Unit 1

Introduction

Organizational culture can be defined as the group norms, values, beliefs and assumptions
practiced in an organization. It brings stability and control within the firm. The organization is
more stable and its objective can be understood more clearly.

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the
interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself.

Definition

Organizational behavior is the academic study of how people interact within groups
and its principles are applied primarily in attempts to make businesses operate more
effectively.
The study of organizational behavior includes areas of research dedicated to
improving job performance, increasing job satisfaction, promoting innovation, and
encouraging leadership and is a foundation of corporate human resources.
The Hawthorne Effect, which describes the way test subjects' behavior may change
when they know they are being observed, is the best-known study of organizational
behavior.
Louis Allen, “Organization is the process of identifying and grouping work to be
performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing
relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in
accomplishing objectives.” In the words of Allen, organization is an instrument for
achieving organizational goals. The work of each and every person is defined and authority
and responsibility is fixed for accomplishing the same.
Wheeler, “Internal organization is the structural framework of duties and responsibilities
required of personnel in performing various functions within the company………… It is
essentially a blue print for action resulting in a mechanism for carrying out function to
achieve the goals set up by company management”. In Wheeler’s view, organization is a
process of fixing duties and responsibilities of persons in an enterprise so that business
goals are achieved.
Koontz and O’Donnell, ‘The establishment of authority relationships with provision
for co-ordination between them, both vertically and horizontally in the enterprise structure.”
These authors view organization as a coordinating point among various persons in the
business

Nature and Scope

Nature of OB
 • Nature of Organizational Behavior
• Nature of OB • OB is directly concerned with the understanding, Predicting & controlling
of human behavior in organizations. • Following are the nature of OB: • Integral part of
management • Field of study • Inter-disciplinary approach • Analysis of Behavior. • Goal
Oriented. • Human Tool • Science & art • Fulfillment of employee’s Needs • Humanistic &
Optimistic
• Integral part of Management • OB is a part of general management & not the whole
management. • It represents behavior approach to management because of importance
of human behavior in organizations.
• OB is field of study backed by a body of theory, research & application associated with a
growing concern for people at the workplace. • Its study helps in understanding the
human behavior in work organizations. • It includes creative thinking among the
managers to solve human problems in an organization. Field of Study
• The field of OB is heavily influenced by several other behavioral sciences & social
sciences. • Some popular disciplines are: •Psychology •Sociology •Anthropology Inter-
Disciplinary Approach
• OB involves three level of behavior- individual, group & organization behavior. • It helps
in demolishing “incorrect” assumptions one may hold about behavior. Analysis of
Behavior
• OB is an action oriented & goal oriented discipline. • The major goals of OB are: •
Understand • Explain & • Predict human behavior in the organizational context Goal
Oriented
• OB is a human tool for human benefit. • It helps in understanding & predicting the human
behavior of individuals. • It provides generalization that managers can use to anticipate
the effects of certain actions on human behavior. Human Tool

Scope of OB

Scope of O.B: The three internal organizational elements viz., people, technology and
structure and the fourth element, i.e., external social systems may be taken as the scope of O.B.

• People The people constitute the internal social system of the organization. They consist
of individuals and groups. Groups may be large or small, formal or informal, official or
unofficial. They are dynamic.

• They form, change and disband. Human organization changes everyday. Today, it is not
the same as it was yesterday. It may change further in the coming days.

• People are living, thinking and feeling being who created the organization and try to
achieve the objectives and goals.

• Thus, organizations exist to serve the people and not the people exist to serve the
organization.

Impact of IT

Businesses can reduce costs, streamline processes, and increase efficiency. The main impacts
of information technology on the economy are e-commerce, marketing tactics, facilitation of
globalization, job insecurity, and job design. E-commerce is the buying and selling of products
over the Internet.

The rapid speed of development and progress of information and communication technology
has its effect on organizational behaviour especially on organizational design, organizational
intelli- gence decentralize it at operation level, it also cause widening in span of control and
organiza- tional decision making.

Globalization

Globalization is a term used to describe how trade and technology have made the world into
a more connected and interdependent place. Globalization also captures in its scope the
economic and social changes that have come about as a result.

The importance of organizational behaviour (OB) has accentuated subse-quent to globalization

and the consequent changes in business practices. Since the term globalization has many
ramifications, we need to first under-stand its different dimensions and then try to attempt a
compact definition.

In the economic context, globalization is interpreted as a worldwide phenom-enon or process.

Some economic and monetary policies together facilitate the process of globalization. Some of
the economic dimensions of globalization are expansion of international trade, cross-border
labour migration, cross- border flow of investments, etc.

From the OB point of view, the biggest con-cern for globalization is the impact and influence of
multinational and transnational companies. Participation of these companies in trade,
invest-ment, and production, expanded the international communication and im-ported various
cross-cultural issues. Nowadays, even to operate locally, In-dian organizations need to track
these issues and regularly renew their busi-ness practices, changing the mind-sets of their
people.

Diversity

The meaning of DIVERSITY is the condition of having or being composed of differing

elements : variety; especially : the inclusion of people of different ...

Organizational diversity in the workplace refers to the total makeup of the employee
workforce and the amount of diversity included. Diversity refers to differences in various defining
personal traits such as age, gender, race, marital status, ethnic origin, religion, education and
many other secondary qualities

Ethics

Ethics, also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and
bad and morally right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory
of moral values or principles.
 Organizational ethics is the ethics of an organization, and it is how an organization responds
to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics is interdependent with the
organizational culture. Although it is to both organizational behavior and industrial and
organizational psychology as well as business ethics on the micro and macro levels,
organizational ethics is neither organizational behavior nor industrial and organizational
psychology, nor is it solely business ethics (which includes corporate governance and corporate
ethics). Organizational ethics express the values of an organization to its employees and/or
other entities irrespective of governmental and/or regulatory laws.

Ethics are the principles and values used by an individual to govern his or her actions and
decisions.[1] An organization forms when individuals with varied interests and different
backgrounds unite on a common platform and work together towards predefined goals and
objectives.[1] A code of ethics within an organization is a set of principles that is used to guide
the organization in its decisions, programs, and policies.[2] An ethical organizational culture
consists of leaders and employees adhering to a code of ethics

Culture

CULTURE OF ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

Organizational culture can be defined as the group norms, values, beliefs and assumptions
practiced in an organization. It brings stability and control within the firm. The organization is
more stable and its objective can be understood more clearly.

Organizational culture helps the group members to resolve their differences,overcome the barriers and
also helps them in tackling risks.

Advertisements. Organizational culture can be defined as the group norms, values, beliefs and
assumptions practiced in an organization. It brings stability and control within the firm. The organization
is more stable and its objective can be understood more clearly.

Four types of organizational culture

Adhocracy culture – the dynamic, entrepreneurial Create Culture.

Clan culture – the people-oriented, friendly Collaborate Culture.

Hierarchy culture – the process-oriented, structured Control Culture.

Market culture – the results-oriented, competitive Compete Culture.

Reward System and Organzational Design

Reward System
A broad definition of reward schemes is provided by Bratton: 'Reward system refers to all the monetary,
non-monetary and psychological payments that an organisation provides for its employees in exchange
for the work they perform. ' Rewards schemes may include extrinsic and intrinsic rewards.

• Reward system refers to all the monetary, non-monetary and psychological payments that an
organisation provides for its employees in exchange for the work they perform.’

• To support the goals of the organisation by aligning the goals of employees with these.

• To ensure that the organisation is able to recruit and retain sufficient number of employees with
the right skills.

• To motivate employees.

Organzational Design

The main objective of Organizational Behavior is to understand the human interactions in an

organization, find what is driving it and influence it for getting better results in attaining
business goals. The organizations in which people work affect their thoughts, feelings, and
actions.

• Organisational design is the process of aligning the structure of an organisation with its
objectives, with the ultimate aim of improving efficiency and effectiveness. Work can be
triggered by the need to improve service delivery or specific business processes, or as a
result of a new mandate.
Understanding the imperative for change and the environment

• Understanding the business processes, workflows, roles and responsibilities, volumes of

work, activity analysis and resources

• Designing and testing new models or structures

• Organization behavior’s objective is to set up an organizational culture, hiring the best

people and creating meaningful connections among them, resolving the conflicts,
developing the qualities of the employees, and establish a firm and clear leadership chain.

• We have identified 8 objectives of organizational behavior

• Job Satisfaction

• Finding the Right People

• Organizational Culture

• Leadership and Conflict Resolution

 • Understanding the Employees Better

• Understand how to Develop Good Leaders

• Develop a Good Team

• Higher Productivity

Elements of Organizational Culture

• Visible elements − These elements are seen by the outer world. Example, dress code,
activities, setup, etc.

• Invisible elements − These inner elements of the group cannot be seen by people outside
the group or firm. Example, values, norms, assumptions, etc. Now let us discuss some
other elements of organizational culture. They are −

• Stories − Stories regarding the history of the firm, or founder.

• Rituals − Precise practices an organization follows as a habit.

• Symbol − The logo or signature or the style statement of a company.

• Language − A common language that can be followed by all, like English.

• Practice − Discipline, daily routine or say the tight schedule everyone follows without any
failure.

• Values and Norms − The idea over which a company is based or the thought of the firm
is considered as its value and the condition to adopt them are called norms.

• Assumptions − It means we consider something to be true without any facts.

Assumptions can be used as the standard of working, means the employees prepare
themselves to remain above standard.

Cognitive Processes 1

Much of the recent psychological thinking and experimentation in education includes some
facets of the cognitive theory. This is true in basic as well as more advanced training programs.
Unlike behaviorism, the cognitive theory focuses on what is going on inside the student's mind.
Learning is not just a change in behavior; it is a change in the way a student thinks, understands,
or feels.

Here are several branches of cognitive theory. Two of the major theories may broadly be
classified as the information processing model and the social interaction model. The first says
that the student's brain has internal structures which select and process incoming material,
store and retrieve it, use it to produce behavior and receive and process feedback on the
results.

His involves a number of cognitive processes, including executive functions of recognizing

expectancies, planning and monitoring performance, encoding and chunking information and
producing internal and external responses.

Both models of the cognitive theory have common principles. For example, they both
acknowledge the importance of reinforcing behavior and measuring changes. Positive
reinforcement is important, particularly with cognitive concepts such as knowledge and
understanding. The need to evaluate and measure behavior remains because it is the only way
to get a clue about what the student understands.

Evaluation is often limited to the kinds of knowledge or behavior that can be measured by
a paper-and-pencil exam or a performance test. Although psychologists agree that there often
are errors in evaluation, some means of measuring student knowledge, performance and
behavior is necessary.

• Thinking, feeling and imagining are all processes that some people may take for granted, as we
can only see the world through our own eyes. In reality, cognitive processes allow us to create
cultures, societies, friends and occupations, many important aspects of human life.

• Attention

• Thought

• Perception

• Memory

• Language

Cognitive Processes 1

Attention

Attention theory was developed, in part, to account for the inverse base-rate effect in human
learning. In the original demonstration of the effect (Medin & Edelson, 1988), participants were asked
to diagnose different diseases from patterns of symptoms. On each trial of the learning sequence, a list
of symptoms was presented, and participants were asked to diagnose the hypothetical patient as
having one of several possible fictitious diseases. After each trial, participants were told the correct
diagnosis.
 • Focusing on stimuli in your environment often requires conscious effort. For example, in order to
stay focused on a flying bird, you may consciously watch the bird with your eyes, tracking and
predicting its movements

• Organizational behavior (OB) is a discipline that includes principles from psychology, sociology,
and anthropology. Its focus is on understanding how people behave in organizational work
environments. Broadly speaking, OB covers three main levels of analysis: micro (individuals), meso
(groups), and macro (the organization).

• Topics at the micro level include managing the diverse workforce; effects of individual differences
in attitudes; job satisfaction and engagement, including their implications for performance and
management

• personality, including the effects of different cultures; perception and its effects on decision-
making; employee values; emotions, including emotional intelligence, emotional labor, and the
effects of positive and negative affect on decision-making and creativity (including common biases
and errors in decision-making); and motivation, including the effects of rewards and goal-setting
and implications for management.

Thought

• Thoughts are any cognitive process that occurs within your conscious mind, but you do not say
out loud or express through any physical manifestation.

• ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR This work is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution 4.0

International License.

• 2. 1. Define organizational behavior (OB).

• 2. Describe what managers do.

• 3. Explain the value of the systematic study of OB.

• 4. List the major challenges and opportunities for managers to use OB concepts.

• 5. Identify the contributions made by major behavioral science disciplines to OB.

• 6. Describe why managers require a knowledge of OB.

• 7. Describe how OB concepts can help make organizations more productive.

• 8. Identify the three levels of analysis in OB.

• 9. Explain the need for a contingency approach to the study of OB. LEARNINGOBJECTIVES
 • 10. What Managers Do Managerial Activities • Make decisions • Allocate resources • Direct
activities of others to attain goals

• [Link] Managers Work

• [Link] Functions Management Functions Planning Organizing LeadingControlling

• 13. Management Functions (cont’d)

Perception

• Human perception occurs through the five senses: sight, taste, smell, sound and touch.
Perceptions are a cognitive process because we often consciously and unconsciously interpret
information gained through our perceptions, forming thoughts, opinions and emotional reactions.

• Perception is an intellectual process of transforming sensory stimuli to meaningful information.

It is the process of interpreting something that we see or hear in our mind and use it later to judge
and give a verdict on a situation, person, group etc

Memory

• You automatically store information that you perceive in your short-term memory, and much of
that information eventually becomes long-term memory. Forming, storing and recalling
memories allows humans to display much of their intelligence and are key components of
cognition

• The three main facets of organizational memory are data, information, and knowledge. It is
important to understand the differences between each of these. Data is a fact depicted as a figure
or a statistic, while data in context—such as in a historical time frame—is information.

Language

• People can learn languages much more easily earlier in life through the use of fluid intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is the ability to learn new knowledge quickly and crystallized intelligence is the
ability to recall and use learned knowledge

• The Ob-Ugric languages are spoken in the region of the Ob and Irtysh rivers in central Russia. They
had no written tradition or literary language until 1930; since 1937 they have been written in a
modified Cyrillic alphabet but have developed no important literature and are little used in
government or education.

Nature of perception

• Perception is the process by which an individual gives meaning to the environment.

• People‘s actions, emotions, thoughts and feelings are triggered by their perceptions of their
surroundings.
 • Perception has been defined in a variety of ways; it basically refers to the manner in which a
person experiences the world.

• Perception is an almost automatic process and works in the same way within each individual, yet
it typically yields different perceptions.

Social perception (or interpersonal perception)

• Is the study of how people form impressions of and make inferences about other people as
sovereign personalities.[1] Social perception refers to identifying and utilizing social cues to make
judgments about social roles, rules, relationships, context, or the characteristics (e.g.,
trustworthiness) of others. This domain also includes social knowledge, which refers to one's
knowledge of social roles, norms, and schemas surrounding social situations and interaction

• Facial expressions, tone of voice, hand gestures, and body position or movement are a few
examples of ways people communicate without words

Attribution Theories

• The basis of attribution theory is that people want to know the reasons for the actions that they
and others take; they want to attribute causes to behaviors they see rather than assuming that
these behaviors are random. This allows people to assume some feeling of control over their own
behaviors and over situations.

• The theory of attribution posits that attribution, whether done internally or externally, has great
influence on how people feel and relate to others. This is also dependent on individual personality
and cognitive behaviors.

Locus Of Control Attribution Theories

• Locus of control refers to one's assumption about responsibility for good and bad events. Every
person during his lifetime comes across some good and some had outcomes. While he acts to
maximise the possibility of good outcomes and enjoys the success of his life, he tries to minimise
the possibility of bad outcomes.

• ulian Rotter introduced locus of control theory. He believes that while some people restrict the
control of their behaviour and actions to themselves, others give it to the surrounding
environment. Once again, just as the attribution theory, this can be categorized into two.

• Internal locus of control

• External locus of control

 • When individuals take responsibility for their actions and have a strong belief that they are
accountable for their actions, these individuals have an internal locus of control. However,
there are individuals who believe that their actions are controlled by greater powers such as
fate, destiny, and gods. These individuals have an external locus of control

Attribution of Errors

The fundamental attribution error refers to an individual's tendency to attribute another's

actions to their character or personality, while attributing their behavior to external situational
factors outside of their control.

he Attribution Theory was proposed by Fritz Heider, an Austrian psychologist in 1958. This theory
is concerned with how individuals perceive the information they receive, interpret events, and
how these form causal judgements.

No individual would take an action or decision without attributing it to a cause or factor.

According to Heider, this is aimed at assessing the explanation that people give to certain
behaviors, it considers how individuals interpret their behaviors.

The theory of attribution posits that attribution, whether done internally or externally, has great
influence on how people feel and relate to others.

This is also dependent on individual personality and cognitive behaviors.

As a complex psychological process, there have been diverse attempts to explain this concept
using many theories.

From an attribution theory perspective, individuals exhibit creativity when dealing with others
people and external factors.

Impression Management

• pression management (IM) is the ways in which people’s behavior is influenced by their concerns
with how they are perceived, evaluated, and accepted by others. The research on the topic in the
management literature has primarily focused on the various strategies employees use to try to
satisfy their image-related goals, and the effectiveness of those strategies.

• Some researchers use the terms impression management and influence however, the former
term is more about managing others’ perceptions, while the latter is more about managing
others’ behaviors.

• Impression management is also referred to as self-presentation and includes an actor, a target

audience, and sometimes a third-party observer.
 UNIT 2

Cognitive Process
Much of the recent psychological thinking and experimentation in education includes some facets of
the cognitive theory. This is true in basic as well as more advanced training programs. Unlike behaviorism,
the cognitive theory focuses on what is going on inside the student's mind. Learning is not just a change
in behavior; it is a change in the way a student thinks, understands, or feels.

There are several branches of cognitive theory. Two of the major theories may broadly be classified as
the information processing model and the social interaction model. The first says that the student's brain
has internal structures which select and process incoming material, store and retrieve it, use it to produce
behavior and receive and process feedback on the results.

This involves a number of cognitive processes, including executive functions of recognizing

expectancies, planning and monitoring performance, encoding and chunking information and producing
internal and external responses.

The social interaction theories gained prominence in the 1980s. They stress that learning and
subsequent changes in behavior take place as a result of interaction between the student and the
environment. Behavior is modeled either by people or symbolically. Cultural influences, peer pressure,
group dynamics and film and television are some of the significant factors. Thus, the social environment
to which the student is exposed demonstrates or models behaviors and the student cognitively processes
the observed behaviors and consequences. The cognitive processes include attention, retention, motor
responses and motivation. Techniques for learning include direct modeling and verbal instruction.
Behavior, personal factors and environmental events all work together to produce learning.
 Both models of the cognitive theory have common principles. For example, they both acknowledge the
importance of reinforcing behavior and measuring changes. Positive reinforcement is important,
particularly with cognitive concepts such as knowledge and understanding. The need to evaluate and
measure behavior remains because it is the only way to get a clue about what the student understands.

Evaluation is often limited to the kinds of knowledge or behavior that can be measured by a paper-and-
pencil exam or a performance test. Although psychologists agree that there often are errors in evaluation,
some means of measuring student knowledge, performance and behavior is necessary.

The earliest challenge to the behaviorists came in a publication in 1929 by Bode, a Gestalt psychologist.
He criticized behaviorists for being too dependent on overt behavior to explain learning. Gestalt
psychologists proposed looking at the patterns rather than isolated events. Gestalt views of learning have
been incorporated into what have come to be labeled cognitive theories.

Two key assumptions underlie this cognitive approach:

(1) that the memory system is an active organized processor of information and

(2) that prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to
explain brain-based learning. Cognitivists consider how human memory works to promote learning.

For example, the physiological processes of sorting and encoding information and events into short term
memory and long term memory are important to educators working under the cognitive theory. The
major difference between gestaltists and behaviorists is the locus of control over the learning activity: the
individual learner is more key to gestaltists than the environment that behaviorists emphasize

Personality and attitude in organizational behavior

Personality contributes in part to workplace behavior because the way that people think, feel, and
behave affects many aspects of the workplace. Attitude is another major factor to be considered here.
People's personalities influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions.

Every organization is a mix of individuals with a variety of personalities, values, and attitudes.
Personality and characteristics determine an employee’s behavior and ability to perform. Organizations
hire people on the premise that they have certain knowledge, skills, abilities, personalities, and values
which they bring to the workplace.

Role of Personality and Attitude in Organization

Personality contributes in part to workplace behavior because the way that people think, feel, and
behave affects many aspects of the workplace. Attitude is another major factor to be considered here.
People's personalities influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions.

Today, at the hiring stage itself many organizations are attempting to screen applicants who are more
likely to fit with their company culture. Organizations want to hire individuals with positive traits and
attitudes to create a healthy environment.
Importance of Personality

Personality is a set of distinctive individual characteristics, including motives, emotions, values,

interests, attitudes, and competencies. It is a stable set of characteristics representing internal properties
of an individual, which are reflected in behavioral tendencies across a variety of situations.

Personality Traits

Organizations have greatly evolved over the years in the way organizations operate and react to
situations. Today they are leaner with fewer levels and more transparency. Managers are more
participative involving subordinates at all levels. The shift towards more knowledge-oriented and
customer-focused jobs have rendered more autonomy even at fairly low levels within organizations.

The Big 5 Personality Traits

There are a number of traits on which persons can be ranked or measured. However, five core
personality traits called the five factor model have been found to be of value for use in organizational
situations.

Each of these 5 personality traits describes, relative to other people, the frequency or intensity of a
person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Every individual possesses all 5 of these traits, but in varying
degree.

For example, we can describe two managers as ‘tolerant’. But there could be significant variation in the
degree to which they exercise their tolerance levels.

Personality Traits

The model categorizes people as possessing the following traits in varying degrees of high scope and
low scope.

Conscientiousness

High Score − Productive and disciplined, rigid and single tasking.

Low Score − Less structured, less productive, more flexible, inventive, and capable of multitasking.

Agreeableness

High Score − Co-operative, can be submissive, and empathetic to others.

Low Score − Demanding, challenging and competitive, sometimes even argumentative.

Extraversion

High Score − Energetic, Cooperative, talkative, enthusiastic and seek excitement.

Low Score − Loners, not sympathetic, difficult to understand, even a bit eccentric.
Openness to Experience

High Score − Beginners, curious and sometimes unrealistic.

Low Score − Grounded, practical and sometimes resist change.

Neuroticism

High Score − Calm, relaxed and rational. Sometimes can be perceived as being lazy and incapable of
taking things seriously.

Low Score −Alert, anxious, sometimes unnecessarily worried.

The 5 personality traits exist on a continuum rather than as attributes that a person does or does
not have. Each of these 5 traits is made up individual aspects, which can be measured independently.

The personality traits cannot be studied in isolation. Both positive and negative associations that
these traits imply should be considered. For example, conscientiousness is necessary for achieving
goals through dedication and focus. Conscientious people reach their goals faster. Conversely,
conscientiousness is not very helpful in situations that require multi-tasking.

Other Personality Traits – Self Variables

In addition to the Big Five, researchers have proposed various other dimensions or traits of
personality. They are called self-variables. People's understanding about themselves is called self-
concept in personality theory and are important self-variables that have application in organizational
behavior. These include self-monitoring, self-esteem, self-efficacy, etc.

Self-esteem is the self-perceived competence and self-image. It is related to higher levels of job
satisfaction and performance levels on the job. People with low self-esteem experience high levels of
self-doubt and question their self-worth.

Self-monitoring is the extent to which a person is capable of monitoring his or her actions and
appearance in social situations.

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s abilities that one can perform a specific task successfully. A person
may have high self-efficacy in being successful academically, but low self-efficacy in relation to
his/her ability to fix the car.

The 5 personality traits exist on a continuum rather than as attributes that a person does or does not
have. Each of these 5 traits is made up individual aspects, which can be measured independently. The
personality traits cannot be studied in isolation.

Meaning of Personality

The word personality is derived from a Greek word “persona” which means “to speak through.”
Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that forms a person’s unique identity. It
signifies the role which a person plays in public. Every individual has a unique, personal and major
determinant of his behavior that defines his/her personality.

Personality trait is basically influenced by two major features −

Inherited characteristics

Learned characteristics

Inherited Characteristics

The features an individual acquires from their parents or forefathers, in other words the gifted
features an individual possesses by birth is considered as inherited characteristics. It consists of the
following features −

Color of a person’s eye

Religion/Race of a person

Shape of the nose

Shape of earlobes

Learned Characteristics

Nobody learns everything by birth. First, our school is our home, then our society, followed by
educational institutes. The characteristics an individual acquires by observing, practicing, and
learning from others and the surroundings is known as learned characteristics.

Learned characteristics includes the following features −

Perception − Result of different senses like feeling, hearing etc.

Values − Influences perception of a situation, decision making process.

Personality − Patterns of thinking, feeling, understanding and behaving.

Attitude − Positive or negative attitude like expressing one’s thought.

Traits of Personality

Personality traits are the enduring features that define an individual’s behavior. A personality trait is
a unique feature in an individual. Psychologists resolved that there are five major personality traits
and every individual can be categorized into at least one of them. These five personality traits are −

Extrovert

Neurotic

Open
Agreeable

Conscientious

Major Personality Attributes

Following are the five major personality attributes that influence OB −

Locus of Control

Locus of control is the center of control of an individual’s code of conduct. People can be grouped into
two categories i.e., internals and externals respectively.

People who consider themselves as the masters of their own fates are known as internals, while,
those who affirm that their lives are controlled by outside forces known as externals.

Before making any decision, internals actively search for information, they are achievement driven,
and want to command their environment. Thus, internals do well on jobs that craves complex
information processing, taking initiative and independent action.

Externals, on the other hand, are more compliant, more willing to follow instructions, so, they do well
in structured, routine jobs.

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism is being practical, emotionally distant, and believing that ends justify means.

Machiavellians are always wanting to win and are great persuaders. Here are the significant features
of a high-mach individuals −

High-Machs prefer precise interactions rather than beating about the bush.

High-Machs tend to improvise; they do not necessarily abide by rules and regulations all the time.

High-Machs get distracted by emotional details that are irrelevant to the outcome of a project.

Self-esteem

It is the extent up to which people either like or dislike themselves. Self-Esteem is directly related to
the expectations of success and on-the-job satisfaction.

Individuals with high self-esteem think that they have what it takes to succeed. So, they take more
challenges while selecting a job.

On the other hand, individuals with low self-esteem are more susceptible to external distractions. So,
they are more likely to seek the approval of others and to adapt the beliefs and behaviors of those
they respect.

Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring is the capability of regulating one’s behavior according to social situations.
Individuals with high self-monitoring skill easily adjust their behavior according to external,
situational factors. Their impulsive talents allow them to present public personae which are
completely different from their private personalities.

However, people with low self-monitoring skills cannot cover themselves. Regardless of any
situation, they are always themselves. They have an attitude of, “what you see is what you get.”

Risk taking

Generally, managers are reluctant on taking risks. However, individual risk-taking inclination affects
the bulk of information required by the managers and how long it takes them to make decisions.

Thus, it is very important to recognize these differences and align risk-taking propensity with precise
job demands that can make sense.

Transactional Analysis

Understanding Transactional Analysis (also known as TA) is beneficial for every person. You could be a
professional doing a regular job routine, an entrepreneur, a student, or a homemaker! You could be
anyone looking to improve your communication with self and others using the TA model.

Transactional Analysis elevates your thinking to a high level while raising awareness so you can
understand your own difficult and dysfunctional behaviors and communication patterns to develop
deeper connections with self and the world. Isn’t that truly life-changing? Imagine being in control of the
results you want and having a deep understanding of people and relationships!

Key Concepts of Transactional Analysis

Transactional Analysis has its base on the Ego States or the Parent-Adult-Child (PAC) model.

1. Ego State or the Parent-Adult-Child (PAC) Model

Let’s understand the situation. Emily is married and is often demanding in her relationship. She is also
known to throw a tantrum when things don’t go her way. Emily’s partner cannot understand her behavior
and has quietly put up with her tantrums

a) Parent Ego State

There are moments when you behave in your current state just the way your Parents would do. The Parent
Ego-State is about the behaviors and feelings that were copied from your parents or from your early
caregivers.

In the case of Emily, she would probably be copying her dominant behavior and using it without
consideration towards her partner.
Parents, when in their role, are quite critical in their behavior towards the child. They give us set of
instructions which may often sound like -

“Don’t do this…”

“Always do this…”

“Be this…”

“Stop doing this…”

Their non-verbal communication may tend to be protective (gestures) or nurturing (hugs).

A person in this Ego-State as an adult may tend to be highly critical, judgmental, often deciding for others,
protective, nurturing, etc.

Transactional Analysis is also useful in the treatment of

b) Adult Ego-State

When a person is in the Adult Ego-State, he/she displays behaviors that are directly related to the here-
and-now situation. The individual is free to choose their response without being influenced by any other
Ego-State. He/she will look for solutions in the most effective and rational manner without being too
emotional about a situation. A person in the Adult Ego-State is often straightforward in their approach, is
interested in the conversation without being judgmental, and will know how to use logic in conflicting
situations.

A person in this Ego-State tends to question different sides to a situation such as the what and why,
where, and know what he/she sees versus what opinions they hold.

c) Child Ego-State

A person in this Ego-State displays behaviors, feelings or may think about situations while being influenced
by their thoughts as replayed in childhood. Emily’s sulking would be influenced by her Child Ego-State
wherein her reaction is influenced by emotions that are driven through past behavior. If you had to ask
Emily, “Does this situation resonate with something in your childhood?” Emily would have answered, “Yes,
every time I wanted my mother’s attention, I used to throw my toys and sulk.”

A person in this Ego-State may display rebellion, delight, whining, sulking, panic, fear, or even a lot of
laughter.

Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes

Researchers study three dimensions of attitude: strength, accessibility, and ambivalence. Attitude
strength: Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and that highly influence behavior. Attitudes that
are important to a person tend to be [Link]
 Researchers study three dimensions of attitude: strength, accessibility, and ambivalence. Attitude
strength: Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and that highly influence behavior. Attitudes that
are important to a person tend to be strong.

OrganizationalOrganizational BehaviorBehavior

[Link] & Dimensions Of Attitude Topic

2. Personality & Attitude Personality : ➢ Personality & Attitude are both complex congnitive oriented
processes. ➢ Difference is that personality is thought of as the whole person. ➢ Whereas traits and
attitude may be thought of as making up the personality. Attitude: ➢ The term attitude is frequently used
in describing people and explain their behavior. ➢ It is also define as a persistent tendency to feel and
behave in a particular way toward some object.

3. For Example: George does not like working the night shift. He has a negative attitude towards his work
assignment.

4. Characteristics of Attitude Attitude can be characterized into three ways. 1. They tends to persist unless
something is done to change them. 2. Attitude can be fall anywhere along a continuum from very
favorable to very unfavorable. 3. Attitudes are directed towards some object about which a person has
feelings. Sometime called “Affect”.

5. Components of Attitude Attitude can be broken down into three basic components. 1) Emotional: ➢ It
involves the persons’s feelings and affect, positive, neutral or negative about an object. ➢ In the feild of
OB the emotions are given attentions as a type of Intelligence. Positive: Like a customer service
representatives. Neutral: Like an academic administrator. Negative: Like a Police officer & Public Servant.

[Link]: It consist of a person’s beliefs and information the individual has about the object. For
example: A supervisor may believe that two weeks of training is necessary before a worker can effectively
conduct a particular process. In reality , the average worker may be able to perform successfully after only
four days of training. The information the supervisor is using ( two week training is necessory ) is the key
to his attitude about training.

7. Behavioral: It consist of a person’s tendencies to behave in a particular way towards an object. For
example: The supervisor in the preceding paragraph may assign two weeks of training to all his new
people.

Job Satisfaction and Organizationl Commitment

Job satisfaction is defined as the level of contentment employees feel with their job. This goes beyond
their daily duties to cover satisfaction with team members/managers, satisfaction with organizational
policies, and the impact of their job on employees’ personal lives.

Job satisfaction, an unquantifiable metric, is defined as a positive emotional response you experience
when doing your job or when you are present at work. Leading organizations are now trying to measure
this feeling, with job satisfaction surveys becoming a staple at most workplaces. It’s important to
remember that job satisfaction varies from employee to employee. In the same workplace under the same
conditions, the factors that help one employee feel good about their job may not apply to another
employee. For this reason, it is essential to have a multidimensional approach to employee satisfaction,
covering the following areas:

The challenging nature of work, pushing employees to new heights

A level of convenience (short commutes, access to the right digital tools, and flexible hours)

Regular appreciation by the immediate management and the organization as a whole

Competitive pay, which employees maintain a good quality of life

The promise of career progression in sync with employees’ personal growth targets

10 Factors That Determine Your Employees’ Satisfaction Levels There’s no one definition of job
satisfaction, and factors contributing to it will depend on the nature of your workplace. For example, a
satisfied employee in the manufacturing sector looks different from a satisfied software developer.
However, there are ten traits that every workplace geared toward employee well-being and satisfaction
will have in common.

Motivation Needs and Processes

Motivation

Advertisements. Motivation can be described as the internal force that impacts the direction, intensity,
and endurance of a person's voluntary choice of behavior. It consists of − Direction − focused by goals.

defined as inner burning passion caused by need, wants and desire which propels an individual to
exert his physical and mental energy to achieve desired objectives.

Motivation is goal-directed behavior. People are motivated when they expect that a course of action
is likely to lead to the attainment of a goal and a valued reward – one that satisfies their needs and
wants.

Three Components of Motivation

Direction: what a person is trying to do.

Effort: how hard a person is trying.

Persistence: how long a person keeps on trying.

Dynamics of Motivation
Motivation is triggered by the psychological tension comes due to the unfulfilled need and drive
consumers to buy. Consumers strive consciously and unconsciously to bring down their tension by
selecting goals in anticipation of fulfilling their needs.

Level of motivation

The level of motivation would depend on the intensity and urgency of need. Consumer motivational levels
may vary from low to high depending on how important is that purchase. Besides, various Influences
affecting consumers’ buying include familiarity with the purchase, status factors and overall expense &
value.

Where fulfillment rewards are low, as with routine purchases like salt, sugar, tea, shampoo etc.,
motivation levels are also relatively low and involve little decision-making behavior.

On the other hand, with a complex, risky and emotionally-charged process such as buying a new car, the
drive to achieve the best result is high.

Motivational behavior

The behavioral aspect of consumer motivation concerns the actions we take before purchasing and
consuming goods or services. We might do a lot of research-evaluating alternatives, testing, and sampling
before making a purchase decision.

Concept of Motivation

Need: A need is a condition of lack or deficit of something required by the organism/person.

Motives: Motive is defined as an inner state that energises, activates (or moves) and directs (or chanalises)
the behaviour towards certain goals.

Types of Motivation

The two types of motivation are:

Intrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation can arise from self-generated factors that influence people’s behaviour. It is not
created by external incentives.

It can take the form of motivation by the work itself when individuals feel that their work is important,
interesting and challenging and provides them with a reasonable degree of autonomy (freedom to act),
opportunities to achieve and advance, and scope to use and develop their skills and abilities.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation occurs when things are done to or for people to motivate them.

These include rewards, such as incentives, increased pay, praise, or promotion; and punishments, such as
disciplinary action, withholding pay, or criticism. Extrinsic motivators can have an immediate and powerful
effect, but will not necessarily las

Characteristics of Motivation

Characteristics of motivation are briefly explained below:

Motivation is a psychological phenomenon

Motivation is a continuous process

Motivation is caused due to anticipated perceived value from an action

Motivation varies from person to person and time to time

An individual is motivated by positive or negative motivation

Motivation is a psychological phenomenon

It is the inner desire of an individual to achieve something more. More is the individual motivated better
performance and organization relations.

Motivation is a continuous process

Since need and desire are endless so the need is a continuous phenomenon if one need is satisfied the
other need emerges.

Motivation is caused due to anticipated perceived value from an action

Perceived value is the probability or expectancy. motivation= value × expectancy.

Motivation varies from person to person and time to time

Motivation is different for different persons and it also varied according to time and place because wants
are different for different people, according to time and places.

An individual is motivated by positive or negative motivation

Positive motivation is based on incentives or rewards. Incentives can be monetary and non-monetary.

Negative motivation is based on penalties, calling for explanation, threats, fear, etc. Fear of losing the job
or promotion

Motivation Approaches Theories of Motivation

Motivation theory is the study of understanding what drives a person to work towards a particular goal
or outcome. It's relevant to all of society but is especially important to business and management. That's
because a motivated employee is more productive, and a more productive employee is more profitable

Content Theories of Motivation. Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs, Alderfer's ERG theory,
McClelland's achievement motivation theory, and Herzberg's two-factor theory focused on what
motivates people and addressed specific factors like individual needs and goals.

There are mainly two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is internal it occurs
when people are bound to do something out of satisfaction, significance or need. Extrinsic motivation
occurs when external factors make the person to do something.

Theory X

Theory X managers tend to take a pessimistic view of their people, and assume that they are naturally
unmotivated and dislike work.
Work in organizations that are managed like this can be repetitive, and people are often motivated with
a "carrot and stick" approach. Performance appraisals and remuneration are usually based on tangible
results, such as sales figures or product output, and are used to control and "keep tabs" on staff.

This style of management assumes that workers:

Dislike their work.

Avoid responsibility and need constant direction.

Have to be controlled, forced and threatened to deliver work.

Need to be supervised at every step.

Have no incentive to work or ambition, and therefore need to be enticed by rewards to achieve goals.

According to McGregor, organizations with a Theory X approach tend to have several tiers of managers
and supervisors to oversee and direct workers. Authority is rarely delegated, and control remains firmly
centralized.

Although Theory X management has largely fallen out of fashion in recent times, big organizations may
find that adopting it is unavoidable due to the sheer number of people that they employ and the tight
deadlines that they have to meet.

Theory Y

Theory Y managers have an optimistic opinion of their people, and they use a decentralized, participative
management style. This encourages a more collaborative , trust-based relationship between managers
and their team members.

People have greater responsibility, and managers encourage them to develop their skills and suggest
improvements. Appraisals are regular but, unlike in Theory X organizations, they are used to encourage
open communication rather than to control staff.

Theory Y organizations also give employees frequent opportunities for promotion.

This style of management assumes that workers are:

Happy to work on their own initiative.

More involved in decision making.

Self-motivated to complete their tasks.

Enjoy taking ownership of their work.

Seek and accept responsibility, and need little direction.

View work as fulfilling and challenging.

Solve problems creatively and imaginatively.

Theory Y has become more popular among organizations. This reflects workers' increasing desire for more
meaningful careers that provide them with more than just money.

It's also viewed by McGregor as superior to Theory X, which, he says, reduces workers to "cogs in a
machine," and likely demotivates people in the long term.

Motivation across cultures

1. Motivation Across Cultures

2. Motivation A psychological process through which unsatisfied wants or needs lead to drives that are
aimed at goals or incentives. The Nature of Motivation The Basic Motivation ProcessThe Basic Motivation
Process The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted from Figure Figure 12–1: The Basic
Motivation Process Unsatisfied need Drive toward goal to satisfy need Attainment of goal (need
satisfaction)

[Link] Nature of Motivation The Universalist Assumption

◼ The first assumption is that the motivation process is universal, that all people are motivated to pursue
goals they

◼ The process is universal

◼ Culture influences the specific content and goals pursued

◼ Motivation differs across cultures

[Link] Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory The Maslow Theor

y ◼ Maslow’s theory rests on a number of basic assumptions:

◼ Lower-level needs must be satisfied before higher- level needs become motivators ◼ A need that is
satisfied no longer serves as a motivator

◼ There are more ways to satisfy higher-level than there are ways to satisfy lower-level needs

[Link]-Actualization Needs Esteem Needs Social Needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs Basic physical
needs for water, food, clothing, and shelter. Desires for security, stability, and the absence of pain. Desires
to interact and affiliate with others and to feel wanted by others. Needs for power and status.

Desires to reach one’s full potential, to become every thing one is capable of becoming as a human being.
Maslow’s Need HierarchyMaslow’s Need Hierarchy McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Self-Actualization Needs Esteem
Needs Social Needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs
Positive Organizataional Behaviour

Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) is defined as "the study and application of positively oriented
human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively
managed for performance improvement in today's workplace

Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) is defined as "the study and application of positively oriented
human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively
managed for performance improvement in today's workplacePositive Organizational Behavior (POB) is
defined as "the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological
capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in
today's workplace

Optimism

Optimism in organizational behavior

Optimism: making a positive attribution and expectation about succeeding now and in the future. Hope:
persevering toward goals and, when necessary, redirecting paths to goals in order to succeed. Resilience:
when beset by problems and adversity, sustaining and bouncing back and even beyond to attain success.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the proficiency through which one learns about the emotions of others, and how
the organization affects them. Emotional intelligence offers understanding of others, means to interact
with others that help boost productivity, improve relationships, and increase your general quality of life.

Structure

Official hierarchy plays a major role in organisational behaviour; all the employees from higher to lower
level are connected. Top-level management should always ensure that the employee should see that the
employers are striving to have a better future for customers as well as for them. For this, work behaviours
are improved constantly with necessary requirements by using self-assessments, surveys, and other data-
gathering tools to stay in tune with the organization and people with whom they work.

Organic form of organisation

This system is characterized by dispersed decision- making which allows people directly involved with the
job to make their own decisions. The characteristics are flexible authority, establishing informal
relationship, constructive criticism of ideas among members with very few written rules and regulations
to avoid negative emotional conflict and reactions towards others. This practice in organisational
behaviour tends to create more emotional stability and be more generalist in their orientation.

Environment
No working environment exists independently. It is a part of very large chain system. It influences the
attitudes of people, affects working conditions, and provides competition for resources and power.
Effectively managing these situations requires highly stable mind, constant and close vigilance,
adaptability to changes, and to manage problematical situations through good decisions making. Those
organizations which have emotional intelligence as a part of their training program can manage their
external environment more effectively than those that are [Link] helps people grow in self-
control and responsibility and creates an environment in which all employees may contribute to the limits
of their improved abilities.

Emotional intelligence in work organizations and administrative units

If a person can understand the emotions and feelings of his own, it is his personal skill, but awareness
about an organization and administrative units is a social skill to understand the ethos within which those
emotions function. Emotional Intelligence is the proficiency through which one learns about the emotions
of others, and how the organization affects them. Emotional intelligence offers understanding of others,
means to interact with others that help boost productivity, improve relationships, and increase your
general quality of life.

An organization is more than a workplace, here only emotionally plus intellectually smart people can
thrive and it requires the following six strategies.

Practice Organizational Self-Awareness

Develop Social Skills

Foster Optimism

Encourage Flexibility and Problem Solving

Model and Encourage Emotional Control

Support Teamwork

There are eight Emotional Intelligence social skills that are required in any organisation to function at its
best. These skills also help in also relationship building, decision making, creating a productive and
pleasant work place.

Building Bonds

Change Catalyst

Communication

Conflict Management

Influence
Developing Others

Leadership

Teamwork and Collaboration

Self Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the self-confidence in one's ability to accomplish and succeed in
organizational tasks. Self-monitoring is the ability to base one's behavior on other people's
cues and actions. Companies that are able to understand the key personality traits of
employees will benefit from better worker productivity.

Companies have to have a clear understanding of employee personality traits in order to

motivate, challenge and train them to be productive. The ability to have faith in your own
abilities is a valuable trait to have in an organization. Rodney Rico was recently hired to a mid-
level management position at Messy Chocolates. Although he only had minor management
experience, he had a high level of self-efficacy, which made him determined to succeed at this
new job. Self-efficacy is the self-confidence in one's ability to accomplish and succeed in
organizational tasks.

Sources of Self-Efficacy
Bandura and Locke (2003) are two researchers who concluded that self-efficacy is
a factor in organizations identifying employees who will excel in their job. The
researchers also identified key sources of self-efficacy, including past performance,
vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and emotional cues.
For example, employees at Messy Chocolates generally have high self-efficacy if
they have a track record of previous successes or past performances at work.
Management can increase employees' chances of developing self-efficacy by
offering them good training, mentorship opportunities and challenges. Rodney
knew he would be able to step into a middle management position because he had
no trouble mastering entry-level management in his previous job. In fact, he helped
middle- and upper-level managers with special projects that gave him the
confidence to apply for a more challenging job at Messy Chocolates.
Another source of self-efficacy is vicarious experience, which means that
employees are inspired and motivated by watching other coworkers succeed.
Rodney has already been labeled a star at Messy Chocolates because he has been
emulating other successful managers. He is inspired by seasoned middle managers
and has been copying their work successes.
Verbal persuasion is the third source of self-efficacy. This is where employees are
told that they have the skills and talent to complete tasks. Rodney is surrounded by
excellent mentors and workers who build up his self-confidence by telling him that
he can achieve any of his tasks and goals. This type of mentorship is essential in
organizations to breed self-confidence.

Unit 3
Dynamics of Organisation Behaviour

Organizational dynamics is another word for organizational behavior, a

cross-discipline field that deals with how people behave in an organized
group setting, such as a place of business.

Organizational dynamics is another word for organizational behavior, a

cross-discipline field that deals with how people behave in an organized
group setting, such as a place of business. The man who coined the term
and fostered the study of this discipline, Chester Barnard, was one of the first
to see that people act differently in an organized group setting than they do
in other situations, such as private gatherings at home. The study of
organizational behavior focuses entirely on the behavior of individuals within
their assigned roles in an organization.

How Organizational Dynamics Began

In the early days of research into organizational behavior, psychologists
began encouraging organizations to pay attention to the emotional needs of
their members. This shift in thinking started in the early 1930s, and it
eventually produced the emphasis on teamwork, employee motivation and
goal orientation that exists today in business environments. By the end of
the 1930s, research into organizational behavior yielded many useful new
concepts, including the field of operations research, which is the use of math
and statistics in optimizing business operations. This idea became more
important throughout the twentieth century, and in the 1970s, organizational
behavior began to use math and statistics more often, creating the new fields
of contingency theory, informal organization and bounded rationality.

This relatively new discipline is an attempt to make the study of employee

behavior within an organization more scientific. Researchers try to create a
work environment in which employees have the proper motivation so that
their behavior is as efficient for the company as possible. The emotional
needs of employees can end up costing businesses as much money as
inaccurate market data or incorrect business forecasts, if the employees
aren’t as productive as they could be. Some of the tactics organizational
behavior scientists use include changing how employees are compensated,
reorganizing how group members work with one another and finding new
ways to evaluate employee performance.

What Is the Purpose of Organizational Behavior?

While this field uses many concepts from psychology, it also encompasses
ideas from sociology, business management, mathematics and statistics. It’s
an interdisciplinary subject that draws from organizational theory as well as
the study of human resources. Researchers in this field break it down into
three levels, which include the micro, meso and macro levels. The micro level
focuses on individual influence within a group, while the macro level focuses
on the group as a whole. The meso level studies how influential groups within
groups form, as well as group networks and culture. A fourth level of study,
the field level, focuses on the interactions between all individuals within an
organization.

Organizational research is a science, and while it deals with immeasurable

factors such as human behavior, it also relies on quantitative analysis,
including computer modeling. Organizational computer models can simulate
the interactions between workers, as well as a wide range of other uncertain
variables, by using probability theory. Researchers studying organizational
behavior must have a firm grasp of statistical modeling and some knowledge
of computer programming to set up mathematical models of an organization.

Successful businesses don’t take unnecessary risks on factors that can be

controlled, and scientists who know how to use statistical models can remove
a lot of uncertainty from an organization. The study of organizational
dynamics is as important to businesses as the similar fields of operations
research and human resources.

Communication

Communication fulfills three main functions within an organization, including coordination,

transmission of information, and sharing emotions and feelings. All these functions are
vital to a successful organization. The coordination of effort within an organization helps people
work toward the same goals.

Communication is vital to organizations—it’s how we coordinate actions and achieve

goals. It is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a process by which information is
exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or
behavior

In most work environments, a miscommunication is an annoyance—it can interrupt

workflow by causing delays and interpersonal strife. But, in some work arenas, like
operating rooms and airplane cockpits, communication can be a matter of life and
death.

So, just how prevalent is miscommunication in the workplace? You may not be
surprised to learn that the relationship between miscommunication and negative
outcomes is very strong.

Poor communication can also lead to lawsuits. For example, you might think that
malpractice suits are filed against doctors based on the outcome of their treatments
alone. But a 1997 study of malpractice suits found that a primary influence on
whether or not a doctor is sued is the doctor’s communication style. While the
combination of a bad outcome and patient unhappiness can quickly lead to litigation,
a warm, personal communication style leads to greater patient satisfaction. Simply
put, satisfied patients are less likely to sue

Types of Communication

Five Types of Communication

Verbal Communication. Verbal communication occurs when we engage in speaking
with others. ...
Non-Verbal Communication. What we do while we speak often says more than the
actual words. ...
Written Communication. ...
Listening. ...
Visual Communication.
• In preparing for my Fall course: Communications for Professionals, I’ve been
thinking more and more about the different types of communication. In
previous years, I have outlined four types of communication, but I believe
there are actually five types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, written,
listening, and visual

• VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Verbal communication occurs when we engage in speaking with others. It can
be face-to-face, over the telephone, via Skype or Zoom, etc. Some verbal
engagements are informal, such as chatting with a friend over coffee or in the
office kitchen, while others are more formal, such as a scheduled meeting.
Regardless of the type, it is not just about the words, it is also about the
caliber and complexity of those words, how we string those words together to
create an overarching message, as well as the intonation (pitch, tone,
cadence, etc.) used while speaking. And when occurring face-to-face, while
the words are important, they cannot be separated from non-verbal
communication.

• NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• What we do while we speak often says more than the actual words. Non-
verbal communication includes facial expressions, posture, eye contact, hand
movements, and touch. For example, if you’re engaged in a conversation with
your boss about your cost-saving idea, it is important to pay attention to both
the their words and their non-verbal communication. Your boss might be in
agreement with your idea verbally, but their nonverbal cues: avoiding eye
contact, sighing, scrunched up face, etc. indicate something different.

• WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
• Whether it is an email, a memo, a report, a Facebook post, a Tweet, a
contract, etc. all forms of written communication have the same goal to
disseminate information in a clear and concise manner – though that objective
is often not achieved. In fact, poor writing skills often lead to confusion and
embarrassment, and even potential legal jeopardy. One important thing to
remember about written communication, especially in the digital age, is the
message lives on, perhaps in perpetuity. Thus, there are two things to
remember: first, write well – poorly constructed sentences and careless errors
make you look bad; and second, ensure the content of the message is
something you want to promote or be associated with for the long haul.
• LISTENING
• The act of listening does not often make its way onto the list of types of
communication. Active listening, however, is perhaps one of the most
important types of communication because if we cannot listen to the person
sitting across from us, we cannot effectively engage with them. Think about a
negotiation – part of the process is to assess what the opposition wants and
needs. Without listening, it is impossible to assess that, which makes it
difficult to achieve a win/win outcome.

• VISUAL COMMUNICATION
• We are a visual society. Think about it, televisions are running 24/7, Facebook
is visual with memes, videos, images, etc., Instagram is an image-only
platform, and advertisers use imagery to sell products and ideas. Think about
from a personal perspective – the images we post on social media are meant
to convey meaning – to communicate a message. In some cases that
message might be, look at me, I’m in Italy or I just won an award. Others are
carefully curated to tug on our heartstrings – injured animals, crying children,
etc.

• We communicate continually throughout each and every day. We do it without

thinking – we operate on communication autopilot. However, I encourage you
to think about how you communicate. How do you communicate verbally?
What nonverbal cues do you use when you are disinterested? Excited?
Nervous? Are you a good listener? Can you write a concise, clearly
articulated message? Are there barriers to how you communicate effectively?

• Understanding how you communicate is the first step to communicating more

effectively. You can easily look online for communication courses. There are a
variety of credit and non-credit course available to help you improve your
communication skills, including our non-credit series

Interactive Communication
 Interactive communication is an exchange of ideas where both participants,
whether human, machine or art form, are active and can have an effect on one
another. It is a dynamic, two-way flow of information.

Many forms of communication previously thought one-way, like books and

television, have become interactive with the rise of computers, the Internet, and
digital and mobile devices. These developing collaborative technologies, or new
media, have rapidly increased the opportunities for interactive communication
across mediums, disciplines, cultures, social classes, locations, and even time.
Interactive communication is a modern term that encompasses these evolving
forms of conversation. It is a primary characteristic of the present Information Age.
New experiments in interaction design are evolving on a daily basis.
Interactive communication forms include basic dialogue and nonverbal
communication, game-books, interactive fiction and
storytelling, hypertext, interactive television and movies, photo and video
manipulation, video sharing, video games, social media, user-generated
content, interactive marketing and public relations, augmented reality, ambient
intelligence, and virtual reality.

Barriers of Communication

Common Barriers to Effective Communication:

• The use of jargon. ...
• Emotional barriers and taboos. ...
• Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver. ...
• Differences in perception and viewpoint.
• Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.

1 There are many reasons why interpersonal communications

may fail. In many communications, the message (what is said)
may not be received exactly the way the sender intended. It is,
therefore, important that the communicator seeks feedback to
check that their message is clearly understood.
 2 The skills of Active
Listening, Clarification and Reflection may help but the
skilled communicator also needs to be aware of the
barriers to effective communication and how to avoid or
overcome them.
3 There are many barriers to communication and these may occur
at any stage in the communication process. Barriers may lead to
your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk wasting
both time and/or money by causing confusion and
misunderstanding.

4 Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and

conveying a clear and concise message.

Strategies of Communication
• Use Great Communication Tools. ...
• Meet with Employees Regularly. ...
• Recognize Achievements. ...
• Give Clear Instructions. ...
• Create an Open Environment. ...
• Make Time for One-on-Ones. ...
• Use Visuals. ...
• Be Open to Feedback.

• For companies to run efficiently and thrive, they need to implement clear
communication strategies. In addition, having the right communication
tools in place is also essential. In this article, we’ll explore the
importance of communication in the workplace, plus provide tips for
developing an effective communication strategy for your organization.

What Are Communication Strategies?

Communication strategies are action plans for improving communication
within an organization. In addition to establishing goals for a successful plan,
a communication strategy typically involves the selection of tools to enable a
 strategic mix of verbal and nonverbal communication styles. Using
communication strategies in the workplace increases company knowledge,
eases cross-department communication and ultimately makes business
processes more streamlined and efficient.

1. Use Great Communication Tools

There are many tools out there that you can use to make internal
communication within your team more effective, including:

• Lifesize – Lifesize offers an easy-to-use, cloud-based video conferencing

solution that you can use on your personal devices or integrate into
conference rooms to enable instant face-to-face communication with remote
team members. The true-to-life 4K image quality makes it feel like you’re
meeting in the same room, and the ultra-high-definition content sharing
ensures that the quality and details of your work are maintained during
important presentations.

• Monday – Monday is a project management tool that enables managers to

plan, organize and track their team’s tasks and progress in one visual,
collaborative space. Monday makes it easy to keep on top of your team’s
workflow as well as your own.

• Slack or Teams – Both Slack and Microsoft Teams offer quick and effective
instant communication channels for your team (including the all-important .GIF
integrations).

2. Meet with Employees Regularly

Another communication method that works is meeting with your team

regularly, this helps improve communication and collaboration. For teams with
remote employees, a video conference call is a perfect solution for everyone
to be able to meet face to face. Unlike audio calls, video conference calls let
you actually see facial expressions and body language so everyone is able to
fully understand how something is being communicated. You can also record
your meeting for team members who were not able to attend the conference
call to review later.

3. Recognize Achievements

As a manager or team leader, it is important to keep morale high and

motivation strong. By recognizing individual and team achievements publicly,
you’ll show that you notice and care about your team and how they perform.
Recognition for achievements can have a positive impact on performance and
boost productivity.

4. Give Clear Instructions

One area where communication tends to fail is in how team leaders

communicate instructions. Unclear communication can cause delays or
completely stop a project. Make sure you include detailed instructions for
every task or project. You can deliver these instructions via email, a project
management tool, video chat or all of the above. Clear instructions make it
easy for your team to get things right the first time.

5. Create an Open Environment

To open up the flow of communication, you need to ensure that your team
members feel comfortable enough coming to you when they have a problem,
made a mistake or have a question. We’ve all heard the phrase “My door is
always open,” but that’s not exactly easy to do when your team is spread out
all over the world. By making it clear to your team that they can reach out to
you for anything, whether in person or over a video call, you’ll make them feel
comfortable and create an open environment of communication.

6. Make Time for One-on-Ones

In keeping with creating an open environment, it’s important to set up one-on-

one meetings with each team member to give them the opportunity to come to
you with questions, problems or suggestions. One-on-ones are great
opportunities to talk to team members about their performance, what they are
struggling with and how you can better support them. They may bring some
things to light that they may not have felt comfortable sharing in a group
environment. One-on-one meetings can also help them feel valued as
individuals.

7. Use Visuals

Don’t be afraid to utilize different methods of communication to help get your

point across. People often miss details if they don’t have a visual reference to
go back to — especially if they aren’t great at retaining auditory information.
Whiteboards promote creativity and make content visually appealing and
easier to absorb and retain. Kaptivo with Lifesize Share™ lets you capture
and share whiteboard content in real time during video conference calls. After
the meeting, be sure to send out any slide decks or Kaptivo sessions that
were shared during the meeting as a visual reminder of what was discussed
during your meeting.

8. Be Open to Feedback

Managers need to realize that two-way communication is also important.

Open communication means that you have to be open to receiving feedback
from your team members in order to improve your own communication and
 leadership/management style. Have a system where team members can
easily send you feedback, perhaps via email, face to face or anonymously.
Encourage team members to give you suggestions on what could be
improved for higher employee satisfaction, and, how the team can
communicate better with ideas for the future of the company.

Decision Making
• Investigate the situation in detail.
• Create a constructive environment.
• Generate good alternatives.
• Explore your options.
• Select the best solution.
• Evaluate your plan.
• Communicate your decision, and take action.

What are decision-making strategies?

A decision-making strategy is an approach an individual uses to make an important

decision. Since every situation is different, each decision-making strategy provides
a unique framework to address specific needs and requirements. Learning about
different decision-making strategies and practicing them can help you make more
efficient decisions in your personal and professional life.

1. Analytical decision-making

The analytical decision-making strategy uses logic, data and facts to make a rational
decision. This strategy is an excellent choice if you have access to all the information
you need to assess a situation accurately. Analytical decision-making usually
follows a well-ordered sequence of steps that can help individuals break large or
complex decisions into smaller, more manageable tasks. If you are dealing with a
situation that uses concrete numbers or variables, then using an analytical decision-
making strategy may be the right option for you.
2. Command decision-making

Leaders who choose to use the command decision-making strategy make a choice
without listening to input from other people. This approach can be useful in urgent
or time-sensitive situations since it is the fastest and most direct form of decision-
making. It can also provide team members with a clear sense of direction in fast-
paced work environments. If you choose to use the command decision-making
strategy, ensure you have enough knowledge about the subject to make an
accurate and appropriate decision.

3. Collaborative decision-making

A collaborative decision-making approach involves getting input from multiple

people. Often, groups or teams work together to discuss a situation and develop a
potential solution. Using this type of decision-making strategy can help you ensure
your team members feel like you value their opinions. Many leaders also choose to
incorporate feedback from clients, vendors and industry experts in their
collaborative decision-making process. This approach can provide y with a more
diverse perspective which can help you make a more objective, well-balanced
decision.

4. Expertise decision-making

Experts in a certain industry, career or subject matter may choose to use the
expertise decision-making strategy. If you have enough knowledge or experience
to make an intuitive decision about a particular topic, then this approach might be
for you. The expertise decision-making method can help you make quick and
informed decisions without having to debate or discuss a specific topic with other
team members.

5. Consensus-based decision-making

If you want to ensure everyone on your team is aligned about a decision, using the
consensus-based decision-making strategy might be a good choice. In this
approach, a leader presents all the relevant information to team members and
requires them to agree on a single option. While consensus-based decision-making
may take longer than many other strategies, it can promote a sense of unity and
teamwork. To speed up your discussion, you may choose to present specific
solutions to your team and ask them to choose one.

6. Random choice decision-making

Random choice decision-making is one of the simplest strategies available. When

used appropriately, this approach can save you time and help you make effective
decisions. You may flip a coin or select a random number to make your decision.
Leaders often use this strategy for decisions that have minimal consequences and
need to be made quickly. They may also use this method if the options they are
choosing between have very similar or ambiguous outcomes.

7. Vote decision-making

Using the vote decision-making strategy allows you to make your decision based
on what the majority of people want. This can be a great method for gathering
direct input from a large group of people without spending an extensive amount of
time in discussion. Leaders often provide their teams with a set of options to
choose from to make it easier to count votes. Make sure you also give your team
enough details and background information to understand the situation they are
voting on.

8. Single feature decision-making

The single feature decision-making strategy can be an effective method to make

quick decisions about simple topics. To use this approach, identify the most
important feature your decision needs to include. Then choose an option that has
that feature.

9. Delegation decision-making

Using the delegation decision-making strategy is a great option if you need input
from someone who is well-informed on the topic. You can use this method to give
the decision-making responsibilities to someone else, such as a consultant, expert
or someone on your team that is more knowledgeable about the subject. The
delegation decision-making strategy can save you time and make your team
members feel like you value their opinions.
10. Additive feature decision-making

The additive feature decision-making strategy accounts for all the most important
features before systematically evaluating each option. This approach can help you
make challenging decisions. To start, make a list of all the important features you
want to consider. Then evaluate each of your options by determining which of the
important features they include. This can help you rank your options and identify
which one has the most important features.

11. Elimination by aspects decision-making

The elimination by aspects decision-making strategy works well when you have
multiple options to choose from. To use this approach, identify what the most
important features are. Starting with the most important feature, evaluate each
option one by one. Then systematically eliminate each option that doesn't meet
the criteria you've set in place until you have just one choice left

12. Availability heuristic decision-making

Availability heuristic decision-making strategies can help leaders make effective

decisions in ambiguous situations. This method can help you determine how likely
something is by comparing your current situation to a similar event from the past.
By reflecting on what you've learned from previous experiences, you may be able
to determine what the best decision is.

Participative decision making techniques

In a participative decision-making process each team member has an

opportunity to share their perspectives, voice their ideas and tap their
skills to improve team effectiveness and efficiency. Participatory
decision-making can have a wide array of organizational benefits.
Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction or work satisfaction is a measure of workers'
contentedness with their job, whether they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs,
such as nature of work or supervision.[1] Job satisfaction can be measured in cognitive
(evaluative), affective (or emotional), and behavioral components.[2] Researchers have also
noted that job satisfaction measures vary in the extent to which they measure feelings about the
job (affective job satisfaction).[3] or cognitions about the job (cognitive job satisfaction).[4]
In organizational behavior and industrial and organizational psychology, organizational
commitment is an individual's psychological attachment to the organization. Organizational
scientists have also developed many nuanced definitions of organizational commitment, and
numerous scales to measure them. Exemplary of this work is Meyer and Allen's model of
commitment, which was developed to integrate numerous definitions of commitment that had
been proliferated in the literature. Meyer and Allen's model has also been critiqued because the
model is not consistent with empirical findings. It may also not be fully applicable in domains
such as customer behavior. There has also been debate surrounding what Meyers and Allen's
model was trying to achieve.
The basis behind many of these studies was to find ways to improve how workers feel about their
jobs so that these workers would become more committed to their organizations.
In industrial and organizational psychology, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is a
person's voluntary commitment within an organization or company that is not part of his or her
contractual tasks. Organizational citizenship behavior has been studied since the late 1970s. Over
the past three decades, interest in these behaviors has increased substantially.

Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies
the employment relationship;[1] that is, the complex interrelations
between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations and the state.
The newer name, "employment relations" is increasingly taking precedence because "industrial
relations" is often seen to have relatively narrow connotations.[2] Nevertheless, industrial
relations has frequently been concerned with employment relationships in the broadest sense,
including "non-industrial" employment relationships. This is sometimes seen as paralleling a
trend in the separate but related discipline of human resource management.[3]

Advantages
PM is important where a large number of stakeholders are involved from different walks of life,
coming together to make a decision which may benefit everyone. Some examples are decisions
for the environment, health care, anti-animal cruelty and other similar situations. In this case,
everyone can be involved, from experts, NGOs, government agencies, to volunteers and
members of public.
However, organizations may benefit from the perceived motivational influences of employees.
When employees participate in the decision-making process, they may improve understanding
and perceptions among colleagues and superiors, and enhance personnel value in the
organization.
Participatory decision-making by the top management team can ensure the completeness of
decision-making and may increase team member commitment to final decisions. In a
participative decision-making process each team member has an opportunity to share their
perspectives, voice their ideas and tap their skills to improve team effectiveness and efficiency.
Participatory decision-making can have a wide array of organizational benefits. Researchers have
found that PDM may positively impact the following:
• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Perceived organizational support
• Organizational citizenship behavior
• Labor-management relations
• Job performance and organizational performance
• Organizational profits

Outcomes[edit]
The outcomes are various in PDM. In the aspect of employees, PDM refers to job satisfaction
and performance, which are usually recognized as commitment and productivity[9] In the aspect
of employers, PDM is evolved into decision quality and efficiency that influenced by multiple and
differential mixed layers in terms of information access, level of participation, processes and
dimensions in PDM.
Research primarily focuses on the work satisfaction and performance of employees in
PDM.[2][10][11][7] Different measurement systems were applied to identify the two items and the
relevant properties. If they are measured with different processes in PDM, the relationship is as
described below:[10]

• Identifying problems: Do not have strong relationship with performance. Because even with
full participation, participants may not explore their skills and knowledge in identifying
problems, which is likely to weaken the desires and motivation then influence performance.
• Providing solutions: Positive and "potentially strong" relations with performance. [12] It is not
only attributed to the skills and knowledge could be explored but also the innovative ways
employees can provide and generate.
• Selecting solutions: Positive to performance but not likely to enhance satisfaction. If the
solutions generated are not acknowledged by the employees who are absent at the previous
stage, the satisfaction could lessen.
• Planning implementation: Positive and strong relationship with both performance and
satisfaction. Participants are given the possibility to affect the achievement of a designed
plan. As the "value attainment" is attached, the extent of performance and work satisfaction
increase.[13]
• Evaluating results: Weaker relationship with performance, but positive relationship with
satisfaction due to the future benefit.

Disadvantages[edit]
One of the primary risks in any participative decision-making or power-
sharing process is that the desire on the part of the management for more
inclusive participation is not genuine. In the words of Arnstein,
Types
Democratic
Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is a type
of leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative
role in the decision-making process. Researchers have found that this
leadership style is usually one of the most effective and leads to higher
productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group
morale.[19]
The democratic leadership style involves facilitating the conversation,
encouraging people to share their ideas, and then synthesizing all the
available information into the best possible decision. The democratic leader
must also be able to communicate that decision back to the group to bring
unity to the plan is chosen.[20]
The democratic leader delegates authority, encourages participation, and
relies on personal power (expert and referent power) to manage
subordinates. The subordinates with democratic leadership:

• Will perform just as highly as autocratic leaders when he/she is present.

• Will have positive feeling with this style of leadership.
• Will perform well even when the leader is absent. [21]
When the workplace is ready for democratic leaders, the style produces a
work environment that employees can feel good about. Workers feel that
their opinion counts, and because of that feeling they are more committed to
achieving the goals and objectives of the organization
Autocratic
In an autocratic participative decision-making style, similar to the collective
style, the leader takes control of and responsibility for the final decision. The
difference is that in an autocratic style, members of the organizations are not
included and the final outcome is the responsibility of the leader. This is the
best style to use in an emergency when an immediate decision is needed. [23]

Consensus
In a consensus participative decision-making style, the leader gives up
complete control and responsibility of the decision and leaves it to the
members of the organization. Everyone must agree and come to the same
decision. This might take a while, but the decisions are among the best since
it involves the ideas and skills of many other people. Teamwork is important
in this style and brings members closer together while trust and
communication increase.
Stress Defination

Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or
psychological strain. Stress is your body's response to anything that requires
attention or action.

Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress,
however, makes a big difference to your overall well-being.

Sometimes, the best way to manage your stress involves changing your situation.
At other times, the best strategy involves changing the way you respond to the
situation.

Developing a clear understanding of how stress impacts your physical and mental
health is important. It's also important to recognize how your mental and physical
health affects your stress level.
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 4 secondsVolume 90%

Signs

Stress can be short-term or long-term. Both can lead to a variety of symptoms, but
chronic stress can take a serious toll on the body over time and have long-lasting
health effects.

Some common signs of stress include:1

• Changes in mood
• Clammy or sweaty palms
• Decreased sex drive
• Diarrhea
• Difficulty sleeping
• Digestive problems
• Dizziness
• Feeling anxious
• Frequent sickness
 • Grinding teeth
• Headaches
• Low energy
• Muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders
• Physical aches and pains
• Racing heartbeat
• Trembling

Identifying Stress

Stress is not always easy to recognize, but there are some ways to identify some
signs that you might be experiencing too much pressure. Sometimes stress can
come from an obvious source, but sometimes even small daily stresses from work,
school, family, and friends can take a toll on your mind and body.

If you think stress might be affecting you, there are a few things you can watch for:

• Psychological signs such as difficulty concentrating, worrying, anxiety, and

trouble remembering
• Emotional signs such as being angry, irritated, moody, or frustrated
• Physical signs such as high blood pressure, changes in weight, frequent colds
or infections, and changes in the menstrual cycle and libido
• Behavioral signs such as poor self-care, not having time for the things you
enjoy, or relying on drugs and alcohol to cope

Types of Stress

Not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. Some of the different types of
stress that you might experience include:

• Acute stress: Acute stress is a very short-term type of stress that can either
be positive or more distressing; this is the type of stress we most often
encounter in day-to-day life.
• Chronic stress: Chronic stress is stress that seems never-ending and
inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job;
chronic stress can also stem from traumatic experiences and childhood
trauma.
• Episodic acute stress: Episodic acute stress is acute stress that seems to run
rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of ongoing distress.
 • Eustress: Eustress is fun and exciting. It's known as a positive type of stress
that can keep you energized. It's associated with surges of adrenaline, such
as when you are skiing or racing to meet a deadline.

Impact of Stress

The connection between your mind and body is apparent when you examine the
impact stress has on your life.

Feeling stressed out over a relationship, money, or your living situation can create
physical health issues. The inverse is also true. Health problems, whether you're
dealing with high blood pressure or you have diabetes, will also affect your stress
level and your mental health. When your brain experiences high degrees of stress,
your body reacts accordingly.

Serious acute stress, like being involved in a natural disaster or getting into a verbal
altercation, can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death.
However, this happens mostly in individuals who already have heart disease. 5

Stress also takes an emotional toll. While some stress may produce feelings of mild
anxiety or frustration, prolonged stress can also lead to burnout, anxiety disorders,
and depression.

Chronic stress can have a serious impact on your health as well. If you experience
chronic stress, your autonomic nervous system will be overactive, which is likely to
damage your body.

Stress-Influenced Conditions

• Diabetes
• Hair loss
• Heart disease
• Hyperthyroidism
• Obesity
• Sexual dysfunction
• Tooth and gum disease
• Ulcers
• MEANING OF CONFLICT
• UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
 • Conflict is serious disagreement and argument about something important.
If two people or groups are in conflict, they have had a serious disagreement
or argument and have not yet reached agreement.
• Try to keep any conflict between you and your ex-partner to a minimum.
• Employees already are in conflict with management over job cuts.
• The two companies came into conflict.
• UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
• Conflict is a state of mind in which you find it impossible to make a decision.
• ...the anguish of his own inner conflict.
• Synonyms: struggle, battle, clash, strife More Synonyms of conflict
• VARIABLE NOUN
• Conflict is fighting between countries or groups of people.
• [journalism, written]
• ...talks aimed at ending four decades of conflict.
• The National Security Council has met to discuss ways of preventing a military
conflict.
• Synonyms: battle, war, fight, clash More Synonyms of conflict
• 4. VARIABLE NOUN
• A conflict is a serious difference between two or more beliefs, ideas, or
interests. If two beliefs, ideas, or interests are in conflict, they are
very different.
• There is a conflict between what they are doing and what you wan
• 5. VERB
• If ideas, beliefs, or accounts conflict, they are very different from each other
and it seems impossible for them to exist together or to each be true.
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict. He held firm
opinions which usually conflicted with my own.
• There are conflicting reports about the identity of the hostage
• ...three powers with conflicting interests
Synonyms: be incompatible, clash, differ, disagree More Synonyms of conflict
conflict
competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as
of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) mental struggle resulting
from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal
 demands the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic
action in a drama or fiction

Types of Conflict in Fiction

• Person vs. Person. Also called man vs. ...
• Person vs. Nature. This type of conflict counters a character against some force of
nature, such as an animal or the weather. ...
• Person vs. Society. ...
• Person vs. Technology. ...
• Person vs. Supernatural. ...
• Person vs. Self. ...
• Person vs. Destiny (Fate/Luck/God)

7 Types of Conflict in Fiction

There are two basic kinds of conflict: external and internal, which have been further
categorized and codified in many different ways over time. Here are seven different
types to consider.

External Conflicts

External conflict pits the character against some exterior force or world-view and
happens outside the character’s body. Five of the seven types of conflicts are of the
external kind.

1. Person vs. Person

Also called man vs. man and protagonist vs. antagonist, this is the most common
type of external conflict. It is clear and universally understood as a good vs. evil
story in which an unambiguous challenger opposes the main character.

The heart of this type of story involves two characters with opposing outlooks,
opinions, or goals. The story will become richer when both characters believe
themselves to be right or when there is no clear right or wrong between their
differences.

• In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen must go up against other contestants in

order to survive – her vs. them
• In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy faces off against the Wicked Witch

• Murder mysteries with the investigator vs. murderer also are person vs. person
stories

2. Person vs. Nature

This type of conflict counters a character against some force of nature, such as an
animal or the weather.

• A classic example is Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea

• In Life of Pi, the protagonist must face a tiger trapped in the boat with him

• The drought is a formidable opposition in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, as

is the setting in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (read more about the use of setting
here)

3. Person vs. Society

When a novel sets a character against a tradition, an institution, a law, or some

other societal construct, it is a Person vs. Society story.

• Atticus Finch opposed his racist community in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

• Wilbur fights for his survival against a society that eats pigs in Charlotte’s Web

• In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the society treats women as

property of the state; Atwood makes the story even more interesting by layering
in environmental disasters (Person vs. Nature) to intensify the conflict

4. Person vs. Technology

When science moves beyond human control, conflicts of Person vs. Technology
develop. Stories in this conflict type include:

5. Person vs. Supernatural

Vampires, werewolves, aliens, and ghosts – any typically unbelievable,

supernatural, or inexplicable phenomena – provide Person vs. Supernatural
conflicts. Examples of such stories
 Internal Conflicts

The two remaining types of conflicts are internal – ones that happen inside the
character’s mind or heart. When your main character has an inner turmoil that’s
causing some emotional pain, it increases the tension of the story.

6. Person vs. Self

A character battling inner demons, one who has an inner moral conflict
(think Hamlet), or is simply striving to become a better person is in a Person vs. Self
conflict.

7. Person vs. Destiny (Fate/Luck/God)

This is an ambiguous conflict type. Sometimes aspects of it get split up and parsed
out among the other categories. For example, since accepting fate can be seen as
an inner personal struggle, some define it as Person vs. Self instead. Or some might
reframe Person vs. God as being person against religion and, therefore, would put
it in the external conflict type of Person vs. Society. The categories don’t really
matter as long as you understand the concept.

Examples of this conflict type include Star Wars, The Odyssey, and Lord of the
Rings.

Effects of Stress

motivation, stress is a very individual experience. One person can feel extreme
pressure and anxiety over a task that is looming, and another might look at the
same task and see it as an exciting challenge. In spite of that, we’ve seen an
overall jump in the number of people that report stress on the job, and we can
see how it’s taking its toll.

Stress is a dynamic condition, and it exists when an individual is confronted with

an opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he or she desires, and for
which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

• Alarm. The physical reaction one experiences when a stressor first presents
itself. This could include an elevation of blood pressure, dilated pupils, tensing
• muscles.
• Resistance. If the stressor continues to be present, the person fights the
threat by preparing to resist, physiologically and psychologically. At first, the
stressor will be met with plenty of energy, but if the stressor persists, the
individual will start to experience fatigue in fighting it and resistance will wear
down.
• Exhaustion. Continuous, unsuccessful resistance eventually leads to the
collapse of physical and mental defenses.

Sources of Stress
If you poll a group of individuals about what their biggest stressors are, they’re
likely to give you these four answers:

• Money
• Work
• Family responsibilities
• Health concerns

In most surveys on stress and its causes, these four responses have been at
the top of the list for quite a long time, and I’m sure you weren’t surprised to
read them. But managers should take pause when they realize that all four of
these are either directly or indirectly impacted by the workplace.

Still, there are so many differences among individuals and their stressors. Why
is one person’s mind-crippling stress another person’s biggest motivation and
challenge? We’re going to attempt to answer this by looking at the three sources
of stress—individual, organizational, and environmental—and then add in the
concept of human perception in an attempt to understand this conundrum.
Intra Individual Conflict
Intra-individual conflict arises from frustration, numerous roles that demand
equal attention but is riot always possible to devote, and goals having
both negative and positive aspects. 3 types of Intra-individual/Intra-personal
Conflict are; Goal conflict, Conflict from frustration, a

• Interpersonal
• Intragroup

Intragroup Conflict

Intragroup conflict is conflict within a group or team, where members conflict

over goals or procedures. For instance, a board of directors may want to take
a risk to launch a set of products on behalf of their organization, in spite of
dissenting opinions among several members. Intragroup conflict takes place
among them as they argue the pros and cons of taking such a risk.

• Intrapersonal Conflict

The intrapersonal conflict is conflict experienced by a single individual,

when his or her own goals, values or roles diverge. A lawyer may experience
a conflict of values when he represents a defendant he knows to be guilty of
the charges brought against him. A worker whose goal it is to earn her MBA
might experience an intrapersonal conflict when she’s offered a position that
requires her to transfer to a different state. Or it might be a role conflict where
a worker might have to choose between dinner with clients or dinner with
family.
 Individual-level conflict refers to an interpersonal incompatibility or
differing perceptions such as a difference of opinions and/or an
unmatched relationship in interacting with others. Individual-level
conflict can have both negative and positive consequences on a team
and its team members. Individual Differences

Those are the sources of stress,

but differences within an individual determine whether that stress will be
positive or negative. Those individual differences include

• Perception. This is what moderates the individual’s relationship to the

stressor. For instance, one person might see a potential layoff as a stressful
situation, while another person might see that same layoff as an opportunity
for a nice severance package and the opportunity to start a new business.
• Job Experience. Because stress is associated with turnover, it would stand
to reason that those employees with a long tenure are the most stress-
resistant of the bunch.
• Social Support. Co-workers, especially those who are caring or considered
to be friends, can help protect a fellow employee against the effects of stress.
• Belief in the locus of control. Those who have a high internal locus of
control (those that believe they are in control of their own fate) are,
unsurprisingly, not as affected by stress as those who feel they are not in
control.
• Self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that he or she can
complete a task. Research shows that employees who have strong levels of
self-efficacy are more resistant to the effects of stress.
• Hostility. Some employees carry around a high level of hostility as a part of
their personalities, and they’re often suspicious and distrustful of their co-
workers. These personality traits make a person more susceptible to stress.

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Confusables
 Synonyms of

'conflict'

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