MMPC-011 Solved Assignment

Question 1

Rewritten question: Explain key contemporary leadership theories discussed in the course and show how each can be applied in real organisational situations.

Core idea

In organisational behaviour, leadership is discussed as more than giving orders; it is closely linked with how managers understand people, choose a suitable style for the situation, and create conditions in which employees perform effectively. The course highlights that modern thinking moves away from “one best way” and places emphasis on support, participation, and situational fit.

(A) Contingency-oriented leadership (diagnosis and fit)

• What it means: A contingency view suggests that managerial/leader behaviour should vary with situational dynamics; therefore, managers need to diagnose the situation and then choose what will work best in that context.
• How the course frames it: The course describes a contingent management style (linked with path-goal thinking) as a process of “diagnosis and choice” of managerial behaviour rather than rigidly following a single style.
• Applied example (workplace-style): If a team is unclear about tasks and deadlines, a manager may first diagnose that the problem is low clarity and then use a more structured approach (clear instructions, milestones). If the team is competent but demotivated, the diagnosis changes and the manager may shift toward encouragement and support. This “fit” logic aligns with the course’s emphasis on situational variations and diagnosis-based choice.

(B) Supportive and collegial models of leadership (human-focused leadership)

• Supportive model: The supportive model emphasises that organisational effectiveness depends strongly on managerial leadership that provides psychological support and helps employees feel valued, rather than relying mainly on power or money.
• Collegial model: The collegial approach highlights teamwork and partnership, where employees are encouraged to participate and contribute responsibly.
• Applied example (workplace-style): When a new employee joins a department, a supportive/collegial leader reduces anxiety by clarifying expectations, encouraging questions, and creating a safe environment to learn. This builds confidence and cooperation, which the course treats as central for effective behaviour at work.

(C) Transactional, transformational, and transcendental leadership (values and meaning)

• Transactional leadership: Focuses on exchanges—performance is linked with rewards, rules, and monitoring.
• Transformational leadership: Focuses on uplifting motivation by shaping purpose, commitment, and higher-level engagement (beyond routine exchange).
• Transcendental leadership: The course presents transcendental leadership as integrating transactional and transformational elements while adding a spirituality/value-based dimension.
• Applied example (workplace-style): A transactional leader may push timely completion through incentives and compliance checks. A transformational leader, in contrast, links the work to a larger purpose and builds confidence to attempt improvements. A transcendental orientation further adds an ethical and meaning-centred tone—encouraging employees to see work as connected to values and service, not only targets.

(D) Spiritual leadership theory (intrinsic motivation through vision and care)

• Key idea: Spiritual leadership theory is presented as building intrinsic motivation through elements such as vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love, which can strengthen commitment and positive work outcomes.
• Applied example (workplace-style): During stressful change, a leader who communicates a clear vision, demonstrates genuine care, and builds trust can reduce cynicism and increase voluntary cooperation—helping people remain engaged even when tasks are demanding.

(E) Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) as a relationship-based view

• Key idea: The course notes LMX as a relationship between superior and subordinate characterised by trust, respect/liking, and quality interaction, which can shape employee attitudes and extra efforts.
• Applied example (workplace-style): When a supervisor consistently listens, supports, and recognises genuine effort, employees are more likely to reciprocate through helping behaviours and cooperation, strengthening the team’s functioning.

Question 2

Rewritten question: Describe the behaviour modification (Organisational Behaviour Modification) process and explain it with suitable organisational examples.

Concept base

The course connects behaviour modification to operant conditioning: behaviour tends to be repeated or reduced depending on its consequences (such as rewards or punishments).

Meaning of OB Mod

Organisational Behaviour Modification (OB Mod) is explained as an attempt to influence employee behaviour by managing the consequences that follow behaviour—so that desirable behaviour increases and undesirable behaviour reduces.

Behaviour modification process (student-friendly steps)

• Step 1: Behavioural assessment (identify critical behaviour and current pattern)
  The first step is to identify the specific work behaviour that needs change and understand its present frequency/conditions.
• Step 2: Behavioural intervention (choose and apply consequence strategies)
  The intervention is built by managing consequences through reinforcement strategies—commonly discussed as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction.
• Step 3: Evaluation and follow-up (check whether behaviour changed and sustain it)
  After implementing the intervention, the manager evaluates results, compares performance with the earlier pattern, and takes follow-up steps to maintain improvement.

Reinforcement strategies (how each works in practice)

• Positive reinforcement: Add a desirable outcome after desired behaviour (e.g., recognition for meeting a safety routine).
• Negative reinforcement: Remove an unpleasant condition when desired behaviour occurs (e.g., reduce close monitoring after consistent compliance).
• Punishment: Apply an unpleasant consequence after undesirable behaviour (used carefully to avoid resentment and other negative effects).
• Extinction: Stop reinforcing an undesirable behaviour so it gradually declines.

How reinforcement is scheduled (why it matters)

The course also explains that reinforcement can be given on different schedules (for example, ratio/interval-based), and the chosen schedule affects how strongly behaviour is learned and maintained.

Worked organisational-style example

• Problem: Employees ignore a safety step (e.g., skipping a protective routine) and minor incidents keep happening.
• Assessment: Track how often the safety step is skipped, and note when it happens (time pressure, low supervision, etc.).
• Intervention: Introduce positive reinforcement (public recognition or small rewards) for consistent compliance; remove unnecessary irritants that make compliance difficult; apply fair corrective action for repeated violations; and avoid giving attention to excuses that previously “rewarded” the unsafe shortcut.
• Evaluation: Compare incidents and compliance rates after intervention; continue follow-up so the safer behaviour becomes the normal routine.

Question 3

Rewritten question: Explain any two motivation theories from the course and illustrate them with relevant examples.

(A) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Key explanation

Maslow’s approach explains motivation as movement through a hierarchy of needs—starting from basic needs and moving upward toward higher psychological growth needs. The course presents the classic five levels: physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem, and self-actualisation.

How to apply it (managerial interpretation)

• Lower-level needs at work: Employees may initially focus on pay (meeting basic needs) and job security/safe conditions (safety needs).
• Social and esteem needs: Team belonging, respectful treatment, and recognition influence motivation strongly once basic stability is present.
• Self-actualisation: Opportunities to learn, take responsibility, and do meaningful work support higher-level motivation.

Example (course-aligned)

If a workplace improves basic working conditions and security, employees may begin to care more about team respect and recognition. The course also notes that need hierarchy can vary and change with factors like education, maturity, and work environment—so managers should not assume the same needs dominate for everyone.

(B) McClelland’s Needs Theory (Achievement, Power, Affiliation)

Key explanation

The course discusses motivation through learned needs, particularly the achievement motive, power motive, and affiliation motive, and also notes that achievement motivation has been studied and measured using projective methods such as the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

How the three needs show up in organisations

• Need for achievement: Preference for challenging goals, performance feedback, and improvement-focused effort.
• Need for power: Desire to influence others and make an impact; the course links power motive with managerial effectiveness when channelled appropriately.
• Need for affiliation: Preference for friendly relationships, cooperation, and acceptance in groups.

Example (course-aligned)

If two employees are given the same assignment, one may be motivated mainly by achievement (wants measurable results and feedback), while another may be motivated by affiliation (wants collaborative work and harmony). A manager who understands these different dominant needs can allocate tasks and recognition accordingly, improving commitment and performance.

Question 4

Rewritten question: Define organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and explain major ways the course approaches/classifies OCB.

Meaning of OCB

Organisational citizenship behaviour is explained as discretionary employee behaviour that is not directly or explicitly part of the formal reward system, but it supports the effective functioning of the organisation. In simple terms, it is the “extra” contribution people choose to give beyond minimum job requirements.

Approach 1: OCB by target (OCB-I and OCB-O)

• OCB-I: Citizenship behaviours directed toward individuals (helping colleagues, cooperating, supporting a newcomer).
• OCB-O: Citizenship behaviours directed toward the organisation (volunteering for organisational activities, protecting organisational resources, showing loyalty).

Approach 2: OCB by dimensions (Organ’s five-dimension view)

The course presents a widely used dimensional approach in which OCB is described through five components:

• Altruism: helping specific people with work-related problems
• Conscientiousness: going beyond minimum role requirements in reliability/effort
• Sportsmanship: maintaining a positive attitude instead of complaining excessively
• Courtesy: preventing problems through consideration and timely communication
• Civic virtue: responsible participation and concern for the organisation’s life and reputation

Approach 3: OCB as extra-role/prosocial/contextual contribution

The course also discusses how OCB is closely linked with ideas like extra-role behaviour, prosocial organisational behaviour, and contextual performance—each highlighting voluntary behaviours that improve how work gets done (through cooperation, initiative, and positive social functioning).

Mini example (course-aligned)

If an employee helps a colleague solve a work problem without being asked, that reflects OCB directed toward individuals. If the employee voluntarily joins an organisational initiative and promotes the organisation’s interests, that reflects OCB directed toward the organisation. These behaviours are typically not written as formal job duties, yet they improve overall effectiveness.

Question 5

Rewritten question: Explain the basic elements in the perceptual process and discuss factors that influence perception, using examples.

Why perception matters in organisations

The course emphasises that people do not respond only to “objective reality”; they respond to how they perceive situations, events, and other people. Differences in perception can create misunderstanding and behavioural problems at work.

Basic elements in the perceptual process

The course summarises the perceptual process as a sequence of five main stages:

• Receiving stimuli
• Selecting what to pay attention to (selective attention)
• Organising selected stimuli into patterns (perceptual organisation)
• Interpreting and making meaning (sense-making)
• Reacting (behavioural response based on that meaning)

Factors influencing perception (with examples)

The course groups influencing factors into three broad categories: the perceiver, the target, and the situation.

• Perceiver-related factors: attitudes, motives, interests, past experience, expectations. For example, the same classroom setting can be perceived differently by two students depending on personality and preference for group size; likewise, unsatisfied needs can make certain cues stand out more strongly.
• Target-related factors: background, proximity, novelty, motion, sounds, size. For example, people often notice a figure differently depending on its background, and may group nearby events together even if they are unrelated.
• Situation-related factors: time, work environment, social environment, light, heat, and overall context. For example, a small mistake may be noticed sharply on a day when senior leadership is meeting, while it might be ignored on a normal day.

Common perceptual distortions (important influencing issues)

The course identifies common errors that distort accurate perception, especially in social perception and appraisal contexts:

• Halo effect: judging someone broadly based on one noticeable trait (favourable or unfavourable).
• Stereotyping: assigning traits based on group/category membership rather than individual evidence.
• Projection: assuming others have the same traits or motives we have.
• Expectancy (Pygmalion effect): seeing what we expect to see, which can bias later judgement.

Link with attribution (how causes are assigned)

Attribution is described as the way people explain causes behind behaviour, often as internal (dispositional) or external (situational). The course notes that attribution theory uses distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency to decide whether behaviour is internally or externally caused, and it highlights the fundamental attribution error as a common bias when judging others.

Example (course-aligned organisational setting)

If a production manager observes strong performance from a supervisor, the response depends on what cause the manager attributes to that performance (internal competence/drive versus external technology or conditions). This shows how perception and attribution together shape managerial behaviour such as praise, rewards, or changes in work arrangements.