IOP 2602 – EXAM PAPER ANSWERS TO ESSAY QUESTIONS
Q 1 explain employees possible reactions to their experience of job dissatisfaction (8) Pg 80
Responses differ along 2 dimensions: constructive / destructive and active / passive.
1. Exit Response – directing behaviour towards leaving the orga...
q 1 explain employees possible reactions to their experience of job dissatisfaction 8 pg 80 responses differ along 2 dimensions constructive destr
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IOP 2602 – EXAM PAPER ANSWERS TO ESSAY QUESTIONS
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IOP 2602 – EXAM PAPER ANSWERS TO ESSAY QUESTIONS
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Q1 explain employees possible reactions to their experience of job dissatisfaction (8) Pg 80
Responses differ along 2 dimensions: constructive / destructive and active / passive.
1. Exit Response – directing behaviour towards leaving the organisation, includes looking for a new job & resigning.
2. Voice Response – actively & constructively trying to improve conditions by suggesting improvements, discussing
problems with superiors, undertaking some forms of union activity.
3. Loyalty Response – passively but optimistically waiting for situations to improve, includes speaking up for the
organisation if it’s criticised externally & trusting the organisation & management to “do the right thing”.
4. Neglect Response – passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced
effort & increased errors in work.
Q2 what proposals would you offer to management to rectify trust relationship with its employees (7) Pg 330
Trust is a positive expectation that another will not – through actions, words or decisions, act opportunistically.
There are 5 key dimensions that underlie trust: integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty & openness. Once
broken, trust can be regained but only in certain situations. If trust is broken because someone has failed to do what
was expected of them, trust can be regained by being consistent & acting in a trustworthy manner in the future. If
you are deceived by someone, no matter if they apologise, the trust is never fully regained. People who are trusting,
demonstrate their trust by increasing their openness to others disclosing relevant information & expressing their
true intentions. Exhibiting trust encourages reciprocity. When parties understand each other’s intentions &
appreciate each other’s wants & desires, trust will exist. Managers can build trust in organisations by:
practising openness
being fair
stating how they feel
telling the truth
showing consistency
fulfilling their promises
maintaining confidences
demonstrating competence
Q3 describe how Kurt Lewin’s model can be used to manage change (6) pg 488
When a change situation is presented, two forces at play – the driving forces who wish to implement change & those
restraining forces who wish things to remain the same. The goals of planned change are to firstly improve the ability
of the organisation to adapt to the changes in the environment, and secondly to change employee behaviour. Kurt
Lewin recommended a three step process to ensure the successful implementation of change in an organisation.
Unfreezing – the status quo. In order to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance & group
conformity, unfreezing is necessary. This can be achieved in 3 ways. In order for change to take place, driving
forces must supersede the restraining forces, thereby shifting the equilibrium. The driving forces can be
increased and the restraining forces decreased. The third alternative is to combine the first two. Pay incentives
can be offered to those who accept the transfer, individuals could be counselled & their concerns & worries
heard & clarified.
Movement – to a new state
Refreezing – the new change to make it permanent. If the new change is successful, it needs to be refrozen by
balancing the driving & restraining forces to ensure it can be sustained over time or else employees will revert to
the previous equilibrium state. To achieve this, management could systematically replace temporary forces with
permanent ones by imposing a permanent upward adjustment of salaries, rules & regulations should also be
revised to reinforce new situation.
Q4 give a balanced view of the possible value of resistance to change & identify two sources of resistance that
possibly influence the attitude of individual employees towards management. (4) pg 485
Resistance to change has its positive attributes – it provides a degree of stability & predictability to behaviour. It
there wasn’t resistance, organisational behaviours would take on characteristics of randomness. It is also a source of
functional conflict, stimulating healthy debates on the merits of the idea & resulting in better decisions. The
following are reasons why an individual would resist change :
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, IOP 2602 – EXAM PAPER ANSWERS TO ESSAY QUESTIONS
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Habit – as humans we are creatures of habit & develop frames of reference. To cope with the complexity of life,
we rely on habits or programmed responses so we dont need to consider the full range of options each day.
When confronted with change, our tendency to respond in an accustomed way becomes a source of resistance.
So when office moves, you have to consider a new route, wake up earlier, new office layout etc.
Security – retrenchments are very possible with change so people will resist the change because it threatens
their sense of safety.
Economic factors – there’s always concern that the change will lower one’s income. People also fear they will be
unable to perform the new tasks, especially if salary is closely tied to production or performance incentives.
Fear of the unknown – changes substitute the known for the unknown which is ambiguous & uncertain which
creates the fear of insecurity.
Selective information processing – we shape our world through perceptions & once this world is created, we
resist change. We process information selectively to keep our perceptions intact & resist the things that
threaten the world we have created.
Q5 groups develop through a standard sequence of 5 stages in group development – name & discuss (10)
Groups development is a dynamic process. The 5 stages of group development are:
Stage 1 – forming
This is when people come together to form a group. At this stage there is uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
structure & leadership & what behaviours are acceptable. This stage is complete when people regard themselves as
part of the group.
Stage 2 – storming
There is a lot of intragroup conflict at this stage because of resistance to constraints as well as conflict over who will
control the group as leader. It is complete when the hierarchy is relatively complete.
Stage 3 – norming
At this stage close relationships develop, there’s cohesiveness, group identity & camaraderie & agreement on how
the group will operate. This stage is complete when the structure solidifies & when there’s a common set of
expectations of correct behaviour.
Stage 4 – performing
The group is now fully functional with an accepted structure & they are able to concentrate on the task at hand. If
this is a permanent work group, this will be its final stage. If a temporary work group, adjourning is their next phase.
Stage 5 – adjourning
The group begins the task of wrapping up. The responses to this stage are varied with some people celebrating the
accomplishments & some feeling sad over the loss of camaraderie & friendships.
Q6 Trait theories on leadership are outdated & no longer serve any purpose. Critically evaluate this
statement with specific reference to the most recent approaches to leadership. (15) pg 291
Trait theories differentiate leaders from non-leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics. Research
on particular leadership traits has been carried out over many years. The Big 5 personality framework was conceived
which showed consistent results & strong support for traits as predictors of leaders. The Big 5 traits are: emotional
stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness & conscientiousness. Recent studies indicate the emotional
intelligence indicates effective leadership. Someone can have a charismatic personality, outstanding training, highly
analytical mind, compelling vision & an endless supply of terrific ideas but may not make a great leader. In SA,
research shows that high levels of EI show a positive relationship with transformational leadership & a negative
correlation with transactional leadership. A core component of EI is empathy. An empathetic person can sense
others needs, listen to what followers say (& don’t say) & are able to read the reaction of others. Empathy is what
inspires people to stay with a leader when the going gets rough. The fact that someone cares is more often than not
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