SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

BBA420: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

END OF SEMESTER EXAMINATION

DECEMBER 2015

Time allowed: 3 HOURS plus 5 minutes reading time

Instructions to Candidates:

1. Check that you have the correct test paper in front of you.

2. There are FIVE (5) questions and two Sections in this paper A & B. Answer all

questions in Section A and Choose any THREE questions from Section B. 3. Full credit will be given to well explained answers.

4. Write down the number of questions that you have answered on the cover of the examination answer booklet.

5. Begin answering each question on a new page in the answer booklet provided only.

6. Clarity and neatness of presentation will earn you an extra mark

7. There shall be no communication between students during the examination. Any

students caught doing this will be disqualified.

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

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CASE STUDY

THE ZAMBIAN CIVIL SERVICE

Employees who are employed by the government of Zambia are referred to as civil servants. Examples of Civil Servants include Teachers, Nurses and Doctors, Government officials, Police and Prisons force, Military force, Judiciary etc. The Zambian government boasts of a very high percentage of employees in comparison to the private sector.

These civil servants also belong to certain groups because of the fact that they are under the same employer. These groups sometimes are formed by various government organizations whereas others are formed by the employees themselves, to enable them achieve their objectives.

The Civil Service is very large. It comprises of employees from all provinces in Zambia. This is because even the marginalized groups are considered during the recruitment process. These employees come from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, their levels of exposure and cultural orientations are quite different. These differences in background orientations can therefore explain their differences in personality traits.

Due to the high population of the workforce in the civil service, a lot of communication takes place on a day to day basis. This communication is normally in written, verbal and non-verbal (i.e. body language and sign language) forms. It also takes place vertically whereby the superiors and subordinates share knowledge, ideas and feelings. Alternatively, it takes place horizontally whereby employees of the same hierarchical levels share knowledge, ideas and feelings. As a result, various barriers to effective communication are experienced by these civil servants themselves and also between their superiors and themselves. This sometimes causes a lot of misunderstandings between parties. These misunderstandings are however normally resolved whenever they arise.

SECTION A:COMPULSORY

QUESTION ONE

Explain using relevant examples, the barriers to effective communication at the Civil Service, and the strategies that the government can adopt in order to manage these barriers to effective communication. In addition, the Zambian government boasts of a large percentage of workforce in relation to the private sector. This large workforce is derived from all provinces in Zambia which explains the differences in personality traits possessed by these Civil Servants. They also belong to different types of groups that are possibly formed in the Civil Service.

(10 Marks)

[Total 40 Marks]SECTION B: ANSWER ANY THREE QUESTIONS

QUESTION TWO

The Barclays Bank is an international banking institution with branches all over the world. It has been in operation for more than 100 years. For a very long time, Barclays Bank has been a

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bank of choice. But in recent years other banks with innovative banking ideas, have since emerged into the market. This has posed a threat to the Barclays Bank.

The top management has realized that there are certain operational problems in the bank that require solutions. Such problems include customer complaints about the ATM services which are always mal-functional or out-of-order. This has forced customers to seek the ATM services of alternative banks, using the Visa ATM Card at a higher cost.

The top management of Barclays bank now feels that it is time to renew their processes and operations in order to continue enjoying a competitive edge over its competitors. It has therefore decided to come up with organizational development strategies in order to improve the effectiveness of the bank and the well being of all its employees. In order to achieve its objectives, the top management decides to seek the services of a consultant who is well versed in organizational behaviour activities, as a change agent. His main role would be, to ensure that Organizational Development strategies are implemented in the bank. What Organizational Development intervention strategies could the consultant use in his implementation process? Give examples.

[Total 20 Marks]

QUESTION THREE

a) Mr. Chanda works for Kazi Nzuri investments as a clerk. In addition, he is married to three beautiful wives and blessed with thirty children, who are all at school going age. He has confided in you that he is a stressed man. He tells you that he is experiencing stress from both his place of work and at home. With the support of relevant examples, discuss THREE ways in which this stress is affecting his performance at work, and THREE ways in which the same stress is affecting him as an individual. (12 Marks)

b) Using relevant examples, distinguish the difference between a mechanistic form of an organization and an organic form of an organization. (4 Marks)

c) What is your understanding of the cognitive dissonance theory of attitude formation?

(4 Marks)

[Total 20 Marks]

QUESTION FOUR

a) The Punctuated – Equilibrium model emphasizes the degree to which the group completes its task based on how much time is left before the task must be completed. With relevant examples, Discuss the THREE main activities that occur at similar times during the formation and operation of groups.

(15 Marks)

b) Highlight the FIVE basic approaches to organizational behavior. (5 Marks)

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[Total 20 Marks]

QUESTION FIVE

The daily operations in modern organizations are very different from the operations of organizations during the pre-independence period. Changes are constantly taking place in the environment. Changes occur both outside and inside the organizations, that require an organization’s adaptation. Using relevant examples, discuss FIVE external forces and FIVE internal forces that may create the need for change in the organization. (20 Marks)

(20 Marks)

(10 Marks)

Total Marks 100

End of Examination Paper

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