GM11

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS AND ORGAINASTIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Assignment – II

Assignment Code: 2014GM11A2                                        Last Date of Submission: 15th May 2014

                                                                                                                                  Maximum Marks: 100

Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.

Section‐A

1.    The manager of a fast‐food restaurant was overheard saying, “I believe that money is the best of all possible motivators. You can say what you please about all the other nonsense, but when it comes right down to it, if you give a guy a raise, you will motivate him. That’s all there is to it.” In light of your knowledge on motivation theory please advise the restaurant manager.

2.    What steps can an organization take to increase the motivational force for high levels of performance?

3.    Why do you think emotions are important for organizations? Is it possible to develop emotional intelligence at work?

4.    “Team norms contribute to team cohesiveness which in turn contributes to team effectiveness.” Elaborate the meaning of this statement.

Section‐B

Case Study: Changing the Culture at General Semiconductor

When Ronald Ostertag took over the management of General Semiconductor, he realized right away that he would have to change the $500 million company’s culture if it was to survive.    During a presentation he was giving to the board of directors, two of the company’s senior managers began to argue publicly, trading embarrassing insults and verbal barbs.

Soon Ostertag had replaced nearly every member of the senior team, but the resulting job insecurity that spread through the ranks pointed out the need to do even further work on shifting the company’s culture. “I realized we needed to do something to develop a sense of teamwork,” says Ostertag. “We needed to develop a culture of mutual respect that fostered cooperation and innovation.”

As if changing the culture was not challenging enough, in the process Ostertag had to contend with the fact that General Semiconductor, an electronics parts manufacturer based in a suburban industrial park in New York, had a workforce spread around the world from North America to Asia, with nearly 6,000 employees speaking five different languages. Only 200 of those workers were employed in the United States.

Ostertag decided on a brainstorming session to bring the new management team together to agree on the company’s guiding principles. “Our task,” he says in retrospect, “was to put down on paper what our core values were and then make sure everyone was on the same page.”     A cohesive mission statement and a list of eight company values, which are called General Semiconductor’s “culture points,” came out of that meeting and were centered around goals like “quality,” “integrity,” “good customer service,” and “on‐time delivery.” Soon everyone knew the culture points and even carried them around on small cards. “They knew when they saw me coming, whether it was in the factory in Taiwan or Ireland or here, that I might come up to anyone and ask them to rattle off four or five of those values,” says Ostertag. “I didn’t mean it at a test, but more to show that that is what everyone here is striving for.”

The company’s human resources staff helped spread the word throughout the company, with a leadership and problem‐solving program developed by the six HR staffers. HR even produced a 135‐ page information binder full of basic information about the company, its products, its competitors, and its basic financials. Ostertag was confident that such information was empowering, and that it was critical for everyone in the firm to have the same knowledge base from which to work. Two years after the program was implemented, a survey of the management group indicated that 36 of 39 development areas already showed improvement.

Early business results were positive.    Market share and revenues were up, and turnover was dramatically down. Still, it was not enough. Vishay Intertechnology launched a bid to acquire General Semiconductor, believing that even greater improvements could be made and therefore value could be extracted, and ultimately Vishay succeeded in its takeover bid.

5.    Case Questions:

a.    What actions do you think had the greatest impact on changing the culture? At General Semiconductor?    (5)

b.    Do you    think    changing General improved performance?

Semiconductor’s    culture    was    critical to its (5)

c.    What changes would you have made and what actions would you have taken if you had been in Ronald Ostertag’s position?    (5)