NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Management Theory and practice
Internal Assignment Applicable for June 2018 Examination
Assignment Marks: 30
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Q1. Explain with examples, what type of leader is Sundar Pichai (CEO Google).
What kind of leadership style does he practice? (10 Marks)
Solution: Sunder Pichai is a transformer leader because of the following
characteristics and personality traits
The amount of information a leader has to deal with at Google is mind boggling. Sundar
had a keen eye for detail so much so that he was able to share data about a product
that he did not manage and about which the owner himself was unaware. Leaders are
expected to know the KPIs, dashboard highlights and the underlying data they are
drawn from. Right decisions are based on insights.

Sundar is known to have handled the toughest projects at Google. By leading such
projects to success, he demonstrated his abilities to swim against the tide. In the
process, he earned the right to handle more projects, bigger responsibilities and with
that, power and position. Leaders are happy to break out of the comfort zone to
contribute to the organization.

Sundar’s portfolio grew steadily starting from Chrome to Chrome OS, adding Google
Apps followed by Android topping with maps, search and Advertising – in essence
products that contributed 89% of GOOG’s annual revenue. He started with Product
Management and scaled himself to handle the breadth of offerings at google. This was
possible only because he had mastered the art of prioritizing - to be able to delegate,
automate or handle the work as needed. Leaders prioritize their work to enable
maximum productivity while leaving no task, undone.

In the era of cut-throat competition and information overload, there is a need to have a
clear vision of the business roadmap and the plans to achieve the goals. Sundar stood
on the shoulders of giants at Google and was able to articulate the direction better than
the others, which catapulted him to second-in-command to Larry. Leaders should be
able to look at the micro and macro goals constantly and plan a step ahead to be
successful.

Sundar is known to have built, nurtured and mentored a great team. His people policies
were centred on meritocracy and he went the extra mile to ensure that his team’s efforts
were recognized and due credits received. Leaders should put their team before self
and revel in the group’s success.

With his focused no-nonsense work approach, Sundar earned unmatched reputation at
work - his team worshipped him, the marketing team loved him, peers respected him,
his boss appreciated him, competition sought him, the markets welcomed his elevation
AND Googlers were happy and proud. The hallmark of a leader is the urge to earn
respect from team, bosses, peers, partners, customers and even competition.

Kinds of Leadership style practice by Sundar Pichai

Transformational leadership styles
Creating high-performance workforce has become increasingly important and to do so
business leaders must be able to inspire organizational members to go beyond their
task requirements. As a result, new concepts of leadership have emerged -
transformational leadership being one of them.

Transformational leadership may be found at all levels of the organization: teams,

departments, divisions, and organization as a whole. Such leaders are visionary,
inspiring, daring, risk-takers, and thoughtful thinkers. They have a charismatic appeal.
But charisma alone is insufficient for changing the way an organization operates. For
bringing major changes, transformational leaders must exhibit the following four factors:

Model of Transformational Leadership

1) Inspirational Motivation: The foundation of transformational leadership is the

promotion of consistent vision, mission, and a set of values to the members.
Their vision is so compelling that they know what they want from every
interaction. Transformational leaders guide followers by providing them with a
sense of meaning and challenge. They work enthusiastically and optimistically to
foster the spirit of teamwork and commitment.

2) Intellectual Stimulation: Such leaders encourage their followers to be

innovative and creative. They encourage new ideas from their followers and
never criticize them publicly for the mistakes committed by them. The leaders
focus on the “what” in problems and do not focus on the blaming part of it. They
have no hesitation in discarding an old practice set by them if it is found
ineffective.
 3) Idealized Influence: They believe in the philosophy that a leader can influence
followers only when he practices what he preaches. The leaders act as role
models that followers seek to emulate. Such leaders always win the trust and
respect of their followers through their action. They typically place their followers
needs over their own, sacrifice their personal gains for them, ad demonstrate
high standards of ethical conduct. The use of power by such leaders is aimed at
influencing them to strive for the common goals of the organization.

4) Individualized Consideration: Leaders act as mentors to their followers and

reward them for creativity and innovation. The followers are treated differently
according to their talents and knowledge. They are empowered to make
decisions and are always provided with the needed support to implement their
decisions.

Mr. Pichai wants to be a transformational CEO.  He wants to radically change the world.
Transactional leaders are primarily interested in sales, revenue, and the stock price.  
Wall Street is god and customers are sacrificed to please her.  Transformational leaders
are primarily interested in a vision.  The problems of the world challenge even disturb
them, and they are willing to sacrifice their comfort to solve them. Some might ask how
Google assistant can change the world?  Let me relay a story told to me by an engineer
at Google I/O 2016.  He said he grew up in a small village in India.  In his village was a
man who sold vegetables.  Apparently, this man pushed his cart of vegetables through
the village each day.  The people would come up to his cart, examine the vegetables,
and then make their purchase.  Over time the village grew and modernized.  Village
style dwellings were replaced with apartment complexes.   The vegetable salesman
could no longer reach his customers, because instead of being easily reached on the
road, the people were in their apartments.  One day the gentlemen figured out he could
get himself a phone, take pictures of the vegetables, and post them on social media.  
The engineer telling me this smiled as he described his mother looking at the picture,
examining the vegetables, and then making the decision to leave the apartment to
purchase her selected vegetables from the man with the cart…and a smartphone.
Something tells me Mr. Pichai wants to give this person the tools he or she needs be
they in a small village in India, rural town in America, or war torn section of Africa or the
Middle East.   Whether the person needs food or freedom, a mirco loan or tools for
protesting oppression–my guess is Mr. Pichai believes the information and connectivity
of digital power can transform their lives.

Q2. A team leader in an organization wants to take feedback about his leadership
from his peers, superiors and subordinates. List the various tools of verbal and
non-verbal communication that can be developed for this purpose. (10 Marks)
Solution: Various tools of verbal and non – verbal communication are listed
below
Verbal Communication tools
Humans use verbal communication to interact with other people. According to the
website Effective Communication, words alone have no meaning. Only people can put
meaning into words. Language reflects social factors such as class, gender and age
group. People want their words to be understood, but most times only assume that the
recipients have received the message. People also have a tendency to believe that
what is important to them as individuals is equally important to everyone else. A
speaker, whether involved in an interpersonal conversation or speaking to thousands,
must develop effective communication to relate to the audience.

Verbal communication entails the use of words in delivering the intended message. The
two major forms of verbal communication include written and oral communication.
1) Written communication includes traditional pen and paper letters and
documents, typed electronic documents, e-mails, text chats, SMS and anything
else conveyed through written symbols such as language. This type of
communication is indispensable for formal business communications and issuing
legal instructions. Communication forms that predominantly use written
communication include handbooks, brochures, contracts, memos, press
 releases, formal business proposals, and the like. The effectiveness of written
communication depends on the writing style, grammar, vocabulary, and clarity

2) Oral Communication: The other form of verbal communication is the spoken

word, either face-to-face or through phone, voice chat, video conferencing or any
other medium. Various forms of informal communications such as the grapevine
or informal rumour mill, and formal communications such as lectures,
conferences are forms of oral communication. Oral communication finds use in
discussions and causal and informal conversations. The effectiveness of oral
conversations depends on the clarity of speech, voice modulation, pitch, volume,
speed, and even non-verbal communications such as body language and visual
cues.

Non – verbal communication tools

An important tool in improving verbal communication is paying attention to nonverbal
communication. Nonverbal cues actually make up more than 90 percent of total
communication. Be mindful of body language, eye contact and posture. Gestures and
facial expressions are also important in conveying the message communicated. Also,
be aware of differences in culture. What might be polite in one culture may be rude or
misunderstood in another. Finally, respect others' personal space. In the United States,
personal space is about the distance of a person's outstretched arm and continues all
around the individual.

Nonverbal communication entails communicating by sending and receiving wordless

messages. These messages usually reinforce verbal communication, but they can also
convey thoughts and feelings on their own.
1) Physical nonverbal communication, or body language, includes facial
expressions, eye contact, body posture, gestures such as a wave, pointed finger
and the like, overall body movements, tone of voice, touch, and others. Facial
expressions are the most common among all nonverbal communication. For
instance, a smile or a frown conveys distinct emotions hard to express through
 verbal communication. Research estimates that body language, including facial
expressions, account for 55 percent of all communication.

2) Paralanguage: The way something is said, rather than what is actually said, is
an important component of nonverbal communication. This includes voice
quality, intonation, pitch, stress, emotion, tone, and style of speaking, and
communicates approval, interest or the lack of it. Research estimates that tone of
the voice accounts for 38 percent of all communications. Other forms of
nonverbal communication usually communicate one’s personality. These include:
 Aesthetic communication or creative expressions such as dancing, painting,
and the like.
 Appearance or the style of dressing and grooming, which communicates one’s
personality.
 Space language such as paintings and landscapes communicate social status
and taste.
 Symbols such as religious, status, or ego-building symbols.

3) Visual Communication: A third type of communication is visual communication

through visual aids such as signs, typography, drawing, graphic design,
illustration, colour and other electronic resources. Visual communication with
graphs and charts usually reinforces written communication, and can in many
case replace written communication altogether. As the adage goes “a picture is
worth a thousand words," such visual communication is more powerful than
verbal and nonverbal communication on many occasions. Technological
developments have made expressing visual communications much easier than
before. A good understanding of the different types of communication and
communication styles can help them know and deal with people better, clear up
misunderstandings and misconceptions, and contribute to the success of the
enterprise.
Q3. Ajay had always been an outstanding performer throughout academia. As
expected he also got placed at his dream company. This company offered him
lucrative compensation, great fringe benefits, job security and encouraging
superiors. Two years have passed by at this company and Ajay no longer has the
same thoughts about the job; though all has been the same. Ajay seems to have
got bored of his mundane job and salary hikes don’t seem to motivate him
anymore. He is on the verge of withdrawing.

a. What according to you is wrong with Ajay. (5 Marks)

Solution: Repetitive tasks lend themselves to boredom and drudgery, causing
employees to become unmotivated to perform at a high level. While it’s natural for
employees to become disinterested after doing the same thing over and over, they have
the responsibility as a manager of making sure workers approach their job with
motivation. Offering employees the option of taking on new positions, urging them to
accomplish new goals and allowing them to participate in an enjoyable workplace can
result in a motivated and inspired staff.

Since Ajay is doing the same task from past 2 Years so it’s natural and human
behavior to get bored at certain point of time. Ajay can ask his subordinates to
change his role and provide new opportunity so he can enjoy the work. Even
managers should Cross-train employees, which allows them to place in employees in
different roles should an employee call in sick or resign without notice. It also gives
them the opportunity to shift employees to different positions if they show a lack of
interest in their current position. Giving employees new tasks to complete increases
their awareness in the workplace and improves motivation and morale.

They should create an exciting environment because a dull, uninteresting work

environment fosters a sense of boredom among employees. Infuse the workplace with
excitement by appearing charismatic, smiling and joking with our staff. Let our
employees listen to music, if possible, and don’t prevent them from talking among
themselves if doing so doesn’t adversely affect their work.

They should give employees breaks throughout the day. Completing the same tasks for
eight hours each day often results in diminishing returns. Without a break or two during
the day, an employee will become bored with his job and put forth little effort to ensure
he completes each task to the best of his ability.

b. Discuss Herzberg’s two factors in the light of the case. (5 Marks)

Solution: Herzberg’s two factor theory
In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the
motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result
in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to
Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No satisfaction” and the opposite of
“Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.

FIGURE: Herzberg’s view of satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

a) Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for
existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction
for long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are non-existent at
workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are
those factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees
 and do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene
factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are
required to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job
environment/scenario. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs
which the individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors
include:
i. Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It must
be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain.

ii. Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies should
not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible working
hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.

iii. Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans
(mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes, etc.

iv. Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe, clean
and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained.

v. Status - The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar and
retained.

vi. Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his peers,
superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should
be no conflict or humiliation element present.

vii. Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the employees.

b) Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be

regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction.
These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for a
 superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors
involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically
rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were
perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include:
i. Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their
accomplishments by the managers.

ii. Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement.

This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.

iii. Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and

advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to
perform well.

iv. Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work.
The managers should give them ownership of the work. They should minimize
control but retain accountability.

v. Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful, interesting

and challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated.