SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MBA DEGREE EXAMINATIONS
MBH22101T- Organizational Behaviour in Healthcare Sector
Duration: 3 Hrs Max Marks: 100
Part-A (10*2 Marks= 20 Marks)
Answer all Questions
1. What are the challenges to OB?
2. Define Organizational Behaviour.
3. Distinguish intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
4. State any two content theories of motivation.
5. State the Herzberg two factor theory.
6. Differentiate theory X and theory Y in motivation.
7. What is a negotiation skill?
8. List out the steps in a decision making process.
9. Differentiate Group and Team
10. Define ‘Organizational Development.
Part-B (5*10 Marks= 50 Marks)
11. a) Explain the factors influencing perception
(or)
b) Explain the horizontal flow of communication. Provide examples.
12. a) State and explain the factors influencing perception.
(or)
b) Explain any two process theories of motivation
13. a) Why is it important that the exercise of power and politics be handled in an ethical fashion?
(or)
b) Discuss on the trait and behavioural theories of leadership.
14. a) How do you handle conflicts within your team? Provide examples
(or)
b) What quality is the most helpful during a negotiation?
15. a) How important is team building to an organization?
(or)
b) Explain the Lewin’s force field theory in Organizational change.
Part-C (2*15 Marks= 30 Marks)
Case Study (Compulsory)
16. Stress Takes Its Toll
Larry Field had a lot of fun in high school. He was a fairly good student, especially in math, he
worked harder than most of his friends, and somehow he ended up going steady with Alice
Shiflette, class valedictorian. He worked summers for a local surveyor, William Loude, and when
he graduated Mr. Loude offered him a job as number-three man on one of his survey crews. The
pay wasn’t very high, but Larry already was good at the work, and he believed all he needed was
a steady job to boost his confidence to ask Alice to marry him. Once he did, events unfolded
rapidly. He started work in June, he and Alice were married in October, Alice took a job as a
secretary in a local company that made business forms, and a year later they had their first
child.
The baby came as something of a shock to Larry. He had come to enjoy the independence his
own paycheck gave him every week. Food and rent took up most of it, but he still enjoyed
playing basketball a few nights a week with his high school buddies and spending Sunday
afternoons on the softball field. When the baby came, however, Larry’s brow began to furrow a
bit. He was only 20 years old, and he still wasn’t making much money. He asked Mr. Loude for a
raise and got it—his first.
Two months later, one of the crew chiefs quit just when Mr. Loude’s crews had more work than
they could handle. Mr. Loude hated to turn down work, so he made Larry Field a crew chief,
giving his crew some of the old instruments that weren’t good enough for the precision work of
the top crews, and assigned him the easy title surveys in town. Because it meant a jump in
salary, Larry had no choice but to accept the crew chief position. But it scared him. He had never
been very ambitious or curious, so he’d paid little attention to the training of his former crew
chief. He knew how to run the instruments—the basics, anyway—but every morning he woke
up terrified that he would be sent on a job he couldn’t handle.
During his first few months as a crew chief, Larry began doing things that his wife thought he
had outgrown. He frequently talked so fast that he would stumble over his own words,
stammer, turn red in the face, and have to start all over again. He began smoking, too,
something he had not done since they had started dating. He told his two crew members that
smoking kept his hands from shaking when he was working on an instrument. Neither of them
smoked, and when Larry began lighting up in the truck while they were waiting for the rain to
stop, they would become resentful and complain that he had no right to ruin their lungs too.
Larry found it particularly hard to adjust to being "boss," especially since one of his workers was
getting an engineering degree at night school and both crew members were the same age as he.
He felt sure that Alfonso Reyes, the scholar, would take over his position in no time. He kept
feeling that Alfonso was looking over his shoulder and began snapping any time they worked
close together.
Things were getting tense at home, too. Alice had to give up her full-time day job to take care of
the baby, so she had started working nights. They hardly ever saw each other, and it seemed as
though her only topic of conversation was how they should move to California or Alaska, where
she had heard that surveyors were paid five times what Larry made. Larry knew his wife was
dissatisfied with her work and believed her intelligence was being wasted, but he didn’t know
what he could do about it. He was disconcerted when he realized that drinking and worrying
about the next day at work while sitting at home with the baby at night had become a pattern.
Questions:
a) What signs of stress was Larry Field exhibiting?
b) How was Larry Field trying to cope with his stress? Can you suggest more effective
methods?
17. Differing Perceptions at Clarkston Hospital
Susan Harrington continued to drum her fingers on her desk. She had a real problem and wasn’t
sure what to do next. She had a lot of confidence in Jack Reed, but she suspected she was about
the last person in the office who did. Perhaps if she ran through the entire story again in her
mind she would see the solution.
Susan had been distribution manager for Clarkston for almost twenty years. An early brush with
the law and a short stay in prison had made her realize the importance of honesty and hard
work. Henry Clarkston had given her a chance despite her record, and Susan had made the most
of it. She now was one of the most respected managers in the Organization. Few people knew
her background.
Susan had hired Jack Reed fresh out of prison six months ago. Susan understood how Jack felt
when Jack tried to explain his past and asked for another chance. Susan decided to give him that
chance just as Henry Clarkston had given her one. Jack eagerly accepted a job on the loading
docks and could soon load a truck as fast as anyone in the crew.
Things had gone well at first. Everyone seemed to like Jack, and he made several new friends.
Susan had been vaguely disturbed about two months ago, however, when another dock worker
reported his wallet missing. She confronted Jack about this and was reassured when Jack
understood her concern and earnestly but calmly asserted his innocence. Susan was especially
relieved when the wallet was found a few days later.
The events of last week, however, had caused serious trouble. First, a new personnel clerk had
come across records about Jack’s past while updating employee files. Assuming that the
information was common knowledge, the clerk had mentioned to several employees what a
good thing it was to give ex-convicts like Jack a chance. The next day, someone in bookkeeping
discovered some money missing from petty cash. Another worker claimed to have seen Jack in
the area around the office strongbox, which was open during working hours, earlier that same
day.
Most people assumed Jack was the thief. Even the worker whose wallet had been misplaced
suggested that perhaps Jack had indeed stolen it but had returned it when questioned. Several
employees had approached Susan and requested that Jack be fired. Meanwhile, when Susan
had discussed the problem with Jack, Jack had been defensive and sullen and said little about
the petty-cash situation other than to deny stealing the money.
To her dismay, Susan found that rethinking the story did little to solve his problem. Should she
fire Jack? The evidence, of course, was purely circumstantial, yet everybody else seemed to see
things quite clearly. Susan feared that if she did not fire Jack, she would lose everyone’s trust
and that some people might even begin to question her own motives.
a) Explain the events in this case in terms of perception and attitudes. Does personality play a
role? (10)
b) What should Susan do? Should she fire Jack or give him another chance? (5)
