Imran Research
Transcript of Imran Research
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RESEARCH REPORT
INTERPERSONAL CONFILCT BETWEEN SUPERVISIOR AND EMPLOYEE
CREATES A JOB STRESS
(2009)
Master of Business Administration Program
Sadia Fatima (03-Arid-459)Muhammad Rashad Nawaz (07 arid 525)Ghulam Shabbir (07-Arid-547)Imran Ullah (07-Arid-514)
Specialization: Human Resource Management
University Institute of Management Sciences
University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi
Company Name: PTCL OCC
Main Telephone No : 051-4846250
Fax No: 051-4846254
Postal Address: PTCL OCC Satellite town Exchange Rawalpindi
Evaluation
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Sadia Fatima
Muhammad Rashad Nawaz
Ghulam Shabbir
Imran Ullah
Research Report Submitted for the Final Evaluation in Partial Fulfillment of theRequirements for the Degree of
Mas ter s in B us ine ss A dmi ni str ation
It is certified that, the Research Report and the work contained in it conforms toall the standards set by the Institute for the evaluation of any such work.
1. Mr. Shuja Ilyas
University Institute of ManagementSciences
University of Arid Agriculture,Rawalpindi
(2009)
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DEDICATION
ToOur parents and friends
In recognition of their worthAn apology
A feeling bears on itself the scars of its birth; it recollects as a
Subjective
Emotion its struggle for existence;
it retains the impress of what might have been, but is not.
To
Our Teachers, all colleagues and manger OCC Mr.Ahmer Khan whosecoordination and support always pave the way to success for us.
Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and believe in
yourself, vision, hardwork, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible
for those who believe.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All the praise for Allah, the most merciful and beneficial, who blessed us with the knowledge,
gave us the courage and allowed us to accomplish this task. We are especially indebted to all
teachers, for instilling in us enough knowledge to be able to carrying ourselves efficiently for
doing this job. We learned a lot while doing this research and this will certainly help us in our
forth coming life. It was a very first step in our life which provided us much knowledge and
relevant experience in the field of HR and it is very helpful step in our forth coming lives.
Secondly we are bound to thank to all staff at PTCL. In particular we great full to Mr.Ahmer
Sajjad Khan, his inspiring guidance, remarkable suggestions, constant encouragement, keen
interest, constructive criticism and friendly discussion, helped us to learn and enabled us to
complete this report efficiently.
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INTRODUCTION
Title/Topic:
Interpersonal conflict between supervisor and employee creates a job stress.
Problem statement:
Does interpersonal conflict create stress among supervisor and employees?
Hypothesis:
There is a positive relationship between interpersonal conflict among supervisor/leader
and employee and job stress.
Interpersonal conflict among supervisor and employ causes stress.
Operational definition of the variables:
Interpersonal conflict: By defining interpersonal conflictwe have explain itis an expressed
struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce
resources, and interference from the other party in achieving their goals.
Job stress: By defining job stress, in general I mean the stressors involved are work-related
which comes through interpersonal conflict among 2 parties, the supervisor and the
employees.
Dependent and independent variables:
In our study we define interpersonal conflict as independent variable, because it is the factor
which is causing stress. On the other hand stress is due to interpersonal conflict, it depends on
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conflict if there is conflict then there is stress. That if the level of conflict is increases then the
level of the stress also increases.
Study type:
It is quantitative study in order to take larger picture of the situation, to generalize the results
and take true statistics whether the hypothesis is true or not.
Locale and Sample:
For the locale we have chosen an organization PTCL (Pakistan telecommunication limited).
The sample of the present study is Outbound Contact center, the department of PTCL. For this
purpose supervisor of the department and 75 employees are selected as a sample
Data collection method:
For this purpose we will use:
1. Job Stress Questionnaire
Procedures:
The present study is concerned with interpersonal conflict between employ and supervisor and
job stress as a result of that conflict. The procedure would carry out as follow: the locale of
the research has been chosen for the study which is Pakistan telecommunication limited. The
purpose of the study would be told to the supervisor, for this reference letter would be use in
order to get permission to conduct research. After getting permission we visited and timings
were decided. The outbound call center has been chosen as a sample of the study. 50
employees will be chosen to conduct the survey. For this purpose Job Stress Questionnaire,
shorter version of job stress scale, Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (short form) was used.
After getting essential and complete information the results are deduced, which leads to
conclusion of the study and which further told if the study is accepting the hypothesis or not.
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1. Organization
1.1 What is Organization
When two or more people get together and agree to coordinate their activities in order to
achieve their common goals, an organization has been born. There is really no doubt about the
present meaning of organization. Its purpose is to create an arrangement of positions and
responsibilities through and by means of which an enterprise can carry out its work. An
academic textbook definition of organization can be formulated as follows:
A. The responsibilities by means of which the activities of the enterprise are dispersed
among the (managerial, supervisory, and specialist) personnel employed in its service;
B. The formal interrelations established among the personnel by virtue of such
responsibilities.
Stinchcombe says in his book Handbook of Organizations, organization is defined as "A set of
social relations deliberately created, with the explicit intention of continuously accomplishing
some specific goals or purposes.
A system of structural interpersonal relations. Individuals are differentiated in terms of
authority, status, and role with the result that personal interaction is prescribed... Anticipated
reactions tend to occur, while ambiguity and spontaneity are decreased (R.V. Presthus)
1.2 Organization in sociology
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In sociology "organization" is understood as planned, coordinated and purposeful action of
human beings to construct or compile a common tangible or intangible product. This action is
usually framed by formal membership and form (institutional rules). Sociology distinguishes
the term organization into planned formal and unplanned informal (i.e. spontaneously formed)
organizations. Sociology analyzes organizations in the first line from an institutional
perspective. In this sense, organization is a permanent arrangement of elements. These
elements and their actions are determined by rules so that a certain task can be fulfilled
through a system of coordinated division of labor.
Basically an organization is an entity or a social arrangement which is aimed to achieve some
goals and objectives. The existence of an organization totally depends on the goals and the
objectives on the basis of which, it came in to being. Organizations can be for-profit or non-
profit organizations and they have their own environments where people are responsible to
achieve the mission of the organization. Someone has greatly said about it, that an
organization makes the ordinary people to do some extraordinary things, that is why it exists.
Most of the organizations tend to change over the period of time because those which do not
change cannot survive in the demanding world of globalization. It is the rule for the going-
concern of organizations to keep bringing some change and innovations for the customers.
There are various ways through which they can change over time like through expansion,
diversification, and product or brand extension etc. For example, United Nation Organization
started to bring social reforms in the world and today it is the most diversified organization in
the world.
2. Organizational structure
Organizational Structure OS is the framework that defines reporting relationships between
different positions within the organization. Organizational structure determines the manner
and extent to which roles, power, and responsibilities are passing on, controlled, and
coordinated, and how information flows between levels of management. This structure
depends entirely on the organization's objectives and the strategy chosen to achieve them.
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2.1 Structural dimensions of an organization
2.1.1 Centralization
It is a structure in which functions are separated in the organization, either in terms of
integration with other functions or geographically. In this structure, the decision making
power is concentrated in the top layer of the management and strong control is exercised over
departments and divisions.
2.1.2 Decentralization
In decentralized structure, the decision making power is distributed and the departments and
divisions have varying degrees of autonomy. An organization chart illustrates the
organizational structure;
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3. Contextual Dimensions of an organization
3.1 Culture
The values and beliefs shared by all (note that culture is often discerned by examining norms
or observable behaviors in the workplace)
3.2 Environment
The nature of external influences and activities in the political, technical, social and economic
arenas
3.3 Goals
Unique overall priorities and desired end-states of the organization
3.4 Size
Number of people and resources and their span in the organization
3.5Technology
The often unique activities needed to reach organizational goals, including nature of activities,
specialization, type of equipment/facilities needed, etc.
4. Types of Organization Structure
Organizational structure formally determines the hierarchy within an organization. In other
words, who reports to whom? Types of organizational structure include: Functional
structure, Divisional structure. Divisional structure is further broken down into three sub-
types: product structure, market structure, and geographic structure, Matrix structure.
4.1 Functional Structure
The functional structure group employees together based upon the functions of specific jobs
within that organization. Functional structure is also called Traditional organization structure,
based on the sub-division of disciplines into separate departments together with vertical
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hierarchy. For e.g. a person who used to work for a division of an internet service provider
(ISP). The organizational structure at that division was functional. The organizational chart
was as follows:
Vice president
Sales Department (sales function)
Customer Service Department (customer service function)
Engineering Department (engineering function)
Accounting Department (accounting function)
Administration Department (administration function)
4.2DivisionalStructure
Split into self-contained units, able to react to environmental changes as quickly as small
companies, they are also described as multidivisional or 'M-form' organizations.
The divisional structure is broken down into three areas: product, market, and geographic.
4.2.1 Product Structure
Product structure groups employees together based upon specific products produced by the
company. An example of this would be a company that produces three distinct products,
"product a", "product b", and "product c". This company would have a separate division for
each product.
4.2.2 Market Structure
Market structure groups employees together based upon specific markets in which the
company sells. When I worked at the ISP, we also used a form of market structure. We sold
internet access to individual consumers and business customers. So the sales and customer
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service departments were organized using market structure. Consumer sales and consumer
customer service worked together, and corporate sales and corporate customer service worked
together. Geographic structure groups employees together based upon specific geographic
location. This is often used by large companies that operate in many areas throughout the
United States or in both the U.S. and overseas.
4.3 Matrix Structure
Matrix structure groups employees by both function and product. This structure can combine
the best of both separate structures. An example would be a company that produces two
products, "product a" and "product b". Using the matrix structure, this company would
organize functions within the company as follows: "product a" sales department, "product a"
customer service department, "product a" accounting, "product b" sales department, "product
b" customer service department, "product b" accounting department. Matrix structure is the
most complex of the different organizational structures.
ORGANIZATION UNDER STUDY
4. COMPANY BACKGROUND
From the humble beginnings of Posts & Telegraph Department in 1947 and establishment of
Pakistan Telephone & Telegraph Department in 1982, PTCL has been a major player in
telecommunication in Pakistan. Despite having established a network of enormous size, PTCL
workings and policies have attracted regular criticism from other smaller operators and the
civil society of Pakistan.
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) took over operations and functions from
Pakistan Telephone and Telegraph Department under Pakistan Telecommunication
Corporation Act 1991. This coincided with the Government's competitive policy, encouraging
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private sector participation and resulting in award of licenses for cellular, card-operated pay-
phones, paging and, lately, data communication services.
Pursuing a progressive policy, the Government in 1991, announced its plans to privatize PTC,
and in 1994 issued six million vouchers exchangeable into 800 million shares of the would-be
PTCL in two separate placements. Each had a par value of Rs.10 per share. These vouchers
were converted into PTCL shares in mid-1998.In the middle of 2005 Government of Pakistan
had decided to sell at least 28 percent of this company to some private agency. There were
three participants in the bet for privatization of PTCL. Etisalat, a Dubai based company was
able to get the shares with a large margin in the bet.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is proud to be Pakistans most
reliable and largest converged services carrier providing all telecommunications services from
basic voice telephony to data, internet, video-conferencing and carrier services to consumers
and businesses all over the country.
Whether it is an office in the largest city of Pakistan or a home in a small village, we are
present in every corner of Pakistan to serve our customers.
4.1 Company Profile
PTCL operates in one of the most dynamic, deregulated and competitive markets in the world;
Pakistan with a population of 185 million people is a fast growing economy with relatively
low penetration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) services.
PTCL intends to be the leading ICT provider in the region by achieving customers'
satisfaction and maximizing shareholders' value and as such PTCL perceives its future as a
customer centric organization enhancing its infrastructure and investing in people.
4.2 History
Having its origin in the Post & Telegraph Department established in 1947, the Pakistan
Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) was established in December 1990, taking over
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operations and functions from the Pakistan Telephone and Telegraph Department under the
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act 1991.
The Pakistan Government's policy to promote competition encouraged private sector
participation and resulted in the award of licenses to cellular companies, card-operated
payphones, paging and, lately, data communication services. Pursuing a progressive policy,
the Government in 1991, announced its plans to privatize PTC, and in 1994 issued six million
vouchers exchangeable into 800 million shares of the would-be PTCL in two separate
placements. Each had a par value of Rs.10/- per share.
In 1995, the Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Ordinance paved the way for the
establishment of an independent regulatory regime. A milestone was crossed in 1998 as the
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) was formed and formally listed on all
Stock Exchanges of Pakistan.
Since then, PTCL has been working vigorously to meet the dual challenge of telecom
development and socio-economic uplift of the country. In keeping with the convergence of
technologies in the telecom sector PTCLs mobile and internet subsidiaries were created in
1998.
Ufone, the countrys second largest mobile service provider, boosted its operations by rolling
out the countrys largest ever expansion of its network, worth US$ 525 million. The new
investment aims to expand capacity and coverage in existing and new cities, as well as
providing high speed cellular mobile and wireless data services. By mid-2008 the two major
expansions will give Ufone coverage in over 4,500 cities, towns and villages, and all major
highways in the country.
Etisalat and PTCL
In 2008, Pakistan's Privatization Commission held open bidding to sell 1.328 billion shares,
along with management control of PTCL. The Etisalat International Pakistan, a 100 % owned
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subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation - Etisalat was the highest bidder for a
28 per cent stake in PTCL with a $1.98 (118 rupees) per share offer.
Etisalat takes pride in being a partner in progress wherever it goes. To realize the dream of
human progress, Etisalat is ever ready to harness new technologies, build new partnerships
and embrace the future as it comes. This is the vision that drives Etisalat and directs the
Etisalat-PTCL interaction.
Subsequent to the takeover of management control by Etisalat International Pakistan, PTCL
continues its drive to transform into a modern, customer-focused communication and
information provider with a new vigour and commitment. By focusing on customer
satisfaction, partnering with innovation, investing in training and human resources and
enhancing its infrastructure, PTCL is evolving continuously.
PTCL is one of the largest employers in the country with its work force spread all over the
country to provide an essential service to the people of Pakistan. The changed telecom
environment requires PTCL to bring about changes in its corporate culture to thrive more in
the new environment.
Corporate and Commercial Initiatives
As part of the transformation of PTCL, the management initiated work on the re-branding of
the Company as a modern and customer-centric national carrier. Externally changing the logo
was carried out to reflect the commitment to the customers and the modernizing of the
infrastructure. Internally it gave employees a new zeal to stimulate the mindset change from a
technology and operations focused company to a competitive carrier that has customer
services as its hallmark.
PTCL made several investments in infrastructure development and added network capacity to
enhance services and expand its reach across the country. The market in Pakistan is extremely
competitive and PTCL has the largest nationwide installed network infrastructure capability
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including switching, transmission, fibre optic backbone, co-location and international
capacity. This gives PTCL a unique position in terms of providing to carriers and individual
consumers alike.
With the introduction of Vfone, the new CDMA-based WLL platform of PTCL, is poised to
become the largest fixed wireless telephony network in Pakistan. On the wireless broadband
front, a major upgrade of the WLL CDMA network was rolled out in order to provide wireless
broadband services in 17 major cities.
Broadband Pakistan offers DSL services with unmatched reliability, affordability and
connectivity. Customers have the option to packages with varying speeds from 512Kb to 2Mb
with unlimited downloads. Broadband customer service is available twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week at 1238 with highly trained and professional representatives.
As part of offering converged services, expanding its service portfolio and improving
customer retention and acquisition, PTCL initiated the multi-channel Inter Protocol Television
(IPTV) project during 2008-07. This will be a landmark addition to the PTCL service portfolio
and will enable the company to provide Triple Play (voice, video and data) services over a
single fixed line connection. With IPTV the customer will be provided with a single interface
to satisfy his communication and entertainment needs along with single billing.
Keeping in mind customer convenience, PTCL is actively engaged in bringing an array of bill
payment options to its customers PTCL customers now have the flexibility to choose between
dropping a cheque in a drop box at a location near them to sending their payments through
mail at a nearby post office.
PTCL has also offered a dedicated service to provide billing information to its valued
subscribers who can simply dial '1200' to access instant billing information of the required
PTCL service. With the introduction of this service, customers no longer need to personally
visit customer service centers to find out what their bill amounts are and the automated service
is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to further facilitate customers.
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Moreover, PTCL has introduced a variety of valued added services for its customers while a
number of others are in the pipeline. Alongside the many packages and services PTCL is
continually seeking ways to facilitate its customers of which payment cards and electronic
modes of payments are just a part.
On the technical front, PTCL has laid an Optical Fiber Access Network in the major
metropolitan centers of Pakistan and local loop services have started to be modernized and
upgraded from copper to an optical network.
PTCL has invested in the capacity of two SEA-ME-WE submarine cables to meet the
increasing demand of international traffic. Additionally, PTCL is also part of a consortium that
will put in place a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable that stretches from India to Italy
and France via the Middle East, named I-ME-WE, to provide effective resilience to the
existing cable systems (SMW3 & SMW4).
PTCL has also signed an agreement with Huawei Technologies Pakistan and Hewlett Packard
(HP) to jointly launch the Network Operation Center project which has state-of-the-art fault
detection and resolution technology. This project would establish one main network operation
center and three regional ones with the implementation of an alarm management system
across the entire PTCL network in an integrated manner.
Beyond improved packages and new products, PTCL, as a socially responsible corporate
entity, has been pursuing different social causes touching on areas of culture, sports, music,
environment and general welfare by supporting different initiatives.
5. PTCL Outbound
In today's ever-changing world, PTCL has established an Outbound Contact Center which is
equipped and committed to provide PTCL with the expertise, the personnel and the facilities
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from Lead Generation and Product Sales to Database Enhancement and Management
to handle all of PTCLs telemarketing needs.
PTCL Vision Statement
To be the leading Information and Communication Technology Service Provider in the
region by achieving customer satisfaction and maximizing shareholders' value'.
The future is unfolding around us. In times to come, we will be the link that allows globalcommunication. We are striving towards mobilizing the world for the future. By becoming
partners in innovation, we are ready to shape a future that offers telecom services that bring us
closer
Contact Center Mission Statement
The mission of the PTCL Outbound Contact Center is to support the corporate goals of100%
customer satisfaction on every transaction by providing services that emphasizes:
Customer loyalty and keeping customers for life
Value of every customer
Professionalism via phone and multimedia channels
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6. Conflict
Conflict has been defined as "an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent
parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from the other
party in achieving their goals". Important concepts in this definition include "expressed
struggle," which means the two sides must communicate about the problem for there to be
conflict. Another important idea is that conflict often involves perceptions. The two sides may
only perceive that their goals, resources, and interference is incompatible with each other's.
We define conflict as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to
their needs, interests or concerns. A conflict can be internal (within oneself) or external
(between two or more individuals). Conflicts occur when people (or other parties) perceive
that, as a consequence of a disagreement, there is a threat to their needs, interests or
concerns.
It is important to remember that conflict can be creative. Conflict is sometimes necessary to
bring justice where injustice exists. It can provide an opportunity for new social and political
systems to be established and can help to shape the future. However, when conflict becomes
violent it will usually do more harm than good.
After violent conflict, it is often difficult to see the opportunities for a better future due to the
widespread destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods, the breakdown of trust and the
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suffering caused through bereavement, trauma, grief and anger. It is also likely that such
social change could have occurred before the conflict became violent.
6.1 Types of conflict
There are many different types of conflict experienced by communities all
around the world. We suggest four categories into which most conflicts will
fall:
1. No conflict
Any peaceful community is likely to face conflict sometimes, although communities in this
category are good at resolving conflict before it develops.
2. Surface conflict
This has shallow or no roots. It may be due to misunderstanding of goals, which can be
addressed by improved communication and the conscious effort of opposing groups to
understand each others needs and opinions.
3. Latent conflict
This is conflict below the surface. It might need to be brought out into the open before it can
be effectively addressed.
4. Open conflict
This conflict is very visible and has deep roots, sometimes over several generations. Both the
causes and the effects need to be addressed.
Chart showing different dimensions of conflict
No conflict surface conflict
Latent conflict open conflict
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Communities experiencing surface or latent conflict are those where the disagreement can
quickly turn into open conflict. Open conflict can cause more physical, social, psychological
and environmental damage than the other types. It affects people who are not involved in the
conflict as well as those who are.
6.3 Organizational conflict
Organizational conflict is a state of dispute caused by the actual or perceived opposition of
needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in
organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those
individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided, how
the work should be done and how long and hard people should work. There is also conflict
within individuals between competing needs and demands to which individuals respond in
different ways.
The conflict can also be raised at jurisdictional disagreements among individuals,
departments, and between unions and management. In an organization the conflict can take
many forms.
6.3.1 Types of organizational conflict
As it is discussed above that there are many forms of conflict on personal level, group level,
management level, etc, as these types directly influence effectiveness of an organization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valueshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflicthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valueshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflicthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs -
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threat of being dismissed if you fail to report against a friendly colleague who is guilty of
breaking the organizations rules-an avoidance-avoidance conflict.
Conflict between groups
It is also called intergroup conflict. Conflict between groups is a sometimes necessary,
sometimes destructive, event that occurs at all levels and across all functions in organizations.
Intergroup conflict may help generate creative tensions leading to more effective contributions
to the organization's goals, such as competition between sales districts for the highest sales.
Intergroup conflict occurs in two general forms. Horizontal strain involves competition
between functions: for example, sales versus production, research and development versus
engineering, purchasing versus legal, line versus staff, and so on. Vertical strain involves
competition between hierarchical levels: for example, union versus management, foremen
versus middle management, shop workers versus foremen. A struggle between a group of
employees and management is an example of vertical strain or conflict. A clash between a
sales department and production over inventory policy would be an example of horizontal
strain.
7. Organizational conflict theories
7.1 Maturity-immaturity theory
According to Maslow, Argyris, McGregor, Rogers, and other writers of the so-called growth
schools, there is a basic tendency in the development of the human personality toward self-
fulfillment, or self-actualization. This implies that as an individual matures, he wants to be
given more responsibility, broader horizons, and the opportunity to develop his personal
potential. This process is interrupted whenever a person's environment fails to encourage and
nurture these desires.
Formal organizations are rational structures that, based on their assumption of emotions,
feelings, and irrationality as human weaknesses, try to replace individual control with
institutional control. Thus the principle of task specialization is seen as a device that simplifies
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tasks for the sake of efficiency. As a consequence, however, it uses only a fraction of a
person's capacity and ability. The principle of chain of command centralizes authority but
makes the individual more dependent on his superiors. The principle of normal span of
control, which assigns a maximum of six or seven subordinates to report to the chief
executive, reduces the number of individuals reporting to the head of the organization or to the
manager of any subunit. Although this simplifies the job of control for the manager, it also
creates more intensive supervision of the subordinate, and therefore permits him less freedom
to control himself.
Under such conditions, subordinates are bound to find themselves in conflict with the formal
organization, and sometimes with each other. They advance up the narrowing hierarchy where
jobs get fewer, and "fewer" implies competing with others for the decreasing number ofopenings. Task specialization tends to focus the subordinate's attention on his own narrow
function and divert him from thinking about the organization as a whole. This effect increases
the need for coordination and leads to a circular process of increasing the dependence on the
leader.
They may respond to organizational pressures and threats by defensive reactions such as
aggression against their supervisors and co-workers, fixated behavior or apathy, compromise
and gamesmanship, or psychological withdrawal and daydreaming. All of these defense
mechanisms reduce a person's potential for creative, constructive activity on the job. Finally,
employees may organize unions or unsanctioned informal groups whose norms of behavior
are opposed to many of the organization's goals. As a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, all of
these reactions to the constraints of the formal organization merely serve to reinforce and
strengthen them.
The conflict between the formal organization and the individual will continue to exist
wherever managers remain ignorant of its causes or wherever the organizational structure and
the leadership style are allowed to become inconsistent with the legitimate needs of the
psychologically healthy individual. Everyone recognizes the necessity for order and control in
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organizations. Those of us who enter management, however, must learn to recognize in
addition that order and control can be achieved only at the expense of individual freedom.
Subordinates adapt to these conditions in the organization in several ways. In the extreme,
they may find the situation intolerable and leave the organization. Or they may strive to
advance to positions of higher authority, there to adopt the controlling style they are trying to
escape.
8. Stress
What is stress?
Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good
and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their
bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give people more energy
and strength, which can be a good thing if their stress is caused by physical danger. But this
can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to something emotional and there is no
outlet for this extra energy and strength. This class will discuss different causes of stress, how
stress affects you, the difference between 'good' or 'positive' stress and 'bad' or 'negative'
stress, and some common facts about how stress affects people today.
What Causes Stress?
Many different things can cause stress such as physical (fear of something dangerous) to
emotional (such as worry over your family or job.) Identifying what may be causing you
stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress. Some of the most
common sources of stress are:
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Survival Stress - You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a common
response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that someone or something
may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will
be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is
survival stress.
Internal Stress - Have you ever caught yourself worrying about things you can do nothing
about or worrying for no reason at all? This is internal stress and it is one of the most
important kinds of stress to understand and manage. Internal stress is when people make
themselves stressed. This often happens when we worry about things we can't control or put
ourselves in situations we know will cause us stress. Some people become addicted to the
kind of hurried, tense, lifestyle that results from being under stress. They even look forstressful situations and feel stress about things that aren't stressful.
Environmental Stress - This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as
noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family. Identifying these environmental stresses
and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level.
Fatigue and Overwork- This kind of stress builds up over a long time and can take a hard toll
on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, orhome. It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take
time out for rest and relaxation. This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid because
many people feel this is out of their control. Later in this course we will show you that you
DO have options and offer some useful tips for dealing with fatigue.
8.1 Types of stress
The major types of stress can be broken down into four different categories: Eustress, Hyper
stress, Hypo stress, and Distress.
8.1.1 Eustress: Eustress is one of the helpful types of stress. It is the type of stress a person
experience right before he or she have the need to exert physical force. Eustress prepares the
muscles, heart, and mind for the strength needed for whatever is about to occur.
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When the body enters the fight or flight response, it will experience eustress. The eustress
prepares the body to fight with or flee from an imposing danger. This type of stress will cause
the blood to pump to the major muscle groups, and will increase the heart rate and blood
pressure to increase. If the event or danger passes, the body will eventually return to its
normal state.
8.1.2 Distress:
Distress is one of the negative types of stress. This is one of the types of stress that the mind
and body undergoes when the normal routine is constantly adjusted and altered. The mind is
not comfortable with this routine, and craves the familiarity of a common routine. There are
actually two types of distress: acute stress and chronic stress.
8.1.3Acute Stress
Acute stress is the type of stress that comes immediately with a change of routine. It is an
intense type of stress, but it passes quickly. Acute stress is the body's way of getting a person
to stand up and take inventory of what is going on, to make sure that everything is ok.
8.1.4 Chronic Stress
Chronic stress will occur if there is a constant change of routine for week after week. Chronic
stress affects the body for a long period of time. This is the type of stress experienced by
someone who constantly faces moves or job changes.
8.1.5 Hyper stress
Hyper stress is the type of negative stress that comes when a person is forced to undertake or
undergo more than he or she can take. A stressful job that overworks an individual will cause
that individual to face hyper stress. A person who is experiencing hyper stress will often
respond to even little stressors with huge emotional outbreaks. It is important for a person
who thinks they might be experiencing hyper stress to take measures to reduce the stress in
their lives, because hyper stress can lead to serious emotional and physical repercussions.
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8.1.6 Hypo stress
The final of the four types of stress is hypo stress. Hypo stress stands in direct opposite to
hyper stress. Hypo stress is basically insufficient amount of stress. That is because hypo stress
is the type of stress experienced by a person who is constantly bored. Someone in an
unchallenging job, such as a factory worker performing the same task over and over, will
often experience hypo stress. The effect of hypo stress is feelings of restlessness and a lack of
inspiration.
8.2 Job stress
What is job stress?
Job stress is also called work place stress. Professional stress or job stress poses a threat to
physical health. Work related stress in the life of organized workers, consequently, affects the
health of organizations.
Job stress is a chronic disease caused by conditions in the workplace that negatively affect an
individual's performance and/or overall well-being of his body and mind. One or more of a
host of physical and mental illnesses manifests job stress. In some cases, job stress can be
disabling. In chronic cases a psychiatric consultation is usually required to validate the reason
and degree of work related stress.
Symptoms of job stress
The signs of job stress vary from person to person, depending on the particular situation, how
long the individual has been subjected to the stressors, and the intensity of the stress itself.
Typical symptoms of job stress can be:
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Insomnia. (Sleep disorder).
Loss of mental concentration.
Anxiety, stress
Absenteeism
Depression.
Fatigue and stress
Substance abuse.
Extreme anger and frustration,
Family conflict
Physical illnesses such as heart disease, migraine, headaches, stomach
problems, and back problems.
8.2.1What causes job stress?
Job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. Views differ
on the importance of worker characteristics versus working conditions as the primary cause of
job stress. The differing viewpoints suggest different ways to prevent stress at work.
According to one school of thought, differences in individual characteristics such as
personality and coping skills are very important in predicting whether certain job conditions
will result in stress.
A person's status in the workplace can also affect levels of stress. While workplace stress has
the potential to affect employees of all categories; those who have very little influence to
those who make major decisions for the company. However, less powerful employees (that is,
those who have less control over their jobs) are more likely to suffer stress than powerful
workers. Managers as well as other kinds of workers are vulnerable to work overload (Primm,
2005).
Other factor leads to job stress
Job Insecurity
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Organized workplaces are going through metamorphic changes under intense economic
transformations and consequent pressures. Reorganizations, takeovers, mergers, downsizing
and other changes have become major stressors for employees, as companies try to live up to
the competition to survive. These reformations have put demand on everyone, from a CEO to
a mere executive.
High Demand for Performance
Unrealistic expectations, especially in the time of corporate reorganizations, which,
sometimes, puts unhealthy and unreasonable pressures on the employee, can be a tremendous
source of stress and suffering. Increased workload, extremely long work hours and intense
pressure to perform at peak levels all the time for the same pay, can actually leave employees
physically and emotionally drained. Excessive travel and too much time away from family
also contribute to an employee's stressors.
Technology
The expansion of technologycomputers, pagers, cell phones, fax machines and the Internet
has resulted in heightened expectations for productivity, speed and efficiency, increasing
pressure on the individual worker to constantly operate at peak performance levels. Workers
working with heavy machinery are under constant stress to remain alert. In this case both the
worker and their family members live under constant mental stress. There is also the constant
pressure to keep up with technological breakthroughs and improvisations, forcing employees
to learn new software all the times.
Workplace Culture
Adjusting to the workplace culture, whether in a new company or not, can be intensely
stressful. Making one adapt to the various aspects of workplace culture such as
communication patterns, hierarchy, dress code if any, workspace and most importantly
working and behavioral patterns of the boss as well as the co-workers, can be a lesson of life.
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Maladjustment to workplace cultures may lead to subtle conflicts with colleagues or even with
superiors. In many cases office politics or gossips can be major stress inducers.
Personal or Family Problems
Employees going through personal or family problems tend to carry their worries and
anxieties to the workplace. When one is in a depressed mood, his unfocused attention or lack
of motivation affects his ability to carry out job responsibilities.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Studies shows that Job stress results when there is a poor match between job demands and the
capabilities, resources, or needs of workers. Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array
of conditions, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic
stress disorder) and other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension),
maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse), and cognitive impairment (e.g.,
concentration and memory problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work
performance or even injury.
A study which is conducted by Scott Schieman and Sarah Reid, University of Toronto. Using
data from a 2005 sample of 1,785 working adults in the United States, the authors examine the
association between jobauthority and the exposure to interpersonal conflict in theworkplace
and potential gender and age contingencies in that association. A positive association was
observed between authorityand conflict, but that association was more positive among men
and younger workers. Moreover, the authors rule out occupation, job sector, role-set
multiplicity, and work conditions as alternative explanations for these associations. These
observations have implications for theoretical views about social status variations in job
authority and its link to interpersonal stress in the
workplace.
In an other study L De Raeve et.al, Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University,
Maastricht, the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to examine the relationshipbetween
interpersonal conflicts at work and subsequent self-reported health outcomes (self-reported
general health, need for recovery,and prolonged fatigue and stress). Data from the Maastricht
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Cohort Study on fatigue at work (n = 5582 for co-worker conflict; n = 5530 for supervisor
conflict)were used. Interpersonal conflict with either co-workers orsupervisors was assessed
between baseline and 1-year follow-up. Outcomes were studied every 4 months between 1-
year and 2-yearfollow-up. Logistic regression analyses using generalized estimatingequations
were conducted for each of the dichotomous outcomes, while controlling for demographic
factors, the presence of along-term illness, other workplace stressors, coping, and outcome at
baseline. Analyses were conducted for men only. At baseline, conflicts with co-workers
occurred in 7.2% of thestudy population, while conflicts with supervisors occurred in 9.5% of
the study population. Supervisor conflict was a significant risk factor for the onset of an
elevated need for recovery, prolonged fatigue, external occupational mobility, and internal
occupational mobility.
Anotherstudy was to identify work-related risk factors for the onset of interpersonal
conflicts at work. Longitudinal data from the Maastricht Cohort Study on "fatigue at work"
(N=9241) were used. After the respondents who reported an interpersonal conflict at baseline
were excluded, logistic regression analyses were used to determine the role of several work-
related risk factors at baseline in the onset of a conflict with coworkers or supervisors after 1
year of follow-up. Higher psychological job demands, authority demands, supervisory
demands, higher levels of role ambiguity, the presence of physical demands, higher
musculoskeletal demands, a poorer physical work environment, shift work, overtime, and
higher levels of job insecurity significantly predicted the onset of both a coworker conflict and
a supervisor conflict. This study shows that there are many risk factors of generating conflict
at work place and supervisory demands is one of them.
Maria T. M. Dijkstra, 2006 conduct a dissertation in Amsterdam . It addresses the relationship
between workplace conflict and individual well-being. The six studies that were reported
advance our knowledge about the influence that is exerted on this relationship by personality
characteristics, conflict management strategies and organizational stress.
A study shows that, which was reported in Chapter 2, set out to examine the mediating
influence of conflict responses on the relationship between workplace conflict and employee
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well-being. Based on the existing conflict and stress literature the hypothesis was formulated
that conflict at work and its responses would result in the experience of more organizational
stress and therefore in reduced well-being. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of nurses
and members of the ancillary staff of a healthcare institution (Study 1, N =191). Using
structural equation modeling it was found that conflict was negatively related to perceived
control, and that these responses mediated the relationship between conflict and organizational
stress. Results of this study confirmed the important role of conflict as a stressor at work.
Moreover these findings suggest that conflict shrinks the amount of control an employee
perceives, resulting in a preference for passive ways of responding to conflict, thereby
bringing on the negative consequences.
To gain further insight into the relationships that have been found between conflict andindividual well-being, the moderating influence of the Big Five factors of agreeableness,
extraversion, and emotional stability was examined in Chapter 3. Two field studies, one
involving a healthcare organization (Study 2.1, N= 173) and one involving a manufacturing
organization (Study 2.2,N= 308) were conducted. On the basis of the literature it was argued
that agreeableness most likely buffers people from conflict experiences and it was thus
predicted that the negative relationship between conflict at work and individual well-being
would be stronger for individuals low rather than high in agreeableness. Results revealed that,
as predicted, conflict was negatively related to well-being, but only when individuals are low
and not high in agreeableness.
ANXIETY STRESS QUESTIONAIRE
An initial set of 26 items, including some form of (Tylor, 1953) were administered to 200
managerial, professional and technical employees in a single organization, factor analysis
and item analysis were employed to reduce these 17 statements falling in to 3 sub scales.
Job induction (7 items), somatic tension (5 items), and general fatigue and uneasiness (5
items). Responses are true and false, scored 2 or 1 respectively and averaged. Less than half
items refer directly to work.
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1. I would consider my self in a good or excellent health.
2. I would ease my self in frustration.
3. I dont have very good health.
4. I am often bothered by acid indigestion or heart burn.
5. I sometimes feel weak all over.
6. I wake up with stiffness and aching in joints or muscles.
7. I have had trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep.
8. My job tends to directly affect my health.
9. I work under great of tension.
10. I have felt fidgety or nervous as a result of my job.
11. I get irritated or annoyed over the way things are going.
12. If I had a different job, my health would be probably
improved.
13. I seem to tire quickly.
14. Problems associated with my job have kept me awake at
night.
15. I may now have an ulcer but I am not sure of it.
16. I have felt nervous before attending meeting in the
company.
17. I often take my job have with me in the sense that I think
about it when doing other things.
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CONCLUSION
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Table 1
Reliability analysis of Anxiety Stress Questionnaire (N=75)
The above reliability analysis shows that the scale is highly reliable and is applicable in the research.
Table 2
Demographic characteristics of sample (N=75)
Gender
Characteristics Frequency Percent
MALE 35 46.7FEMALE 40 53.3
Total 75 100.0
Education
Characteristics Frequency Percent
B.A/BSC 41 54.7
M.A/MSC 34 45.3Total 75 100.0
Marital status
Scale N of items Alpha reliability
Anxiety Stress
Questionnaire
17 .084
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Characteristics Frequency Percent
Single 61 81.3Married 14 18.7Total 75 100.0
Table 3
Correlation of gender with Anxiety Stress Questionnaire (N=75)
Scale Gender
Anxiety stress
Questionnaire
.437**
p**< 0.01
The above table represents the correlation between gender and anxiety stress. The results
show that anxiety stress is positively correlated with gender. The above table demonstrate that
correlation is .437**, which shows that the correlation is significant at the level of 0.01. It
means that the results are highly significant.
Table 4
Comparison of males and females in having Anxiety Stress (N=75)
Gender N Mean Std. Deviation t p
Anxiety Stress Male 35 24.08 2.26 -4.151 .012
Female 40 25.92 1.54 -4.049 .012
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The above table shows the comparison of two group males and females in having Anxiety
stress. The results shows that males are 35 in number and females are 40. The mean of males
is 24.08 and females are 25.92. Thus result shows that there is no significant difference in
males and females in having anxiety stress due to supervisory conflict.
Table 5
Comparison of education level with Anxiety stress Questionnaire having Anxiety Stress (N=75)
Scale Education N Mean Std. Deviation t p
Anxiety stress B.A/BSC 41 24.9756 2.39257 -.407 .685M.A/MSC 34 25.1765 1.74895 .-419 .676
The above table shows the comparison of education level and anxiety stress. The number of
employees of having B.A/BSC education is 41 and M.A/MSC is 34. The mean of B.A/BSC is
24.97 and M.A/MSC is 25.17. This result representation shows that there is no significant
difference in having anxiety stress among several employees having different education
levels.