MS-21 Social Processes and Behavioural Issues Exam Paper

MBA - Master of Business Administration

Note: This paper consists of two sections A and B. Attempt any three questions from Section A. Section B is compulsory. All questions carry equal marks.

1. Describe the role of a manager in an organisation in the present day scenario and explain how he/she can change the mindset of employees in the changing business scenario.

2. Describe salient features of counseling in the organizational context and it's importance for the management of human resources.

3. Describe any two models of group development. Can the group effectiveness be improved through a careful planning of group development processes?

4. Discuss the importance of understanding political behaviour in an organisation. Comment on whether the use of power and politics in organisations is ethical or unethical.

5. Write short notes on any three of the following:
(a) Learning organisations
(b) Importance of teams
(c) Persuasion
(d) Knowledge management
(e) Work ethics

SECTION B

Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end of the case.

Giridhar had come a long way from when he joined R.P. Communications (having a turnover of Rs. 20 lakhs) as a trainee artist in 1995 and today he had come to occupy the position of Creative Head at R.P.Communications (with a turnover of Rs. 15 crores). As a young trainee (in 1995), Giri (as Giridhar is addressed by his colleagues) had been an amicable personality, he had always displayed keenness to gain knowledge - learn more, many visible traits of creativity - in the sense try to make "unique" / different from others presentations, willing to share information and so on. It was typically these qualities of Giri, which made him approachable to others and appreciated by one and all and also saw him rising in the organisation structure.

Nicky, Tanwar, the Creative Director at R P. Communications, who had known Giri tight firm the time he had joined R.P. Communications as trainee, was surprised at recalling the contents of the just concluded meeting with the members of the creative team at R.P Communications. Meena (a recent recruit at R.P.) had said "Madam, Giri sir scares the hell out of us by refusing to listen to our point of view." Raj, an executive at R.P. Communications had revealed "Madam, Giri withholds important information from us, and creates conflict when he has to interact with other teams at R.P."

Mohan, a senior creative manager at R.P. had said that Giri seems to have changed, he seems to prefer to adopt a forcing style, like a controller, and expects all the assignments to be completed before time, and doesn't entertain any questions/or queries from any of the creative team members. Nicky found it hard to believe that a likeable person such as Giri could cause conflict.

Nicky had promised the creative team to look into the matter and have a talk with Giri also. After an informal chat with Giri, Nicky felt that one of the causes of Giri's behaviour could be Role Ambiguity. This she had concluded from one statement made by Giri "You know Nicky, my team is good, however, they expect me to behave as I was before. I am trying my best to convince them that in my new role I am expected to perform even better than before."

Nicky decided to seek the help of the CEO of Learn and Grow Leadership Centre (LSLG), a training firm, who regularly holds workshops meant for helping professionals and executives of firms to diagnose their own behaviour patterns as well on how to manage stress that could cause various levels of conflicts for the individual as well as the organisation.

Questions:

(a) What do you think is the major cause of the problem in the above case?
(b) Do you agree with Nicky that Role Ambiguity may have caused a change in Giri's behaviours? Why?
(c) Can you suggest ways in which firms such as R.P communications can avoid such occurrences in future?