MS-01 Management Functions and Behaviour Question Paper
MBA - Master of Business Administration
Note :
(i) There are two sections A and B.
(ii) Attempt any four questions from Section A. Each question
carries 15 marks.
(iii) Section B is compulsory and carries 40 marks.
SECTION
A
1. What are the various determinants of organizational culture? How
does leadership influence the culture of an organisation?
2. Describe the responsibilities of a professional manager towards customers
and society. Illustrate your answer with suitable example.
3. Why do people generally resist change? Identify the major factors
which play a significant role in this process. Discuss, what are the
common strategies for change and its management.
4. Describe conflict avoidance, conflict diffusion and conflict confrontation
strategies with the help of suitable examples.
5. Distinguish between decision making under risk and decision making
under conflict or competition. Support your answer with suitable examples.
6. “Managers are known by the work they do and the function they
perform.” Elaborate and critically evaluate the statement.
7. Write short notes on any three of the following:
(a) Line and Staff functions
(b) Managerial Values and Ethos
(c) Socialization process in an organization
(d) Management Information System
(e) Theory X and Y
SECTION B
8. Please read the case given and answer the questions that follow:
Ceylon Fertilizer is a urea-manufacturing unit having a capacity of
500 tonnes per day. The total work force of the plant is around 2,000.
Being a self-contained plant, it has its own workshop in order to take
care of regular maintenance work. The workshop functions in two shifts
a day under a shift in charge for each shift who is in the cadre of
AEE. The workers have been grouped into two groups, i.e., Relay ‘A’
and ‘B’. The shift routine changes once a week, Sunday being
a weekly holiday. Besides the two shifts, there are a group of people
under a Senior AEE attending in general shift hours.
The Relay ‘A’, consisting of 18 workers is placed under
the charge of Shri Muthu who is a graduate in mechanical engineering.
After undergoing training for a period of six months in various divisions
in fertilizer, he had acquired a thorough knowledge of works to be undertaken
by the Workshop. After being as a Relay Supervisor for 3 years, he has
been recently promoted to the post of AEE, who is the shift in charge.
When he joined the workshop, he found that the tasks were done with
application of thumb-rules and higher officers had to be satisfied with
such a quality of work.
Shri muthu, on witnessing this, started to instruct his workers in various
theoretical aspects of welding, machining etc., which he had studied
in his college. They all highly appreciated the skill and techniques
he had taught. The workers now learnt to do things in a better way.
Thus, he gained the confidence of workers. As he was able to finish
his work in time and in a better way than Relay ‘B’, more
work orders were allotted to his group. A few workers in his group started
to grumble and the Foreman came and told Mr. Muthu that the “other
relay workers do not have much work-load and our workers too do not
want to strain much and they are murmuring over getting more work”.
Mr. Muthu, however, convinced the Foreman that extra work should be
taken as a credit and recognition, and they should do their best. After
this had happened some workers even tried to get transferred to the
other-Relay.
One morning, Mr. Muthu was making arrangements for the work to be taken
and was giving instructions to his the work to be taken and was giving
instructions to his foreman. Turner, Kali, came and told him, “Sir,
father of Fitter Sami expired last night and we all want to go and attend
the funeral,” and added, “It is customary for the men in
workshop to attend such funerals and the shift-incharge has to arrange
a lorry or any conveyance for the people to go to Sami’s house,
which is nearly eight kms. From the plant.” Since Muthu joined
the company, this was first such instance occurring and as he had to
finish some urgent work orders, he told the worker Kali, “You
all need not go to the funeral. I can, however, permit a few of you
as representatives of Relay ‘A’ to go and offer condolences
to Sami’s family.” Further, he regretted that he would not
make any arrangements for conveyance. This statement created a turbulence
among the workers and a group of workers stopped the work and started
demanding that they be allowed to attend the funeral or else they wanted
to stop work in the coming shifts. Foreman hurried up to AEE Mr. Muthu
to explain the turbulent situation in the shop- floor.
On hearing this, Muthu told his Foreman, “I have given you an
alternative and I have already told the urgency of work and I am going
to allocate the work as per planning schedule. If the work is not done,
I may have to take action against you.” Then the group of workers
started discussing among themselves as to what to do next. A turner
came forth and said, “You are not considerate enough to human
matters and if you are still adamant we may prefer half-a-day wages-cut
as we must go and attend the funeral. Anyhow you have to make arrangements
for our conveyance.” Mr. Muthu at this instance noted that a small
group, who were usually complaining about the workload and were murmuring,
were keenly interested in the affair. He decided to face the situation
as a matter of prestige. He decided to face the situation as a matter
of prestige. He issued the gate pass t whoever wished to go, still emphasizing
that he would not arrange any conveyance. Nearly 25 per cent of the
workers remained and the others collected money from all for the funeral
and went off.
On that day Mr. Muthu, could finish only a part of the work as planned
and he had to explain what had happened in his Relay, to his boss.
When he came the next morning, it was rumored that only a few of the
workers attended the funeral and the others had gone to the cinema theatre
near the village. Mr. Muthu got irritated by the workers behavior and
started writing memos to those who had received the gate pass the previous
day. Some workers got annoyed by this action of Mr. Muthu and they approached
the union to intervene. The news had spread to other divisions and there
was an air there was an air of protest at all places in the Fertilizer
Plants.
Questions
1. What are the dominant features of this case?
2. What is your view of the action taken by Mr. Muthu?
3. What are the weaknesses and strong points, as you consider, of
Mr. Muthu as a Manager?
4. How would you have tackled the situation, if you were Mr. Muthu?
