Human Behavior in Complex Social Organizations

Introduction

Organizational behavior within a social company is regarded as one of the key factors that determine success. It is explained by the fact that organization and its structure define business performance, while the most important activity aspects are defined by the company’s profile, aims and objectives, as well as position in the sphere. The key aim of organizational theory is to reveal the internal potential of the team and make business performance more effective. In general, theoretic values of company’s behavior involve scientific and humanitarian approaches (scientific: social, managerial, regulatory measures; Humanitarian: encouragement, informal leadership, communication) that present the essence of intellectual ways of planning. Additionally, organizing, directing, monitoring and controlling managerial processes will be analyzed.

The main goal of controlling the organizational behavior adjustment is to extend the knowledge of the team by understanding how the organizational practices form relations within the group. These values and aspects form the culture of an organization that is considered as the basis of proper performance, and is composed of social environment, formal, and informal aspects. Employees consider organizational behavior strategy as a part of motivation approach. Hence, the success of behavior adjustment stipulates the actual productivity of the team, and the principles of selecting an appropriate leadership style. Its result is closely associated with the performance of every team member as well as the output of the company as a whole. Individual satisfaction is the direct outcome of leadership style, as well as motivation and encouragement of the workers. Therefore, personal growth may be defined by the motivation and coordination of employees’ efforts.

In this paper, I am going to highlight the principles of organizational and human behavior in complex social organizations basing my point of view on personal experience. Practical aspects of organizational behavior will be closely reviewed, as well as managerial functions of a leader who forms the atmosphere of the group. Team behavioral principles will be regarded from the perspective of organizational behavior as well as the company’s performance. Human relations, complexity factor, and moral problems will be discussed as the experiential aspects of the research problem.

Moral Problems of Organizational Behavior

The key ethical aspect of organizational behavior study is closely linked with the statement that the leader needs to have the formal and moral right to rule the team. I realized that when I was working for Israeli Airlines, when leaders were obliged to study human behavior psychology, motivation principles, and effective communication strategies. Taking into consideration that leadership is defined by the position within the hierarchical structure of the organization, it should be stated that the right of ruling is identified by the behavioral norms within the team, as well as the control style accepted within the company. Additionally, any leader should have enough courage to be regarded as a coordinator of the team.

Bearing in mind that morality in most companies involves various approaches associated with fundamental theories and concepts, practical application and solving problems linked with this aspect of business performance involves the necessity to realize the origins of these difficulties. In accordance with the practical values of proper human relations management, moral responsibilities depend on the demands and requirements of the team regardless of its structure. Therefore, it is clear that significance of shifting demands is explained by the fact that ethical principles of organizational performance are defined by solving ethical problems. It is generally argued that every team member in the organization is responsible for his/her own behavior. The team’s attempts to change this behavior should be focused on the company’s goals, while moral problems should be resolved by focusing on conflict management and negotiations.

In compliance with an employee manual, and policy for the company, conflicts should be regarded as the disagreement within the frames of social relations. This may cause emotional aggravation resulting in decreased workability and effectiveness of working discussions. Additionally, there are several categories of the conflicting situations; hence, actual importance of categorization is crucial for assessing the moral aspect of the conflict itself, as well as further definition of the origins of the problem.

While training employees, for You- The Spa, I had to classify conflicts into several categories: disagreements on goals, emotional, and interpersonal disputes such as trust, mistrust, fear, dislike, and resentment. I knew how to overcome these situations and restore the workability within the team, using the most important step, which was to define the reason for a current situation. The most effective tool for overcoming the dispute was viewing the subject from a different angle. If the conflicting parties have enough courage to refuse their claims, and look for an alternative variant, such as modification of the subject stimulated fruitful discussion of further aim reviewing, the conflict will be resolved with minimal losses for the effectiveness of the team cooperation.

The next aspect of situation analysis is the definition of the conflict level. It was revealed by our managerial team that any disagreement or dispute may be managed through reduced interdependence, adjusting work flow levels, buffering, linking pins and decoupling. Analysis of the moral side of the problem depends on the effectiveness of the control measures within the organization. Morality of leadership is often defined by the style, as it considered that authoritarian style originates fewer conflicts, though, moral aspects of such a leadership style are closely linked with the fact that it needs to have the corresponding power, reputation, and respect level. Otherwise, disagreements on the level of leading group will be inevitable. Alternatively, if the coordinator is formal, conflicts will be an integral part of the communication process. It is explained by the fact that informal leaders are able to stimulate productive discussions, disputes, and arguments, as they often offer alternative points of view, ways of solving problems, etc. In the light of this fact, the necessary value of problem solving is associated with the morality atmosphere within a team, where informal leaders, regardless of their position on the hierarchical ladder, regulate decision-making strategies.

Loyal relations with consumers are another aspect of morality within the company. I studied the key aspects of customer care in You the Spa. These principles are interconnected with the values of generally accepted strategy, which is often regarded as a result of the inter-organizational relations: hence, if workers are engaged into fruitful discussions and avoiding destructive conflicts, they have more time for solving internal problems and the drawbacks of organizational development. Thus, the evident result of this statement is associated with the consideration that morality level within the organization is the key component of its successful performance. One of the main strategies that I learned in “You- The Spa” was to work as a team. The rule was that any client was the team’s first priority. If a customer came into the spa as a walk-in (with no appointment) and a service needed to be performed, one of the staff members would be assigned for that service based on his/her availability. By applying this concept I gained two direct benefits; first, it reduced any level of competition among the employees and, therefore, created a very friendly and family oriented work place. Second, this also acted as a guard for the business; in case an employee decided to quit the job, or were fired, the client did not have to do it as well. I created a Customer Centric business that always stay focused on the needs of our customers; hence, the customers were loyal to the company, not to the employee.

Another morality aspect of organizational behavior was revealed during establishing an effective office management strategy in Millennium Homes Investment Company, Jamaica, and NY & East Orange, NJ. The problem was associated with the requirement, as well as the definition of company’s structure, where the team was rather small and it was necessary to allocate the employees’ skills in accordance with the leadership patterns. The problem originated from the term of their employment, as some newly employed workers showed better leadership skills in comparison to several “old-timers”. They did not wish to agree with the necessity to restructure the team, and it was evident that the existing structure was not conducive to further development of the company.

The problem was resolved by arranging a test period for two conflicting sides: both sides created a development plan, an anonymous discussion of the two plans took place (other team members did not know the authors of the plans), and each side had an opportunity to improve company’s performance. This particular disagreement was resolved by compromise. The general aspect of leadership is associated with motivating people to achieve a common goal of the organization. Thus, morality within the team will be defined by the importance and effectiveness of a single aim. We had to overcome the consequences of the mentioned split, and the only solution was the establishment of a high goal. It was impossible to achieve this goal knowing well that the team is split up, and the workers decided to reach a compromise first.

Culture

The cultural aspect of organizational behavior is associated with human behavior and behavioral norms that are observed by the team and each team member. It is a part of self-identity; hence, it may be regarded as an integral component of a company’s origin that is aligned with organization needs. It helps form the attitude and behavior of employees. Cultural influences refer to the dimensions in accordance to which jobs are categorized. In compliance with negotiation practice in Superior Homes, Jamaica, NY (communicating with buyers, negotiating with clients, banks, layers, builders), it was stated that the key organizational dimensions provide a helpful framework for realizing cross-cultural differences in team relations. Hence, I recognized the importance of cultural impacts on employee attitudes. These perceptions can be further categorized into two aspects; instrumental versus humanistic. Instrumental approach of adjusting behavioral norms involves business tools and strategies that are intended for motivating employees work more effectively. Humanistic principle involves interpersonal communication that also includes indirect motivation by encouraging sharing experience with less experienced team members.

The practice of adjusting corporate cultural norms helped me to reveal the key behavioral principles accepted within an organization. They appeared to be extremely important for defining the types of culture, and the way the accepted cultural norms help control these types. Therefore, combining office and field work I had to differentiate the types of organizational culture accepted within the company. This was required for cooperating with the teams that were involved in office and field work separately from each other. On the one hand, it seems a closed loop, on the other hand, such an implementation principle of corporate culture traditions is the key for understanding cultural processes in general. Different behavioral cultures affect the way organizational culture works, while some companies use it for adjusting better control over conduct of the workers.

Culture affects organizational structure by establishing particular norms within team members. This was confirmed by the process of running business documents in You- The Spa. Considering the fact that this task is often performed by secretaries do not have an opportunity to delegate their responsibilities, documentation should be run by a person in charge. This is aimed at keeping documents and folders in a strict order. However, cultural norms and behavioral principles were close to informal within this company. There were no secretaries, as everyone was engaged in activities that are more important then maintaining and checking documents, while formalities mainly stayed unaccomplished. This led to a mess of the entire documentation system.

Behavior is often regarded as a standard habit (it is barely subjected to changes), consequently, it may be used as the training components for new employees. A task of running daily meetings in “You- The Spa”, helped me realize the actual value of behavioral culture aspects. Conduct of newly employed persons depends on cultural norms observed by other employees as well as managers. It is useless to expect exemplary behavior of the newcomers if the company suffers poor discipline. Newly employed workers in “You The Spa”, copied manners of their managers and colleagues. Some of them started practicing the same planning and organizational tools that helped them adapt faster.

Another side of relations within a team is conflicts. The nature of conflicts is defined by culture within a company. However, it is hard to classify the norms for these instances of team behavior, as conflicts may be of various natures. Most of these origins were defined with the help of the teams that I have worked with in “You- The Spa”, Flushing, NY, Millennium Homes Investment Company, Jamaica, NY & East Orange, NJ, Superior Homes, Jamaica, NY El Al Israel Airlines, Tel Aviv, Israel, and Gahelet School, Great Neck, NY. The possible conflicts are as follows:

• Social vs. Task Focus. This type is based on the principle of defining the key priority for solving the task: whether the task should be accomplished by all possible means or maintenance of good relations is more important.
• Individual vs. Collective. This one is evident: whether individual or collective efforts are encouraged.
• Cost Control vs. Customer Care. This type of conflict was observed in Millennium Homes Investment Company, Jamaica. It reveals the problem of proper balance between costs and customers’ happiness.
• Distances and subordination. This conflict is the matter of management achievability. If employees do not have an opportunity of direct contact with higher management of the company, it may cause the conflict, which is crucial by changing attitudes within the team.

In general, culture is one of the most evident background of conflicts, as it is often regarded as the conventional behavior of the team that is based on customs, traditions, previous business practice, as well as relationship within a team. People often tend to depend on culture, as it gives them the necessary stability level. This explains the statement that people are afraid of changes, as changes inevitably transform culture norms and standard behavioral patterns. This was revealed during scheduling weekly meetings in the spa, when teams did not wish to spend time on them. They were reasonably prejudiced against regular meetings; hence, they did not wish to change the atmosphere that could prevent them from solving problems in a traditional way. They were afraid that the entire system would become unstable and they would not be aware of the proper way for responding new situations.

Cultural individualization is another aspect of organizational behavior. On the one hand, this process is inevitable, and it is an integral part of every personality. On the other hand, this may grow into a serious problem, when individuality is a barrier for implementing successful decisions, or resolving important problems. To realize the origin of conflicts associated with organizational culture, its background should be understood. Culture is formed from the corresponding patterns of every team member. Therefore, one may emphasize that strong traditions are often regarded as the matter of strong personal discipline of every particular worker, his/her productivity, loyalty, and ideas.

Arranging educational evenings helped me realize the actual importance of culture in organization, as well as the possible problems. Leaders in “You- The Spa” were viewed as the example of organizational culture, and I had to show the best results in order to retain respect of behavioral norms, as well as management principles on the corresponding level. Educational evenings helped me realize that they had to maintain and observe the cultural norms adopted within the company by encouraging all the workers equally. All the other cultural aspects are not controlled by managers. They are mainly chaotic, while the key direction is adjusted by the CEO and the aims of the company in general. Additionally, it was stated that managing culture calls for gaining insights into individual and group behavior as well as leadership. This helped me realize the fact that inter-organizational processes are often compared to group performance. Explaining the behavioral norms should be based on the values and traditions of personal culture. Hence, as the CEO, I had to be a leader, who knew everyone’s cultural background, habits, and traditions.

Corporate culture can be managed by influence and control, as well as through unanimous agreement of what culture is, avoid quick fixes that are superficial, considering unique environments in forming culture. I found out while working with the Superior Homes team that managing culture or attempts to change the structure of a company is closely linked with the requirement of both moral and ethical incorporation. Recruiting new agents for Millennium Homes Investment Company, helped me understand that tools for managing culture included organization models, strategies, and management systems. These were associated with the fact that new agents were mainly experienced, and were influenced by corporate culture of other companies, where they had previously worked. Some of the habits brought by these agents were not suitable for my company. Therefore, they were placed in a working environment that helped them adapt quicker and more effectively. This was created by organizational models that were innovative for them; nevertheless, it was a variation of a traditional strategic approach; however, some improvements were required.

Cultural Shock

Cultural shock is experienced when two or more cultures interfere. This may happen either when representatives of companies with different traditions have to interact, or when the organizational culture is subjected to changes. A similar process happened in Superior Homes, Jamaica when office and fieldwork had to be combined. There is no need to explain the reasons of shock; however, it helped to outline the key principles of culture management and changing:

• An organization should be able to successfully adapt a culture when the environment changes.
• Culture should change overtime for enabling an organization to grow and progress. As a rule, this happens almost irrespective of the management strategy.
• Sometimes an organization tends to revolve around the original founder’s vision and goals.
• As organization grows, activities need to be allocated to particular departments and organization system established.
• Work is delegated to functional units and should be equipped to deal with new organizational roles and flexible enough to break the existing culture to cope with changing environment.
• Managing culture changes are necessary for achieving coherence and integration. It recognizes and includes different cultures in the organization to be able to understand the nature of the task and potential problems involved and come up with solutions.

Complex relationships that exist in a team behavior include factors such as group performances, cohesiveness, norms, and conformity. An analysis of a group structure that inevitably develops in the organization context is important in evaluating team behavior. The interconnectivity relationship exhibited in team membership is evident in the way they execute their tasks. Groups can be formed based on gender, experience, age, and field of expertise and are easy to form; the effectiveness of their performance is variable.

In accordance with practice in Gahelet School, Great Neck, it was stated that team members and groups of individuals with shared sense of purpose and common goals, work collectively in a coordinated effort to achieve their goals. Team members are normally interested in their own process and examine the norms operating within them. Driven by organizational theory aimed at forming company’s unified purpose, management functions are aligned in singular perspectives that identify company’s common aims and objectives. Defined by a common identity and leadership, every company has assumptions that are based on underlying management and every organization manages these assumptions differently.

Motivation may be regarded as the key aspect of cultural formation. If personnel is motivated enough for creating a solid cultural basis, this will be created. Regardless of the fact that this process is mainly uncontrolled, the team will be able to create at least the basic tendencies as it happened in Superior Homes NY. The generality and pragmatic application of motivation is dependent on the manner the approach is developed.

Reorganization

The final aspect of organizational behavior is reorganization. Corporate structure may be either linear or pyramid shaped. Both variants have their advantages and disadvantages, and their effectiveness depends on the circumstances within which they are applied. Restructuring is performed by changing leadership principles. Considering the fact that restructuring is mainly regarded as the fundamental change level, theoretic aspects should be analyzed. These aspects were confirmed by the CEO of Israel Airlines. It was stated that radical changes require understanding of basic performance principles. Considering the instance of Israel Airline Company, it should be stated that radical changes and restructuring of management body required changes in the service sphere that caused drops in the quality of services. Israel Airlines were reformed on all the levels simultaneously, which helped tighten the terms of reformation and restructuring. Therefore employees were subjected to shock within short time, and effectiveness was restored rather quickly.

Another instance is Millennium Homes Investment Company. Restructuring of this organization was started from lower levels. Everybody in the team realized that it was required, however, as the CEO, I was afraid that quick reformation would cause unreasonable shock for employees. Reformation went beyond control, and several departments appeared to be independent. They had to be urgently included into new structure, while simultaneous restructuring would help avoid such instances.

Some leaders consider that restructuring is the necessary engine for company’s development; though, developing an annual marketing plan for “You – The Spa” helped define the key symptoms that indicate the necessity of changes:

• New operational requirements appear, and they require new skills and capabilities that can not be derived with the present structure.
• Accountability of the results is not clear enough. Measuring the results is performed in accordance with the subjective and biased performance.
• Some departments are seriously overstaffed (or understaffed).
• Communication requires essential improvements.
• Morale needs improvement.
• Personnel control is significantly complicated.
• Productivity is stagnant.

In fact, none of these symptoms was observed in the company, while managers required changes. This led to unreasonable expenditure of time and human resources, whilst the solution of the problem could have been essentially simpler.

Restructuring may be included into particular framework in order not to harm performance of other departments and spheres. Strategic model that may be regarded as a part of reformation process should be meaningful. This is explained by the statement that training employees (as for “You The Spa”) was the result of innovation in training and caring principles. A team had to be trained in order to cope with the new equipment, while this equipment was purchased for changing the outdated gadgetry. Structure strategy should incorporate both innovation and cost reduction. It may be achieved by minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities. This refers to the size of an organization in terms of product specialization, levels of operations (vertical and horizontal) and the way it applies its moral rules and regulations. Spa center required numerous actions for restructuring, while behavior of the team should stay the same. Sometimes it is hard to preserve behavioral traditions, as reformation also presupposes culture evolution. However, if personnel were offered a choice, the culture would be preserved, and behavior will not be subjected to changes. For this reason, experienced leader offers a restricted choice, while the team considers it as a freedom of choice. Consequently, the selection is made in accordance with manager’s requirements.

Conclusion

Organization behavior in complex social organizations generally depends on the aims and principles of the teams. As for the matter of providing changes and adjusting the structure of the companies, it should be stated that organizational behavior may be divided into several components: moral, culture, including cultural chock, and the problems of restructuring. These aspects are closely connected with the values of proper selection of the direction, while all the changes and modifications should be performed considering the possible consequences of these changes. Cultural norms that are accepted within an organization may be regarded as an indicator of successful changes. Since morale is the basis of culture, culture in its turn, is regarded as the direct result of social relations within the team. Organizational behavior presupposes that the company either centralized or not. The major disadvantage is that high centralization creates information to load at the top. Success of arranging proper behavior depends on one person, or group of persons who are engaged in supervising employees. Pyramid structure is characterized by departmentalization with defined rules and regulations. Restructuring is closely associated with the values of changing behavior; on the other hand, it may be preserved if needed. This may be included into frameworks of corporate norms, since restructuring and changes did not affect related departments.