UNIT II

Motivation

Question Bank

Q1) Explain the Meaning of Motivation.

A1) The term motivation is derived from the word ‘motive”. The word ‘motive’ as a noun means an objective, as a verb this word means moving into action. Therefore, motives are forces which induce people to act in a way, so as to ensure the fulfillment of a particular human need at a time. Behind every human action there is a motive. Therefore, management must provide motives to people to make them work for the organization.

Motivation may be defined as a planned managerial process, which stimulates people to work to the best of their capabilities, by providing them with motives, which are based on their unfulfilled needs.

“Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goods.” —William G. Scott

“Motivation is the process of attempting to influence others to do your will through the possibility of gain or reward.” — Flippo

Motivation is, in fact, pressing the right button to get the desired human behaviour.

Motivation is no doubt an essential ingredient of any Organisation. It is the psychological technique which really executes the plans and policies through the efforts of others.

Q2) Explain the Importance of motivation.

A2) Motivation is an integral part of the process of direction.

While directing his subordinate, a manager must create and sustain in them the desire to work for the specified objectives:

1. High Efficiency:

A good motivational system releases the immense untapped reservoirs of physical and mental capabilities. A number of studies have shown that motivation plays a crucial role in determining the level of performance. “Poorly motivated people can nullify the soundest organisation.” said Allen.

By satisfying human needs motivation helps in increasing productivity. Better utilisation of resources lowers cost of operations. Motivation is always goal directed. Therefore, higher the level of motivation, greater is the degree of goal accomplishment.

2. Better Image:

A firm that provides opportunities for financial and personal advancement has a better image in the employment market. People prefer to work for an enterprise because of opportunity for development, and sympathetic outlook. This helps in attracting qualified personnel and simplifies the staffing function.

3. Facilitates Change:

Effective motivation helps to overcome resistance to change and negative attitude on the part of employees like restriction of output. Satisfied workers take interest in new organizational goals and are more receptive to changes that management wants to introduce in order to improve efficiency of operations.

4. Human Relations:

Effective motivation creates job satisfaction which results in cordial relations between employer and employees. Industrial disputes, labour absenteeism and turnover are reduced with consequent benefits. Motivation helps to solve the central problem of management, i.e., effective use of human resources. Without motivation the workers may not put their best efforts and may seek satisfaction of their needs outside the organisation.

The success of any organisation depends upon the optimum utilisation of resources. The utilisation of physical resources depends upon the ability to work and the willingness to work of the employees. In practice, ability is not the problem but necessary will to work is lacking. Motivation is the main tool for building such a will. It is for this reason that Rensis Likert said, “Motivation is the core of management.” It is the key to management in action.

Q3) Explain the Theories of Motivation.

A3)

1. MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY THEORY:

It is probably safe to say that the most well-known theory of motivation is Maslow’s need hierarchy theory Maslow’s theory is based on the human needs. Drawing chiefly on his clinical experience, he classified all human needs into a hierarchical manner from the lower to the higher order.

In essence, he believed that once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate man. Then, the next higher level of need has to be activated in order to motivate the man. Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy as shown in figure 17.2.

These are now discussed one by one:

1. Physiological Needs:

These needs are basic to human life and, hence, include food, clothing, shelter, air, water and necessities of life. These needs relate to the survival and maintenance of human life. They exert tremendous influence on human behaviour. These needs are to be met first at least partly before higher level needs emerge. Once physiological needs are satisfied, they no longer motivate the man.

2. Safety Needs:

After satisfying the physiological needs, the next needs felt are called safety and security needs. These needs find expression in such desires as economic security and protection from physical dangers. Meeting these needs requires more money and, hence, the individual is prompted to work more. Like physiological needs, these become inactive once they are satisfied.

3. Social Needs:

Man is a social being. He is, therefore, interested in social interaction, companionship, belongingness, etc. It is this socialising and belongingness why individuals prefer to work in groups and especially older people go to work.

4. Esteem Needs:

These needs refer to self-esteem and self-respect. They include such needs which indicate self-confidence, achievement, competence, knowledge and independence. The fulfillment of esteem needs leads to self-confidence, strength and capability of being useful in the organisation. However, inability to fulfill these needs results in feeling like inferiority, weakness and helplessness.

5. Self-Actualization Needs:

This level represents the culmination of all the lower, intermediate, and higher needs of human beings. In other words, the final step under the need hierarchy model is the need for self-actualization. This refers to fulfillment.

The term self-actualization was coined by Kurt Goldstein and means to become actualized in what one is potentially good at. In effect, self- actualization is the person’s motivation to transform perception of self into reality.

According to Maslow, the human needs follow a definite sequence of domination. The second need does not arise until the first is reasonably satisfied, and the third need does not emerge until the first two needs have been reasonably satisfied and it goes on. The other side of the need hierarchy is that human needs are unlimited. However, Maslow’s need hierarchy-theory is not without its detractors.

The main criticisms of the theory include the following:

1. The needs may or may not follow a definite hierarchical order. So to say, there may be overlapping in need hierarchy. For example, even if safety need is not satisfied, the social need may emerge.

2. The need priority model may not apply at all times in all places.

3. Researches show that man’s behaviour at any time is mostly guided by multiplicity of behaviour. Hence, Maslow’s preposition that one need is satisfied at one time is also of doubtful validity.

4. In case of some people, the level of motivation may be permanently lower. For example, a person suffering from chronic unemployment may remain satisfied for the rest of his life if only he/she can get enough food.

Notwithstanding, Maslow’s need hierarchy theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic and easy to understand. One researcher came to the conclusion that theories that are intuitively strong die hard’.

2. MCGREGOR’S PARTICIPATION THEORY:

Douglas McGregor formulated two distinct views of human being based on participation of workers. The first basically negative, labeled Theory X, and the other basically positive, labeled Theory Y.

Theory X is based on the following assumptions:

1. People are by nature indolent. That is, they like to work as little as possible.

2. People lack ambition, dislike responsibility, and prefer to be directed by others.

3. People are inherently self-centered and indifferent to organisational needs and goals.

4. People are generally gullible and not very sharp and bright.

On the contrary, Theory Y assumes that:

1. People are not by nature passive or resistant to organisational goals.

2. They want to assume responsibility.

3. They want their organisation to succeed.

4. People are capable of directing their own behaviour.

5. They have need for achievement

What McGregor tried to dramatise through his theory X and Y is to outline the extremes to draw the fencing within which the organisational man is usually seen to behave. The fact remains that no organisational man would actually belong either to theory X or theory Y. In reality, he/she shares the traits of both. What actually happens is that man swings from one set or properties to the other with changes in his mood and motives in changing .environment.

3.  HERZBERG’S MOTIVATION HYGIENE THEORY:

The psychologist Frederick Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and proposed a replacement motivation theory popularly referred to as Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene (Two-Factor) Theory. Herzberg conducted a widely reported motivational study on 200 accountants and engineers employed by firms in and around Western Pennsylvania.

He asked these people to explain two important incidents at their jobs:

(1) When did you feel particularly good about your job, and

(2) When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job? He used the critical incident method of obtaining data.

The responses when analysed were found quite interesting and fairly consistent. The replies respondents gave once they felt good about their jobs were significantly different from the replies given once they felt bad. Reported good feelings were generally related to job satisfaction, whereas bad feeling with job dissatisfaction. Herzberg labeled the work satisfiers motivators, and he called job dissatisfies hygiene or maintenance factors. Taken together, the motivators and hygiene factors have become referred to as Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation

Herzberg’s motivational and hygiene factors are shown in the Table 17.1

According to Herzberg, the other of satisfaction isn't dissatisfaction. The underlying reason, he says, is that removal of dissatisfying characteristics from a job doesn't necessarily make the job satisfying. He believes in the existence of a dual continuum. The other of ‘satisfaction’ is ‘no satisfaction’ and therefore the opposite of ‘dissatisfaction’ is ‘no dis-satisatisfaction’.

According to Herzberg, today’s motivators are tomorrow’s hygiene because the latter stop influencing the behaviour of persons once they get them. Accordingly, one’s hygiene could also be the motivator of another.

However, Herzberg’s model is labeled with the subsequent criticism also:

1. People have a tendency to take credit themselves when things go well. They blame failure on the external environment.

2. The theory basically explains job satisfaction, not motivation.

3. Even job satisfaction isn't measured on an overall basis. it's not unlikely that an individual may dislike a part of his/ her job, still thinks the job acceptable.

4. This theory neglects situational variable to motivate an individual.

Because of its ubiquitous nature, salary commonly shows up as a motivator also as hygiene.

Regardless of criticism, Herzberg’s ‘two-factor motivation theory’ has been widely read and a few managers seem untaminar together with his recommendations. the most use of his recommendations lies in planning and controlling of employees work.

4. Quchi’s Theory:

Quchi’s Theory Z has attracted the lot of attention of management practitioners also as researchers. It must be noted that Z doesn't represent anything, is simply the last alphabet within the English.

Theory Z is predicated on the subsequent four postulates:

1. Strong Bond between Organisation and Employees

2. Employee Participation and Involvement

3. No Formal Organisation Structure

4. Human Resource Development

Ouchi’s Theory Z represents the adoption of Japanese management practices (group deciding, social cohesion, job security, holistic concern for workers, etc.)by the American companies. In India, Maruti-Suzuki, Hero-Honda, etc., apply the postulates of theory Z.

Q4) Write a note on Morale.

A4) Employee morale is the relationship that a particular employee or a group of employees have with their work and the organization they work for. High employee morale means that employees are happy, and this is reflective in the kind of work they produce. On the other hand, low employee morale results in less productivity and pessimism among employees. It is important for every organization to continually keep employee morale high.

According to Dalton E. McFarland, morale is basically a group phenomenon. It is a concept that describes the level of favourable or unfavourable attitude of employees collectively to all aspects of their work—the job, the company, their tasks, working conditions, fellow workers, superiors and so on.

Nature of Employee Morale:

Morale represents a composite of feelings, attitudes, and sentiments that contribute to general feelings of satisfactions. It is a state of mind and spirit affecting willingness to work, which, in turn, affects orga­nizational and individual objectives. It describes the overall group satisfaction.

1. High morale and low morale:

If the enthusiasm and willingness to work of a group is high, we can say morale is high and vice versa. Just as good health is essential for an individual, high morale is necessary for an organization. High morale represents an attitude of satisfaction with desire to continue and willingness to strive for the goals of the group. Under conditions of high morale, workers have few grievances, frustrations, and complaints. They are clear about the goals—individual and organizational—and are satisfied with human relations in the organization.

2. Morale versus motivation:

Morale should be distinguished from motivation. Although both are cognitive concepts, they are quite different. Morale is a composite of feelings, attitudes and senti­ments that contribute to general feeling of satisfaction at the workplace. But motivation is something that moves a person to action.

It is a process of stimulating individu­als to action to accomplish the desired goal. It is a function of drives and needs. Motivation is con­cerned with ‘mobilization of energy’, whereas morale is concerned with ‘mobilization of sentiments’.

3. Morale affects productivity:

Morale has a direct effect on productivity. High morale leads to high productivity and low morale leads to low productivity.

4. Measurement of morale:

It is hard to measure morale directly as it is an intangible state of mind of the workers.

There are four methods which can be used for measuring the morale of the employee indirectly:

a. Observation:

The managers can measure the morale of the employees by keenly observing and studying their activities and behaviour. Since the manager is close to the scene of action, they can always find out unusual behaviours and report promptly. Observation is not a very reliable way of measuring morale.

b. Attitude or morale survey:

Survey helps to know the opinion of the employees either by direct interview or by questionnaires. Efforts are made to find out the view of employees about their job, co-workers, supervisors, and the organization.

c. Morale indicators:

Employee morale can be measured by examining company records regard­ing absenteeism, labour turnover, fluctuations in output, quality records, excessive waste and scrap, training records, accident rate, and the number of grievances filed.

d. Suggestion boxes:

Employees can be asked to put in their complaints, protests, and sugges­tions in suggestion boxes even without disclosing their identity. Morale generates long-term benefits such as improving the goodwill and increasing the productivity for the organization, and a satisfied employee is an asset to the organization.

Morale is an important part of organizational climate. It is a vital ingredient of organization success because it reflects the attitudes and sentiments of organizational members towards the organization, its objectives, and policies. Morale is the total satisfaction that employees derive from their job, their work group, their boss, their organization and their environment.

Morale of employees must be kept high to achieve the following benefits:

1. Willing cooperation towards objectives of the organization.

2. Loyalty to the organization and its leadership or management

3. Good discipline—voluntary conformity to rules and regulations

4. High degrees of employees’ interest in their jobs and organization

5. Pride in the organization

6. Reduction of rates of absenteeism and labour turnover

7. Happy employees are productive employees

Indicators of Low Morale:

Low morale indicates the presence of mental unrest. Such a situation will have the following adverse consequences;

1. High rates of absenteeism and labour turnover.

2. Excessive complaints and grievances.

3. Frustration among the workers.

4. Friction among the workers and their groups.

5. Antagonism towards leadership of the organization.

6. Lack of discipline.

Morale building is a continuous process which cannot be stopped even for a moment. Morale cannot be maintained at a high level forever. It is dynamic. Morale building may be done either on individual basis or on ground basis. Morale building on group basis is always preferable. Group morale can be increased by understanding the group dynamics. It will automatically achieve the individual morale.

1. Fair remuneration:

Remuneration should be fair and equitable since this is the most important factor affecting the employee morale. The basic and incentive pay plans should be fair.

2. Incentives:

Monetary and non-monetary incentives to the employees are important to motivate them. Employees can be offered extra perks to improve morale. These can include time off, the option to work from home, a flexible schedule, or simple recognition when work is well done.

3. Work environment:

The condition of work should be friendly for the employee’s mental and physical well-being. Employees may be more concerned with intangible benefits, such as work- life balance and the atmosphere in the workplace.

4. Job satisfaction:

Well-placed employees take pride and interest in their work and feel satisfied.

5. Two-way communication:

Two-way communication (upward and downward) is necessary to know the sentiments of employees in the organization. Organization policies and programmes should be properly communicated to employees.

6. Training:

In this ever-evolving world of new technologies and ideas, employees need to stay up- to-date with developments in their field. Training gives psychological satisfaction to employees and improves their performance.

7. Worker’s participation:

Workers must be consulted and taken into confidence whenever a change is to be introduced.

8. Social group activities:

These activities encourage employees to take on a community-service project together. Employees will likely enjoy the opportunity to give back to their local com­munity. Management should encourage social group activities by the workers. This will help to develop greater group cohesiveness for building high morale.

9. Counselling:

Employee counselling helps the employees with their problems and complaints, and provides an opportunity to get back on track since the counsellor is impartial. It helps to reduce absenteeism and labour turnover. The release of emotional tension alone may serve to minimize dissatisfactions.

10. Treating employees with respect:

Treat employees with the courtesy and respect they deserve— say please and thank you. Ask about their weekend, and take an interest in projects that they are working on. Thus, an unhappy employee is an unproductive employee.

A company needs to pursue policies like the ones mentioned above to help its business become a more enjoyable place to work. Not only will employees start to look forward to their workdays, the organization will benefit from the new-found efficiency.

Q5) Write a note on Interpersonal Behaviour and Transaction Analysis.

A5) When people interact in organisations, there is a social transaction in which one person responds to another. ERIC BERNE is usually credited with starting the transactional movement for psychotherapy in the 1950s. He observed in his patients that often it was as if several different people were inside each person. He also observed that these various selves transmitted with people in different way.

In the words of Eric Berne, “The unit of social intercourse is called a transaction. If two or more people encounter each other in a social aggregation, sooner or later one of them will speak or give some other indication of acknowledging the presence of the other. This is called the transactional stimulus. Another person will then says or do something which is in some way related to this stimulus and that is called the transactional response.”

A few definitions of transactional analysis are as given below:

“Transactional analysis (TA) is a technique used to help people better understands their own and other’s behaviour, especially in interpersonal relationships.”

“TA refers to a method of analyzing and understanding interpersonal behaviour. TA offers a model of personality and the dynamics of self and its relationship to others that makes possible a clear and meaningful discussion of behaviour.”

After Eric Berne, this concept was made popular by Thomas A. Harris, Munel James and Dorothy Jongeward and Abe Wagner. In later years Jongeward and Wagner have shown how the concepts of TA can be applied to organisations for analyzing interpersonal communication and related to the work of other theories such as Douglas McGregor and Rensis Likert.

TA is primarily concerned with the following:

(i) Analysis of Self Awareness.

(ii) Analysis of Ego states.

(iii) Analysis of Transactions.

 (iv) Script analysis.

(v) Games analysis.

(vi) Analysis of life positions.

(vii) Stroking.

Analysis of Self Awareness:

The interpersonal relationships are composed of inter-self. Self is the core of personality pattern which provides integration. This relationship can be studied properly if a person can perceive his own behavioural style and at the same time how it is perceived by others. Self awareness is a cognitive concept; it describes the self in terms of image, both conscious and unconscious. Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham have developed a diagram to look at one’s personality including behaviours and attitudes that can be known and unknown to self and known and unknown to others. They named this diagram the Johari window.

This Johari window comprising of four quadrants is shown in the following diagram.

1. The Open Self:

The open quadrant refers to the behaviours, feelings and motivations of an individual which are known to self and also known to others in any specific organisational setting. Some individuals are straight forward, open and sharing. He himself is very clear about what he is doing, what he is feeling and what his motivations are. Similarly others are also very clear about his actions, feelings and motivations. In such type of interpersonal relationship, chances of conflict, if any, will be very little.

2. The Blind Self:

The blind self quadrant is unknown to self but known to others. Other people know what is happening to a person, but he himself is unaware of it. Very often such blind behaviour is copied by individuals from certain significant people unconsciously right since the childhood.

Since such a behaviour is copied unconsciously, people may not be aware of it. Another reason for this unawareness is that other people are not willing to be open and do not give relevant feed back to the person concerned. Even if there is a verbal or non-verbal response in the system, the individual may not be in a position to perceive it. There are chances of interpersonal conflict in this situation.

Jongeward and Seyer observes that, “Subtle bars to our personal effectiveness are often our blind quadrant. We may speak in a certain way with a tone of voice, a look on our face-a gesture-that we are blind to, but other people are acutely aware of it. In fact, our manner can affect how they perceive us and they believe they can interact with us.”

3. The Hidden Self:

The hidden self is the quadrant which is known to self but not known to others. This is a very private and personal window because only the person concerned knows what is happening. The individual is aware about the hidden self but does not want to share it with others. People learn to hide their feeling and ideas right from the childhood. Other people in the system are unable to perceive the verbal and non-verbal behaviour of the person in quadrant. Like blind self, chances of interpersonal conflict are there is this situation.

4. The Unknown Self:

This quadrant is unknown to self and unknown to others. The unknown self is mysterious in nature. Sometimes feelings and motivation go so deep that no one including the person concerned knows about them. In Freudian Psychology, this would be called the subconscious or unconscious. Many times only a small portion of motivation is clearly visible or conscious to oneself. People experience unknown parts of life in dreams or deep rooted fears or compulsions. In such situations, misunderstanding and interpersonal conflict is almost sure to result.

Principles of Change in Awareness:

The awareness about self keeps on changing continuously. As the awareness changes, the quadrant to which the psychological state is assigned also changes.

According to Jongeward, there are eleven principles of such change:

l. Any change in one quadrant will affect the other quadrants also.

2. It takes energy to hide, deny or be blind to behaviour which is involved in interaction.

3. Threat tends to decrease awareness whereas mutual trust tends to increase awareness.

4. Forced awareness is undesirable and usually ineffective.

5. Interpersonal learning means that a change has taken place so that one quadrant is larger and any one of the other quadrants has grown smaller.

6. Working with others is facilitated by a large enough area of free activity. It means more of the resources and skill of the persons involved can be applied to the task at hand.

7. The smaller the first quadrant, poorer will be the communication.

8. There is universal curiosity about the hidden area, but this is held in check by custom, social training and diverse fears.

9. Sensitivity means appreciating the covert aspects of behaviour in quadrants 2, 3 and 4 and respecting the desire of others to keep them so.

10. Learning about group processes, as they are being experienced helps to increase awareness (enlarging quadrant) for the group as a whole as well as for individual members.

11. The value system of a group and its members may be observed in the way the group deals with unknowns in the life of the group and of self.

The process that affects the shape of the Johari window is the feedback. This is the extent to which others are willing to share with the person on how he or she is coming across. It is also the extent to which the person is able to perceive the verbal and non verbal feedback in the organisational setting.

Another important factor that affects the Johari window is the disclosure. This is the extent to which the persons are willing to share with the others the data that exist in their organisational system.

The NATIONAL TRAINING LABORATORY suggests the following guidelines for providing feedback for effective interpersonal relations:

1. Be descriptive rather than judgmental.

2. Be specific rather than general.

3. Deal with things that can be changed.

4. Give feedback when it is desired.

5. Consider the motives for giving and receiving feedback.

6. Give feedback at the time the behaviour takes place.

7. Give feedback when its accuracy can be checked with others.

Analysis of EGO States:

The ego plays an important role in human behaviour. “An ego state is a pattern of behaviour that a person develops as he or she grows, based on his or her accumulated network of feelings and experiences.” People interact with each other in terms of psychological positions or behavioural patterns known as ego states. Ego states are person’s way of thinking, feeling and behaving at anytime.

Sigmund Freud was the first to believe that there are three sources within human personality that stimulate, monitor and control behaviour. TA uses Freudian psychoanalytic theory as background for identifying three important ego states; child, adult and parent. These three ego states have nothing to do with the chronological age of the persons; they are related only with psychological age. A person of any age can have these ego states in varying degrees.

BERNE states that “although we cannot directly observe these ego states, we can observe behaviour and from this infer which of the three ego states are operating at that moment.”

A healthy person is able to move from one ego state to another. Further, these three ego states are not like Freud’s Id, ego and super ego. They are based on real world behaviour.

These three ego states are shown in the following figure:

The Three Ego States

1. Parent Ego:

The parent ego state means that the values, attitudes and behaviours of parents become an integral part of the personality of an individual. By parents, we do not mean the natural parents but all those emotionally significant people like elder brothers, and sisters, school teachers, elder relatives or friends, who served as parent figure when an individual was a child. The attitudes, behaviours, values and habits of these people are recorded in the mind of the individual and these become the basis of this personality.

The characteristics of a person with parent ego are:

(i) Judgmental

 (ii) Value laden

(iii) Rule maker

(iv) Moralizing

(v) Over protective

(vi) Distant

(vii) Dogmatic

(viii)Indispensable

(ix) Upright

Parent ego is expressed by giving advice, admonitions, do’s and don’ts, showing displeasure, reliance on the ways which were successful in the past etc. These people tend to talk down to people and treat others like children.

There are two types of parent ego states:

(i) Nurturing Parent Ego:

Nurturing parent ego state reflects sympathetic, protective and nurturing behaviour not only towards children but also to other people in interaction.

(ii) Critical Parent Ego:

Critical parent ego state shows critical and evaluative behaviour in interaction with others. This ego state attacks people’s personalities as well as their behaviour. They are always ready to respond with a should or ought to almost anything people tell them. Each individual has his unequal parent ego state which is likely to be a mixture of helpfulness (Nurturing state ego) and hurtfulness (Critical ego state). People with parent ego “state have more choice over their actions.

2. Adult Ego:

The adult ego state is authentic, direct, reality based, rational, fact seeking and problem solving. People interacting with adult ego; do not act impulsively or in a domineering style. They assume human beings as equal, worthy and responsible. The process of adult ego state formation goes through one’s own experiences and continuously updating parental prejudices or attitudes left over from childhood.

Though certain values which are formed in the childhood are rarely erased, an individual at the later stage of the life may block his child and parent ego states and use his adult ego only based on his experiences. He updates the parent data to determine what is valid and what is not. Similarly, he updates the child data to determine which feelings should be expressed.

Thus, people, with adult ego state, gather relevant information, carefully analyze it, generate alternatives and make logical choices. This ego state can be identified by verbal and physical signs which include thoughtful concentration and factual discussion.

3. Child Ego:

The child ego state is the inner world of feelings, experiences and adaptations. In each case, the child ego is characterised by very immature behaviour.

The characteristics of child ego state are:

(i) Creativity.

(ii) Conformity.

(iii) Anxiety.

(iv) Depression.

(v) Dependence.

(vi) Fear.

(vii) Joy.

(viii) Emotional Sentimental.

(ix) Submissive.

(x) Insubordinate and rebellious.

Physical and verbal clues that a person is acting in the child ego are silent compliance, attention seeking, temper tantrums, giggling and coyness. Child ego state reflects early childhood conditions and experiences perceived by individuals in their early years of life that is up to the age of 5 years.

There are several forms of the child ego states are:

(i) Natural Child:

The natural child is affectionate, impulsive, sensuous, uncensored and curious. Nevertheless, he is also fearful, self indulgent, self centred, rebellious and aggressive and may emerge in many unpleasant roles.

(ii) The Little Professor:

The little professor is intuitive, creative and manipulative. He responds to non-verbal messages and play hunches. He can figure things out and believes in magic. People who express their creativity purposefully use their little professor in conjunction with their adult ego state.

(iii) The Adaptive Child:

The adaptive child is the trained one and he is likely to do what parents insist on and sometimes learn to feel non O.K. The adapted child when overtly inhibited, often becomes the troubled part of the personality.

Each person may respond to specific situations in quite distinct ways from each ego state. ABE WAGNER is of the opinion that a healthy person has a personality that maintains a balance among all three. However, practically speaking, it would be difficult. If not impossible to maintain a balance among all the three ego states.

An ego state from which a person behaves would depend upon, to an extent situation in which an individual operates at that particular moment. Sometimes, these ego states harmonise whereas sometimes they are in conflict. Some people respond with one ego state more than they do with other ego states.

Analysis of Transactions:

A transaction is a basic unit of social interaction. The heart of transactional analysis is the study and diagramming of the exchanges between two persons. Thus, where a verbal or non verbal stimulus from one person is being responded by another person, a transaction occurs. T.A. can help us to determine which ego state is most heavily influencing our behaviour and the behaviour of the other people with whom we interact.

Depending on the ego states of the persons involved in transactions, there may be three types of transactions:

(i) Complementary transactions

(ii) Crossed transaction

(iii) Ulterior transactions.

(I) Complementary Transactions:

Complementary transactions are those where the ego states of the sender and the receiver in the opening transaction are simply reversed in the response. In these transactions stimulus and response patterns from one ego state to another are parallel. The message by one person gets the predicted response from the other person. There can be nine complementary transactions:

1. Adult-Adult Transactions:

In these transactions, the manager and his subordinate interact with each other from adult-adult ego. This is an ideal transaction. Complementary transactions in these ego states are psychologically mature and effective because both the boss and the subordinate are acting in a rational manner. Both are attempting to concentrate on problems, developing alternatives and trying to choose the best possible alternative to solve the problem.

Adult-Adult transaction

However, there are some inherent problems in this transaction. At times, these transactions may prevent reaching any decisions because of rational data processing procedure and a deadline may emerge. Moreover, the absence of child ego state may make the transactions dull due to the lack of stimulation a child can provide. In such situations, the boss may move to the parent ego state to take a decision to solve the problems. In-spite of these problems, this type of transaction is generally considered best from the organisational point of view.

2. Adult-Parent Transaction:

In adult parent transaction, the manager has the adult ego and he attempts to use the information he himself has processed. On the other hand, the subordinate has the parent ego and he prefers to use the clicks and rules of the past. The employee’s parent ego tries to control and dominate the boss. This type of transaction can be effective only on a temporary basis and it can help a new manager in understanding the rules and guidelines under which his subordinate operates.

Adult-Parent Transaction

There can be a lot of problems in this type of transactions. In the long run the employee with the parent ego may have hostile feelings towards the managers with adult ego. Such problems can be further aggravated if the other employees working in the organisation have child ego and they are under the influence of the employee with the parent ego. As he may be having better interaction with the employees with child ego, the employee with the parent ego can come into direct conflict with the manager with adult ego.

3. Adult-Child Transaction:

Such a transaction can be effective only if the manager is aware of the child ego state of the employee. Further, he must be aware that what type of child ego state the employees is in. If the subordinate has the little professor style child ego, the manager can allow the employee to be creative. But the problems in this interaction may arise if the employee behaves irrationally because of his child ego. Another problem may arise if the manager assumes the employee to be in adult ego, whereas he is in child ego. This may create frustration both for the manager and his subordinate.

4. Parent-Parent Transaction:

If the manager has got a parent ego, he will be characterised by admonitions, rewards, rules criticisms and praise depending upon whether he has a nurturing or a critical parent ego. As, on the other hand, the subordinate has also got a parent ego, this transaction can be effective only if the subordinate joins hands with the manager and supports him.

Such a transaction can lead to some problems also. There will be unnecessary competition between manager and the subordinate. The manager will want to enforce his own ideas, whereas the employee will like to promote his own ideas rather than that of the manager.

5. Parent -Adult Transaction:

In such type of transaction, the boss has got a parent ego whereas the subordinate has got an adult ego as shown in the following figure:

Such a relationship may not last for a long period because they will be frustration on both the sides. The manager will feel frustrated because the employee will not act as directed. The employer will feel frustrated because of the manager’s failure to act as an adult.

6. Parent-Child Transactions:

The parent-child transaction is considered the ideal situation. The manager will be satisfied because he can dictate his own terms. The employee will be satisfied because he will escape from responsibility and pressure. The child ego in the subordinate presents much conflict and there will be chances of smooth working in the organisation.

In the long run, this transaction will not be advantageous. The manager will start having the feeling that the employee is not capable of doing anything on his own. The employee will start becoming frustrated because he may feel that his personality is not developed and this interaction has made him surrender his adult ego.

7. Child-Parent Transaction:

This is not a very effective style of transaction. The manager with the child ego may be creative, but the role of the manager goes beyond creativity. In the child-parent transaction, there is a reversal of roles and the employee controls the manager. As the parent ego is strong and overbearing, the manager will yield to the employee. The manager will always perceive the employee as a threat because in his mind there will always be a fear of ridicule, loss of popularity and even of demotion.

8. Child-Adult Transaction:

When the manager has a child ego and the employee has an adult ego, the adult employee will control the child manager.

The child ego in the manager will discourage the employees, particularly, when decisions are made by the manager on the basis of his whims, fancies and emotions. This will pose problems for the adult employees who want to interact on the basis of their rationality. The organisation may lose many good employees particularly those who want to act on the basis of their rationality but their managers have got a child ego.

9. Child-Child Transaction:

When the manager has got a child ego and the employees have also got a child ego, the transaction will not be long lasting. The manager in such a transaction will not be able to lead the employees successfully and will prove to be a liability to the organisation. Because of their child egos, both the employees and the manager will act on their whims and fancies. It will jeopardies the performance of the organisation. Whenever there is a review of the situation by the management, steps will be taken to change this situation.

From the above discussion it is clear that all the complementary transactions are not ideal for the organisation or for the people concerned. Adult-Adult transactions are good from the organisational and people’s point of view. In some circumstances, parent-child complementary transactions may also prove to be good.

(I) Crossed Transactions:

A crossed or non-complementary transaction is one in which the sender sends a message or exhibits a behaviour on the basis of his ego state, but this message or behaviour is reacted to by an un-compatible and unexpected ego state on the part of the receiver. Such transactions occur when the stimulus and response are not parallel.

The following figure depicts one cross transaction, which may occur in an organisational system:

In this case, the manager tries to deal with the employee on adult to adult basis, but the employee responds on child to parent basis and the communication is blocked. Crossed transactions should be avoided as far as possible. Whenever such transactions occur, communication tends to be blocked and a satisfactory transaction is not accomplished. Conflicts often follow soon afterwards. The conflicts may cause hurt feelings and frustration on the part of the parties involved and possible dysfunctional accomplishments for the organisation.

(II) Ulterior Transaction:

Ulterior transactions are the most complex because unlike complementary and crossed transactions, they always involve more than two ego states and the communication has double meaning. An ulterior transaction occurs when a person appears to be sending one type of message but is secretly sending another message. Thus, the real message is often disguised in a socially acceptable way. On the surface level, the communication has a clear adult language, whereas on the psychological level it carries a hidden message. Just like crossed transactions, ulterior transactions are also undesirable.

Script Analysis:

In a layman’s view, a script is the text of a play, motion picture or radio or TV programme. In TA, a person’s life is compared to a play and the script is the text of that play. As Shakespeare said, “All the world is a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. Each man in his time plays many parts.”

A person’s psychological script is a life plan, a drama he or she writes and then feels compelled to live out. These plans may be positive, negative or circular-endless repetition headed nowhere. According to Eric Berne, “A script is an ongoing programme, developed in early childhood under parental influence which directs the individual behaviour in the most important aspect of his life.” “A script is a complete plan of living, offering both structures, structure of conjunctions, prescriptions and permissions and structure which makes one winner or loser in life.”

Thus, every person has a script. A person’s script may resemble a soap opera, a wild adventure, a tragedy, a sage, a farce, a romance, a joyful comedy or a dull play that bores the players and would put an audience to sleep. According to Jongeward, “Life script resembles the script of drama-characters, dialogues, actions and scenes, themes and plays, culmination towards a climax and ends in final curtain. She also uses the concept of a person’s two stages for action-the public stage and the private stage.”

McClelland produces a scientific study of life script of people who have studied the relationship between stories heard and read by children and their motives in living. His researches have shown that achievers’ scripts are based on the success stories whereas the scripts of power oriented persons are based on stories of risk.

Every person in his life time plays three basic roles which are called as the prosecutor, the rescuer and the victim. These roles can further be classified as legitimate and illegitimate.

Legitimate Roles:

These roles are realistically appropriate to the situation. Some legitimate roles are:

A Prosecutor:

Someone who sets necessary limits on behaviour or is charged with enforcing a rule.

A Victim:

Someone who qualifies for a job but is denied the job because of race, sex or religion.

A Rescuer:

Someone who helps a person who is functioning inadequately to become rehabilitated and self reliant.

Illegitimate Roles:

The roles are said to be illegitimate if they are used like masks and People use them for the purposes of manipulation.

These are:

A prosecutor:

Someone who sets unnecessary strict limits on behaviour or is charged with enforcing the rules but does so with sadistic brutality.

A victim:

Someone who does not qualify for a job but falsely claims that it is denied to him because of race, sex or religion.

A Rescuer:

Someone who in the guise of being helpful, keep others dependent upon him or her.

Every person from time to time plays the part of prosecutor, rescuer and victim. A person when confronted with a particular situation acts according to his script which is based on what he expects from his life or how he views his life position. Generally, man’s behaviour becomes quasi-programmed by the script which emerges out of his life experience. This life position of a person affects his interpersonal relationships. Thus scripts play a very important role in transactional analysis.

Analysis of Life Positions:

In the process of growing up, people make basic assumptions about their own self worth as well as about the worth of significant people in their environment. These assumptions tend to remain with the person for life, unless major experiences occur to change them. Harris called the combination of assumptions about self and the other person, a LIFE POSITION.

Transactional analysis constructs the following classifications of the four possible life positions or psychological positions:

(i) I am OK, you are OK

(ii) I am OK, you are not OK

(iii) I am not OK, you are OK

(iv) I am not OK, you are not OK.

These life positions can be shown with the help of the following figure also.

1. I am OK-You are OK:

This is a rationally chosen and mentally healthy position. It appears to be an ideal life position. People with this type of life position have confidence in themselves as well as trust and confidence in others. They accept the significance of other people and feel that life is worth living. The people who have this position behave from adult, nurturing parent and happy child ego state.

When managers have this type of position, they have complete confidence and trust in their subordinates. They display a very high level of mutual give and take. They delegate authority throughout the organisation. These managers encourage free flow of communication not only up and down the hierarchy but among the peers also. In short, people with these feelings have positive outlooks on life. They seem to be happy-active people who succeed in whatever they do.

2. I am OK-You are not OK:

This is a distrustful psychological position. This position is taken by people who feel victimized or prosecuted. They blame others for their miseries. This is the attitude of those people, who think that whatever they do is correct. Such behaviour is the outcome of a situation in which the child was seriously neglected and ignored by his parents in his childhood. Criminals often have this position, based on rebellious child ego, which in extreme cases may lead to homicide also. In his life position, people operate from critical Parent Ego.

Managers operating with this position will always be negative and will give critical and oppressive remarks. They tend to point out the flaws, the bad things, rarely giving any positive feelings. They feel that workers are lazy, irresponsible and untruthful; therefore, they need to be closely controlled and often coerced to achieve organisational objectives. They do not delegate any authority and feel that decentralization is a threat.

3. I am not OK-You are OK:

This is a common position for those people who feel powerless when they compare themselves to others. People with this position always feel themselves at the mercy of others and grumble for one thing or the other. They have a tendency to withdraw, experience depression and in extreme cases become suicidal. People who have this position operate from child ego state.

Managers operating from this position, tend to give and receive bad feelings. They use these had feelings as an excuse to act against others. But when the whole thing comes out, they feel guilty for their acts and turn their bad feelings against themselves. These people are often, unpredictable and erratic.

4. I am not OK-You are not OK:

People in this position tend to feel bad about themselves and see the whole world as miserable. These people tend to give up. They do not trust others and have no confidence in themselves. This is a desperate life position. In extreme cases these people commit suicide or homicide. This is the case of individuals who were seriously neglected by their parents in their childhood and were brought up by servants. At times, persons with this life position begin to use intoxicated drugs.

Managers who operate from this position are not competent, energetic, efficient and effective. They are indecisive, confused and make stupid mistakes. They provoke others to give them negative strokes in order to relieve themselves for stresses and strains.

One of the above four life positions dominates each person’s life. The desirable position and the one that involves the greatest likelihood of adult to adult transaction is “I am OK-you are OK”. It shows healthy acceptance of self and others. The other three life positions are less mature and less effective. However, regardless of one’s present life position, the “I am OK-you are OK” position can be learnt. If all the people in the society operate from this life position, there will be hope for improved interpersonal transactions.

Stroking:

Stroking is an important aspect of transactional analysis. The term stroke refers to “giving some kind of recognition to the other.” Strokes are exchanged whenever two persons interact with each other. The word stroking originated from the studies of the needs that babies have for physical affection for complete psychological development. As we grow from infancy into childhood and adulthood, we do not entirely lose our need for stroking. A part of original need for physical stroking seems to be satisfied with symbolic stroking like verbal recognition and eye contact between persons.

Jongeward and Seyer observe that “People need strokes for their sense of survival and well being on the job.” Lack of stroking can have negative consequences both on physiological and psychological well being of a person.

In-fact, strokes are a basic unit of motivation because:

(i) The quantity and quality of strokes serves as either positive or negative motivation for employees.

(ii) A good share of satisfaction we get from work depends on the strokes available from other people.

(iii) We can get strokes from the activities of the work itself, especially if what we are doing really fits and we can take responsibility for it.

There are three types of strokes:

1. Positive Strokes:

The stroke that makes one feel good is a positive stroke. Recognition, approval, pats on the back are some of the examples of positive strokes. For positive results on the jobs, it is crucial to give positive strokes to people.

2. Negative Strokes:

A stroke that makes one feel bad or not good is a negative stroke. Negative strokes hurt physically or psychologically. Hating, criticing and scolding are some of the examples of negative strokes.

3. Mixed Strokes:

A stroke may be of a mixed type also. An example of combination of positive and negative strokes may be the boss’s comment to a worker “you did an excellent job in-spite your limited experience.” Excellent job is a positive stroke and lack of experience is a negative stroke.

People do not always seek positive strokes. The negative stroke completes a social transaction as they think it should be and provides social equilibrium from their point of view. People feel relieved of their guilt if they get the expected negative stroke. For example, if the subordinate has committed a mistake and his boss criticizes him for that, the subordinate will feel relieved of his mistake since the expected punishment has been received.

The supervisor will normally secure better results by giving positive strokes, like initiating an adult to adult communication. He should avoid the punishing parent to child approach. People can learn to give and receive positive strokes by making source efforts.

Game analysis:

When people fail to get enough strokes at work they may try a variety of things. One of the most important things is that they play psychological games. According to Eric Berne, “A game “is a recurring set of transactions, often repetitions, superficially plausible, with a concealed motivation or more colloquially, a series of moves with a share or gimmick.”

James and Jongeward note that “games prevent honest, intimate and open relationship between the players. Yet people play them because they fill up time, provoke attention, reinforce early opinions about self and others and fulfill a sense of destiny.”

A psychological game is a set of transactions with three characteristics:

(i) The transaction tends to be repeated.

(ii) They make sense on superficial or social level.

(iii) One or more of the transactions is ulterior.

The set of transactions end with a predictable payoff-a negative feeling. This negative feeling generally reinforces a decision made in childhood about oneself or about others. They reflect feelings of non-oneness. Psychological games prevent people and organisations to become winners.

However, people still play psychological games in the organisations because of the following reasons:

1. To get Strokes:

Every person wants to have positive strokes on the jobs. When they are not in a position to get these strokes from the others, they try to play psychological games to satisfy their need for strokes.

2. To Strengthen Life Positions:

Games are generally played to strengthen life position which the people hold. If people hold non. OK positions, they try to emphasise it through the games. Sometimes, a person acts like a loser in order to win the game. For example, in a game of KICK ME a player provokes someone else to a putdown response.

3. To Avoid or Control Intimacy:

Some people are afraid of openness, accountability and responsibility in relationships. Such people generally play games to avoid or control intimacy, because games generally put distance between people.

Types of Games:

People play games with different degrees of intensity from the socially accepted, relaxed level to the criminal homicide/suicide level.

According to Eric Berne, following are some of the games:

(i) A first degree game is one which is socially acceptable in the agent’s circle.

(ii) A second degree game is one from which no permanent irremediable damage arises, but which the player would rather conceal from the public.

(iii) A third degree game is one which is played for keeps and which ends in the surgery, the courtroom or the morgue.

Games are programmed individually. If parent’s games are initiated, they are played from parent ego state. If the games are deliberately planned, they are played from the adult ego state. They are played from the child ego state, if they are based on early life experiences, decisions and the positions that a child takes about self and others.

Game players generally assume one of the three basic roles; prosecutor, rescuer or victim.

Prosecutors are generally those people who make unrealistic rules, enforce rules in cruel ways and pick on little guys rather than people of their own size. Victims are the people who provoke others to put them down, use them, hurt them, send them helpless message, forget conveniently and act confused. Rescuers are the people, who offer help to keep others dependent on them, do not really help others and may actually dislike helping and work to maintain the victim role so that they can continue to play rescuer.

These three roles are not independent; rather the players of psychological games often switch back and forth in their roles. On many occasions, the characteristics of these people may not be imaginary. For example, people may actually be victimised personally or discriminated against on the job. In such situations, they are the real victims. Nevertheless, actors in the psychological games assume the role of game players and differ from reality.

Methods of Preventing Games:

Since games prevent open, warm, intimate and honest relationships between players, it is essential to develop methods to discourage games in organisation.

Jongeward has suggested the following steps to overcome psychological games:

1. Avoidance of the complementary hand

2. Avoidance of acting roles involved in games particularly, victim roles.

3. Avoidance of putting other people down.

4. Avoidance of putting oneself down.

5. Giving and taking positive strokes as against negative strokes.

6. Investing more of life’s time in activities and intimacy and

7. Levelling the thinking with others.

Q6) What are the different Leadership Styles?

A6)

1. Autocratic or Authoritarian Style:

It is also known as leader centered style. Under this style of leadership there is complete centralization of authority in the leader i.e. authority is centered in the leader himself. He has all the powers to make decisions. There is no two ways communication, only downward communication is used.

It is leader who ran only communicate, he cannot be a communicate. He uses coercive measures. He adopts negative method of motivation. He wants immediate obedience of his orders and instructions. Any breach on the part of subordinates invites punishment. There is no participation from the subordinates in decision making. Leader thinks that he is the only competent person. Under autocratic style no time is wasted in two way communication for seeking opinion or advice. The task gets completed on time.

Edwin. B. Flippo has divided autocratic style of leadership into following three:

(a) Hard Boiled or Strict Autocrat:

He uses negative influence and expects that his orders should be obeyed by the employees immediately. Non compliance of his orders invites punishment. His outlook is “pay for performance”. He makes all decisions and does not reveal anything to anyone.

He is quite rigid on performance. This style is useful for newly employed or the employees having no experience. But this style should not be adopted when employees by nature are hard workers, experienced and understand their responsibility fully.

(b) Benevolent Autocrat:

He uses positive influences and develops effective human relations. He is known as paternalistic leader. He showers praise on his employees if they followed his orders and invites them to get the solutions of the problems from him.

He assumes the status of a parent. He feels happy in controlling all the actions of his subordinates. He wants complete loyalty from his subordinates. He hates disloyalty and punishes disloyal employees. He takes all the decisions and does not want any interference from anyone. This style of leadership is useful only when subordinates do not want to take any responsibility and wants close supervision.

(c) Manipulative Autocrat:

He is manipulative by nature and creates a feeling in the minds of his subordinates and workers that they are participating in decision making process. Like the two other types he also makes all decisions by himself. Non compliance of his orders invites punishment.

2. Democratic or Participative Style:

This style of leadership is also known as group centered or consultative leadership. Under this style leaders consult the group and solicit their opinion and participation from the following in decision making process. Democratic leaders confer authority on the group and after their consultation decisions are taken.

Leaders under this style encourage discussion by the group members on the problem under consideration and arrive at a decision by consensus. Two way communication channels are used. Participation or involvement in decision making process is rewarded. Under this style positive motivation techniques are used.

Exchange of ideas among subordinates and with the leader is given encouragement. Human values get their due recognition. Leaders give more freedom to their subordinates and invite to share responsibility.

Subordinates are asked to exercise self control. Leaders do not delegate authority to subordinates to make decisions but their opinions are sought before arriving at a decision. Under this style subordinates feel that their opinions are honoured and they are given importance and not feel neglected. The leaders delegate responsibility according to experience and knowledge of the subordinates.

Cooperation of subordinates are sought that lead to creativity. This increases the productivity too. This is a very effective style where the subordinates are talented and qualified. It develops a sense of confidence among subordinates and they derive job satisfaction by working under participative leader. It improves quality of decision as it is taken after due consideration to valued opinions of the talented subordinates.

This style of leadership is not free from demerits. It takes more time to arrive at a decision. It is less effective if participation from the subordinates is for name sake. Consulting others while making decisions go against the capability of the leader to take decisions. Leader has to waste lot of time in pursuing subordinates. If employees refuse to work as a team with other members of the group renders the style of leadership ineffective.

3. Laissez-faire or Free Rein Style:

Under this style of leadership there is virtual absence of direct leadership. It is, therefore, known “as no leadership at all.” There is complete delegation of authority to subordinates so that they can make decisions by themselves. There is free flow of communication.

Subordinates have to exercise self control. They also have to direct their activities. It is people oriented style of leadership in true sense of the term. Leader gives free hand to his followers or subordinates. Absence of leadership may have positive and sometimes negative effects.

Free rein leadership may be effective if members of the group are highly committed. The negative aspect creates blemishes on the leader himself because of his incompetency in leading his people. It casts aspersions on the leader. However, this style of leadership provides chance for competent members of the group to fulfill and attain self actualization needs.

It gives chance to take initiative to the member. It gives chance for open discussion and creativity to all. It has free work environment. Members feel insecure and develop frustration for lack of specific decision making authority.

This style of leadership suffers a setback when some member of the group refuses to cooperate. It cannot take proper decision. It may lead to chaos and confusion. This style may work effectively when the subordinates are highly competent, able to exercise self control and can have the capacity to take decisions.

4. Bureaucratic Style:

Under this leadership the behaviour of leader is determined by rules, regulations and procedure. These rules and regulations are followed by the leader and the subordinates both. No one can escape. Hence, the management and administration has become a routine matter. This is apathetic to the employees because they know that they cannot do anything in this regard. It is the rules that determine their minimum performance. Rules allow work without participation and without committed to work. A lot of paper work is involved. Rules lead to red tapism. This style of leadership centres round the rules.

5. Manipulative Style:

As the name suggests the leader manipulates the employees to attain his objectives. Manipulative leader is quite selfish and exploits the aspirations of the employees for his gains. He knows very well the needs and desires of the employees but he does very little to fulfil them. He views these needs and desires as a tool to fulfill his aims. Employees do not trust such leader. He has to face the resentment of the employees at times.

6. Paternalistic Style:

The paternalistic style of leadership maintains that the fatherly attitude is the right one for better relationship between the manager and the employees. All are working together like a family. According to this style of leadership more benefits are to be provided to make the employees happy and extract maximum output from them. It believes in the concept that the happy employees work better and harder.

7. Expert Leadership Style:

The expert leadership style emerged as a result of complex structure of modern organisations. The leadership is based on the ability, knowledge and competence of the leader. He handles the situation skillfully with his talent. The employees feel relieved as they are working under a person who is expert and can handle the situation ably without any problem. But the expert may fail to handle the situation which does not belong to the area of his expertise.

Q7) Explain the Theories of Leadership.

A7) The major leadership theories that every manager needs to know to stay on top of their game are:

1. Contingency Theory:

This theory proposes that no one way or style of leadership may be applicable to all situations. In other words, it recognizes that there might be variables influencing any particular situation, and a leader must choose the right course of action, taking into account those variables. 

In this regard, leadership researchers White and Hodgson state, "Effective leadership is about striking the right balance between needs, context, and behavior." The best leaders have not only the right traits but also the ability to assess the needs of their followers, analyze the situation at hand, and act accordingly.

2. Situational Leadership Theory:

Like the Contingency Theory, the Situational Theory stresses the importance of situational variables and doesn't consider anyone's leadership style to be better than the others.

Put forward by US professor, Paul Hersey and leadership guru, Ken Blanchard, the situational theory is a combination of two factors — the leadership style and the maturity levels of the followers. According to this theory, different situations demand different styles of leadership and decision-making. Leaders must act by judging the situation they are facing.

3. Transformational Leadership Theory:

The Transformational Leadership theory, also known as Relationship theories, focuses on the relationship between the leaders and followers. This theory talks about the kind of leader who is inspirational and charismatic, encouraging their followers to transform and become better at a task.

Transformational leaders typically motivated by their ability to show their followers the significance of the task and the higher good involved in performing it. These leaders are not only focused on the team's performance but also give individual team members the required push to reach his or her potential. This leadership theories will help you to sharp your Skill.

4. Transactional Theories:

Transactional Theories, also referred to as Management theories or exchange theories of leadership, revolve around the role of supervision, organization, and teamwork. These theories consider rewards and punishments as the basis for leadership actions. This is one of the oft-used theories in business, and the proponents of this leadership style use rewards and punishments to motivate employees.

Learn new trends, emerging practices, tailoring considerations, and core competencies required of a Project Management professional with the PMP Certification course.

5. Behavioral Theory:

In the Behavioral Theory, the emphasis shifts from the traits or qualities of leaders to their behaviors and actions. In sharp contrast to the Great Man Theory and the trait approach to leadership, this theory considers effective leadership to be the result of many learned or acquired skills. It proposes that an individual can learn to become a good leader. This is one of best leadership theories.

6. Great Man Theory of Leadership:

This is one of the earliest leadership theories and is based on the assumption that leadership is an inborn phenomenon and that leaders are "born" rather than "made." According to this theory, a person capable of leading has the personality traits of a leader — charm, confidence, intellect, communication skills, and social aptitude — from birth, which set them apart. This theory emphasizes leadership as a quality that you either possess or you don't; it isn't something that you can learn.

While the theory sounds pretty discouraging to those wanting to learn the ropes of leadership, you might take heart in the fact that most modern theorists dismiss it and even by some leaders themselves. It's still an interesting take on leadership and one that highlights the qualities of great leaders, which have more or less remained unchanged over time.   

7. Trait Theory of Leadership:

This theory walks in the footsteps of the Great Man theory in assuming that leaders are born with traits that make them more suitable for the role of a leader than others who lack those natural-born traits. As such, the theory pinpoints certain qualities such as intelligence, accountability, sense of responsibility, and creativity, among others, that lets an individual excel at leadership.

One major flaw in the trait approach to leadership is that it doesn't offer a conclusive list of leadership traits. However, the credibility of the theory lies in the fact that the significance of personality traits in leadership is well supported by research. Trait Theory of Leadership will help you to improve your leadership theories.

Q8) What are the different types of conflict?

A8) Conflicts happen. How an employee responds and resolves conflict will limit or enable that employee's success. Here are five conflict styles that a manager will follow according to Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann:

An accommodating manager is one who cooperates to a high degree. This may be at the manager's own expense and actually work against that manager's own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This approach is effective when the other person is the expert or has a better solution.

Avoiding an issue is one way a manager might attempt to resolve conflict. This type of conflict style does not help the other staff members reach their goals and does not help the manager who is avoiding the issue and cannot assertively pursue his or her own goals. However, this works well when the issue is trivial or when the manager has no chance of winning.

Collaborating managers become partners or pair up with each other to achieve both of their goals in this style. This is how managers break free of the win-lose paradigm and seek the win-win. This can be effective for complex scenarios where managers need to find a novel solution.

Competing: This is the win-lose approach. A manager is acting in a very assertive way to achieve his or her own goals without seeking to cooperate with other employees, and it may be at the expense of those other employees. This approach may be appropriate for emergencies when time is of the essence.

Compromising: This is the lose-lose scenario where neither person nor manager really achieves what they want. This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. It may be appropriate for scenarios where you need a temporary solution or where both sides have equally important goals.

Q9) What are the different causes of conflict?

A9) A number of factors are known to facilitate organizational conflict under certain circumstances. These are as follows:

Task Interdependencies- The first antecedent can be found in the nature of task interdependencies. In essence, the greater the extent of task interdependence among individuals or groups (that is, the more they have to work together or collaborate to accomplish a goal), the greater the likelihood of conflict if different expectations or goals exist among entities, in part because the interdependence makes avoiding the conflict more difficult. This occurs in part because high task interdependency heightens the intensity of relationships. Hence, a small disagreement can very quickly get blown up into a major issue.

Status Inconsistencies- A second factor is status inconsistencies among the parties involved. For example, managers in many organizations have the prerogative to take personal time off during workdays to run errands, and so forth, whereas nonmanagerial personnel do not. Consider the effects this can have on the nonmanagers’ view of organizational policies and fairness.

Jurisdictional Ambiguities- Conflict can also emerge from jurisdictional ambiguities—situations where it is unclear exactly where responsibility for something lies. For example, many organizations use an employee selection procedure in which applicants are evaluated both by the personnel department and by the department in which the applicant would actually work. Because both departments are involved in the hiring process, what happens when one department wants to hire an individual, but the other department does not?

Communication Problems- Suffice it to say that the various communication problems or ambiguities in the communication process can facilitate conflict. When one person misunderstands a message or when information is withheld, the person often responds with frustration and anger.

Dependence on Common Resource Pool- Another previously discussed factor that contributes to conflict is dependence on common resource pools. Whenever several departments must compete for scarce resources, conflict is almost inevitable. When resources are limited, a zero-sum game exists in which someone wins and, invariably, someone loses.

Lack of Common Performance Standards- Differences in performance criteria and reward systems provide more potential for organizational conflict. This often occurs because of a lack of common performance standards among differing groups within the same organization. For example, production personnel are often rewarded for their efficiency, and this efficiency is facilitated by the long-term production of a few products. Sales departments, on the other hand, are rewarded for their short-term response to market changes—often at the expense of long-term production efficiency. In such situations, conflict arises as each unit attempts to meet its own performance criteria.

Individual Differences- Finally, a variety of individual differences, such as personal abilities, traits, and skills, can influence in no small way the nature of interpersonal relations. Individual dominance, aggressiveness, authoritarianism, and tolerance for ambiguity all seem to influence how an individual deals with potential conflict. Indeed, such characteristics may determine whether or not conflict is created at all.

Q10) Write a note on Conflict Resolution.

A10) Conflict resolution is the process by which two or more parties reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute.

In the workplace, there can be a variety of types of conflict:

Conflict may occur between co-workers, or between supervisors and subordinates, or between service providers and their clients or customers.

Conflict can also occur between groups, such as management and the labor force, or between whole departments.

Some conflicts are essentially arbitrary, meaning it doesn’t matter who “wins,” only that the problem is resolved so everyone can get back to work.

But some conflicts reflect real disagreements about how an organization should function.

The Conflict Resolution Process:

The resolution of conflicts in the workplace typically involves some or all of the following processes: