Organisational Behavior_8 (Leadership)

Leadership

Leadership:

Leadership may be defined as the ability to influence a person or a group towards the achievement of goals.

Leadership, as a process, shapes the goals of a group or organization and motivates behavior towards the achievement of those goals. It is primarily a process of influence.

Leadership involves:
a) Vision: Identification of goals.
b) Strategy: Selectin of right path to follow.
c) Motivation: Enthusing of influencing the followers to follow that path willingly.


It is to:
- Live with integrity, lead by example.
- Develop a winning strategy or big idea.
- Build a great management team.
- Inspire employees to greatness.
- Create a flexible responsive organization.
- Use reinforcing management system.



The Leadership Formula:

Leadership = Vision + Ability to communicate the vision + Ensure followers work towards achieving the vision + People management skills



Styles of Leadership
Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans and motivating people.

There are three different styles of leadership:
- Authoritarian (autocratic),
- Participative (democratic),
- Delegative (free reign)


The Autocratic Leader:
Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.

The Participative Leader:
The leader, with help from his/her team members, together determine what to do and how to do it. However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority.
Using this style is not a sign of weakness, it ius a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have some of the information, and your employees have some of the information.

The Delegative Leader:
In this style, the leader allows the employees th make hte decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made.
This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything!!! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.


Great Leaders:

- are passionate about what they do.
- love to talk about it.
- have high energy.
- have clarity of thinking.
- communicate to diverse audience.
- work through people (empowering).




Future Leaders:

- develop / communicate what company is trying to accomplish.
- create environment where employees can figure out what needs to be done & then do it well.



Core Values:
- Fairness
- Freedom
- Commitment
- Waterline



Leaders V/s Managers

Leaders:
- innovate
- focus on people
- inspire trust
- have a long range view
- ask what and why
- have eyes on horizon
- originate
- challenge status quo
- do the right thing

Managers:
- administrate
- focus on system and structure
- rely on control
- have a short range view
- ask how and when
- have eyes on bottom line
- initiate
- accept status quo
- do things right

Organisational Behaviour_8

Perception

What is Perception?

§

–The process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret the input from their senses to give meaning and order to the world around them

Figure 4.1 Components of Perception

Perceiver -------> Target

A situation or context in which perception takes place

Components of Perception
- Perceiver
- Situation
- Target

The Accuracy of Perceptions:

§1) Implications:

§ a) Perceptions are critical for managerial functions

– - Motivating subordinates

–- Treating subordinates fairly and equitably

–- Making ethical decisions

§b) Not always accurate
c) §Accuracy can be improved by understanding

- –what perceptions are

- –how they are formed
- what influences them

Table 4.1 Factors That Influence Perception

Characteristics of the Perceiver	Characteristics of the Target	Characteristics of the Situation
Schemas	Ambiguity	Additional information
Motivational state	Social status	Salience
Mood	Use of impression management

What are Schemas?

§

- –Responsible for the organization and interpretation of information about targets of perception

§

- –Based on past experiences and knowledge

–- Resistant to change

§Types:

§

a) –Functional

- •Adapt to complex environment

b) –Dysfunctional

- •Inaccurate perceptions

–Ex. Stereotypes

Motivational State and Mood

§
Motivational State: The needs, values, and desires of a perceiver at the time of perception.

§Mood: How a perceiver feels at the time of perception.

Ambiguity

§- A lack of clearness or definiteness

§- As the ambiguity of a target increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for a perceiver to form an accurate perception

§What is Social Status?

–- A person’s real or perceived position in society or in an organization.

§

–- Targets with relatively high status are perceived to be smarter, more credible, more knowledgeable, and more responsible for their actions than lower-status targets.

Attributional Biases

§Fundamental attribution error

- –Internal causes to behavior

§Actor-observer effect

–- Internal to others and external to self

§Self-serving attribution

–- Credit for success

Organisational Behaviour_7

Personality

Personality: “Characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting."


The pattern of relatively enduring ways in which a person feels, thinks and behaves.

- Develops over a person's life time.
- Generally stable in the context of work.
- Can influence career choice, job satisfaction, stress, leadership and even performance.


Trait: A specific component of personality that describes particular tendencies a person has to feel, think and act in certain ways.

The Big Five Models of Personality

Emotional Stability:

•- Calm/Anxious

•- Secure/Insecure

The tendency to experience negative emotional states and view oneself and the world around negatively.

Extroversion:

•- Sociable/Retiring

•- Fun Loving/Sober

The tendency to experience positive emotional states and feel good about oneself and the world around.

Openness to experience:

•- Imaginative/Practical

•- Independent/Conforming

The extent to which a person is original, has broad interests, and is willing to take risks.

Agreeableness:

•- Soft-Hearted/Ruthless

•- Trusting/Suspicious

The tendency to get along well with others.

Conscientiousness:

•- Organized/Disorganized

•- Careful/Careless

Defense Mechanisms:

•Repression - banishes certain thoughts/feelings from consciousness (underlies all other defense

mechanisms)

•Regression - retreating to earlier stage of fixated

development

•Reaction Formation - ego makes unacceptable impulses appear as their opposites

•Projection - attributes threatening impulses to others

•Rationalization - generate self-justifying explanations to hide the real reasons for our actions

•Displacement - divert impulses toward a more

acceptable object

•Sublimation - transform unacceptable impulse into

something socially valued

Organisational Behaviour_6

Attitude & Values

Attitude is defined in 2 ways:
- Conceptual approach
- Operational approach


Attitude is a mental and neutral state of readiness organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individuals response to all objects and situations with which it is related.


Attitude is a predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to someone or something in ones environment.

Features of attitude:
a) Attitude affect behavior of an individual.
b) Attitudes are acquired through learning over a period of time.
c) Attitudes can be observed by observing the behavior of an individual.
Attitudes are persuasive and every individual has some kind of attitudes towards the objects in his environment.


Factors in attitude formation:
1) Family
2) Reference Groups
3) Social Groups



Values

Values represent some basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct.


Characteristics of Values:
1) Part of culture: Values are elements of culture & culture is the complex of values, ideas, attitudes & other meaningful symbols to shape human behavior in society.

2) Learned responses: Human behavior represents learned phenomenon. This id because human beings live in a society that have certain cultural characteristics which prescribe to behave in a particular way.

3) Inculcated: Values are inculcated and passed through generation to generation by specific groups and institutions.

4) Social Phenomenon: Values are a social phenomenon, i.e. cultural habits are shared by aggregates of people living in an organised society.

5) Gratifying responses: Elements in the culture become extinguished when they no longer are gratifying to the members of the society.

IT_Chapter_14B

Avoiding Identity Theft

• Guard your papers

– Shred unneeded papers

– Pick up you mail quickly

– Check statements immediately

– Keep records for 3 years

• Guard your personal information

– Be wary giving out information

– Avoid giving account numbers

– Never give personal information in e-mail

– Ensure online shopping is secure

• Look at the big picture

– Review your credit report yearly

– Develop an efficient filing system

– Know your liability limits

Protecting Your Privacy

• Keep marketers at bay

– Be wary filling out forms

– Guard your primary email address

• Have a ‘spam account’ for forms

• Know your legal rights

– 1966 Freedom of Information Act

– 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act

– Privacy Act of 1974

– 1986 Electronic Communications Act

– Financial Modernization Act of 1999

– 2001 USA Patriot Act

Managing Cookies and Spyware

• Dealing with cookies

– Browsers provide settings to block cookies

– No cookies to all cookies allowed

– Without cookies some sites crash

– Cookies can be deleted

• Browsers

• Spyware programs

• Cookie types

– Session cookies

• Cookies for the current site

– Persistent cookies

• Stored on hard drive until deleted

– First-party cookies

• Installed by the current site

– Third-party cookies

• Installed by an ad

• Removing web bugs and spyware

– Install a spyware removal program

• None are 100% effective, use two

– Install a pop-up blocker

• Are extremely effective

• Evading spam

– Contact your ISP

– Use mail program’s filters

– Use an anti-spam program

– Use an online account for purchasing

Protection From Malware

• Viruses and worms

– Purchase a good anti-virus product

– Keep the product updated

– Keep your OS up to date

Protecting Your System

• Limit physical access

– Easiest way to harm or steal data

– Build an account for each user

– Require a password for access

• Software and hardware password

• Use a firewall

– Protects from unauthorized remote use

– Makes your computer invisible

– Cost between $0 and $80

• Backup often

– Backup is a copy of a file

– Restore replaces a file on disk

– Organizations backup at least daily

– Home users should backup weekly

System Events

• OS generates messages for events

• Provides clues about computer health

• Can alert to potential problems

• Windows includes the Event Viewer

Handling Storage Media

• Store media in the proper container

– Floppy disks in a hard case

– CD should be in a sleeve

– Thumb disks should be closed

• Avoid magnetism

– Magnets erase the contents of disks

– Magnets found in

• Speakers

• Televisions and CRT monitors

• Radios

• Heat and cold

– Avoid extreme temperatures

• Heat expands media

• Cold contracts media

– Floppies and CD-ROMs are susceptible

• Moisture

– Do not use wet media

– CDs can be wiped off

– Floppy disks must dry for days

• Dust, dirt, and fingerprints

– Dirty or scratched media will fail

– Handle media by the edge

– Clean CDs with gentle strokes

Storing Computer Equipment

• Never store near large electronics

• Store in dry, climate controlled rooms

• Plan for natural disasters

• Stack equipment safely

Keeping Your Computer Clean

• Computers should be spotless

• Avoid eating or smoking at computer

• Clean the dust from inside the system

• Change the filters if present

IT_Chapter_14A

Basic Security Concepts

• Threats

– Anything that can harm a computer

– Vulnerabilities are weaknesses in security

– Security attempts to neutralize threats

• Degrees of harm

– Level of potential damage

– Include all parts of system

• Potential data loss

• Loss of privacy

• Inability to use hardware

• Inability to use software

• Countermeasures

– Steps taken to block a threat

– Protect the data from theft

– Protect the system from theft

Threats To Users

• Identity Theft

– Impersonation by private information

• Thief can ‘become’ the victim

– Reported incidents rising

– Methods of stealing information

• Shoulder surfing

• Snagging

• Dumpster diving

• Social engineering

• High-tech methods

• Loss of privacy

– Personal information is stored electronically

– Purchases are stored in a database

• Data is sold to other companies

– Public records on the Internet

– Internet use is monitored and logged

– None of these techniques are illegal

• Cookies

– Files delivered from a web site

– Originally improved a site’s function

– Cookies now track history and passwords

– Browsers include cookie blocking tools

• Spyware

– Software downloaded to a computer

– Designed to record personal information

– Typically undesired software

– Hides from users

– Several programs exist to eliminate

• Web bugs

– Small programs embedded in gif images

– Gets around cookie blocking tools

– Companies use to track usage

– Blocked with spyware killers

• Spam

– Unsolicited commercial email

– Networks and PCs need a spam blocker

• Stop spam before reaching the inbox

– Spammers acquire addresses using many methods

– CAN-SPAM Act passed in 2003

Threats to Hardware

• Affect the operation or reliability

• Power-related threats

– Power fluctuations

• Power spikes or browns out

– Power loss

– Countermeasures

• Surge suppressors

• Line conditioners

• Uninterruptible power supplies

• Generators

• Theft and vandalism

– Thieves steal the entire computer

– Accidental or intentional damage

– Countermeasures

• Keep the PC in a secure area

• Lock the computer to a desk

• Do not eat near the computer

• Watch equipment

• Chase away loiterers

• Handle equipment with care

• Natural disasters

– Disasters differ by location

– Typically result in total loss

– Disaster planning

• Plan for recovery

• List potential disasters

• Plan for all eventualities

• Practice all plans

Threats to Data

• The most serious threat

– Data is the reason for computers

– Data is very difficult to replace

– Protection is difficult

• Data is intangible

• Viruses

– Software that distributes and installs itself

– Ranges from annoying to catastrophic

– Countermeasures

• Anti-virus software

• Popup blockers

• Do not open unknown email

• Trojan horses

– Program that poses as beneficial software

– User willingly installs the software

– Countermeasures

• Anti-virus software

• Spyware blocker

• Cybercrime

– Using a computer in an illegal act

– Fraud and theft are common acts

• Internet fraud

– Most common cybercrime

– Fraudulent website

– Have names similar to legitimate sites

• Hacking

– Using a computer to enter another network

– Cost users $1.3 trillion in 2003

– Hackers motivation

• Recreational hacking

• Financial hackers

• Grudge hacking

– Hacking methods

• Sniffing

• Social engineering

• Spoofing

• Distributed denial of service attack

– Attempt to stop a public server

– Hackers plant the code on computers

– Code is simultaneously launched

– Too many requests stops the server

• Cyber terrorism

– Attacks made at a nations information

– Targets include power plants

– Threat first realized in 1996

– Organizations combat cyber terrorism

• Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)

• Department of Homeland Security