Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part VII

Leadership Styles and Influence Process

Authoritarian Style: The assumption that the power of leaders is derived from the
position they occupy and that people are innately lazy and unreliable.

Consideration: A leader's acts which imply supportive concern for the followers in a
group.
Contingency Theory: A theory that considers an organisation's objectives,
environment and leadership skills, as interacting and affecting the effectiveness of a
leader.

Democratic Style: The assumption that the power of leaders is granted by the group
they are to lead and that people can be basically self-directed and creative at work, if
properly motivated.

Employee Orientation: Stresses the relationship aspect of the job.
Group and Exchange Theories of Leadership: These theories state that the leader
provides more benefits and rewards than burdens or costs for followers who help him
achieve the goal of the organisation.

Hawthorne Effect: When worker's behaviour changes and productivity increases
because the workers become aware of their importance.

Human Relation Style: Follows from the work of Elton Mayo and his associates to
find the best technological methods to improve output by studying human relations at
interpersonal level.

Initiating Structure: Reflects the extent to which individuals are likely to define and
structure their roles and those of their subordinates towards goal attainment.

Laissez-faire Style: This style of a leader permits the members of the group to do
whatever they want to do. No policies or procedures are established.

Leadership: The ability to influence the behaviour of others. The task is to help the
group reach both organisational and personal goals.

Managerial Grid Theory: The theory suggests that each manager must be
concerned about both production (structure) and people (consideration).

Path-goal Theory: This theory defines the relationship between leader behaviour,
subordinate's work attitudes and performance as situational. The essential ingredient
of this theory is that the leader smoothes out the path to work goals and provides
rewards for achieving them.

Production Orientation: Stresses the production and the technical aspects of the
job. Employees are seen as tools to accomplish the goals of the organisation.

Style Scientific Manager: This style of the leader focuses on the needs of the
organisation and not on the needs of the individual.

Social Learning Theory: The theory deals with continuous, reciprocal interaction
among the leader (including his cognition) the environment (including
subordinates/followers and other variables) and the behaviour itself.
Theory X, Theory Y: McGregor's theory that behind every management decision,
there is a set of assumptions that a manager makes about human behaviour. The
theory X manager assumes that people are lazy, dislike work, want no responsibility
and prefer to be closely directed. The theory Y manager assumes that
people seek responsibility, like to work and are committed to doing good work if
rewards are received for achievement.

Trait Theory; This theory attempts to specify which personal characteristics
(physical, personality) are associated with leadership success. Trait-theory relies on
research that relates various traits to success criteria of a leader.

Authority: The legitimate right to use assigned resources to accomplish a delegated
task or objective, the right to give orders and to extract obedience.

Charismatic Power: This power is based on followers' identification with a leader.
The leader is admired because of one or more personal traits. Followers can be
influenced because of this admiration.

Coercive Power: The power of a leader that is derived from fear. The follower
perceives the leader as a person who can punish deviant behaviour and action.

Expert Power: An individual with this type of power has some technical expertise,
skill or knowledge which is important in getting the job done.

Formal Leadership: A manager is a formal leader by virtue of authority coming
from the organisation that a formal leader is usually selected by the organisation.

Informal Leadership: An informal leader is chosen by an individual or a group.
Legitimate Power: The power comes when the organisation's authority is accepted.
It is power that stems from implicit or explicit rules.

Power: Ability to exercise influence or control over others.

Reward Power: The present or potential ability to give some reward for worthy
behaviour.

Situational Management: Skill in changing the style demands of one or more
situational elements so that managerial effectiveness increases.

Situational Manipulation: Changing the style demands of one or more situational
elements so that personal effectiveness increases.

Group Dynamics


Command Groups: Formal groups that consist of managers and their direct
subordinates.

Committee: A formal group that is created to carry out specific organisational
assignments or activities.

Content: The subject of the meeting or of the task being performed.
Emergent Activities: Informal actions beyond those required that result from
changed sentiments.

Formal Group: A unit established by the organisation to accomplish specific tasks.
individuals are usually assigned to formal tasks.

Group: Any number of people who
i. have a common purpose or objective
ii. interact with each other to accomplish their objective
iii. are aware of one another, and
iv. perceive themselves to be a part of the group.

Group Building Activities: Those activities that allow the group to maintain itself
by helping to satisfy members' needs and by encouraging cooperation among
members.

Group Cohesiveness: The extent to which group members are motivated to remain
within the group and in consequence to behave in similar ways.

Group Task Activities: Activities performed within the organisational structure by
the individuals rather than by. management.

Leadership: The ability to influence the behaviour of others. The task of the leader is
to help the group reach both organisational and personal goals.

Pivotal Norms: Organisational values which are absolutely necessary for any one
who wants to stay in the organisation.

Process: The way the content is handled or discussed by the members of the group.
Relevant Group Norms: Not as central as pivotal norm, but considered as
worthwhile and desirable.

Required Activities: Assigned tasks performed by the individuals.

Required Interaction: This occurs, when a person's activity follows or is influenced
by the activity of another; interaction can be verbal or non-verbal.

Self-serving Activities: Activities that satisfy individual needs at the expense of the
group.

Sentiments: The feelings or attitudes a person has about others, such as likes or
dislikes and approval or disapproval.

Task Force: A group established to solve a particular problem.

Source: IGNOU Booklet

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Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part VI

Controlling

Budgetary Control: Measuring performance against plans and expected results
expressed in numerical terms.

Controlling: The managerial function of measuring and correcting performance of
activities of subordinates in order to assure that enterprise objectives and plans are
being accomplished.

Control Process: In managing, the basic process involves establishing standards,
measuring performance against standards and correcting for deviations.

Direct Control: The concept that the most direct of all controls is to assure highquality
managers on the premise that qualified managers make fewer mistakes
requiring other (or indirect; controls, perceive and anticipate problems, and initiate
appropriate actions to avoid or correct for deviations.

Feedback: An informational input in a system transmitting messages of system
operation to indicate whether the system is operating as planned. Information on
operations is relayed to the responsible persons for evaluation.

Feedforward Control: A control system that attempts to identify future deviations
from plans, early enough to take action before the deviations occur.

Organisation Structure and Processes

Accountability: Obligation to account for, and report upon the discharge of

responsibility and/or use of authority.

Authority: Powers and rights entrusted to enable performance of task assigned.
Centralisation: Concentration of authority at higher levels of management.

Coordination: Linking or relating various parts and activities of an organisation to
one another.

Delegation: Entrustment of responsibility and authority from one person to another.

Decentralisation: Systematic delegation of authority in an organisation-wide
context.

Profit Centre: A work unit (department or division) which is held accountable for
the profit it earns and the loss it sustains.

Responsibility: Activities which must be performed to carry out the task assigned.

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Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part V

Listed Few more Important Keywords on


1. Organisational Structure and Design
2. Managerial Communication
3. PLANNING PROCESS

1. Organisational Structure and Design

Structure: Formal and established pattern of relationship in an organisation. The
relationship includes people, tasks and activities.

Environment: The business environment of a firm comprising economic, social,
political, cultural, legal and geographic factors which critically affect the working
of organisation.

Centralisation: The concentration of power and authority. This may be concentrated
in a person or a group of persons in the organisation.

Delegation: The sharing or handing over of authority and responsibility to a
subordinate.

Line Functions: Those functions in an organisation which are perceived tobe
directly contributing to the organisation's objectives.

Staff Functions: Functions which are advisory or auxiliary in nature but do not
directl contribute towards the organisational objectives.

Scalar Principle: The chain of direct authority relationship from superior to
subordinate within the organisation.

Principle of Division of Work: That principle by which work is organised into
smaller jobs allowing people to undertake only specialised activities thus ensuring
efficiency i the use of labour.

Organisation Chart: The depiction of specific positions in an organisation, their
state within the organisation and the reporting relationship between a subordinate
and his superior.

Differentiation: The process by which the tasks and activities of an organisation are
segmented into smaller groups. The basis for differentiation may be function,
product, location or customer.

Integration: The process by which differentiated groups are pulled together to
contribute towards the common organisational objectives. Hierarchical control,
administrative procedures and communication networks are the processes used for
integration.

Geographical Structure: The organisation structure in which activities and tasks are
grouped together on the basis of their location in a geographical zone or territory.

Functional Structure: The organisation structure wherein activities and tasks are
observed into smaller groups on the basis of their belonging or contributing to a
particular function such as manufacturing, marketing, finance etc.

Product Structure: An organisation in which activities and tasks are grouped on the
basis of individual products or product lines.

Matrix Structure: Used generally for project execution which requires the services
of skilled functional people and the specialised knowledge of product specialists.

Matrix structure is a combination of the functional and product structures and its
distinguishing characteristic is dual authority.

Network Structure: A structure in which one organisation acts as the `lead'
organisation and creates a network of many other external organisations whose
services the lead organisation utilises in fulfilment of its objectives.

Principle of Span of Control: The principle which states that there is a limit in each
managerial position on the number of persons which can be effectively controlled.

2. Managerial Communication


Communication: The process of transmitting or receiving abstractions such as ideas or
beliefs through the use of symbols and language.

Communication Networks: Patterns of channels of communication.

Communication Barriers: Physical, psychological and organisational hindrances
resulting into ineffective communication.

Grapevine: A very powerful informal communication channel.

3. PLANNING PROCESS


Strategic Planning: Planning activity undertaken keeping in mind the long-term future
of an organisation.

Operational Planning: Planning activities related to day to day functioning of an
organisation.


"Source: IGNOU Booklet"

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Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part IV

Listed Few Important keywords on Managing Change:


Adaptive-coping Cycle: The attributes of an organisation change in order to help it
cope with changes in the environment.

Amoeba Syndrome: Lack of strong direction from top executives, not enough
structure, order or guidance leading to activity trap. Doing things without knowing
where one is leading.

Anarchy Syndrome: A situational upheaval where leadership responsibilities,
functions and resources are in dispute.

Bottoms-up Strategy: A change implementation strategy which assumes that
employees welcome change and should be involved in imitation of change.

Buggywhip Syndrome: Clinging to obsolete products, services and practices which
no longer have potential for sustaining its livelihood.

Change Agents: Members of an organisation whose role involves strategies and.
procedures for inducing change in the organisation.

Deadlock Syndrome: Stand off condition between management and leader of work'
force leading to antagonistic relation between the factions.

Diagnostic Variables: Are the eight independent factors which need to be assessed
before the strategy for implementing change is decided upon.

Differentiation: Division of the organisation into specialised subsystems to cope
with various demands imposed upon by the environment.

Domino Effect: A situation where one change sets off other changes in an
organisation owing to interdependence of various subsystems.

Driving Forces: These are pressures or the needs for change which demand
corrective action, which must be perceived by every manager.

Evolutionary Change: In course of time, every organisation exhibits change which
is slow, smooth and gradual from birth to maturity to decline and may be even death.

Growth Phases: An organisation, like a living organism passes through various
stages of growth such as birth, maturity, decline and death.

Integration: Refers to the unity of purpose and commonality of wider goals that
holds the diverse and specialised subsystems of an organisation together.

Moving Phase: This phase involves actual change in the various components, for
subsystems of an organisation.

Mom and Pop Syndrome: Small company managers can not/will not help the
company grow past the awkward stage.

Myopia Syndrome: No future orientation, little thought to strategy, sense of
direction and advance planning.

Proactive Change: Change that anticipates a desired state of affairs. It contrasts with
reactive change as purposive behaviour contrasts with reflexive behaviour.

Purposive Response: It is a response to a stimulus that involves planning and
coordination of effort with respect to the goal in mind.

Rat-race Syndrome: Toxic climate coming from oppressive, primitive, slave driving
policy.

Reactive Change: Change that is initiated in response to needs as force generated by
the organisation's interaction with the environment.

Reflexive Response: it is the immediate, spontaneous, automatic and unthinking
reaction to a stimulus.

Refreezing Phase: It involves reinforcing newly generated changes through a
process of countering instability and ensuring compatibility between various
subsystems.

Remote Control Syndrome: Too much administrative or executive control from the
parent body. Decision-making autonomy is seriously impaired.

Resisting Forces: Personality and social system related factors that generate
responses which tend to check onset of change.

Revolutionary Change: Every now and then, there emerges a crisis situation in an
organisation, which necessitates a rapid, visible, radical shake up in its structure,
policies, procedures or personnel.

Rigor Mortis Syndrome: Conditions of inertia and constricted activity prevail.
Primary organisation value is structure and order.

Tops-down Strategy: A change implementation strategy that believes in change
coming by way of directives from top management as being entirely appropriate.

Unfreezing Phase: This initiates the change process. It leads to recognising the need
for change after having questioned existing value suppositions.

Young Turk: Is a type of change agent who is young, dynamic, pushy, persistent and
ambitious. His new ideas tend to challenge status quo.

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Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part III

Antecedent Conditions: The source of conflict where cause for conflict exists in an
incipient form, but it need not necessarily lead to actual conflict.

Approach Approach Conflict: Conflict between two equally attractive choices.


Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: Conflict between two equally unpleasant choices,
or in choosing the lesser evil.

Avoidance: Withdrawal from or suppressing conflict. Management of Organisational
Conflicts

Bargaining: Is a conflict containment or resolution strategy that involves mutual
compromise and concession.

Behavioural View of Conflict: The belief that conflict is an inevitable outcome in
any group.

Conflict Aftermath: Refers to the consequences that different conflict handling
strategies may have on the antecedent conditions. It may either resolve the conflict or
make for future conflict.

Conflict Handling Behaviour: It refers to the conscious action of one party to the
conflict in checking the other party from reaching his goals.

Conflict Resolution: Refers to the manner in which a manager could address himself
to a conflict situation. The chief modes are avoidance, defusion, containment and
confrontation.

Conflict Stimulation: Refers to a situation when common values are challenged. It
can often be a useful way of re-examining one's position and discovering alternatives.

Confrontation Strategy: Is a strategy designed to uncover all the issues of the
conflict and find a mutually acceptable solution. It can be accomplished through the
openness of problem solving, or through a comprehensive organisation redesign.

Containment Strategy: Is a strategy of controlled conflict management where issues
are selectively discussed through mediating representatives, or by structuring the
interaction patterns or through bargaining.

Delusion Strategy: Attempts to keep conflict in abeyance and cast tempers through
smoothing or by appeal to super-ordinate goals.

Dysfunctional Conflict: Conflict that hinders group performance.
Felt Conflict: Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness,
frustration, or hostility.

Functional Conflict: Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its
performance.

Goal Diversity: The efficient functioning of every part of an organisation requires
formulation of its own immediate goals, which may or may not be compatible with
overall organisation objectives.

Interactionist View of Conflict: The belief that conflict is not only a positive force
in the group, but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively.

Intergroup Conflict: Conflict between the various constituent units of an
organisation such as Unions and Management, between various functional areas, etc.

Interpersonal Conflict: Conflict between various individuals in an organisation
which may stem from personal dislikes, personality differences, or role related
matters.

Intragroup Conflict: Conflict within a group between various individuals due to lack
of consensus or inability to conform to group norms.

Intrrpersonal Contlict: Conflict within the individual, involving a decision
regarding the choice to opt for in any instance of behaviour.

Manifest Conflict: It results from perceived and/or felt conflict. Conflict comes out
into the open and influences action.

Perceived Conflict: Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions
that create opportunities for the rise of conflict. It is different from felt conflict in that
it is not personalised.

Problem Solving: Bringing about change or resolving conflict through interpersonal
discussions; seeks to identify differences.

Smoothing: Conflict defusion by playing down its importance, thereby avoiding
escalation and letting people regain their perspective.

Superordinate Goals: The long range aims or higher goals that are common to all in
an organisation even in a conflict situation.

Task Interdependence:: The mutual inter-connectedness of responsibilities of
various parts of an organisation that is essential for efficient functioning.

Traditional View of Conflict: The view that all conflict must be avoided.


Source: IGNOU Booklet

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Few Important Keywords in Management Functions and Behaviours Part II

Firm or Company: Includes all types of business organisations and noncommercial
organisations and institutions such as universities, hospitals, libraries,
etc. Our discussion in this Unit is in the context of a business firm but all that we
discussed is valid for non-business organisations too.

Environment: The universe in which the firm operates is known as its
environment and includes all those economic, political, socio-cultural, legal,
demographic factors, etc. which have a critical bearing on its operations.
Levels of Business Activity: All business activities can be classified into a
hierarchy of three levels.

Corporate Level: This refers to the top management level of an industrial or
business group which has under its management more than one firm, each with a
different product/market scope. These may be engaged in the same or different
industries and may be located in different cities or countries. The concern of the
top management is to manage the complex and diverse sets of business activities
best to serve the interests of the group as a whole.

Business Level: The business level is concerned with the management of one or
more firms which have a common product/ market scope and from the viewpoint
of management is treated as a single unit. The concern of the management is how
best to compete in the specific product/ market scope.

Functional Level: At the functional level the concern of the management is to
maximise productivity of resources deployed in the various functional areas such
as marketing, finance, personnel, production etc.


Adaptive Decision: An adaptive decision involves a. problem with a large number of
decision variables where outcomes are not predictable.

Mechanistic Decision: A routine and repetitive decision.

Heuristics: Heuristic is a rule which guides the search for alternatives into areas that
have a high probability for yielding satisfactory solutions.


Brainstorming: A group process, where the members are presented with a problem
and are asked to develop as many solutions as possible in a free environment.

Operations Research: Use of scientific methods of analysis to process complex
information and arrive at decisions achieving an optimum balance of probabilities as
well as identifiable facts.

Synectics: A method of generating alternatives by combining diverse and apparently
irrelevant ideas.


Action Planning: Drawing up of detailed plans which spell out the various
sequential activities to be performed in order to achieve the specified objectives.
Corporate Planning: Planning undertaken by the top management to define
objectives for the entire organisation as well as the means of achieving these
objectives.

Effectiveness: The extent to which the output requirements are actually achieved.
Emphasis on doing the right things.

Efficiency: Ratio of output to input, doing things in the right manner.
Joint Objective Setting: A process by which a boss and his immediate subordinate
arrive at mutually agreeable objectives for the latter.

Key Result Areas: Those results or outputs whose achievement is critical to the
survival of the specific managerial position. These can also be defined at the level of
a division, a unit and the entire organisation.

Objectives: Expected results.

Performance Review: A system for evaluating the results achieved as against the
specified objectives in order to initiate corrective action and improve future
performance.


Action-Goal Orientation: Tendency to think about one's goals in activity terms.

Atypical Behaviour: Actions which are not usually displayed by the majority of
people in any group.

Conflict: The extent to which people oppose and block each other.

Consideration: The extent to which stimulation and help is received by an individual
from others.

Control: The degree to which a check is kept on the behaviour of an individual.

Encounter: A stage of socialisation when a person explores the difference between
his expectations and reality.

Equity: A value of maintaining fairness in receiving a reward in proportion to one's'
contribution.

Ethos: Character and values of an individual or of a group.

Individual Autonomy: The extent of freedom from accountability to others.

Internal Resources: Awareness of one's intellectual and moral strength.

Metamorphosis: A stage of socialisation where adaptation and changes take place.

Normative Behaviour; Actions which are usually displayed by majority people in
any group.


OC: A coined term which refers to perceived characteristics of organisational climate
and organisational culture.

Opportunity: A value which stands for providing enough scope to people to develop
their capacities.

Organisational Climate: Enduring qualities of the internal environment of an
organisation.

Organisational Culture: A relatively uniform perception about a number of features
of an organisation which allows distinction of one organisation from others.

Position Structure: The extent of direct supervision and formalisation.

Prearrival: A stage of socialisation which screens the values, attitudes and
expectations of people before joining an organisation.

Pro-action: An orientation to take initiative and to do things without being told to
do.

Problem-solving Attitude: A propensity to face problems rather than avoiding them.

Progressiveness & Development: The scope for growth of oneself and others.

Reward Orientation: The tendency to provide incentives for higher effort and
performance.

Risk-taking: The extent of freedom given in an organisation to experiment with new
untried ideas.

Security: A value which stands for providing economically, physically and
emotionally safe environment to employees.

Social Forces: The forces in the environment outside an organisation.

Socialisation: A process of adaptation through which the people come to understand
the values, norms and customs of an organisation.

System 4: A type of organisation structure which allows participation and
involvement of all groups in all important processes.

Value: An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally and socially
preferable to other alternative modes of conduct.

Work Values: Degree of worth a person ascribes to the opportunity of work.




Source: IGNOU Booklet

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