QUESTION ONE-POWER AND POLITICS IN ORGANISATIONS

James Park has been hired as the new CEO by the board of directors of GoSports Inc., a large national sporting goods retailer, which has been battling economic and internal issues over the previous years. Despite Parks experience at the helm of large companies in need of profound strategic and structural change, in his new position at GoSports he has been butting heads with a powerful collective of executives unhappy with the hire and threatened by the new CEOs accolades. To complicate matters, rumour has it that the decision to hire Park was far from unanimous, with various factions vying for control in the company, waiting for a chance to fill the power vacuum a quick departure by Park would leave behind. After two weeks with the company, Park is called before the board of directors to report on the progress made and how he plans to return GoSports to its former glory.

Required:

A. If you were in James Parks position, highlight the key issues you would highlight in your report to the Board of Directors on how you return GoSports to its former Glory. (12 marks)

B. Discuss the factors that influence political behaviour in Organisations (16 marks) C. Citing practical examples, discuss the different tactics for increasing power in Organisations.

(2) QUESTIONS QUESTION TWO-STREAMLINING OPERATIONS AT AN INTERNATIONAL BANK

A service organization of a leading international bank faced the following key challenges: The current processes were highly manual, there were a high number of processes and process variances within each, which made the processes difficult to control and manage and Operating costs were increasing, which was creating competitive pressure. A specific project was initiated with the aim of streamlining business processes and reducing costs. The key drivers being - rationalizing the individual processes by reducing the steps, digitalization of the information, which enabled an increase in throughput time and the ability to distribute work better, off-shoring of simple activities, leveraging the workflow, and imaging activities and ability to track and trace the information flow for both management and clients. The results so far have included:- Processes have a significantly faster throughput time (for some processes the throughput time has been reduced by more than 50%). The organization is now in the process of phasing out 300 employees and has recruited about 100110 people in India to do their work. The organization has become more agile as more employees question the current practices and provide suggestions and ideas on how to improve them. The organization is on track to have 80% of their work digitalized, providing it the planned benefits of remote work as well as faster throughput times. The organization could easily introduce off-shoring as the processes were well documented and managed.

Required:

A. In order to streamline its operations, what are the management functions that the International Bank should put in place? Justify your answer. (15 marks)

B. Discuss the key management skills required by Managers at this International Bank (15 marks)

QUESTION THREE-EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEADERSHIP Americas old and ingrained belief that a good CEO or Executive level leader is ruthless has been replaced with the rise of humanity conscious leaders. New leaders in various industries have embraced a human-centered approach to leading their companies. When employees are more deeply connected to a vision for their company, and they are cared for in a broad sense rather than just their production value, better working environments are created. A leader could be the most intelligent person in the room, but without a high EI score, this leader may fail to motivate employees. The presence of positive mood in leaders at work creates more effective and broader thought processes in certain types of decision-making abilities (George, 2000). Conversely, negative moods foster improved systematic information processing. A leader with high-level emotional intelligence can navigate not just motivating and empowering employees, but also navigating complex and challenging decision making with the mastery of emotional response.

Required:

A. Using the Emotional Intelligence Competence Model, discuss the main characteristics of Emotional Intelligence.

B. Critically analyse the five ways a Manager can improve his/her emotional Intelligence. (15 marks)

QUESTION FOUR-ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND MOTIVATION IN THE WORKPLACE

Organizational Behaviours (OB) is the study of human behaviour in organizational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organization, and the organization itself. The study of organizational behaviour gives insight on how employees behave and perform in the workplace. It helps us develop an understanding of the aspects that can motivate employees, increase their performance, and help organizations establish a strong and trusting relationship with their employees. Required:

A. Which organizational behaviour disciplines do you feel are most important in promoting employee effectiveness? Explain why you think any particular discipline is important? (15 marks)

B. Motivation is the driving force that explains why employees do what they do. Explain with supporting reasons, the motivational theories that are particularly suited to increasing the performance of employees. (15 marks)