how sociable, outgoing, and energetic an individual

is. Individuals who score lower on the extraversion scale are considered to be
more introverted, or more deliberate, quiet, low key, and independent. Some types
of positions are better suited for individuals who fall on one side of the spectrum
or the other.

4. Openness means when an individual to an extent l is imaginative and creative, as

opposed to down-to-earth and conventional.

5. Stress Tolerance means how much an individual reacts to stress.

 I would like to rate (1-5) my manager and friend under the above mentioned Personality traits,
1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest as mentioned below :-
Sr. Personality
Manager Friend
No. Traits
1 Agreeableness 3 4
2 Conscientiousness 5 2
3 Extraversion 4 3
4 Openness 4 2
5 Stress Tolerance 3 4

Q3. As effective as technology has proven to be during lockdown for most organizations across
the globe, work from home for extended hours has its own set of challenges, Without much face-
to-face human interaction with coworkers and clients, it becomes difficult to connect with our
professional counterparts. These leaders to a drop in motivation levels and overall productivity.
a. In the given scenario, how can Goal Setting Theory be applied to improve performance?
A. Goal Setting Theory is defined by Edwin Locke. It explains that Difficult and certain goals
lead to higher and proficient performance. It constantly motivates employees to improve
their performance in the organization. It is also observed in the theory that, Feedback and
commitment encourages proficient performance and to change an expected performance
into an actual performance.
For Self Improvement, it is necessary to have specific goals such as to be specific,
measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.
In the above given scenario, one can improve his/her performance by applying below
mentioned principles in their work such as :-

1. Clarity :- To have a better communication between each other, which helps to

understand what the client / employer need to be done, and the need is to be completed
in time with full satisfaction without any complaints.

2. Challenge :- Challenges can be overcome by increasing the bar of creativity and skills
which helps in self-improvement, which brings an improvement in work by becoming
efficient in ones work. So, whenever there is a need of facing a challenge, it can be
overcome without any difficulties.

3. Commitment :- One can improve it’s performance by staying committed and highly
motivated in his/her work to complete to the task.

4. Feedback :- Feedback is the best source of improvement in work. Negative Feedback

motivates employees to improve his/her knowledge and skills which leads to improve
his/her work performance. And a positive feedback encourages employees to increase
the quality of the performance, to achieve more goals.
5. Task Complexity :- Task Complexity is one of the best way to keep employees
motivated in the firm. If an employee keeps on working on same kind of task, then the
employees gets bored of the work, which demotivates the employee to complete the
task on time. And when the Work or task is complex/challenging, the employee
becomes highly motivated to complete the task as it challenges the performance of the
employee in the firm.

Hence, it is concluded that all the above principles are necessary to be followed in the
scenario discussed above.

b. How will you apply McClelland’s Needs Theory to enhance motivation at the
workplace?
A. According to David McClelland, there are 3 motivators useful to motivate an individual
in a workplace. The Three motivators are mentioned below :-
1. Achievement :- When one individual completes the given task in a given time in a
proficient manner, he/she gets highly motivates to complete the forthcoming task in
a proficient manner. Earning Achievements becomes a habit of an employee, which
keeps him/her motivated towards the work.

2. Power : - An individual are more into having a power on situation are very
influential. It has been observed that these people get highly motivated to earn the
power in a firm which helps to improve other employee’s performance.

3. Affiliation :- Affiliation means to keep a relationship with clients. In an easy words,

to expand the connection, which helps to play a role of good team players, These
people gets motivated when they have good connection and trust in people.

From the above motivators, it can be observed that creating targets/goals, Giving
power and spreading connections can enhance motivation in a workplace.