ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Developing Orientation
Organizational Behaviour (OB) is the study of how individuals, groups, and structure affect behaviour within organizations. The goal of OB is to apply this knowledge to improve an organization’s effectiveness. Developing an OB orientation means focusing on the human element, recognizing that employee attitudes, actions, and interactions are the core drivers of service quality and productivity, especially in high-touch industries like hospitality.
· Systematic Study: OB relies on systematic study—looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing conclusions on scientific evidence.
· Contingency Approach: OB recognizes that there are few simple and universal principles that explain organizational behaviour. Instead, it adopts a contingency approach, meaning that the required behaviour is dependent on the situation.
· Key Focus Areas: OB examines three main levels of analysis: the Individual, the Group, and the Organization System.
Why Study OB
Studying OB is crucial because it provides managers with the tools to predict, explain, and influence employee behaviour for organizational success. For hospitality, where the product is the service experience, managing behaviour is paramount.
· Improving People Skills: Management needs strong interpersonal skills to manage diverse teams, lead effectively, and resolve conflicts.
· Enhancing Quality & Productivity: Understanding motivation, leadership, and group dynamics helps managers design jobs and teams that are efficient and dedicated to quality service.
· Fostering Innovation & Change: The ability to manage change and foster a culture of creativity is essential for adapting to market trends and technological shifts in hospitality.
· Workforce Diversity Management: OB provides frameworks to manage demographic differences, which is critical in a global industry relying on diverse staff and serving diverse clientele.
Various Approaches & Current Challenges
Historically, OB drew from psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Key contemporary approaches include the contingency approach mentioned above and evidence-based management (EBM).
Current Challenges in Hospitality OB:
· The War for Talent: High turnover and the need to attract and retain skilled employees in a demanding, 24/7 industry.
· Managing Diversity and Inclusion: Creating an equitable environment for a globally diverse workforce.
· Ethical Dichotomies: Dealing with moral dilemmas, such as balancing customer satisfaction at any cost versus employee well-being and fair treatment.
· Technological Integration: Managing the human side of technological change, such as automation, AI in guest services, and new booking platforms.
· Work-Life Balance: Addressing the intense scheduling and long hours common in hotels and restaurants to prevent burnout.
Personality
Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. It is often measured by the traits a person exhibits.
Approaches to Personality:
· Trait Theory: Identifies and measures relatively enduring characteristics that describe an individual's behaviour. The Big Five Personality Model is the most widely accepted approach:
o Extraversion: Sociable, gregarious, and assertive.
o Agreeableness: Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.
o Conscientiousness: Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized. (Highly valued in service roles).
o Emotional Stability (Neuroticism): Calm, self-confident, secure (high score) vs. nervous, depressed, insecure (low score).
o Openness to Experience: Imaginative, artistic, and intellectual.
· Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): A widely used assessment tool that classifies people into 16 personality types based on four dimensions (Extraverted/Introverted, Sensing/Intuitive, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perceiving).
Assessment & Use:
Personality is typically assessed using self-report surveys. In OB, personality tests are used to:
1. Selection: Matching high-conscientiousness employees to detail-oriented roles.
2. Training: Identifying communication styles to improve team cohesion.
3. Coaching: Tailoring leadership styles to individual employee needs.
Emotions & Moods
Emotions are intense feelings directed at someone or something (e.g., anger at a boss). Moods are less intense feelings that often lack a contextual stimulus (e.g., being generally cheerful).
Basic Emotions:
While emotions exist on a spectrum, researchers often condense them into categories like:
· Anger, Fear, Sadness, Happiness, Disgust, and Surprise.
Emotional Labor:
This is an employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work. In hospitality, employees often engage in high emotional labor—maintaining a "service smile" even when feeling stressed or frustrated.
· Surface Acting: Hiding inner feelings and emotional expressions in response to display rules (e.g., faking a smile). This can lead to stress and burnout.
· Deep Acting: Trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display rules (e.g., actually empathizing with a difficult guest). This is less stressful than surface acting.
Emotional Intelligence (EI):
EI is the ability to perceive emotions in the self and others, understand the meaning of these emotions, and regulate one's emotions accordingly.
· Key Components of EI: Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness (empathy), and relationship management.
· Use in OB: High EI is strongly correlated with high performance in service-oriented roles, as it helps employees manage difficult interactions and team dynamics effectively.
Values, Attitudes & Job Satisfaction
Values are basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence. They are the foundation for attitudes and motivation.
Attitudes are evaluative statements—either favourable or unfavourable—about objects, people, or events. They reflect how one feels about something.
Components of Attitude:
1. Cognitive Component: The opinion or belief segment of an attitude (e.g., "My supervisor gave me a poor rating").
2. Affective Component: The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude (e.g., "I dislike my supervisor").
3. Behavioural Component: The intention to behave a certain way toward someone or something (e.g., "I will look for another job").
Work Related Attitude:
Key attitudes relevant to OB include:
· Job Satisfaction: A positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.
· Job Involvement: The degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth.
· Organizational Commitment: The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership.
Evaluation & Management:
Managers evaluate attitudes through surveys and interviews (e.g., exit interviews, satisfaction surveys). They manage attitudes by:
· Ensuring fair work conditions and pay.
· Providing supportive leadership and recognition.
· Creating meaningful and engaging work.
Cross-Culture Values:
Understanding national and organizational culture values is vital. Hofstede’s Framework is commonly used: Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Masculinity vs. Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation. These dimensions dictate how employees respond to leadership, teamwork, and decision-making.
Perception & Individual Decision Making
Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. People’s behaviour is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
Impression Management (IM):
This is the process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them. Employees often use IM during performance reviews, interviews, or when interacting with management. Tactics include:
· Conformity: Agreeing with others’ opinions to gain approval.
· Excuses: Explaining a failure to minimize its severity.
· Self-Promotion: Highlighting one’s best achievements.
Cases of Misrepresentation:
Misrepresentation occurs when individuals intentionally convey a false impression. This can lead to organizational problems:
· Faking Personality Tests: Providing answers that one believes the employer wants to hear.
· Distorting Performance Records: Inflating achievements or hiding mistakes to avoid negative consequences.
· Favouritism: Managers perceiving an employee more positively due to IM tactics rather than actual performance, leading to unfair resource allocation and promotion decisions.
Chapter 2: MOTIVATION – Concepts & Application
Motivation Concepts & Application
Motivation is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward achieving a goal.
· Intensity: How hard a person tries.
· Direction: The orientation of effort toward organizational goals.
· Persistence: How long a person can maintain effort.
Various Approaches of Motivation; Need & Content Theory
Need & Content Theories focus on identifying internal factors (needs) that energize and direct behaviour.
· Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Proposes a five-tier model of human needs, from physiological to self-actualization. Needs are satisfied sequentially, starting with the lowest level.
o Application: In hospitality, ensuring basic needs (pay, safe working conditions) must precede higher needs (recognition, growth).
· Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (Motivation-Hygiene Theory):
o Hygiene Factors: When adequate, people will not be dissatisfied (e.g., supervision, pay, policies). They prevent dissatisfaction.
o Motivators: Factors that lead to satisfaction and motivation (e.g., achievement, recognition, growth).
· McClelland’s Theory of Needs: Focuses on three learned needs:
o Need for Achievement (nAch): Drive to excel.
o Need for Power (nPow): Need to make others behave in a way they would not have otherwise.
o Need for Affiliation (nAff): Desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.
Process Theories focus on the mechanism by which effort is directed.
· Goal-Setting Theory: Specific and difficult goals, with feedback, lead to higher performance.
· Expectancy Theory: Employees are motivated if they believe their effort will lead to good performance, that good performance will be rewarded, and that the rewards are desirable.
Use of Motivation in Organization
Managers apply motivation theories through practical organizational structures and practices:
· Job Redesign: Techniques like Job Rotation (shifting employees among tasks), Job Enlargement (increasing scope of tasks), and Job Enrichment (adding planning/evaluating responsibilities) to increase engagement.
· Employee Involvement: Participative management and representative participation (e.g., works councils) allow employees to contribute to decision-making.
· Recognition Programs: Intrinsic rewards like personalized praise or public recognition.
· Financial Rewards: Performance-based pay, bonus schemes, and profit-sharing.
Stress Management
Stress is an unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures.
Dimensions, Models, Causes & Management of Stresses:
· Dimensions: Stress can be Eustress (positive stress, beneficial) or Distress (negative stress, harmful).
· Models (The General Adaptation Syndrome - GAS):
1. Alarm: Initial shock and mobilization of resources.
2. Resistance: Coping and fighting the stressor.
3. Exhaustion: If stress is prolonged, resources are depleted, leading to burnout.
Causes of Stress (Hospitality Specific):
· Environmental: Economic uncertainty, political instability affecting travel.
· Organizational: Excessive workload, long shifts, lack of autonomy, poor organizational climate, and role conflicts (e.g., pleasing both the guest and the supervisor).
· Individual: Personal problems, family issues, and high personal achievement needs.
Management of Stresses:
1. Individual Level: Time management, physical exercise, relaxation techniques, and professional counselling.
2. Organizational Level:
o Improved selection and placement (matching personality to the role).
o Realistic goal setting and performance management.
o Redesigning jobs (e.g., job sharing, allowing rotation).
o Wellness programs and enhanced employee support systems.
Group Dynamics
A Group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Types of Group:
· Formal Groups: Defined by the organization’s structure (e.g., a specific department or task force).
o Command Group: Determined by the organizational chart.
o Task Group: Working together to complete a job task.
· Informal Groups: Natural formations in the work environment that meet social needs (e.g., a group of employees who eat lunch together).
o Interest Group: Affiliating to attain a specific objective of mutual concern (e.g., lobbying for better benefits).
o Friendship Group: Individuals having one or more common characteristics.
Development of Group (Five-Stage Model):
1. Forming: Uncertainty about purpose, structure, and leadership.
2. Storming: Intragroup conflict over control and leadership.
3. Norming: Group structure solidifies, and shared expectations emerge.
4. Performing: Group is fully functional and focused on achieving goals.
5. Adjourning: For temporary groups, wrapping up activities and preparing to disband.
Group Processes:
· Model of Group Work (Inputs-Process-Outputs): Inputs (e.g., resources, structure, leadership) affect Group Processes (e.g., communication, conflict, cohesion), which ultimately lead to Group Outputs (e.g., performance, satisfaction).
· Group Decision Making: Groups can generate more complete information and knowledge. Tools include brainstorming, the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), and electronic meetings. However, groups can suffer from Groupthink (pressure for conformity) and Shift (more extreme final decisions).
Social Loafing:
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. It is managed by:
· Setting group goals.
· Increasing intergroup competition.
· Conducting peer evaluations.
Understanding Teams
A Work Team is a group whose individual efforts result in performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs.
Various Types of Team:
1. Problem-Solving Teams: Employees from the same department meet to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment.
2. Self-Managed Work Teams: Groups of 10 to 15 employees who take on the responsibilities of their former supervisors, including planning, scheduling work, and making operating decisions.
3. Cross-Functional Teams: Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task (e.g., a hotel team comprised of F&B, Front Desk, and Housekeeping to launch a new service).
4. Virtual Teams: Teams that use technology to tie together physically dispersed members to achieve a common goal.
Organizational Application of Team Work (Hospitality):
· Service Recovery Teams: Dedicated teams empowered to quickly resolve guest complaints and restore satisfaction.
· Yield Management Teams: Cross-functional teams (Sales, F&B, Revenue Management) collaborating to optimize pricing and inventory.
· Employee Engagement Committees: Teams formed to drive internal culture and improve the work environment.
Chapter 3: LEADING HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATIONS
Theories & Emergence of Leadership
Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals.
Theories of Leadership:
1. Trait Theories: Focus on personal qualities and characteristics (e.g., ambition, charisma, intelligence). Traits predict leadership, but do not guarantee it.
2. Behavioural Theories: Focus on specific behaviours that differentiate leaders from non-leaders (e.g., initiating structure and consideration).
3. Contingency Theories (e.g., Fiedler’s Model): Propose that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control.
4. New Age Theories:
o Transformational Leadership: Inspiring followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization. This is crucial in hospitality for inspiring excellence in service.
o Charismatic Leadership: Followers attribute heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviours.
Developing Leaders:
Organizations can develop leaders through:
· Formal Training: Workshops focused on emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and communication.
· Mentoring and Coaching: Pairing new leaders with experienced executives.
· Job Assignments: Placing individuals in challenging roles (e.g., leading a new hotel opening) to gain experience.
Power & Politics
Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
Sources of Power:
1. Formal Power: Based on an individual’s position in the organization.
o Coercive Power: Dependent on fear (e.g., ability to fire or demote).
o Reward Power: Dependent on the ability to distribute rewards (e.g., bonuses, shifts).
o Legitimate Power: Power received as a result of position in the formal hierarchy.
2. Personal Power: Stems from an individual's unique characteristics.
o Expert Power: Influence based on special skills or knowledge (e.g., a master chef).
o Referent Power: Influence based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits (e.g., charisma).
Individual, Group & Organizational Powers:
· Individual Power: The personal and formal power wielded by a specific manager or employee.
· Group Power: The collective ability of a group (e.g., a union or a highly skilled service team) to influence decisions.
· Organizational Power: The structural power inherent in certain departments or functions that control critical resources or information (e.g., the Revenue Management department controlling pricing).
Symbols of Power:
Indicators that visibly represent an individual’s influence, such as:
· Reserved parking spots or executive lounges.
· Access to exclusive information or direct reporting lines to the CEO.
· The lavishness of a workspace (e.g., corner office).
Organizational Politics:
Organizational politics refers to the activities that are not required as part of a person’s formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
Neutralizing Politics:
Managers can minimize the negative effects of politics by:
· Creating a transparent decision-making process.
· Reducing ambiguity in role descriptions and performance metrics.
· Rewarding ethical behaviour and discouraging manipulative tactics.
Emerging Areas in Hospitality Industry
Technology & Organizational Transformation:
Technology is fundamentally changing the hospitality organization, moving tasks from human to digital.
· Impact on Structure: Flatter structures due to reduced need for middle management (e.g., automated inventory).
· Job Transformation: Focus shifting from transactional tasks (e.g., check-in) to complex relationship and emotional labour (e.g., personalized service recovery).
· Data-Driven Decisions: Use of AI and Big Data for predictive maintenance, personalized marketing, and dynamic pricing.
Outsourcing:
Contracting out non-core or repetitive activities to external providers (e.g., laundry, IT support, or even certain aspects of housekeeping).
· OB Implications: Loss of control over employee behaviour/culture in outsourced tasks, potential conflicts between in-house and external teams.
Downsizing:
A systematic effort to make an organization leaner by closing locations, reducing staff, or selling off business units.
· OB Implications: Can lead to survivor sickness (guilt, stress, and reduced morale among remaining employees), and increased workload, necessitating careful communication and management of the remaining workforce.
Chapter 4: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Organizational Design & Development (OD&D)
Organizational Design refers to the structural framework of the organization—how jobs are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. Organizational Development (OD) is a collection of planned change interventions built on humanistic-democratic values that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being.
Evolution:
· Classical Theories: Focused on efficiency and structure (e.g., Scientific Management, Bureaucracy).
· Neo-Classical Theories: Focused on human relations and motivation (e.g., Hawthorne Studies).
· Modern Theories: Adopt systems thinking and contingency approaches, recognizing that structure must fit strategy and environment.
Organizational Change
Organizational Change is the movement of an organization from one state of equilibrium to another.
Environmental Analysis:
Managers must constantly monitor the environment for forces of change:
· Economic Shifts: Recessions, inflation, and changing consumer spending habits.
· Technological Advances: New systems for booking, service, and data analysis.
· Social & Cultural Trends: Evolving guest expectations regarding sustainability, personalized service, and health.
· Legal & Political Changes: New labour laws, health and safety regulations.
Process, Types, Approaches & Theories:
· Lewin’s Three-Step Model:
1. Unfreezing: Overcoming individual resistance and moving away from the status quo.
2. Movement: Implementing the change itself.
3. Refreezing: Stabilizing the change by reinforcing new behaviour and policies.
· Types of Change:
o Planned Change: Deliberate and goal-oriented.
o Reactive Change: Responding to unforeseen external events.
· Change Approaches: Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan is a comprehensive approach starting with creating a sense of urgency and building a guiding coalition.
Diagnosing Organizations
Diagnosis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to understand how the organization is currently functioning and providing the necessary information to design appropriate interventions.
Practices, Processes, Policies, Groups, Jobs:
Diagnosis examines the alignment between:
· Practices: Informal methods of getting work done.
· Processes: Formal workflows (e.g., the guest check-in process).
· Policies: Formal written rules and regulations.
· Groups: The dynamics, norms, and effectiveness of teams.
· Jobs: The specific tasks and responsibilities defined for each role.
Collecting & Analyzing Data:
· Collecting Data: Methods include:
o Interviews: One-on-one or group discussions for in-depth, qualitative data.
o Surveys/Questionnaires: Broad collection of quantitative data on attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment).
o Observations: Direct viewing of work behaviour and process flows.
o Secondary Data: Reviewing existing documents (e.g., turnover rates, sales figures).
· Analyzing Data: Involves identifying patterns, discrepancies, and root causes of problems (e.g., high turnover is linked to poor supervisor ratings in the employee survey).
Chapter 5: DESIGNING INTERVENTIONS
Designing Interventions; Leading & Managing Changes
Interventions are sets of structured activities in which the organizational members engage to improve organizational effectiveness. They are the action steps planned during the OD process.
Leading & Managing Changes:
Effective change leadership requires addressing resistance and building commitment:
· Communication: Clearly explaining the rationale and benefits of the change.
· Participation: Involving employees in the design and implementation of the change.
· Negotiation: Offering incentives to employees who resist.
· Coercion: Applying direct threats or force (used only as a last resort).
Strategic Change
Strategic Change involves shifting the organization's core strategy, mission, or direction.
Cultural Change:
A strategic intervention focused on altering the shared system of meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from others. This is notoriously difficult and requires long-term commitment.
Organizational Culture:
A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. In hospitality, culture often revolves around service, hospitality, and customer delight.
Approaches, Types, Characteristics:
· Characteristics:
1. Innovation and Risk Taking
2. Attention to Detail
3. Outcome Orientation
4. People Orientation (High in hospitality)
5. Team Orientation (High in hospitality)
6. Aggressiveness
7. Stability
· Types:
o Clan Culture: Internal focus, flexible, like a family (common in small boutique hotels).
o Adhocracy Culture: External focus, flexible, dynamic, and entrepreneurial (common in innovative resorts).
o Market Culture: External focus, stability and control, driven by competition and goal achievement (common in large, efficient chains).
o Hierarchy Culture: Internal focus, stability and control, formalized and structured (common in bureaucratic institutions).
· Approaches to Cultural Change: Changing visible artifacts (symbols, rituals), altering employee selection criteria, and reinforcing new values through leadership modelling.
Human Process Intervention & Techno-structural Interventions
Human Process Interventions: Aim to improve interpersonal relations, group dynamics, and organizational communication.
· Team Building: Activities to increase trust and open communication within work groups.
· Survey Feedback: Using diagnostic survey results to initiate discussions and action planning among teams.
· T-Groups (Training Groups): Intensive small-group experiences to improve awareness of self and others (less common today).
Techno-structural Interventions: Aim to improve effectiveness by focusing on the organization's technology and structure.
· Job Design: Redesigning specific jobs to be more engaging and motivating (e.g., increasing autonomy for front-line staff).
· Organizational Structure: Implementing changes to the formal structure, such as moving from a functional structure (by department) to a divisional structure (by brand or region).
· Total Quality Management (TQM): A philosophy focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction through process control and data-driven decision making.
Organizational Design
Organizational Design involves choosing a structure that best meets the organization's strategy and environment.
Determinants:
1. Strategy: Structure must follow strategy (e.g., innovation strategy needs a flexible structure; cost-minimization needs a tight, controlled structure).
2. Organization Size: Larger organizations tend to be more mechanistic and bureaucratic.
3. Technology: Routine technology (standardized tasks) supports mechanistic structures; non-routine technology (varied, custom tasks) supports organic structures.
4. Environment: Stable environments allow for mechanistic structures; dynamic/uncertain environments require organic (flexible) structures.
Parameters:
· Work Specialization: Degree to which tasks are subdivided into separate jobs.
· Departmentalization: The basis by which jobs are grouped (function, product, geography, process, or customer).
· Chain of Command: The line of authority from top management to the lowest employee.
· Span of Control: The number of subordinates a manager can efficiently and effectively direct.
· Centralization/Decentralization: Where decision-making authority lies.
· Formalization: The degree to which jobs are standardized.
Challenges in Hospitality Design:
· Balancing Standardization and Personalization: The need for standardized processes (for efficiency and quality) while empowering employees to personalize guest service (flexibility).
· Matrix Structures: Using project teams that cross functional lines can lead to reporting conflicts (e.g., a Sales Manager reporting to both the Director of Sales and the Hotel General Manager).
· Global Integration: Designing structures that allow local operations (e.g., a hotel in Tokyo) to adhere to global brand standards while remaining culturally relevant.
Important Questions for full Subject:
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (Individual Level)
1. Developing Orientation: Define Organizational Behaviour (OB). Explain the difference between a systematic study approach and relying solely on intuition when managing people.
2. Why Study OB: Why are "people skills" particularly paramount in the high-touch hospitality industry compared to a non-service industry?
3. Current Challenges: Describe the "War for Talent" challenge in hospitality. How do intense scheduling and long hours contribute to the "Work-Life Balance" challenge?
4. Personality: Describe the five dimensions of the Big Five Personality Model. Which two traits are arguably the most critical for success in a hotel front desk role, and why?
5. Emotions & Moods: Differentiate between an emotion and a mood, providing an example of each. Explain the concepts of Surface Acting and Deep Acting in the context of a flight attendant dealing with a difficult customer. Which is more likely to lead to burnout?
6. Emotional Intelligence (EI): What are the key components of Emotional Intelligence? How does high EI benefit a restaurant manager during a peak dinner rush?
7. Attitudes & Job Satisfaction: List and briefly explain the three components of attitude (Cognitive, Affective, Behavioural). Use these components to analyze an employee's reaction to a new mandatory uniform policy.
8. Cross-Culture Values: According to Hofstede’s Framework, how might an employee from a high Power Distance culture respond differently to a highly decentralized decision-making environment compared to an employee from a low Power Distance culture?
9. Perception & Misrepresentation: Define Perception. What is Impression Management (IM), and how can tactics like Self-Promotion and Favouritism lead to organizational problems and misrepresentation?
Chapter 2: MOTIVATION, STRESS, & GROUP DYNAMICS (Group Level)
1. Motivation Theories (Content): Compare and contrast Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory. How can a hospitality manager use the insights from Herzberg's theory to increase employee satisfaction and motivation simultaneously?
2. Motivation Theories (Process) & Application: Explain the core idea of Expectancy Theory. Describe one technique of Job Redesign (e.g., Job Rotation or Job Enrichment) and explain how it contributes to employee motivation.
3. Stress: Differentiate between Eustress and Distress. Outline the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
4. Stress Causes & Management: Give two specific hospitality-related examples of organizational causes of stress. Detail one individual-level and one organizational-level strategy for managing employee stress.
5. Group Dynamics: Differentiate between a Formal Group and an Informal Group. Describe the five stages of group development.
6. Group Processes: Explain the phenomenon of Social Loafing. Provide three specific actions a team leader can take to prevent social loafing during a banquet setup task.
7. Understanding Teams: What distinguishes a Work Team from a general work group? Describe the primary function of a Cross-Functional Team in a hotel environment (e.g., the Yield Management Team).
Chapter 3: LEADING HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATIONS (Leadership & Power)
1. Leadership Theories: Distinguish between Trait Theories and Behavioural Theories of leadership. Why is Transformational Leadership considered highly effective for inspiring service excellence in the hospitality sector?
2. Developing Leaders: List three practical methods an organization can use to develop strong leadership skills in its high-potential employees.
3. Sources of Power: Define Power. Differentiate between the two major categories of power: Formal Power and Personal Power. Provide an example of Expert Power in a culinary setting.
4. Organizational Power: Explain how the concept of Organizational Power applies to departments like Revenue Management or Housekeeping within a large hotel chain.
5. Organizational Politics: Define organizational politics and describe the goal of political behaviour. List three steps managers can take to minimize or Neutralize Politics in the workplace.
6. Emerging Areas: Analyze the impact of Technological Integration (e.g., AI/Chatbots) on the traditional service roles, focusing on the shift in required Job Transformation.
7. Outsourcing & Downsizing: Discuss the key OB implications associated with Outsourcing non-core services like laundry or IT. What is "survivor sickness" and how does it relate to the practice of Downsizing?
Chapter 4: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT (Change & Diagnosis)
1. OD&D Evolution: Define both Organizational Design and Organizational Development (OD). How did the focus of organizational theory shift from the Classical Theories to the Neo-Classical and Modern Theories?
2. Organizational Change: Explain Lewin’s Three-Step Model of change (Unfreezing, Movement, Refreezing). Why is the "Unfreezing" stage often the most difficult in an established organization?
3. Environmental Analysis: List the four major environmental forces of change that managers must monitor. Provide a current example of a Social & Cultural Trend impacting the hotel industry.
4. Diagnosing Organizations: Explain the purpose of the organizational diagnosis phase. What specific elements does diagnosis examine in terms of organizational alignment (Practices, Processes, Policies, Groups, Jobs)?
5. Collecting & Analyzing Data: Name four primary methods used for collecting diagnostic data in an organization. If a manager finds a discrepancy between the formal Policy and the informal Practice in handling guest complaints, how should they proceed with analysis?
Chapter 5: DESIGNING INTERVENTIONS (Design, Culture, & Change Management)
1. Interventions: What is an Intervention in the context of Organizational Development? List two key activities involved in the Leading & Managing Changes process that address employee resistance.
2. Strategic Change: Define Organizational Culture. List and briefly describe three characteristics of organizational culture.
3. Cultural Types: Compare and contrast the Clan Culture and the Market Culture using the dimensions of focus (internal/external) and flexibility (flexible/control). Which type would be more typical for a family-run luxury resort?
4. Cultural Change Approaches: Since culture is difficult to change, list two effective approaches managers can use to initiate and reinforce desired Cultural Change over time.
5. Intervention Types: Differentiate between Human Process Interventions (give an example) and Techno-structural Interventions (give an example).
6. Organizational Design Determinants: List the four key determinants that influence an organization’s choice of structural design.
7. Design Challenges: Explain the core design challenge in the hospitality industry: Balancing Standardization and Personalization. Why might the use of a Matrix Structure lead to reporting conflicts for employees?
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