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Posted By: RAFI Member Level: Gold Posted Date: 22 May 2008
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2006 Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) M.B.A Business Administration MS-10 : ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, December, 2006 Question paper
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Term-End Examination
December, 2006
MS-10 : ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
Time : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 100
(Weightage 70%)
Note :
(i) There are two Sections A and B.
(ii) Attempt any three questions from Section A. AH questions carry 20 marks each.
(Hi) Section B is compulsory, and carries 40 marks.
SECTION A
1. Describe different perspectives of an organisational design and discuss any two types of organisational structure and their advantages and disadvantages.
3. Discuss the relevance of quality of work-life and the recent trends affecting the quality of work-life of employees.
3. Explain different approaches to understand an organisation and discuss briefly the 7Ss model.
4. What is OD intervention ? Discuss any two types of intervention and their significance to the organization.
5. Write short notes on any three of the following : (i) Role of a change agent
(ii) Job rotation
(iii) Task force
(iv) Institution building
(v) Process consultation
SECTION B
6. Read the following case carefully and answer the questions given at the end.
Hindustan Insurance was incorporated in the early twenties when general insurance was regarded as a highly intricate and technical business. It was mainly due to the drive and untiring efforts of its directors backed up by sound financial position that the Corporation grew from strength to strength despite severe competition from the well-entrenched foreign insurance companies.
The Hindustan Insurance Corporation had 100 branches all over India and a few abroad. The company's head office at Bombay had six departments, viz., Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern business plus two separate departments for Foreign and Tied Business. Each department was headed by a manager who reported to the General Manager. The Tied Business Department served all the companies that were owned by the directors of the Hindustan Insurance Corporation and also some of the very important clients. The Tied Department functionally occupied a special position in the Corporation. It consisted of five sections. All the section heads reported to the department head who, in turn, was responsible to the Department manager.
Organisation Chart
Eastern Dept.
Board of Directors
I General Manager
Northern Dept.
Foreign Dept. Tied Dept.
I
Western Dept. Southern Dept. Dept.
Manager
Dept. Head
Typing pool Accounts Technical Schedule Section Section Section
Superintendent _______I________.
Fire Section
Superintendent I
Dy. Supdt. I
Dy. Supdt. II 2 Staff Assts. 12 Assts.
3 Staff Assts.
The Technical Section in the Tied Department consisted of one superintendent, two engineers of the rank of deputy superintendent, and three staff assistants.
The superintendent was a qualified civil engineer and had eight years association with the Corporation. Although he was quite junior in the Tied Department, he drew a salary that was equal to that of the seniormost superintendent in the department (i.e., of Fire Section). The superintendent of the Technical Section was considered arrogant, domineering and self-centered by his subordinate staff so much so that in his absence, the deputy superintendents used to send their technical reports direct to the department manager thinking that they might get recognition for work.
The superintendent of Fire Section, a commerce graduate, had 25 years' association with the Corporation and had gained technical knowledge through experience. The present department manager had worked as an assistant to the superintendent of Fire Section. He was assisted by two senior staff assistants and 12 assistants. The department head and the department manager described the Fire superintendent as rigid in attitude and outmoded in thinking. He was not given annual increase in his salary for the past ten years. While his subordinate staff considered him as a "nice man", his superiors and peers virtually ignored him. The Fire Section had two senior staff assistants and 12 other assistants.
Prior to the establishment of Technical Section, Fire Section was solely in charge of issuing policies and determining the premium rates. The superintendent in charge of Fire Section used to occasionally visit some local units for inspection.
The Technical Section was established when insurance business became increasingly competitive. Annual renewal of general insurance by the clients depended to a great extent on the technical service rendered by an insurance company. Also, due to advancement of technology and diversification of products, industrial safety became a highly technical job. Hindustan Corporation, therefore, felt the need for the Technical Section.
Two engineers of the Technical Section would inspect various factories which were insured with the company and belonged to Tied business. Schedule of inspection visits was prepared a month in advance and was based on renewal dates of the policies. The engineers having inspected the factories submitted the inspection report which incorporated complete details of manufacturing activities, risks involved, suggestions to minimise fire hazards and thereby reduce premium rates. Taking into consideration both favourable and unfavourable factors, the Technical Section suggested the premium rate that might be charged for the policy. Copies of the report were sent to the clients and also to various sections in the department to enable them to issue policies, collect premium, etc.
The Fire Section would receive the inspection report from the Technical Section and prepare and issue policies accordingly. In the event of any doubts on technical matters, it would contact the Technical Section for clarification.
The Schedule Section would prepare schedules to the policies on the basis of (1) reports prepared by the Technical Section, and (2) the policies prepared by the Fire Section. The Accounts Section handled the accounting work, kept the records, collected premium, etc.
The functions of various sections, particularly of the Fire Section, the Schedule Section and the Technical Section, were interdependent and the effectiveness of the Tied Department called for understanding and cooperation among them. The department manager believed that the department would work smoothly with a flexible and informal structure and so he did not explicitly lay down the responsibility or authority of the sections in his department.
Officials in the Technical Section considered their section to be the backbone of the department as all other sections depended on the technical reports prepared by them. Also, they considered their work to be specialised. They felt that their section enjoyed high prestige in the organisation because only they could solve the difficult technical problems. Whenever the top management had a meeting with clients, engineers of the Technical Section were invited to make technical suggestions. In the eyes of the general public too, the Technical Section enjoyed considerable prestige because its personnel could give advice on technical matters and thereby reduce the premium rates. Service to the clients was, thus, the foremost objective of the Technical Section.
As per the rules of the department the Fire Section issued policies on the strength of the reports from the Technical Section. Fire Section, too, was concerned with keeping the customers satisfied by promptly attending to their queries and complaints and by issuing policies promptly. But the Fire Section had to contact the Technical Section for seeking information on technical matters, clarifying issues, deciding premium rates, and also in drafting the wording of the policy.
Whenever clients informed the Fire Section about certain changes, the latter approached the Technical Section for inspection and technical suggestions to work out the revised premium rates. Cooperation and understanding between the two sections were required for the preparation of the schedule of inspection. This procedure was followed for many years.
Early in 1967, the Fire Section for the first time objected to the Technical Section's premium-rating. Thereafter many such incidents occurred. On all these occasions, the Technical Section refused to revise the rating already suggested by it.
On one occasion the Technical Section found out that in a certain policy the Fire Section had charged a rate lower than that recommended by the Technical Section. Technical Section took the stand that the Fire Section was supposed to charge whatever premium rates the Technical Section recommended. From then on, the Fire Section always tried to pick out the mistakes in the reports of the Technical Section. Often there were heated exchanges between the two sectional heads over the phone. As a result of this, the superintendent of the Technical Section instructed his staff not to act on any oral communication from the Fire Section but to insist on written notes.
complaints started pouring into the office of the department manager, who asked the department head to investigate the matter and make recommendations. The department head found in the course of his investigations that while the Technical Section would not make any alterations in the inspection schedule once it was finalised, the Fire Section wanted to keep it flexible so that urgent visits could be given priority. Delay in issuing of policies occurred because the Fire Section could not get the units inspected by the Technical Section.
Questions :
(a) Identify the problems involved in this case.
(b) Comment on the policies of the organisation.
(c) In the given situation what steps should have been taken to bring about mutual understanding and the cooperative efforts on the part of the two sections ?
(d) If you were the manager, what kind of restructuring strategies would you recommend ?
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