Category: Organizational Behavior

Introduction

With the unprecedented revolutionaries undergone by organizations in the 21^st century, there is need to rethink on the issues of organizational behavior in order to enhance efficiency within the organization. Organizational behavior is a poly-disciplined subject, which encompasses domains such as psychology, sociology, and economics of the organization that contribute to effectiveness and efficiency.

In order to examine the organizational deportment of any business, it is extremely significant to comprehend theories of organizational behavior. Understanding these theories forms the first and the very important step to implementation of principles of the organizational behavior. Theorists in management have developed several organizational theories over the years, which the modern managers find useful in tackling of various organizational behavior issues.

Despite a large pool of theories, experience prove that specific theories apply to specific issues with some partially obsolete in the modern organizations. In fact, managers have established that some of these theories inapplicable in this globalization era. This paper identifies leadership, conflict, and motivation as the three significant issues of organizational behavior. Then based on work experience, the paper further marks these issues against theories to which they successfully apply.

Leadership

Organizational behavior involves the application of knowledge of how the human resources within an organization act and relate. The way people act and relate within an organization has a casual relationship with the productivity of the company. The frameworks or leadership that organization operates influences the organizational behavior of the company (Cunningham & Eberle 1990, p. 205). Within an autocratic leadership, the people are oriented towards obedience and adherence to set rules of behavior.

Experience has established that this model results into minimal performance. In a supportive leadership on the hand, the people are oriented towards participation and job performance. This model results into maximum performance of the employee. With this fact, therefore it important to evaluate theories of organizational behavior, which can effectively tackle leadership, issues for productivity of the company.

With the growing complexity of organizational structures, Webers bureaucratic theory of organizational behavior is widely becoming applicable. Organizations need to encourage specialization and division of labor in order to improve performance and quality of production. Industries require specialized personnel in operation of their systems and machines.

According to Gozdz (1992, p. 14), organizations should embrace leadership that spells out the procedures and rules for employee execution of their duties. Webers theory emphasizes on clear defined roles of each employee, control, and authority. Although most theorists oppose this theory, it is still partially applicable in industrial leadership to enhance production.

Second organizational theories practically applicable in leadership are those developed by Douglas McGregor, theory X and Y. Theory X advocates for directive leadership in which the leader closely monitors the behavior of the employee. The theory assumes that employees are immature and irresponsible and therefore require close supervision in order to perform.

In sales organizations for example, directive leadership prove successful especially for the inexperienced employees. In such organizations, theory X encourages aggressiveness within the salespersons as it advocates for reward as a source of motivation. As Drunker (1974, p. 123) notes, &reward-based leadership results into a learning organization, which in turn leads to an effective performance of the organization.

Therefore, application of theory X in such organizations successfully tackles leadership issues for positive influence of the behavior within the organization. The theory Y that advocates for associative leadership finds application in technical organizations in which the employees passionately know their responsibilities.

In such organizations, the theory assumes maturity and self-motivation among the employees. As a result, the leaders expect their employees to carry out their duties with responsibility and care. This theory provides the employee with self-esteem, freedom from direct leadership, interference, and control.

Motivation

Managers should adopt organizational theories that motivate their workers to perform and produce the desired results. According to Davis (1967, p. 234), motivation is the internal mental state of a person which relates to the initiation, direction, persistence, intensity, and termination of behavior. It involves satisfaction of both the job (management) and customer (performance). Systems theory is one of the organizational behavior theories that enhance motivation among the employees.

This theory motivates through what theorists define as learning organization. In such organizations, the management gives the employees challenging duties to encourage them to research and successfully undertake them. Rewarding which characterizes a learning organization encourages the employees to perform.

This theory enables the employees to understand how their behaviors shape the destiny of the company. Since psychology has proved that human beings like being associated with good results, the employees as such, feel motivated and hence work for good results.

Neoclassical theory of organizational behavior has proved motivating to employees since 1920s. Handling employees in a friendly manner gives them a sense of recognition. As such, the management appreciates the individual efforts of each employee. This encourages individual growth, motivation, and creativity.

Within IT organizations, the individual effort of each employee significantly counts and therefore as per this theory, the management should handle the employees in nonthreatening way in order to boost their morale and encourage their creativity. Organizations deploying this theory focus on altering the behavior of the defiant employees in friendly ways such as reinforcing learning culture and provision of personal attention to such people.

Douglas Theory X, which emphasizes on reward as a motivator to workers is partially applicable in manufacturing in which the production depends on the individual effort. Rewards to highly performing employees in terms quantity and quality in production motivates such employees and challenges the under-performing. This increases the overall output of manufacturing. Theory Y encourages job enrichment (Cunningham & Eberle 1990, p. 200) that acts as a motivator to employees.

Empirically, job enrichment has wide benefits to the employee: job satisfaction, self-actualization, individual capacity growth, among others, which are ingredients of motivation. Generally, theory Y adds depth to the job and hence encourages discretion, more responsibility, and control of the job by the employee. Therefore, this theory is practically successful in most organizations as a tool of motivation of the employees.

Conflict

Group work is an inevitable strategy of operation within an organization. Since people within these groups have different views, conflict is an integral part of operation within an organization (Slabbert 2003, p. 87). While most theorists in neoclassical and classical theories view conflict as an interruption that organizations should avoid, the truth is that conflict is an inescapable fact as viewed by the contingency theory. According to contingency theory of organizational behavior, conflict is inevitable but manageable.

The theory advocates for flexible leadership, which can resolve conflicts. Contingency theory presents leaders with two strategies of conflict resolution; separation of the conflicting parties or termination of mission through which the conflict occurred. Conflicts occur when parties perceive each other as barriers to execution of their mandate.

In widely used case of Apollo 13 mission, Jim perceives his seniors as barrier to his decision-making in this mission. Consequently, based on this theory, Jim resolves the conflict just before the launch and the mission successfully goes on. Most companies resolve the conflicts through separation of the conflicting parties. Conflict management ensures minimum disruption of the production.

Although classical theories did not encompass conflict during their formulation, organizations deploy them to reduce conflicts within their environment. These theories outline the duties and roles of different employees within the organization (Robbins, Judge & Campbell 2010, p. 85).

Emphasize on hierarchy of power within the organization ensure separation of roles and hence avoids conflicts. Taylors management theory applied by most industries ensures close supervision of employees such that moments which might lead to conflicts, are rare. Webers bureaucratic theory of organizational behavior prevents conflicts through setting rules and procedures, which employees should strictly observe. By clearly defining the roles for each employee, classical theories therefore reduce conflicts within the organizations.

Conclusion

Organizational behavior theories variably apply to issues of behavior within an organization. Experience has proved that Douglas Theories X and Y of organizational behavior widely apply to these issues. Although, modern theorists such as Senge strongly oppose classical theories to modern application, this report has shown that some of these theories such Taylor and Webers theories find application in and not limited to issues such as leadership and conflict within an organization.

However, it is worth noting that an organization cannot substantially resolve these issues through application of one theory. Incorporation of possible applicable features from all or several of these theories can result into efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

Reference List

Cunningham, J., & Eberle, T., 1990. A Guide to Job Enrichment and Redesign. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Davis, K., 1993. Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw- Hill.

Drucker, P., 1974. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, and Practices. New York: Harper & Row.

Gozdz, K., 1992. Building Community as a Leadership Discipline. The New Paradigm in Business: Emerging Strategies for Leadership and Organizational Change, 19(3), pp. 107-119.

Robbins, P., Judge, T., & Campbell, T., 2010. Organizational Behavior. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Slabbert, R., 2004. Conflict management styles in traditional organizations. The Social Science Journal, 41, pp. 83-92.

Introduction

The current practice of organization, governance and compensation in law firms does not match that of other business firms. Managers apply managerial approach rather than coordinated team management. Lawyers want to preserve their autonomy, and they are professional skeptics. During their training, lawyers learn to be pessimistic.

They also aim at spotting flaws. When it comes to employee compensation, lawyers do not trust the compensation committees. They insist on having a system that does not trust other people.

Lack of trust leads to several negative consequences and these can be observed in several law firms. For example, teamwork initiatives rarely are implemented. A joint plan can be developed, but commitment to group decisions proves difficult.

Discussion

In the social Learning Theory, people in a workplace learn from their colleagues. Lawyers are different in that they believe that they possess all the knowledge, which they obtained from the school (Bandura, 2002). They, therefore, do not collaborate with each other. Lack of collaboration in a firm makes a firm not to succeed because they rarely make sacrifices.

Instead, they aim at competing for their own good other than for the good of the organization. Many lawyers are reluctant to take up the role of a manager. Fear exists that the other lawyers may not treat them the way they deserve.

Lawyers do not tolerate group leadership; hence limiting executive authority in law firms, decision-making is slow. In some instances, lawyers do not arrive at a conclusion in decision-making. Law firms form committees and everyone participates in decision-making. This is a form of democracy, but it slows down decision-making process.

Cultural theories affect lawyers. These include theories that concentrate on cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences shared within an organization (Thompson, Ellis & Wildavsky, 1990). Lawyers believe that they should not trust each other, and this has led to law firms having short-term orientations. Partners, therefore, fail to invest in the firm because they feel that eventually, they will not credit for that.

Surprisingly, most partners are people who have qualified academically. They have never had the joy of experiencing team success. Their focus is self-serving, selfish, and narcissistic. Therefore, law firms resources are squandered hence poorly used. Most law firms make little profits because clients do not get the best lawyers.

Lawyers selfishness makes them have an approach that is shortsighted when it comes to decision making. Time and money investments rarely take place. Such investments would have led to immediate results that could lead to profitability.

Lawyers are also skeptical about values, ideology, and principles. In a business, confidence comes when an individual can be depended upon because he can take action according to positive pragmatic principles. Such principles could include facts such as observing clients interests first. If lawyers served their clients in the best way possible, their personal interests would follow soon or later.

Believing in these principles, however, does not automatically lead to commercial benefits. Partners can achieve commercial benefits if they adhere to these principles. This would lead to faster decision making. This would further lead to implementation of strategies leading to desirable teamwork results.

Partners are able to give other partners authority to come up with ideas and decisions because they are confident that decisions can be made the right way by applying the same values, which they can apply if they were in such a situation. Law firms lack this ideological consistency. They have the principles but enforcing them becomes the problem. These firms want to adapt strategies and statement of mission and values.

However, they do not state the level of penalty in case a person fails to comply. This results to ineffective implementation of strategies. Lawyers who apply common law traditions appear highly suspicious in overarching principles. They make decisions incrementally leaving open a possibility that the following case can be treated differently.

A system should be put in place to coach and help partners who fail to comply with the firms standards. If the instruction fails to assist the associate with sensible and substantial time, such an associate should be asked to depart the firm. This system would be close to the system used when a partner does not meet financial targets, for example, billable hours.

Application of this process would ensure that a firm excels in client service, associate supervision, and collaboration. Most lawyers believe that tackling these issues would be suicidal, idealistic, unrealistic, and un-commercial.

Such standards get preached to clients as the firms values. Most firms make a choice for principles, but do not take part in a ballot when it comes to implementing them. Lawyers have rules but do not have functional principles for failure of trusting the other partners. They fear that they may refuse to adhere to such principles.

Situational leadership theory states that people possess different personality traits (Miner, 2007). Some people are passionate while others are not. Most lawyers lack passion, and this is the reason as to why they relate poorly with each other. Many researches show that lawyers are less intimate and social as compared to other professionals.

They prefer interactions that are role-to-role whether in the firm or outside the firm. They do not prefer personal interactions. This should not be mistaken that lawyers hate people. The point here is that they prefer job to investing in personal relationships with their clients, associates, and partners.

It would be necessary to consider personal traits when choosing a leader or even a manager. Less passionate people are likely to be poor managers as compared to passionate people.

This further makes most law firms unable to market themselves because they do not know how to consider interests of a customer because they lack personal feelings. That intimacy lacks in lawyers. The way lawyers react also affects productivity of their firms and the way the firm is managed. Lawyers take the word management to mean a detached, cold, and analytical approach when it comes to business dealings.

Lawyers receive only a scorecard that they should achieve before the year ends. There is no one to help them in achieving the set goals. They are also rarely rewarded for achieving the set goals. Lawyers need to be trained on personal relations, as this would help them a fantastic deal on managing law firms.

According to Herzbergs Two Factory Theory, employees need to be rewarded if they perform well and corrective measures should be taken against those who fail to perform (Shipley & Kiely, 1986). The management motivates lawyers rarely and this makes them loose morale.

Methods of rewarding and punishing should be communicated clearly to the employees, so that they do not live in fear that they may fail to achieve the set goals by the end of the year. They hardly know what will happen in case they fail to achieve as per the expectations. It is true that this way helps in that everyone will work hard towards achieving the set goal. However, there is the lack of cohesion and morale.

Many lawyers prefer this approach, but they fail to understand that it leads to limitation of strategies within an organization. This makes firms unstable especially now that partners keep on moving from one firm to another. It can be noted that some organizations have recognized this topics significance.

Some managing partners have realized the importance of treating people with empathy and warmth to build personal relationships. People ought to be dealt with as people and not as objects. Lawyers also require motivation, but many firms are yet to realize this importance of motivation. Motivation leads to employee satisfaction and personal development.

Lawyers also apply peculiar ways when discussing an issue and when making decisions. They like contesting with each other. They, therefore, keep on arguing over small issue; hence slow decision-making. They like challenging each others ability. In a law firm, the lawyers will attack even a brilliant idea.

Lawyers aim at identifying loopholes thus destroying, postponing or dismissing ideas regardless of the person who initiated them. An idea can be postponed for so many times and eventually the lawyers will not arrive at a comprehensive conclusion. The committee chairs in making decisions spend a lot of time.

They always have a lengthy memo before making a single decision. Another management strategy also exists where proposals remain ambiguous to avoid such attacks by the lawyers.

Law firms hold on to half measures inclination with pitiable plans that ensure that there is a low probability of success. For lawyers, they will agree to make service teams for the clients, but if asked the meaning of such teams, they do not disclose. When asked their responsibilities, most of them will say that should be worked on later. Obligations of such team members also take ages before figuring them out.

All these combined, with the use of committees to resolve issues, make everything disastrous. Some attorneys agree that their training does not include making decisions and not to have such closures. In their arguments, lawyers objectives do not appear logic, reasonable, fair, or consistency (Miner, 2007).

Law profession rewards lawyers in terms of their persuasiveness, verbal agility, rhetoric, and point scoring. This is what they bring in the firm at a time of significant discussions. Lawyers view risk in a strange way. In many other firms, decision-making happens for the last time. People do not have to keep on meeting in order to agree on something. The managers are entrusted with decision-making; hence no time wastage.

In law firms, chances are not influential in discussions but likelihood. In other dealings, proceedings and groundbreaking thinking operate as crucial necessities for business breakthrough. Companies look forward to tactical inventiveness and thoughts which have not been implemented by others.

Lawyers seem different because in case of a new idea, they will unanimously ask to be told of other firms doing the same leading to failure of an idea. They do not see the need for a change since they do not view this as a strategic advantage to the law firm.

Conclusion

Law firms lack competitive advantage because lawyers compete against each other and do not understand personal relationships. However, they do well financially. Law firms have discovered that hard work and cutting down costs, without caring how the associates will take it, helps them in achieving their goals. This, however, does not serve as the best approach to profitability.

The issues discussed above need to be addressed by law firms if they want to deliver as per their vision statement. Issues such as expected behavior and common standards need to be addressed without fear. Law firms require Cultural Revolution for them to achieve their ambitions.

Dysfunctional behavior should not be tolerated since it prevents proper functioning of an organization. Hope exists because what law firms practice does not present law, but common tendencies practiced by lawyers.

Many other firms have been able to tackle issues to do with trust, culture, and behaviour of the partners. Law firms should not be exceptional. Repeated interactions lead to trust among individuals because of the long history they have had in the past.

Some light ahead among the partners further increases the degree of trust. Over time, people learn to trust each other. Teamwork is necessary for achievement of set goals. Ambiguity should be avoided at all costs, and decisions should be made clear to all partners.

Minimum standards ought to be agreed upon since firms have several lawyers. All the lawyers must be willing to adhere to these standards. Management of law firms requires that the managers pay attention to the management processes that ought to be applied. Lawyers must understand that legal issues are equally valuable as management issues.

References

Bandura, A. (2002). Social learning theory (Repr. ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice- Hall.

Miner, J. B. (2007). Organizational behavior 4: from theory to practice. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

Shipley, D. D., & Kiely, J. A. (1986). Industrial salesforce motivation and Herzbergs dual factor theory. Stoke-on-Trent (College Rd., Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE): North Staffordshire Polytechnic, Department of Management Studies.

Thompson, M., Ellis, R., & Wildavsky, A. B. (1990). Cultural theory. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.

Introduction

The environment of doing business is constantly undergoing major transformations. A significant number of managers have discovered that their role in the workplace is becoming more complex due to the increase in the duties available and tasks that require prompt outcomes.

Because of these complexities, a number of different fields of study have sprung up to address the ever-changing demands of the workforce. Among these, the study of organizational behaviour has been vital over the years in enhancing the management style of different organizations. This paper discusses the importance of studying organizational behaviour.

Discussion

A working definition of organizational behaviour is the systematic study of the nature of organizations: how they begin, grow, and develop, and their effect on individual members, constituent groups, other organizations, and larger institutions (Kelly & Kelly, 1998, p.5).

The study of organizational behaviour scrutinizes the various types of employees in all kinds of diverse circumstances. The study seeks to benefit those in managerial and supervisory positions in a number of ways. It is important in all the different aspects of the organization. Organizational behaviour aims to understand the human behaviour in an organization and how its association with the organization.

Many of us, at some point in our working life, might have said, I do not feel like going to my place of work today, or I dislike my work, I am disgusted with the job I am doing. However, these utterances have little to do with the person saying them, his or her place of work or the job he or she is doing.

Poor management of organizational behavior is likely to be the cause of this problem! A good manager should be able to study workers to ensure that their positions in the organization are satisfying. As an example, if a manager has a worker who is young, timid, and softly spoken, he or she should not attempt to give the worker the task of collecting debts.

As an alternative, the manager should consider placing the worker in a less stressful situation such as the customer care position, which would go well with the workers nature in addition to assisting her or him develop self-confidence in tackling the various issues of the customers.

Workers in high spirits with their positions and the different issues they have to tackle make them to be more productive in undertaking their duties. This attribute is beneficial to the progress of the organization as well as enabling the workforce to be contented with their roles.

The best method of knowing if an employee is uncomfortable in various circumstances is by observing their body language. An example of the lack of a good relationship between the employee and the manager occurs when a manager is standing too close or if the employee is feeling uneasy with the presence of the manager behind him or her.

An employee can even lose his or her train of thought when having a conversation with the manager. These examples illustrate the benefits of a good organizational behavior since it can prevent this from taking place.

In the business environment, it is essential that the manager is able to motivate the workers, first by example. The manager or the supervisor ought to be self-motivating. When an individual has the capability of being self-motivating, it becomes uncomplicated to pass this trait to others.

An individual with good leadership qualities, who has the capability of inspiring others, can play a vital role in the success of any organization. Sometimes it becomes difficult when a manager is indolent and does not posses motivation skills. Currently, when one goes to apply for a position in any organization, a question always arises whether the job seeker has any skills in management.

This can be attributed to the fact that many organizations these days are searching for applicants who posses leadership qualities together with the desired level of educational attainment. It raises the concern that not everyone, either learned or experienced in the job, possesses management qualities. The study of organizational behaviour equips the learners with the important skills in leadership.

In a situation when a well-inspired individual controls the business enterprise, it depicts the aim of the organization and its ultimate success. When the manager maintains punctuality to the place of work in order to get things started on time, he or she sets a good example to the people under her or him.

This attribute is most of the times past automatically to the subordinates. No one can be heard saying, I do not feel like going to my place of work today, since there is no person who intends to be left behind when things are done in a definite way. No worker would like to stray away from the norms of the group. A motivated manager is of essence to the ultimate success of the business environment.

When employees make efforts to strike the right balance between their lives at home with their lives at the place of work, a number of them often are stressed and worked up. This may lead to increased cases of absenteeism and decrease in the level of productivity. Having a career is different from having a life.

Since most organizations have employees who are married, it is important to ensure that they have occasions when they can be outside the place of work and spend some quality time with their families. Griffin and Moorhead (2002, p.182) have proved that recognizing the needs of the employees outside work is an important aspect of realizing their dedication when undertaking various duties.

The manager of an organization must ensure that the workers are doing a commendable work. Achievement of this is by making the workers realize that their input in the organization is important, not just to be salaried at the end of the month. The quality of the work usually disintegrates when employees fail to recognize the value of their input in the organization.

A good manager has to encourage the workers that the place of work forms their second home and that they add value to the success of the organization. Individuals most of the time react better to a surrounding where their emotional well-being is properly taken care of. Rewards ought to be given to the most motivated employees to act as an encouragement to them.

Work performance is instrumental to the ultimate realization of an organizations corporate goals. This task, which requires sound management principles to accomplish, is got through studying organizational behaviour.

Organizations are very important in the society since most of the activities we participate in mostly take place within the context of an organization. Studying organizational behaviour requires one to relate its connection with such areas as corporate responsibility and internal control systems.

Understanding these areas enables one to come to terms with a good organizational behavior and ways of maintaining it in the place of work. In addition, this makes one to be aware of the potential risks that may arise when a business falls short of its set standards. Understanding this aspect is essential in preventing a misfortune such as financial crisis from taking place.

A number of managers-to-be are not concerned of the significance of organizational behaviour and its meaning to them as future leaders in different organizations. The study of organizational behaviour focuses on the attitudes and the behaviours of the current workforce and strives to get the best methods of leading and sufficiently transforming them. This study assists future managers to have an increased understanding of their role and the people they oversee, which enables them to pursue a successful career in management.

The duties of managers usually involve working hand in hand with other individuals in the workplace therefore the learning of people skills is a vital and important resource. The study of organizational behavior assists in developing these people skills and enables managers and supervisors to be more efficient in undertaking their duties. Managers are endowed with humanistic task to give the workers duties that are challenging and which offers them the contentment they aspire to have (Robbins, 1994, p.2).

An important aspect of realizing a good organizational behaviour is to institute the correct career processes for career advancement of the employees. This aspect is vital in retaining the most experienced workforce. Any job that an employee has strived to accomplish within the set standards ought to be recognized and rewarded accordingly by the leadership.

Doing this makes the employees to work even harder in realizing the set targets as they have tangible incentives when they accomplish particular tasks well. The success of the organization depends on the treatment accorded to the employees towards their career advancement. Managers ought to realize and give workers what they may require. They reciprocate this by delivering quality service to their employers.

Many organizations are concerned about whether or not their workers are satisfied with their employment. Satisfied workers are generally more productive on the job. Employee dissatisfaction is capable of bringing the whole organization back to zero. It is within the mandate of an organization to institute candid ways of achieving employee satisfaction.

Work performance relates directly to job satisfaction. Presently, a number of organizations are having problems with retaining their workforce. Many of the workers enter a company with little experience and they leave the organizational after they have gained useful skills in the job. This often increases the expenses of the organization, as they have to re-train other people to undertake the same work.

The leadership of an organization should study the level of satisfaction of the employees as failure to do this makes them search for better opportunities that may crop in. In spite of the salary that the employees take home, if the employees are not satisfied with their current employment, leaving in search of greener pastures becomes the next resort. By studying organizational behaviour, the student learns vital skills in making the employees happy in the place of work, hence limiting their exit.

Another important ingredient to the success of any organization is communication. Effective communication is the key to optimal day-to-day running of an organization. A manager or supervisor has to adhere to good communication skills when addressing his or her subordinates. Undertaking various tasks requires efficient communication.

Communication involves keeping the workers conversant with the activities taking place behind the scenes in addition to rendering a listening ear to their needs. As stated earlier in the paper, workers generally respond well to an environment that cares for their emotions.

Most of the people in leadership positions tend to posses an autocratic management style and rewards tend to be based upon individual contributions, the prevailing culture within many organizations is the antithesis of teamwork (Wilson, 2001, p. 136).

Establishing team-based organizations is aimed at creating an empowered decision making process, flatten hierarchies and create collaborative work environment as a way of facilitating the development of a more adaptive and flexible set-up of the organization. The manager of an organization plays a vital role in fostering the culture of teamwork in the organization.

Conclusion

Employees are not to be treated as moneymaking machines. It is high time managers come to terms with the fact that employees are fundamental to the success of an organization. For that reason, organizational behaviour turns into the very culture that any business enterprise draws its practices.

The running of a business experiences a significant progress in its development when a good organizational behaviour is enacted. In summary, organizational behaviour is vital to any business, and if it is not present, rampant confusion sets in.

References

Griffin, R. & Moorhead, G., 2010. Organizational Behaviour: Managing People and Organizations. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Kelly, J. & Kelly, L., 1998. An existential-systems approach to managing organizations. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Robbins, P., 1994. Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Wilson, E., 2001. Organizational behaviour reassessed: the impact of gender. London: Sage Publication.

Psychology

The discipline of psychology has greatly contributed to the field of organizational behavior since it has led to the emergence of the concept of organizational psychology. This concept is concerned with the study of workplace behavior. Bottom and Kong (2010) argued that psychologist plays a role in ensuring increased workplace productivity. This is done by selecting the individuals who best suit a particular position in the organization.

The theories mentioned in their paper as being critical to organizational decision making include the normative and descriptive theories. The behavioral decision theory evolved since there was a need to make proper organizational decisions.

Sociology

Sociology has shaped organizational behavior since it is the study of human society and peoples social stratification. Individuals come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs. People may be differentiated based on religion, race, tribe, class and many other factors (Riordan & Shore, 1997). However, successful organizations value diversity in their organization.

Diversity brings to the table a different pool of employees with different abilities and talents. Therefore, an organization can gain from the different abilities of the employees.

Diversity of employees ensures that the organization can benefit since there will be more creativity leading to innovative services and products. Therefore, diversity influences the organizational behavior in that it brings different people together, causing them to accept and work with each other to achieve common goals.

Political Science

The discipline of political science has influenced the organizational behavior in several ways. Political science models incorporate the political context in explaining organizational behavior in private organizations.

The political environment greatly affects organizations and the employees working in them (Leroux & Goerdel, 2009). It has been determined that it causes an increase in organizational goal ambiguity. Consequently, this causes role ambiguity, which influences factors such as employee satisfaction and organizational commitment (Pandey & Wright, 2006).

Anthropology

Anthropology also plays a role in shaping organizational behavior. Theories of human nature have been used to explain the relationship between human nature and their behavior. These theories also supplement the explanatory theory in the sociology of organizations. The authors argue that human beings are naturally growth-oriented and in order to experience this, they need to pursue self-interests. The democratic model describes this.

However, many organizations usually restrain individuals from pursuing self-interest. Therefore, they create unhappy individuals. Sullivan (1986) argued that organizations should return to the democratic man model. After identifying the range of the interests of the employees, managers should help in coordinating them and conduct organizational changes to reflect the interests of all.

Economics

The discipline of economics plays an important role in organizational behavior since it deals with the analysis of production and consumption of commodities and services. The main agenda of businesses and organizations is to ensure that the goods and services provided earn profits and make the business sustainable.

Organizations usually assess the financial implication of various factors including employee retention, employee absenteeism, and presenteeism. Cascio (2006) assessed the implications of unhealthy lifestyles to health care costs. Organizations realize that spending on employees due to health issues translate to organizational expenses. Therefore, organizations strive to retain employees and keep them healthy in order to spend less and earn more.

Industrial Engineering

The discipline of industrial engineering helps contribute to organizational behavior since it mainly deals with the optimization of complex systems and processes. It also deals with the integration of employees, finances, machinery, and information in order to work together to reach a common goal.

Abernathy (2011) argued that the performance and productivity of employees are necessary ingredients for any organization. Industrial engineering relates to operations management, human factors, and management science. Advancement in technology has been linked to improved productivity. Organizations also strive to empower and train employees in order to improve organizational productivity and profitability.

Emerging Disciplines

Communications

Communication is one of the emerging disciplines that have contributed to organizational behavior. Communication has been described as the activity that enables people to link in order to create relationships. Kandlousi, Ali, and Abdollahi (2010) argued that communication played an important role such that it determined the success or failure of an organization.

They believed that it was through communication that organizational activities could be organized, coordinated, informed, arranged and subordinated. Formal and informal communication work together to ensure communication satisfaction. Communication satisfaction is linked to positive outcomes such as employee satisfaction and this eventually leads to organizational accomplishments and effectiveness.

Information Systems

Information systems in the organization have a part to play when it comes to organizational behavior. Although information systems positively influence businesses in that it integrates the various aspects within the organization and assists in the decision-making process, they also contribute to unethical conduct among certain employees.

Information systems professionals, in particular, may show unethical behavior when they are involved in software piracy, hacking and putting the employees privacy at risk (Oz, 2001).

Marketing

Marketing has been described as a way of maintaining current customers and attracting new ones. Therefore, marketing plays an important role in shaping organizational behavior especially when the internal customers are considered. To improve organizational performance, the performance of the human resource is key. Therefore, human resource personnel should be considered as internal customers to put a priority on satisfying their needs.

As the internal customer satisfaction is achieved, the performance of the human resource personnel is improved. Research suggests that satisfaction of the needs of the internal customers could be achieved through internal marketing (Abzari & Ghujali, 2011). This helps to improve their behavior. In addition to this, it also helps improve their extra-role behaviors.

Womens Studies

Women studies have contributed to organization behavior since they have shown the trends when it comes to the position of women in the organizational setting. Statistics have indicated that women now occupy more positions in organizations that before. They now make up a large proportion of the traditionally male-dominated environments (Jandeska & Kraimer, 2005).

This knowledge is essential to motivate women employees to work hard and to develop proper organizational behavior in order to climb the ranks of employment. Jandeska and Kraemer found that those women who were satisfied by the employment were likely to mentor other women. They also found that women who were committed to their organizations displayed citizenship behavior.

Influence of communication on leadership, globalization, diversity and workplace values and ethics

Communication is vital in organizations. In terms of leadership, communication is vital to ensure the control of employees and their activities. Leaders need to be good communicators. Communication is also vital for globalization since ideas must be exchanged to foster growth.

Communication is vital in diverse organizations since different individuals should be able to find common ground and this can only be found in good communication. In order for organizations to be successful, workplace values and ethics must be communicated well to the employees. This would foster understanding and adherence.

References

Abernathy, W. (2011). An analysis of the effects of selected management practices on organizational productivity and performance. Performance Improvement, 50(6), 39-47.

Abzari, M., & Ghujali, T. (2011). Examining the impact of internal marketing on organizational citizenship behaviour. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 3(4), 95-104.

Bottom, W., & Kong, D. (2010). Normative models for strategic decision making in industrial makin in industrial-organizational psychology and organizational behaviour. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3(1), 417-420.

Cascio, W. (2006). The economic impact of employee behaviours on organizational performance. California Management Review, 48(4), 41-59.

Jandeska, K., & Kraimer (2005). Womens perceptions of organizational culture, work attitudes and role-modelling behaviours. Journal of Managerial Issues, 17(4), 461-478.

Kandlousi, N., Ali, A., & Abdollahi, A. (2010). Organizational citizenship behaviour in concern of communication satisfaction: The role of the formal and informal communication. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(10), 51-61.

Leroux, K., & Goerdel, H. (2009). Political advocacy by non-profit organizations. Public Performance & Management Review, 32(4), 514-536.

Pandey, S., & Wright, B. (2006). Connecting the dots in public management: Political environment, organizational goal ambiguity, and the public managers role ambiguity. JPART, 16(1), 511-532.

Oz, E. (2001). Organizational commitment and ethical behaviour: An empirical study of information system professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 34(1), 137-142.

Riordan, C., & Shore, L. (1997). Demographic diversity and employee attitudes: An empirical examination of relational demography within work units. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(3), 342-358.

Sullivan, J. (1986). Human nature, organizations, and management theory. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 534-549.

Job Description for a Retail Sales Associate

It is generally expected that a sales associate in our retail store will realize that he or she is the face of the store. It is communication with the retail sales associate exactly that shapes to a large extent our customers experiences and impressions from buying from us. We recognize the value of this position, which is why we strongly commit to selecting appropriate retail sales associates and expect them to work with dedication.

As a retail sales associate, you will:

• Approach our customers to offer your services and help find the products the customers are looking for;
• Explain to our customers the features of products and advise on whether the product is the optimal solution for a customer;
• Identify our customers needs and consult them on products that meet those needs the best;
• Provide customers with options, which is why you will be required to be aware of the full selection of products our store offers;
• Explain to our customers the differences among products, which is why you will be required to be familiar with the industry and have knowledge of current trends in fashion;
• Work in a team with other associates, which is why you will be required to demonstrate teamwork skills;
• Ensure that customer satisfaction is high, and customer loyalty is promoted;
• Promote the customer-centered model of service by addressing all the needs a customer may display or have;
• Maintain presentable appearance of products in assigned areas;
• Process payments.
• Occasionally perform additional tasks associated with maintaining the presentable appearance of the stores selection and bringing items from the stockroom.

Your primary external responsibility will be communicating with clients. This part of the job requires sociability, knowledgeability, flexibility, and commitment to customer-centered service.

Your internal responsibilities will include working with other retail sales associates and managers, maintaining the area of the store assigned to you, and performing several additional tasks, such as processing payments.

Organizational Behavior Modification Plan

Major psychological theories suggest that behavior is a function of its consequences (Aronfreed, 2013), which means that behaviors can be modified by applying punishments and rewards. An organizational behavior modification (OBM) plan is essentially a course of action proposed on the basis of the reinforcement theory (Miner, 2015). Such a plan lists measures that need to be taken in the context of employee relations and management to modify certain behaviors in those employees. The proposed OBM plan recognizes four behaviors that are needed for successful performance of a retail sales associate and recommends how they can be achieved.

Customer-centered behavior

This category includes politeness, prioritizing the needs of a customer, and building a favorable image of the store among customers. A way to assess whether this behavior is adopted by sales associates is to analyze the dynamics of repeat customers and customer loyalty. A way to encourage this behavior is to establish rewards for employees who attract repeat customers and increase customer loyalty.

It is proposed to introduce a system of bonuses for sales associates for contributing to customer loyalty. When employees clearly see that their politeness, cheerfulness, respect, and attentiveness toward customers increase loyalty and subsequently increase their monetary reward, the employees are expected to further adhere to customer-centered behaviors.

Sales-promoting behavior

This category includes displaying good knowledge of the stores selection and striving for satisfying the customers needs with what is in stock in the store. A way to assess whether this behavior is adopted by sales associates is to analyze the dynamics of sales. A way to encourage this type of behavior among sales associates is to introduce a system of bonuses for increasing the level of sales. If employees clearly see that their promotion of the stores products contributes to the growth of sales and subsequently to their monetary rewards, they are expected to be more willing to try to sell more.

Collaborative behavior

This category includes willingness to collaborate with other sales associates, share experience, and express employee voice to the managements. A way to assess whether this behavior is adopted by sales associates is to collect feedback from them concerning internal collaboration. A way to encourage collaborative behaviors among employees is to include effective collaboration in the list of criteria for promotion. If sales associates want to be promoted and receive more responsibilities related to managing the store (and receive larger salaries), they should demonstrate that they are successful in dealing with their colleagues.

Responsible behavior

Retail sales associates should realize that there are areas in the store assigned to them for the purpose of maintaining a presentable appearance. If a certain area assigned to an associate does not look presentable (messy, items missing), the sales associate to whom the area was assigned should be punished for not complying with his or her responsibilities. It is proposed to introduce a system of fines or bonus deprivation for those sales associates whose areas are not properly maintained. It is expected that seeing how poor management of assigned areas decreases their monetary reward will make employees pay more attention to maintaining the presentable appearance of areas assigned to them.

Performance Standards and Criteria of Key Job Performance Behaviors

Four key job performance behaviors were previously identified (see Organizational Behavior Modification Plan), and in order to enforce the adopting of these behaviors, it is necessary to establish criteria for measuring whether the behaviors are exhibited (Zhu, 2014). In order to ensure that sales associates exhibit the customer-centered behavior, it is proposed to measure customer loyalty and, based on this, distribute bonuses among employees.

In order to ensure that sales associates exhibit sales-promoting behaviors, it is proposed to measure the level of sales and to connect individual sales to the efforts of a particular sales associate. Based on this measurement, bonuses will be distributed among employees. In order to ensure that sales associates exhibit the collaborative behavior, it is proposed to solicit employee voice and evaluate employee feedback. On the basis of feedback, employees who exercise the collaborative behavior, i.e. collaborate with their colleagues by sharing experience and contributing to the coordination of sales associates work, will receive an advantage in the process of promotion.

In order to ensure that sales associates exhibit the responsible behavior, it is proposed to regularly monitor the areas for which those associates are responsible and assess whether the presentable appearance in those areas is properly maintained. On the basis of this assessment, sales associates who fail to maintain proper appearance will be fined for incompliance with their job responsibilities. Therefore, the two major ways to measure whether employees exhibit the key job performance behaviors is to analyze the performance of the store and to collect feedback.

Also, methods should be proposed to effectively inform employees of the new performance standards. For this purpose, the employee relations and employee communications systems should be adjusted. First, employees should be informed of the new standards during an all-staff meeting. It is important that a human resources manager explains the new policies in an interpersonal communication session. Second, documents describing the new policies in detail should be distributed among employees so that sales associates could consult them and refer to them anytime.

Feedback Plan and Positive Employee Behavior Reinforcement

It was previously established that soliciting employee voice for the purpose of evaluation (particularly, evaluation of collaborative behavior) is one of the aspects of the new employee policy. However, it should not be overlooked that feedback should be provided from the management to employees, too (Giacalone, & Rosenfeld, 2013).

The difference between evaluation and feedback is that the former is summative, i.e. it compares the performance to standards and calculates scores of how well an employee is doing, while the latter is formative, i.e. it provides recommendations on how the performance can be improved.

One of the ways to provide employees with feedback is to issue monthly performance reviews in which the performance of every employee would be individually evaluated, and the evaluation would be supplemented with recommendations on what aspects of performance should be revised. Also, it is possible to hold regular meetings in which a human resources manager will outline the areas in which employees have opportunities for growth. During these sessions, less attention will be paid to individual performances, but more attention will be paid to overall compliance with the stores vision and strategic goals.

To reinforce positive behaviors among sales associates, it is recommended to introduce a system of bonuses and fines: the former will be given for increasing sales and improving customer satisfaction, and the latter will be imposed for irresponsible management of assigned areas of the store. Also, the mechanism of prioritizing engaging and collaborative sales associates for promotion is expected to contribute to the positive behavior reinforcement.

Legal and Ethical Issues

In implementing the proposed policies, several legal and ethical issues can be encountered. First, certain limitations exist in the employers ability to fine employees (Twomey, 2012). In order to address this issue, it is proposed to impose fines by subtracting certain amounts of money from employees bonuses, not from their salaries. The salary payments are negotiated and agreed upon during the hiring process, and the store is not authorized to reduce the approved salary, but what the store is authorized to do is to pay larger bonuses (for good performance) or smaller bonuses (for poor performance), and the latter mechanism will function as a system of fines.

Second, there is the ethical issue of providing individual performance feedback. During employee meetings, general performance and the staffs compliance with the stores vision and strategy will be discussed, but particular aspects of a particular sales associates performance may be too delicate to discuss during general meetings. The right of an employee to confidentiality should be respected, and it will be more ethical to provide individual performance reviews to each employee separately in the written form. Finally, the performance management system can be affected by ethical issues associated with soliciting employee voice.

Sales associates will be encouraged to provide feedback to the management, but there are situations, in which employees may not be willing to provide feedback explicitly, which is why a mechanism should be created for employees to communicate with managers confidentially. For example, if a sales associate is willing to complain about a fellow associates performance, he or she can approach a manager personally, and anonymity should be ensured.

References

Aronfreed, J. (2013). Conduct and conscience: The socialization of internalized control over behavior. New York, NY: Academic Press.

Giacalone, R. A., & Rosenfeld, P. (Eds.). (2013). Impression management in the organization. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Miner, J. B. (2015). Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. New York, NY: Routledge.

Twomey, D. (2012). Labor & employment law: Text and cases (15th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Zhu, J. (2014). Quantitative models for performance evaluation and benchmarking: Data envelopment analysis with spreadsheets (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Various organizations in the modern world can have a significant impact on people and their lives. In the social and behavioral sciences, organizations are studied through such disciplines as organizational behavior and organizational theory (Champoux, 2016). Sociology significantly contributes to the formation of each of them. In particular, sociology of work that studies social relations in the workplace, influenced the knowledge base of organizational behavior. In turn, organizational theory seeks to understand organizations as systems and get ideas and theories about how social systems are built from sociology. There is a particular part of sociology dedicated to this area  the sociology of organizations.

The study of organizations from the sociology point of view began in the 1950s. At first, research was limited since sociologists observed the organizations only as a working environment. A little later, scientists noted their dualist nature, considering both the technical and social sides. The most significant influence on the development of theories about the sociology of organizations had the consideration of them as an open system. Researchers studied not only people and processes but also the impact of the environment. As a result, many theories arose: contingency theory, network theory, institutional theory, and several others (Scott, 2004). The expansion of knowledge and the study of various significant aspects, which was possible thanks to the logic of open systems, became the dominant trends of the second half of the twentieth century. New knowledge has given impetus to organizations changes  their boundaries have become more open, work strategies, management methods changed, and new ideas developed to study them.

An example of an organization I am a part of is a college and even individual classes. Almost everyone is part of the organization, which is possible while considering organizations following Champoux (2016), as the unification of two or more people acting together to achieve the goal. By visiting shops, cafes, or official agencies, I also influence organizations. In the future, at work, I will become part of a team and another unity.

References

Champoux, J. E. (2016). Organizational behavior: Integrating individuals, groups, and organizations (5^th ed.). Taylor & Francis Group

Scott, W. (2004). Reflections on a half-century of organizational sociology.Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 1-21. Web.

Work Attitudes

A persons attitude is one of the essential contributors to organizational success. According to Bauer and Erdogan (2020), an attitude is an individual feeling toward a certain aspect of the environment around us. The two particular concepts that are inextricably linked to employee attitudes are job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job satisfaction outlines ones attitude toward their job and the ability of the organization to create an environment that most workers do not consider a complete nightmare (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020). On the other hand, organizational commitment stems from the idea that employees can feel and express a specific level of attachment toward the company they serve. The link between attitudes and behaviors is important to understand for better insights into how employee performance could be improved over time. Thus, numerous factors can be intended to help workers achieve an amended state of affairs and sport positive work attitudes.

For example, personality is important for workers because it can help them remain happy in life regardless of what kind of environmental factors affect them (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020). The same also goes for the person-environment fit because certain employees could have issues when matching their job demands against the company values. Job characteristics and the amount of feedback on the job could affect ones commitment. This is why the organization should establish a psychological contract with employees and ensure that every party is satisfied (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2020). The concept of organizational justice cannot be ignored because it regulates interpersonal relationships and fair social acceptance. In line with Bauer and Erdogan (2020), work-life balance and occupational stress are the ultimate factors to consider.

The importance of work attitudes cannot be underestimated by the management. Therefore, they have to be maintained and assessed with the aid of leadership and attitude surveys, respectively (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020). Even when an employee leaves the job, it is recommended to carry out an exit interview to make sure that the primary reasons for leaving the company can be identified.

Work Behaviors

Speaking of work behaviors, there are four essential types of these that are affected by multiple factors. The first one is job performance, and it is based on a workers general mental ability, also known as cognitive ability. Employees must possess specific set of skills in order to engage in strong decision-making and prediction activities (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2020). General mental abilities are exceptionally important in jobs with high complexity. Also, it has to be noted how employees are treated within the organization and what level of stress they experience. Without these data, the organization could have trouble ensuring that an employee fits the company and displays an adequate grade of commitment.

Another work behavior that has to be mentioned is organizational citizenship. This factor revolves around how an employee could motivate others to perform and contribute to the greater good (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Tasselli et al., 2018). Thus, for many employees, the extent to which they are treated fairly can be one of the predictors of proper citizenship behaviors. The willingness to reciprocate is not going to appear within an organization where employees are treated unfairly. Nevertheless, employee personality should also be considered because conscientious workers can be seen as predictors of stronger citizenship.

The notion of absenteeism has to be covered within the framework of the current discussion because it is unpredictable and revolves around impulsive workplace nonappearances. For Bauer and Erdogan (2020), some types of absenteeism are unavoidable due to health reasons and acute stress. The evidence also shows that the issues that could be caused by absenteeism are exceptionally costly due to the long-term outcomes that could affect the whole organization. In companies where work-life balance is not maintained, workers are much more predisposed to absenteeism due to the lack of support from the management (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2020). The most important element that can cause issues associated with absenteeism is poor work attitude. According to Bauer and Erdogan (2020), it could appear in response to extreme levels of stress and issues associated with the overall employee dissatisfaction.

The concept of turnover relates to a situation where a worker leaves the organization due to being discouraged by specific internal or external factors. For instance, employees with poor performance often leave the organization without preliminary notice (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020). It creates numerous negative scenarios for the organization because customer service quality drops and demotivates other workers. The impact of work attitudes on turnover is also substantial because unhappy employees could be way more prone to leaving their job in an attempt to become happier (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2020). While personality plays a huge role, the biggest influence is the number of years that the given worker had spent with the organization. In certain cases, employee turnover could be caused by the inability to withstand the routine.

Ethics and National Culture

It is generally accepted that employees prefer working within an environment where ethical constructs are deployed and respected. It means that a specific workplace climate should help the company build a sense of attachment in workers. In line with Bauer and Erdogan (2020), it can be considered unethical when managers force employees to perform behaviors that are not part of their job descriptions. Many employees preference for collectivist workplaces can be explained by addressing workers overall happiness. For instance, citizenship behaviors could significantly enhance an organizations ethical standards. The key problem that will have to be resolved is the presence of commitment that could avert employees from reporting unethical behaviors (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Tasselli et al., 2018). This inconsistency cannot be eradicated due to many workers recognizing that it might be seen as a betrayal to report organizational wrongdoings.

The existence of issues related to ethical inconsistencies represents the biggest obstacle on the way to organizational success. Even though more than a few individuals  also known as whistleblowers  report wrongdoings, irreversible damage can be given to the organizations stance on ethics and cultural standards (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020). The lack of freedom can be seen as unfair treatment by employees, leaving the management no choice but to reduce unethical behaviors using alternative means of control. The frequency of citizenship behaviors can be different, especially when looking into how shared values might not be created using an ethical climate (Tasselli et al., 2018). For Bauer and Erdogan (2020), culture represents another significant contributor to organizational ethics because job performance definitions alter broadly depending on the region. Even the notions of turnover and absenteeism are treated diversely, depending on how the team could validate the fact of granting additional time to a person to resolve their issues.

The connection between ethics and organizational culture cannot be overlooked because it creates premises for establishing a committed workforce. In the case where the management does not recognize the importance of employee satisfaction and happiness, it will have to cope with the increasing rates of absenteeism and turnover (Bauer & Erdogan, 2020; Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2020). The overall unpredictability of the aforementioned constructs creates additional obstacles for those organizations where the management cannot exert citizenship behaviors and help employees cope with their issues without affecting the company.

Summary

From this chapter, I have learned that various factors can affect organizational performance and behaviors. Bauer and Erdogan (2020) provided a number of detailed descriptions of a variety of concepts that play an important role in defining a high-performance workplace where the needs and interests of a worker can be considered. Without a thorough understanding of work attitudes and behaviors, managers will not be able to control the workforce. This is especially important for developing an organizational climate where employees will not feel additional pressure when experiencing personal problems. The connections between ones personality and organizational values cannot be overlooked either. I believe that it can be safe to say that Bauer and Erdogan (2020) provide the reader with vast evidence that uncovers the fundamental truth about organizational performance.

References

Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2020). An introduction to organizational behavior. Portland State University.

Tasselli, S., Kilduff, M., & Landis, B. (2018). Personality change: Implications for organizational behavior. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 467-493. Web.

Wagner, J. A., & Hollenbeck, J. R. (2020). Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge.

The field of organizational behavior (OB) deals with the behavior and impact of the interaction of individuals, groups, and structures within an organization, in order to apply the knowledge to improve the effectiveness of the organization. Effectively an applied science, OB, draws from various social sciences. The predominant subjects, which have enormously contributed to the formation of the discipline, are psychology, anthropology, sociology, and political science. The contribution of these fields has been segregated in the level at which their contribution lies. For instance, the contribution of psychology has been mostly in micro or individual level of analysis, while that that of sociology has been into group analysis. The next paragraphs will discuss the contributions of these fields separately in the discipline of OB.

Psychology may be defined as the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. In other words, the study of psychology studies how individuals experience the human world. Thus, psychology is concerned with the prediction of the behavior of individuals in a given environment. Psychologists peruse to understand the reason for specific human behavior. The areas within psychology, which have been exceedingly important to OB, are industrial and organizational psychology, counseling, and personality theorists. In OB, industrial psychologists were mainly concerned with aspects of individual behavior. Traditionally, they aimed to understand the reason behind fatigue, boredom, etc. which hindered normal and efficient working conditions and individual performance. More recently, the contribution of psychology has been extended due to the inclusion of aspects like motivation, learning, personality, emotions, perceptions, leadership, performance appraisal, stress, etc.

Sociology may be defined as a field, which studies the relationship between individuals or groups. At the micro-level, they are concerned with the study of the relation between individuals, and on a macro, level studies the interaction between structures. Therefore, they are useful to understand the social system of the organization, when psychologists are concerned with individuals. The sociologists have mostly contributed to OB through their research of group behavior and social interaction pattern in complex organizational systems. The contribution of sociology in OB has been mainly in the fields of organizational theory and structure, work team, communication pattern, attitude, organizational technology, conflict, etc.

Anthropology is a field of study, which relates to the study of societies in order to gather knowledge about individuals and their activities. Anthropologists are concerned with the culture or environment in a system, which affects the behavior, attitude, values, etc. of the individuals in it. They also study the differences in the values, attitudes, etc. of individuals due to differences in their geographical proximity. In the case of OB, anthropology contributes to the study of organizational culture, organizational environment, and differences between national cultures, which affect the working of multinational corporations.

Another aspect of organizational behavior is the study of the self-interest of individuals, which is predominant in any organization. Political science helps to study this aspect of OB. Political science is the study of individuals or groups in a political environment. This field has a significant contribution to the understanding of OB. The areas of OB, which are created through the contribution of political science, are conflict management, power allocation, power manipulation by individuals, etc.

Truly, OB is a hybrid discipline. The study of OB is based on the aspects of psychology at the micro-level and on the other hand on the sociology, anthropology, and political science at the macro level.

Reference

Stephen P. Robins. 2003. Organizational Behavior, 10^th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p.8.

Introduction

This paper seeks to discuss how budgeting can impact organizational behavior. This paper explores how the impact can be both positive and negative and discuss ways that financial managers are changing the budgeting processes to better inform managerial decision making.

Analysis and Discussion

Budgeting, its nature and purpose

Budgeting could be considered as the art of influencing or controlling operations (Hearn, J., et. al., 2006) by influencing management to work with targeted level of revenues and expenses and targeted levels of assets, liabilities and equity in the organization. Although the emphasis of budgeting is short-term, that is on a year to year basis, the effects on balance sheet accounts are necessarily included therein.

Since budgeted revenues and expenses are expressed via projected income statements it follows that certain level of revenues must be attained and that certain level of expenses must be kept within the budget. Budgeting may however be under fixed budgeting or flexible budget.

The positive and negative impact of budgeting on organizational behavior

The positive impacts of budgeting on organizational behavior are those that will help the company attain its corporate objectives since people particularly the managers are motivated to attain such objectives. Some of these possibilities are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Budgeting could result to more motivated managers if the goal congruence is attained in budgeting (Nutt, P. 2006). There is goal congruence if the managers are being properly led into producing according to well defined responsibilities under the budget with feature of properly rewarding managers which have performed accordingly using the budget.

A more proactive view of budgeting could use the same process to set targets to maximize long-term value (Gordon, J., 2007) and beat the competition, not the budget. Budget is in effect a way to put people guided by what management is set to attain in terms of its objectives. Budgeting could also be viewed as a strategy by devolving the strategy to front-line people while making the same continuous and not only a top-down event that should only be done annually the traditional way. By so doing, every member of the organization is a co-executor of the chief executive officer (CEO) in making sure that objectives are met. If managers are made to participate in the budgeting process, these managers would have the chance of being challenged as people to think critically and not incrementally. Since these managers would be made part of the decision making, there is greater chance that they would do their best to do their part in what roles they have been made aware in delivering the attainment of corporate objectives.

Managers when made part of budgeting would become stewards or responsible for resources on the basis of value creation over the lifetime of the investment applied by the corporation. They would have the change to see with the owners and enjoy the challenge of influencing variables that would contribute to the attainment of corporate objectives.

Budgeting when properly used may involve measuring cost on the basis of their adding value and not merely making comparison with last year. If managers are thinking in a way where it is added value that will truly count, they would have a better understanding that making decision is not only thinking how much cost would be saved but that how better it would be for the organization as a result of making decisions.

Budgeting could also provide the needed positive impacts if it would be used to show leading and lagging indicators to measure performance not just as detailed historical reports. Budgeting could also result to positive impact if rewards are given to managers based on competitive performance and not on personal financial targets and where managers a given the freedom to act. To illustrate, flexible budget could possibly address the concern of changing conditions of the market in relation to the efforts of managers. If higher demand during the year will turn out to be higher than the actual projected level of operation, budgeting should not object of prohibit the same and this could be done by setting a more optimistic budget for the year. The budget is never meant to restrain business if demand warrants. If management really believes that the coming year will be that competitive, then it could always adjust so accordingly.

The negative impacts of budgeting on organizational behavior are those that prevent the company from attaining its real corporate objectives since people particularly the managers are not motivated. Some of these possibilities are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Budgeting could be viewed as way to tell people that they are failures since they could not even meet the targets set in the budget. This kind of situation would normally happen when manager has no part in part in budget preparation or if they are given part such would be minimal and their responsibilities are given to them as if heaven has given to them nothing but to comply.

Ask any accountant in the world and he or she will confirm that accounting information, which is essentially conservative, makes up the budget. In fact one accounting principle that has been there in the textbooks up to time is the so called principle of conservatism. One cannot blame the accountant for that kind of attitude since this is the very nature of the profession. If verbosity is attributed to lawyers, conservatism is for accountants. Hence the meaning of the word accountability which connotes the meaning: one must be able to explain what happened. To explain what happed there must always a comparison versus actual and projected. What is actual is one that is supported by evidence of which accountants must ensure if they want to stay in their profession because that is one where they are really responsible. Managers on the other hand need not be accountant or think like accountant to be able to discharge their functions well. They are in fact expected to transcend that accountants view of business.

Budgeting involves understanding cost. There is a practice in business to create various geographical segments or different cost centers and profit centers in terms of responsibility accounting. Since each segment or cost center would be comprising costs that must be controlled by managers, sometime these managers are made responsible for allocated cost for purposes of measuring their performance. The allocated costs in terms of common costs are being deducted to evaluate the profitability of each segment or profit center. However, it could be found that allocated cost which is basically common to all segments or cost centers are done on the basis of revenue performance so that a segment with low revenue will necessarily have low share in allocated cost but higher revenue would have a higher share of allocated costs. If this policy is analyzed further, the same would discourage more revenue because of the higher share in allocated cost. This could result to lack of goal congruence in the whole corporate objectives, the segment objectives and personal motivations of the manager. It must be emphasized that budgeting is still involved here because of the computation of cost and revenues and the desire to control performance from each business segment.

How financial managers are changing the budgeting processes to better inform managerial decision making?

Budgeting process could properly be changed in a manner that could address the root cause of conflicts inside an organization. Under the agency theory (Gordon, J. 2007), it is believed that different stakeholders in business have different interests as may be found in the case of managers including the CEO as appointed or elected by the stockholders where the former would be considered as agents of the stockholders in attaining the latters desire to acquire more health. At another aspect, the ordinary employees are considered agents of the managers since they would have to carry orders also of these managers. In the nature of things, managers although appearing to maximize wealth of stockholders, would think first of their survival by ensuring the stability of the business in not taking higher risks for the business although it could make higher profits for the business. In addition these managers would try to build their empires in the organization by creating layers to the organization which may not necessarily efficient for the organization and where profitability is not maximized. To break this conflict of interest, the present practice of companies is to give stock options to managers and even to employees. If managers would become owners, they would be placed in a similar situation as the stockholders as their principal and this would definitely improve their behaviors towards the organization.

The same argument may be said for the employees who may just be inherently thinking as mere employees and therefore would have to maximize their salaries or wages while wanting to stay long with their employment by religiously obeying their superiors as employees. Making them as stockholders via stock option would definitely alter their behavior since they would now become part owners and their loyalty and commitment would take a more serious view. This would in effect lead them to behave as owners and when budgeting comes, they have the interest to be protected. They will then ensure that every revenue that must be earned and every dollar spent for expenses and cost of doing business.

Another good practice by the financial managers is via the participative budgeting as way to improve managerial performance. Financial managers could not be limited those in the private sectors. Those in the government or public sectors may also be considered to be using budgeting and its process to improve decision making and hence improve managerial performance. OECD (2008) attributes the need for better performance in the public sector due to tight budgets and demanding citizens are pressuring government managers to show good value for taxes paid. This in a sense equates to practice of providing better information to managers under present budgeting systems and thus serves as an effective tool for decision making and evaluating performance of managers.

In the same way that the companies in the private sectors are using, public sectors too are introduced to performance budgeting which has been found to have linkages to broader efforts to improve expenditure control as well as public sector efficiency and performance. Performance budgeting is therefore effectively combined with increased flexibility for managers in return for stronger accountability for results. This has the effect therefore of enabling them to decide about the delivery of public services (OECD, 2008).

OECD (2008) countries have confirmed the benefits of such performance budgets in terms of generating a sharper focus on results within government in addition to providing more and better understanding of governmental goals and priorities and on how different activities and programs are contributing to them.

Conclusion

This paper has discussed how budgeting can really impact organizational behavior and found that such activities on budgeting could have really positive or negative impact depending on how management may make use of the same. There are requirements for the effective use of the budgeting systems and processes in order to help attain corporate objectives. Failure to fulfill those requirements could make budgeting dangerous if it would result to lack of congruence in management strategy to attain the corporate targets and how manages should behave because of their nature as human beings with rational minds. This paper has clearly illustrated when budgeting could in fact become a de-motivator because of lack of congruence. Nothing could be more dangerous than working against human nature by making managers responsible for things of which they have no control. On the other had the budgeting process could be taken advantage to better inform managers for decision making by making them as partners of executive in implementing strategies that would ensure attainment of corporate objectives. The participation of management could extend up to seeing these managers how good it could be to reach these management targets as they would also be rewarded accordingly if they do their parts. The present practice of management include also giving stock options to managers and to employees so as to out a balance because of the inherent conflict among different stakeholders in the business based on the agency theory. Making managers as stockholders or at least giving them the options would lead them into believing that need not be working against the interest of stockholders by prioritizing their interest but they could behave as owners of the business themselves. This type of development of giving the managers the benefit of stock bonus or stock options could well be integrated under the budgeting process since everything that would involve the revenues and expenses of the projected financial statements are technically considered as integral part of budgeting. Employees who include the managers in broader sense when they are given the chance to own stock will be more than willing to change their inherent position or attitude as far as their employment with the company employing them is concerned. Nothing could be more motivating that one is working for the company that one partly owns.

References

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Hearn, J., et. al. (2006) Incentives for Managed Growth: A Case Study of Incentives-Based Planning and Budgeting in a Large Public Research University; Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 77.

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OECD (2008), Policy Brief, Performance Budgeting: A Users Guide, Web.

Organizational behavior knowledge is of utmost importance in the workplace since it provides an understanding of why people behave in a particular way. Therefore, it is critical not only to study these theories but to reflect on them to be able to apply them in professional life and career plan. Overall, I have analyzed the theories related to self-concept, stereotyping, and attribution to gather more information to use in my work settings.

The self-concept is an individuals perception of oneself, which influences ones actions and information processing. Lau et al. (2020) elaborate on this notion by characterizing it as congruent (reasonable and fair viewpoint) and incongruent (contrary to the former). This theory links self-concept to work motivation, as people tend to thrive for success in the workplace to enhance the view of themselves (Gray et al., 2020; Tang & Vandenberghe, 2022). Therefore, employees opt for accepting work goals and projects and putting effort into obtaining social feedback that aligns with their self-concepts (Oh & Roh, 2019). The desire to increase job performance can provoke rivalry between colleagues when the micromanaging group project is ineffective (Pomerance et al., 2020). I believe it is unnecessary to opt for setups when something goes wrong just to reach the work goals, but having studied the self-concept theory, it seems logical.

What is more, this theory may be helpful for my work as I usually am assigned group tasks, and the self-concept framework has finally helped me realize why I had difficulties completing such tasks. As a matter of fact, when self-perception is involved, people usually forget that teamwork is key to developing outstanding work projects since their desire to be the best blurs everything else (Oh & Roh, 2019). This theory helped me advance my knowledge of organizational behavior in a group work setting as now I realize what may happen when similar performance is required from the employees. That is why I will remember this concept in the future to be prepared for setbacks at my workplace because of my colleagues who are driven by the idea of enhancing their self-image.

Nevertheless, the self-concept framework is not the only one that can negatively influence the working environment. In fact, stereotyping at the workplace can result in even worse consequences that include losing interest in enhancing job performance and work motivation (Ma et al., 2019; Steffens et al., 2019). It can cause low morale in the group, which will, in turn, contribute to a toxic working environment that may affect all the employees (Carrim, 2019; Rosette et al., 2018). Unfortunately, this type of behavior can also poorly impact the mental health of a victim that endures harassment or inappropriate jokes (or bullying).

Personally, I would not want to work with people that increase their self-worth by bullying their colleagues based on their skin color, ethnicity, or race. Not only is it highly inappropriate, but it is also unnecessary as the only thing that it can give is satisfaction in being superior to someone. As I studied the possible repercussions of such behavior in the workplace, I realized that stereotyping should not even occur in the first place. It is the primary responsibility of managers and HRs to control the working environment inside the group and take measures to prevent toxic behaviors (Rattan & Dweck, 2018). Furthermore, if I ever were to notice stereotyping at my workplace, I would defend the victim and assure one that these are not valid remarks and should not be remembered. In addition, I would encourage my colleague to take action and turn to the HRs and file complaints against such behavior to prevent it from happening in the future (Van Laar et al., 2019). It is of utmost importance to have a friendly working environment to achieve outstanding performance, and stereotyping does not help reach this goal.

Having researched three frameworks of organizational behavior, I found attribution theory to be the most intriguing. It is based on people forming their opinion about their own or others performances. However, attribution usually tends to be unreasonable as people decide to explain things in a way that is favorable to them. Still, many scholars consider that this framework can be beneficial in the workplace to motivate employees (Marchiondo et al., 2018). For instance, if a worker is showing disappointing results, a manager may opt for flattering feedback to encourage one to work better in the future (Chang et al., 2021). However, it is likely that an employee will attribute ones effort and skills to this feedback and not see the actual reason behind it (Marchiondo et al., 2018). Additionally, using an attribution framework as a motivator for the staff can lead to discrimination since workers that show remarkable performance may feel undervalued (Lee & Barnes, 2021). Overall, it is evident that attribution theory is a way for a person to praise ones own accomplishments and underestimate the triumphs of others to feel better.

It seems that attribution theory in the workplace setting helps employees maintain their self-concept and feel good about themselves. In fact, it is not good to attribute own failures to bad luck and others defeats to their own mistakes (Wang et al., 2021; Ye et al., 2019). I consider motivating workers using the basis of the attribution framework unfair since it provokes rivalry and a toxic working environment. Managers or the leadership cannot control the way employees analyze their own performances and the accomplishments of their colleagues, so the least they can do is not encourage such a way of thinking.

To sum up, I have gathered a lot of intriguing and valuable information during my research that I intend to use in my future work. It is critical for me to understand how peoples behavior can be provoked by the aforementioned theories and how to deal with it. That is why realizing the nature of a toxic working environment can assist me in remaining productive and motivated at my position no matter the actions of my coworkers.

References

Carrim, N. M. (2019). Minority employees ethnic identity in the workplace. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management.

Chang, T., Chou, S. Y., & Han, B. (2018). Silent leaders in the workplace: Forms of leadership silence, attributions of leadership silence, and accuracy of attributions. International Journal of Business Communication, 58(4), 490515.

Gray, C. E., McIntyre, K. P., Mattingly, B. A., & Lewandowski, G. W. (2020). Self-concept change at work: characteristics and consequences of workplace self-expansion. In Interpersonal Relationships and the Self-Concept (pp. 195-208). Springer, Cham.

Lau, P. L., Wilkins-Yel, K. G., & Wong, Y. J. (2019). Examining the indirect effects of self-concept on work readiness through resilience and career calling. Journal of Career Development, 47(5), 551564.

Lee, S. H., & Barnes, C. M. (2021). An attributional process model of workplace gossip. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(2), 300316.

Ma, A., Axt, J., & Kay, A. C. (2019). A control-based account of stereotyping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 84, 103819.

Oh, S., & Roh, S. C. (2019). A moderated mediation model of self-concept clarity, transformational leadership, perceived work meaningfulness, and work motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.

Pomerance, M. H., Converse, P. D., & Moon, N. A. (2020). Self-concept content and structure: motivation and performance implications. Personnel Review.

Rattan, A., & Dweck, C. S. (2018). What happens after prejudice is confronted in the workplace? How mindsets affect minorities and womens outlook on future social relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(6), 676687.

Rosette, A. S., Akinola, M., & Ma, A. (2018). Subtle discrimination in the workplace: Individual-level factors and processes. Oxford Handbooks Online.

Steffens, M. C., Viladot, M. A., & Scheifele, C. (2019). Male Majority, Female Majority, or Gender Diversity in Organizations: How Do Proportions Affect Gender Stereotyping and Women Leaders Well-Being? Frontiers in Psychology, 10.

Tang, W., & Vandenberghe, C. (2022). Affective organizational commitment, selfconcept, and work performance: A social comparison perspective. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 30(3), 411426.

Van Laar, C., Meeussen, L., Veldman, J., van Grootel, S., Sterk, N., & Jacobs, C. (2019). Coping with stigma in the workplace: Understanding the role of threat regulation, supportive factors, and potential hidden costs. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.

Wang, Q., Teng, X., Cai, Z., Qu, Y., & Qian, J. (2021). My fault? Coworker incivility and organizational citizenship behavior: The moderating role of attribution orientation on state guilt. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.

Ye, Y., Zhu, H., Deng, X., & Mu, Z. (2019). Negative workplace gossip and service outcomes: An explanation from social identity theory. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 82, 159168.