Questions

1. What are the three levels of analysis in the organizational behavior (OB) model? Select and briefly explain one of the three levels of analysis in the OB model.
2. What are various fields that have contributed to the field of organizational behavior? Briefly explain their contributions.
3. One recent study found no link between age and the performance of employees. The study’s author expressed surprise at the findings. Do the findings surprise you? Why or why not?
4. After six months in his new position as a manager, Binyam was faced with the task of having to conduct a performance evaluation of his staff. He was worried because he had never done a performance evaluation and is not sure how to do it. However, in order to ease his ways, he decides to start with Abinet, Mekdes, and Samrawit who were hired himself. Binyam felt that Abinet is the most outstanding performer in his department. Mekdes is a recent hire in his department and he felt that she is the most cooperative lady he had hired since he became a manager. Samrawit is also a recent hire in his department but he felt that the university that she graduated from mostly produces incompetent students.
   i) What perceptual biases do you expect likely to come into play while Binyam evaluates the performance of Mekdes? Justify your answer.
   ii) What perceptual biases do you expect likely to come into play while Binyam evaluates the performance of Samrawit? Justify your answer.
   iii) What Binyam needs to do to prevent perceptual biases (misperceptions) in conducting staff performance evaluations?
5. Let’s assume you are ahead of the sales department of Dashen beer and are charged with the direct supervision of three junior sales staff i.e., Ermiyas, Alemu, and Meseret. You found that all of them failed to meet the sales target that you assigned to each this year. The last three years’ performance record of these junior staff revealed that Alemu and Meseret never failed to meet sales targets for the last three years. Nevertheless, Meseret has a poor record of meeting deadlines while she was working on a personal sales project last year. Ermey’s performance record showed that he always failed to meet assigned sales targets. What do you do regarding Alemu? Do you give him the benefit of the doubt and place the blame on the difficulty of the sales target? Or do you think that he is irresponsible? Justify your answer in light of the three main determinants of attribution.
   ii) What do you do regarding Ermiyas? Do you give him the benefit of the doubt and place the blame on the difficulty of the sales target? Or do you think that he is irresponsible? Justify your answer in light of the three main determinants of attribution.
   iii) What do you do regarding Meseret? Do you give her the benefit of the doubt and place the blame on the difficulty of the sales target? Or do you think that she is irresponsible? Justify your answer in light of the three main determinants of attribution.

6. One recent study regarding the status of corruption in the Ethiopian Inland Revenue Authority revealed that 90 % of the authority staff has a high level of corruption-seeking behavior. In fact, the study reports that most of authority employees consider bribes and kickbacks as a prerequisite to doing their jobs. As per the study report, only 10% of the authority employees were found with a high level of integrity and anti-corruption behavior. The top management of the authority was shocked by this study report and currently looking for your recommendations regarding strategies that help to reduce corrupt behavior and encourage anti-corrupt behavior of employees within the authority.
i) Drawing on your knowledge of reinforcement theory, recommend strategies that help to reduce the corrupt behavior of employees within the authority. Justify your answer with appropriate reinforcement strategies.
ii) Drawing on your knowledge of reinforcement theory, recommend strategies that help to encourage anti-corrupt behavior of employees within the authority. Justify your answer with appropriate reinforcement strategies.

7. You have received the following email from a junior colleague: ‘As I understand group behavior, ‘there are conditions in which group can result in 2+ 2 =3, process loss. Please explain to me the reasons behind this process loss in group dynamics and how to overcome the problem?’ Drawing on your knowledge of managing group behavior, draft a helpful reply to the junior colleague.

8. You have received the following email from a junior colleague: ‘As I understand group development ‘there are stages via which the group developments evolve. Please explain to me the main stages of group development?’ Drawing on your knowledge of Tuckman’s five-stage model of group development, draft a helpful reply to the junior colleague.

9. What does the ‘Ringelman’ effect mean? How is it related to group productivity?

10.  Briefly explain the drawback of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory of motivation on the basis of the “frustration-regression” hypothesis.