Question : Do you agree with the view that the charismatic approach of the mid-1970s is a “new version” of the Classical Trait Theory of Leadership? Give reasons.
(2015)
Answer : Trait theory is based on concept that leaders are born, not made. Thats because they have some innate qualities which make them great leaders.
In 1970’s a return to trait theories can be seen in form of leaders like Margaret Thatcher or in form of Indira Gandhi and later in form of Ronald Reagen.
Maragret Thatcher brought systematic reforms in UK administration, often taking stance positions and amidst all the allegation, resistance and controversies. She was rightly ....
Question : “Information constitutes the life-blood of the functioning of an organisation.” Explain the utility and significance of communication in decision-making.
(2015)
Answer : Information is a critical resource in the operation and management of organizations. Timely availability of relevant information is vital for effective performance of managerial functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and control. An information system in an organization is like the nervous system in the human body: it is the link that connects all the organization’s components together and provides for better operation and survival in a competitive environment. Indeed, today’s organizations run on information.
Information ....
Question : Read following instances carefully and suggest what specific perspectives on organizational psychology of motivation would help the concerned organization to reconcile the needs of the following four persons with the needs of organization:
(2013)
Answer : Organizational psychology is an important and vibrant field of inquiry which has been enjoying considerable growth in recent decades throughout the industrialized world.
It provides valuable insights that help us understand people’s actions, thoughts and feelings in relation to work, and consequently how to improve the management of people at work. Organizational psychology has made significant contributions to improving many areas of people management, including personnel selection, training, employee morale and motivation, working conditions, and organizational ....
Question : What is the nature of psychological contract persued by organizational management through authority and the employees through exertion of upward influence?
(2013)
Answer : Organization theorists tried to find out the answer as to what motivates people in human organizations. Fredric W.Taylor and his followers in the form of scientific management, and more particularly in the differential piece rate system, made the starting. Scientific management attempted to use financial incentives to motivate people in work organizations. Then came the findings of human relations, which emphasized security and working conditions at the job besides financial incentives for work motivation. In ....
Question : ‘Man’s motives … in different subparts of the same. Organization may be different’ [Edgar Schein]. Discuss.
(2012)
Answer : Every individual has few definite needs. At one particular time he is motivated by one particular need.
Physical needs are more important in new employees, therefore they should be provided good working condition, good housing facility etc. to fulfill these needs.
Senior employees in organization have security needs as more important, so they should be provided group insurance scheme, health insurance scheme, housing loans, etc. to fulfill this needs.
Similarly, there is need of efficacy to keep employees ....
Question : Leadership is the ‘influential increment over and above mechanical compliance with the routine directives of the organization’ [Katz and Kahn]. Analyze.
(2012)
Answer : Katz and Kahn have identified three levels of leadership. Its influence on structure of organization is different. They are different in this respect at institutional level and the highest leadership has to prepare holistic structure and develop policies for it. Below it are inspectors and superintendents who at middle level work within boundaries of common policies. In specific instances they try to do something new outside the conventional structure. The incompleteness found in conventional structure ....
Question : Simon’s identifying decision making as the core field of public administration appears logically acceptable but his positivist underpinning is problematic.” Critically examine the statement.
(2010)
Answer : Simon conceptualized the need for a science of management, a science that should ideally be as
falsifiable as the other sciences. Recognizing that he found himself at the very beginning of this ambitious project, Simon saw himself as one of the pioneers of the second generation of scientific management, after Fayol, Taylor and others.
It was above all Taylor who attracted his attention. Taylor (1911) published “The Principles of Scientific Management”, a book dealing mainly ....
Question : Examine the respective roles of facts and values in the decision-making process. Is it possible to make value-free decisions in government system? How can government decisions be made more rational?
(2008)
Answer : Decision making is a subject that has come to the forefront in administrative thinking and administrative theory only recently. Decision-making is a complex administrative process.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the term as “the act of determining in one’s own mind upon an opinion or course of action.” But, the foremost decision theorist defines decision-making as “the optimum rational choice between alternative course of action.” Thus, decision- making means choosing one alternative from among various alternatives.
According to Simon, ....
Question : ‘Leaders do the right things, managers do them rightly.’ (Bennis) Comment.
(2008)
Answer : Leadership is indespensable for the successful functioning of an organization and attainment of its goals and objectives. As Keith Davis observed, ‘’Without leadership, an organization is but a muddle of men and machinas. Leadership transforms potentiality into reality.’’
Hicks and Gullett say, ‘‘the terms ‘leader’ and ‘manager’ are not necessarily interchangeable because leadership is a ‘sub-class of management… a leader needs to influence the behaviour of others. He is not necessarily required to perform all the ....
Question : What is meant by morale? There is a belief that “morale and productivity go hand in hand and higher the morale, higher the productivity.” Do you agree? Substantiate.
(2007)
Answer : There are many factors, both on the part of the employee and the orgaisation, that determine the productivity of an employee. Out of these, the morale is most influential catalyst of productivity. Esteem is a powerful motivator of energetic and rightly oriented action. Government is a human institution and rests not only on formal arrangements, skill and principle but even more so on attitudes, enthusiasms and loyalty. Work, having lost its joy, loses its quality ....
Question : “The distinction between line and staff is relative rather than absolute.” Discuss.
(2007)
Answer : The dichotomy of line vs. staff primarily depends upon the nature of work done by them. Essentially, both of them form a necessary component of any organisation.
The functions related to policy formulation, advice, informatory, regulatory etc. are performed by the staff agencies. While on the other hand, the functions related to implementation of policy forms the part of line agencies.
The conflict between these two organs arises mainly when the staff agencies, which generally form the ....
Question : “No science of public administration is possible unless there is a body of comparative studies from which it may be possible to discover principle and generalities that transcend national boundaries and peculiar historical experiences”. Discuss.
(2005)
Answer : The case of public administration being a science has been stated in three ways varying in the degree of the claim made. On the lowest plane, it has been said that though at the present state of its development, public administration may not merit the name of a science, in due course it may become one. What it presents to us at present is a framework of connected ideas about public administration which provides a ....
Question : “Motivation theory is not synonymous with behaviour theory. The motivations are only one class of determine of behaviour while behaviour is almost always motivated it is also almost always biologically, culturally and situationally determined as well”. Comment.
(2004)
Answer : Behaviour of a man is a collective result of interactions between various types of emotions with the situations in which he lives, whereas motivation is the feeling that drives the man to work and induce in him a feeling of willingness to work. Motivation is due to either any emotion or the situation but the difference in behaviour and motivation is that behaviour is a comprehensive term, which incorporates in it virtually every emotion of ....
Question : What is morale? State its significance and suggest methods to foster and sustain morale in an organization.
(2003)
Answer : Man does not live only by breads alone. Esteem is a powerful motivator of energetic and rightly oriented action. Government is a human institution and rests not only on formal arrangements, skill and principle but even more so on attitudes, enthusiasms and loyalty. Work, having lost its joy, loses its quality while the worker; having found his appreciations brings forth his best. Thus for the success of an organization high morale among the employees is ....
Question : Compare Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivations and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. Do you think that they are universally applicable? If so, why? If not, why?
(2002)
Answer : Maslow’s and Herzberg’s contribution are a landmark in social-psychological research. Their theory of Need-Hierarchy (Maslow) and Motivation-Hygiene (Herzberg) has a tremendous impact on the modern management approach to motivation. Both of them elaborate upon importance of communication to motivate.
According to Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory, there is a hierarchy of needs. These needs are to be fulfilled. Unfilled needs provide motivate. A leader must know the fulfilled and unfilled needs to motivate.
According to Maslow’s theory, communication plays ....
Question : “The nature and value of communication in administration vindicates that “communication is authority”. Comment.
(2001)
Answer : In any organization whether public or private while organizing the activities of an organisation, authority and responsibility is equally decentralized taking into consideration various facts into consideration.
The whole organization structure is based on principle of hierarchy. That is there is various levels of administrative authority.
Similarly various managerial activities take place in this hierarchy from down to bottom. Communication in particular in several organizations is deliberately established. Who should report to whom in which frequency, how ....
Question : “Fredrick Herzberg’s two factor theory is more or less an extention of Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation.” Explain.
(1997)
Answer : Maslow’s contribution is a landmark in social-psychological research and he was a forerunner to many like Herzberg and Vroom. His theory of need hierarchy has had tremendous impact on modern management approach to motivation.
Maslow theory is based on the idea of prepotency of needs. Accordingly he developed a scale on which at one end are lower order needs like physiological and security needs and at the other end higher order needs like, social and self-esteem ....
Question : “That is, to be a successful administrator one must have a catholic curiosity.”
(1997)
Answer : Administration is a process permeating all collective effort. It is a cooperative effort directed towards the realization of a consciously laid down objective. Administration has been described by Ordway Tead as “the central power house of the motivational impulsion and spirit which makes the institution drive to fulfill its purpose”. As administration is manned by and meant for human-being, the human factor becomes of central concern to it. Administration is a social process comprising a ....
