Aspects of organization behavior
Organizational behavior (OB) is the application of human actions to other elements of an organization including social system, structure, and technology. It also looks into the actions and attitudes that are exhibited by people within organizations. Furthermore, OB is the understanding of the individual, group behavior in addition to the patterns of structure that wholly contribute to the improvement of organizations’ performance, efficiency, and effectiveness. Generally, organizational behavior is viewed as a responsive and flexible structure including workforce positive behavior, social responsibility, and entrepreneurship.
The concepts and characteristics of organizational behavior that the case illustrates
Accordingly, OB has various aspects that tend to explain how individual employees conduct themselves in an organization. As in the case, the characteristics of an organization that can cause the employees to behave the way they do include the organization culture, leadership styles, employees’ personality, and the broader organization strategy (Mullins, 2005, p.251). Indeed, what Tony experienced in O’Grady as well as in Reese depends entirely on the factors mentioned.
Leadership
Leadership is defined as the capacity to persuade groups into the accomplishment of set goals or visions. From the organizational context, leadership is the aptitude to influence the organization employees to attain a particular goal or vision. For instance, it can be the realization of a particular level of sales within the corporation. In fact, management leadership is about coping with changes accruing within the organization.
However, leadership establishes the pursued direction in line with the organization’s vision. It aligns resources and gives inspiration to the employees towards attaining the set vision. Conversely, management deals with the complexity to bring about standardization and uniformity, draw up plans, come up with structures, and scrutinize the results (Mullins, 2005, p.976). As mentioned by Tony about their boss, a leader should be supportive as well as have interpersonal characters that will allow employees to achieve the company goals.
Personality
From an individual viewpoint, personality appertains to the dynamic theory that explains the growth and development of an individual psychosomatic system. Personality determines a person’s unique modification and response to a particular situation. An individual personality is defined by heredity, environment, and situation. Heredity factors are acquired at conception and include traits such as physical stature, temperament, gender, and musculature (Mullins, 2005, p.233). These traits evolve through life and take on various levels of influence.
The environment relates to cultural norms in which individuals are raised. The environment affects an individual personality based on how it is experienced. Situations normally affect how an individual reacts to certain aspects of life. Different situations command different aspects of individual personalities. In most cases, individual personality materializes to be generally stable, consistent, and more effective in some situations than in the others.
Personalities are normally applicable in organizations through recruitment, selection, team working, and personal development alongside social expectations. More of what was in the interplay at O’Grady was employees’ personality. Employees at O’Grady had individual characteristics that were more inclined towards the organization and personal growth. Unlike in Reece where employees look at each other with suspicion at O’Grady, employees were friendly and ready for personal growth.
Corporate strategy and structure
Corporate strategy is described as the blueprint of the most important objectives, principles, aims, and crucial guidelines for realizing set goals. Corporate strategy defines the kind of business an organization does or will be in, and the type of corporation it is or will be. The major purpose of any corporate strategy is alignment. For an organization to select the right opportunity, it must focus on maximizing any presentable prospect instead of minimizing the risks. Any major prospects are collectively examined depending on their characteristics instead of single scrutiny and isolation. The corporate strategy also looks at the company goals and how those goals will be achieved.
Reese is lacking a clear strategy hence employees are pursuing the achievement of the goal but please their bosses so as to be maintained on the job seek for promotion. The structure of the organization as part of the corporate strategy plays a greater role in determining the behavior of a firm. Reese adopted a strict centralized structural system where decisions are made at the top. There is also a strict line of authority. The disadvantage with such kind of a structure is that there is a lack of meritocracy as seen in Reece. On the other hand, a decentralized structure such as the one adopted by O’Grady allows employees to make decisions at the branches thus allows faster growth for both the firm and the individual employee.
Organization culture
The organization culture is the compilation of comparatively homogeneous and continuing values, customs, beliefs, traditions and practices that are common to the organization and seem to be shared by members. These values and practices are to be learnt by the new employees and conveyed from one generation of workers to the next. It is an essential element in the organization behavior. It is latent, powerful and, in most cases, unconscious set of forces that determine personal and group actions, beliefs, blueprint and principles. Indeed, culture has a great impact on the organization objectives, approach and functions. The value of the organization executives are influenced by the cultural settings in which they are brought up and shared experiences (Mullins, 2005, p.365).
Organization values and beliefs offer a common direction and act as a guideline that governs the organization behavior. In most cases, they are created and implemented by the organization founders and executives. They are also based on the societal, moral and pious principles learnt earlier in life and customized through understanding.
The advice to Tony
Tony must understand that various factors influence the individual, group and organization behavior. Every single firm tends to adopt different kinds of behavior depending with the originalities, strategy and goals that it is pursuing. Reece must vary with O’Grady in so many aspects including the corporate culture, employee’s behavior, strategy and most importantly the goals of the company. The system of management is also different. Reece have adopted the central bureaucratic system where as O’Grady has adopted the decentralized system of management.
It is important that Tony accepts the existence of diversity among the firms and it is his responsibility to introduce good corporate governance in his new firm. Tony must also accept the fact that changes are not easily accepted hence must be introduced and implemented gradually and tactfully. In implementing the change, all the aspects of organization behavior must be factored in more so motivation. He should also employ these aspects of organization behavior in implementing the changes.
Tony must be aware of the organization culture before changing the cultural aspects; he must be concerned with attitude, the organization structure and most importantly the organization strategy including goals. All these aspects will affect him in the same way they are currently affecting doing. In essence whatever decision tony makes these aspects of the organization behavior will affect him.
Leadership in relation to the organization behavior
There are several approaches and theories about leadership that have been proposed in relation to organization behavior. The behavioral theorists claim that leadership can be acquired. Individuals can be trained to be leaders though personal traits of such an individual cannot be changed. The only thing that can be changed is personal behavior. According to this theory, there are two types of organization behavior.
One is concerned with production, and the other is concerned with people. Production relates to leaders’ attempt to initiate structures that will enable them to attain their production goals. They organize work, work relationships and goals in line with the main goal of achieving maximum production. Often, they put much emphasis on technical aspects of job. Thus, task aspects are focused on achieving the highest production level. To such kind of leaders, people within the organization are a means to an end. Leaders who are oriented towards people are concerned with the work friendly environment (Mullins, 2005, p.576).
They put a lot of emphasis on the employees’ comfort, status, wellbeing and satisfaction. They also emphasize on the interpersonal relations and accept the fact that differences exist among the individuals. However, some leaders try to exhibit both behaviors.
Contemporary approaches to leadership describe leaders as good communicators and are able to outline the meanings of all the actions they take. They are capable of inspiring the employees through ideas, words and behavior. There are different leadership styles aligned to this approach.
These are charismatic leadership, transformational leadership and authentic leadership. Charismatic leadership is normally attributed to heroic leadership abilities that are associated with visionary, personal risk taking, sensitivity towards followers and extra-ordinary behaviors. Charismatic leaders influence the others through articulating appealing vision, communicate new sets of values and have representation behaviors for the set values. In most cases, charisma has a strong correlation to high performance and satisfaction. It is normally used when there is uncertainty in environment and where the ideologies are involved.
The historical roots of an organization behavior
The classical organization theory
This school of thought is concerned with the effective structuring of the organization. It also advocates for the application of scientific methods in analyzing work as well as determining on the way production tasks can be completed effectively or efficiently. Scientific method of management is based on the four principles. These are developing a methodological approach to every element of each person’s work, technical selection, edifying and training as well as developing each worker. It also involves cooperating with the employees to guarantee that taken task match with the plans and principles to finally ensure suitable division of labor.
Classical theory facilitates work specialization and ensures mass production. It also demonstrates to the organization executives their responsibility of enhancing effectiveness and efficiency. On the other hand, the scientific method cannot be applied to labor since the ultimate goal of labor is to get more output from workers. It is also seen as dehumanizing the work place as workers are reduced to something lesser than drones (Mullins, 2005, p.203). The theory in addition is inadequate and narrows in its view on the employee motivation.
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy was designed and proposed by Max Weber. According to him, strict bureaucratic system rises to the maximum precision in work, enhances speed, reduces un-ambiguity, and enhances continuity as well as the knowledge of files. Moreover, discretion, strict subordination, unity, reduction of friction as well as personal and material costs are increased to the optimal point. Weber also pointed out that from the strict technical point of view, bureaucracy had the capability of accomplishing the maximum level of competence.
According to Weber, bureaucracy is superior to other forms of management, especially in precision, the stringiest in discipline, in stability and reliability (Mullins, 2005, p.678). It increases the reliability in the calculated results for decision making by the heads of the organizations and those closely related. Generally, bureaucracy is superior in its intensive efficiency and extent of its procedure as well as its applicability to all other kinds of administration.
Bureaucracies are characterized by predetermined or rigid division of labor. Distinguishable levels of positions each having its own authority are also attributed to bureaucracy. In bureaucratic organizations, applicants for jobs are normally selected based on their technical competence, and workforces are remunerated on fixed wages. In practice, the position an employee holds is his/her primary occupation, and promotions are granted based on the seniority and experience (Mullins, 2005, p.821). Besides, daily separation of duties by the authorities also exists. In addition, there are written rules that govern the daily activities as well as the behavior of employees at work.
Principles of human relation theory
This theory is characterized by its movement from the tasks to the employee. The theory also goes beyond to the worker daily activities to include the cognitive, creative and poignant aspects of the worker. According to the theory, the organization effectiveness is dependent on the social well-being of the worker. Workers communicate opinions, suggestions, feelings and complaints in order to enhance their satisfaction and increase the productivity.
Theory X and theory Y
In this theory, Douglas McGregor articulated the fundamental values of human relations which he described as the Human-Side of the Enterprise. He was especially interested in the behavior of managers towards workers. McGregor combined the classical theory which he described as theory X and the human relations theory which he described as theory Y. in combing the theories, the main focus was on the assumptions of managers about human nature. He argued that managers assume that both mental and physical efforts in the work place resemble play or rest.
Managers should employ many strategies not only the threat of punishment and external control in achieving their goals. Indeed the dedication to the organization goals is a function of the rewards that is related with their realization. McGregor argues that average human beings gain knowledge under suitable circumstances not only to believe but to search for facts. The ability to work out high level of thoughts, ingenuity and imagination in the resolution of the firms tribulations is extensively dispersed in the populace. In addition, the Intellectual capabilities of normal human beings are in most cases underutilized.
Theory X argues that human nature is characterized by dislike of work and will always try to keep away from any task. People have to be coerced to undertake any task. They must also be directed, controlled and threatened with some sort of punishment to do the work. On the other hand theory Y argues that any economic gains as a result of progress in the performance of organization must be shared among all the stakeholders. Moreover there should be a formal means through which equal opportunities are provided to all members of the organization to formulate ideas useful in improving the organization effectiveness.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model
Maslow argues that people tend to satisfy their needs according the prescribed order. Maslow states that essential needs are to be satisfied before secondary ones though people tend to be de-motivated whenever any of the needs are not met. According to him, people are used to satisfy their needs both at home and at workplace. This really makes it difficult for the managers to understand fully the whole picture of an individual needs’ fulfillment.
The period that it takes to satisfy the lower level and the appearance of high level of satisfaction is uncertain. The individual’s dissimilarities also lead to variety of values on the same need. According to Maslow, jobs satisfaction cannot singly lead to increasing performance in any task.
In the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, lower-level needs have to be satisfied first before addressing high-level ones. Lower level needs are physiological in nature. They include food, water and shelter (Mullins, 2005, p.510). The physiological needs are followed by safety which consists of physical security and economic stability. Sense of belonging to a particular group is another essential need. Every individual needs love and social interaction for physical, emotional and intellectual development. Another aspect is the esteem of the high-feelings about oneself. Maslow completes his hierarchy with the need of self actualization. That is appreciating one’s full prospective.
Within organization, employees will feel motivated if they are compensated with the basic pay that is capable of satisfying their needs, especially the physiological ones. They will also feel motivated if their jobs offer security in terms of finance and health care. Satisfaction is also achieved in the work environment where interpersonal relations are not restricted, and the organization culture recognizes individual efforts and achievements by rewarding through job promotions and financial gains. Employees will also feel motivated to work in an organization where they reveal their abilities in full (Mullins, 2005, p.652).
Equity theory
The theory suggests that workers equate what they put in and get out it. That is why they compare the input-output ratio of their own with the input-output ratio of the others. If they found the ratio to be equal, then they perceive that there is fairness. Nevertheless, if the ratio is found to be unequal, then they perceive the existence of inequity as either under or over rewarded. In the cases of perceived inequities, employees will react negatively.
Some will quit the job or, in most cases, decrease the inputs. In either way, employees are greatly anxious with both complete and comparative character of organization rewards. According to this theory, the alleged justice in the quantity and distribution of rewards between individuals has an influence on the employees’ satisfaction. Furthermore, the conceived fairness of the distribution process of the rewards determines an employee organizational commitment.
Goal setting theory
According to this theory, workers feel motivated when they work on achieving a certain goal. When formulated and accepted by all the employees, these purposes increase the performance. It is, therefore, essential for the employees to participate in the goal setting. Managers should also understand that allowing employees to participate in the goal setting process is vital in enhancing the employees’ performance.
While setting up some aim, a mode of feedback must be also established, thus the feedback is essential in identifying discrepancies between the accomplished objective and what is needed to be done. Feedback in itself is a motivating factor in the attainment of the set goals (Mullins, 2005, p.471). Goal commitment theory presumes that employees feel determined to accomplish the goals in which formulation they are involved.
Reference
Mullins, L. J. 2005. Management and Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.