The Impacts of Organizational Behavior on the Employee Output, Motivation and Attitude - Case Study Example

 Organizational behavior: Case study Introduction Development and growth of organization is defined as the culture and behavior developed and inculcated among the employees, appreciated by the stakeholders and felt by the customers. The study of organizational behavior bas three tenets including the study of groups, individuals and groups behaviors within an organization, the impacts that such structures have on the performance of an organization and their impact on the organization effectiveness (Kusluvan, 2003). To demonstrate The Impacts Of Organizational Behavior On The Employee Output, Motivation And Attitude, the paper will evaluate the case study of Alex and Stephanie. Alex and Stephanie are employed in two different organizations under the leadership of two different managers who impacts differently on their attitude and motivation. This case study will highlight How T Attitude, Values And Motivations Of Employees Is Impacted By The Job Designs, Work Schedules And Management Approaches utilized and adopted by the management (Knights & Willmott, 2007). Statement of the situation Organizational success and development in the current competitive global market is influenced by internal and external factors, most of which are within the controls of an organization. Development of a positive culture creates room for organizations to interact with their employees, customers and stakeholders; a process that is essential in facilitating the success of the organization. Today, most organizations adopt behaviors and trends that are more market centric focusing on the provision of quality goods and services to their customers. Employees relationship with their supervisors and the leadership approaches adopted affects the behavior and motivation of employees as has been demonstrated in the Stephanie-Alex case. This case scenario demonstrates how different work environments created by different approaches to leadership affects the emotions, attitudes, values and increases the stress on employees. Statement of the problem Understanding organizational behavior is a critical part of every business as it contributes significantly to the development of an organization that operates as a unit and identify with one similar culture. However, most organizations have failed to appreciate the benefits of organizational culture and this has contributed to their failures especially due to their inability to solve the internal problems in the organization and to handle the issues arising from the customers. Lack of uniform operational standards and directives in an organization is a common way of identifying poor organizational behavior that has stemmed from the lack of fostering a proper culture and behavioral code (Knights & Willmott, 2007). In the case study, Stephanie and Alex have different relationships with their bosses and this has occurred due to the different behavioral and leadership approaches that their supervisors have adopted. While Jonathan, Stephanie’s boss appreciates her input and has developed a motivational framework for ensuring that hard work is appreciated and boredom eliminated through regular shift; Dan, Alex’s boss seems rigid and favor some employees. As a result, the two employees have different approaches to their work and this affects their work output, attitude and emotion. While Stephanie is motivated to attend to his work station, Alex is very demotivated as he feels that a day at work is like any other day. Lack of a common organizational behavior can be identified from the behaviors of the management who may make decision, which does not reflect the decisions made by other departments or those supported by the employees. This reflects a lack of a common behavior code that every employee in the organization subscribes causing problems to the management and success of the organization. The development of a proper organization behavior begins from the inception of the organization and is breed as the organization grows to become a major international player beyond the boundaries of the home country. Therefore, lack of coherence and uniformity in the organizational departments affects the performance of an organization and demonstrates the lack of a proper organizational behavior and behavior code. This affects different stakeholders to the organization including the employees, customers and the shareholders whose share value will be affected by the poor performance of the organization. Analysis of the problem The analysis of this problem will take a multimodal approach that will discuss the different aspects of organizational behavior and how their presence or absence affects the performance of an organization. The values, attitudes and emotions developed in an organization influences the ability of the organization to perform and achieve its objectives within the timeline provided. Values, attitudes and emotions The values, attitudes and emotions of individuals plays a significant role in shaping the behavior of the organization and thus influencing its ability to achieve its short and long term objectives. Over the last few years, research on organizational behaviors has shifted its focus to how the values, attitudes and emotions of individual employees and managers influence the success of the organization. Emotion is of massive significance to the ability of an individual to work, deliver and enhance the performance of the organization through his work input (Nelson & Quick, 2007). The field of organizational behavior has held the view that conscious reasoning or cognition determines thoughts and actions of an individual. Emotions are defined as physiological behaviors and episodes experienced by individuals towards specific people objects or event which affects their ability to do certain functions. Emotion has an overall control on our thoughts and reactions towards specific people and therefore shapes our attitude and overall behaviors. (Borman, Ilgen & Klimoski 2001). From the case study, as part time university students workers, the attitudes and emotions of both Stephanie and Alex towards their jobs demonstrates the implications of organizational behavior on the perception on employees. Employed in the same supermarket, Stephanie and Alex work under different supervisors with different behaviors and management approaches. As a produce department worker, Alex is placed under the supervision of Dan who he complains of being rude, strict and inconsiderate of their plight. As a result, Alex has formed a negative attitude towards his boss and does not value his work anymore; a development that has affected his performance and commitment to the work. Unfairness within leadership also contributes to the development of emotions and negative attitudes among employees, which affects their productivity. Though Alex has been in the supermarket for over 2 years, he has been forced to work in a single department and earns $2 less than a Denise, a three month old employee. This has significantly demoralized Alex as the supervisor has clearly demonstrated favoritism, a process that affects emotions of the employees and their determination to deliver. Therefore, management of attitude is essential to ensure that an organization achieves a common organizational behavior as attitude has an infectious impact on employees. This can be effectively done by eliminating unfair treatment of some employees and ensuring that the payment reflects the input and commitment as opposed to favors as witnessed by Alex and Denise. This makes the recruitment and selection process essential for an organization to select the people that have the ability to develop positive emotions that are needed for the success of the organization (Kusluvan, 2003). Valuing and respecting employees is essential in developing a workforce that feels appreciated, important and needed for the organization to move towards the right direction and achieve its objectives. The creation of a culture of valuing employees is therefore important in any organization that seeks to develop a common organizational behavior as the employees will develop a common behavior as a result of the way they perceive the organization values them. Value can be developed through the development of a fair work environment that considers the qualification, commitment and input of the employees as opposed to other factors. Drawing for the case of Alex, he does not feel valued at the supermarket because his supervisor does not appreciate his input neither as compared to that of others like Denise who is still new in the supermarket (Adler & Gundersen, 2007). Motivation Through employee motivation, an organization increase the morale of its employees making them feel like real part of the organization, which is essential in the attainment in the goals and objectives of the organization. In addition, motivation also plays a major role in the development of organizational behavior as it defines the willingness of the employees to follow a specific behavior pattern that is critical for the organization. Due to the difference in the treatment they receive from their superiors, the motivations of both Alex and Stephanie differ. Alex says that he does even care whether he keeps stocking apples at the same point or earns an extra coin from his input because all that will not be appreciated by his boss. This shows his lack of motivation and commitment to the process, a development that has been contributed by the supervisor. The atmosphere developed in the organization is essential for the organization’s success and progress and this can be changed through having a motivated workforce. Through a proper understanding of the benefits of motivation to an organization, businesses can be able to create a healthy organizational behavior and approaches to achieving the goals. Jonathan, Stephanie’s supervisor has planned a major sale of truffle oil for all the employees working in his department including Stephanie. Due to the high cost of the oil, he has developed a motivation plan for his employees and this includes selling ten bottles a day by each employees. To ensure that they achieve this feat, Jonathan has adopted a plan that will ensure that his employees are motivated and have the push to achieve their feat. All efforts will be rewarded and appraised and all who will attain the target will win a $75 bonus. This has motivated Stephanie and the employees within his department to work towards the realization of this goal as they are motivated and willing to work towards the realization of this objective. Motivation of the employees can be achieved the adoption of different approaches which increases the feeling of appreciation among the employees. The creation of fair employee policies and the introduction of different incentive programs can be helpful in developing a business environment that is motivated to succeed and achieve the different goals set up by the management (Borman, Ilgen & Klimoski 2001). Psychological studies have associated motivation with the desire to participate in different programs both in employment and in other avenues of life. Motivating the employees will therefore increase their willingness to participate in the different programs of the organization, which is essential for achieving the goals. A motivated employee works harder, is driven by the desire to produce positive results for the organization, and maintains a positive attitude even in times of hardship and challenges. Such an employee can also influence fellow employees to work towards the success of the organization and engage constructively with the management during challenging and tough times (Knights & Willmott, 2007). The case of Alex and Stephanie demonstrates how motivation is paramount to the success of organizations and in boosting the attitude and morale of the employees. While both of them are employed, their attitude and emotion towards work differ significantly as a result of the approaches adopted by their employees. Alex is employed and works under Dan whom he accuses of being bossy and possessing an attitude that affects his willingness to work and deliver to the organization. On the other hand, Jonathan, a veteran who understands employee satisfaction and motivation, employs Stephanie. He assigns responsibilities to employees in turns and this helps in the elimination of boredom and stress among the employees. As a result of his approaches, all employees want to work in his factory due to the motivation registered by the already employed individuals. Jonathan and Dan demonstrate the impacts that employee motivation has on their attitude and willingness to work towards the success of the organization (Borman, Ilgen & Klimoski 2001). Expectancy theory on motivation also explains the expectations and behavior of employees as being hinged on their beliefs and motivations. The motivation of an employee to exert more effort will be influenced by his/her belief that such an effort will create room for performance appraisal. This appraisal adopted by the organization towards the employee must also hold the potential to create organizational rewards and personal satisfactions. The efforts of Stephanie have been appreciated by her supervisor and this is demonstrated on her commitment and motivation to work even harder. This cannot however be said of Alex as he lacks the motivation to work harder and feels that it is meaningless whether he works in one section or not. This majorly due to the fact the he feels the effort he will make will not in any way be appreciated or appraised according to the expectation theory (Dailey, 2012) . Stress Stress is the psychological and emotional effects that an individual develops because of fatigue in the brain, the physical being and the mental state. Stress affects the ability of an individual to concentrate and achieve his or her objectives as it creates fatigue and loss of concentration or morale. Workplace stress is of the emerging areas of management that research has focused on in an attempt to determine the factors that affect employee productivity and organizational success. Workplace stress has varying sources but share in their implications on the employee’s state of wellbeing and the ability to achieve the goals of the organization. Different individuals in an organization have different coping ability to stress and this makes it essential for organizational management to work towards the reduction of stress in an attempt to develop a positive organizational behavior (Ahmad, 2008). Extended exposure to stressful situation at the workplace has massive impacts on the health of the employees and the ability of the organization to perform as expected. An organization must therefore work towards identifying the major sources of workplace stress to improve its chances of maintaining a health employee population. Supervisors and managers must allow their employees ample time to relax to reduce stress and eliminate trauma. This is exactly what Jonathan does as he observes the company’s policy of one and half hour lunch breaks and allows the workers to relax. This enables Stephanie and the other employees in the department to work without stress and fatigue, which affects their productivity. This cannot however be said of Alex and his supervisor Dan as lunch break has been slashed to half the provision by the company. While Dan and Stephanie were still having their lunch, Dan appeared and used rather unethical words on his employees which affect their state of mind and increase stress (Adler & Gundersen, 2007). Incentives, rewards and job design In the previous sections, we discussed how motivation and attitude affects the ability of an organization to deliver and achieve its objectives through boosting employee morale at all times. Increasing the desire and willingness of employees to work towards the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives cannot be accomplished through the use of rewards and incentives. Rewards and incentives plays a major role in determining the willingness of the employees to work towards enabling the organization to achieve its objectives as it increases their morale and motivates them (Nelson & Quick, 2007). Rewards have been proved to act as valences for organizations as it increases the likelihood that employees will feel at home at work towards enabling the organization to achieve its goals. When Jonathan introduced a new plan for Stephanie and her workmates, he introduced an incentive that was meant to motivate and increase their efforts. This is demonstrated in the determination of Stephanie to meet the target to enable him win the extra $75, a demonstration of the impacts of incentives on employees The employee reward program plays a significant role in defining the organizational behavior and culture as it defines the attitudes and values of the employees (Carmeli, 2003). The impacts of rewards on the development of the right organizational behavior are believed to take a cascade like reaction in which one action take affects other subsequent actions and creates room for the development of resourceful behavior in the organization. The provision of rewards in the organization results into motivation of employees while motivation results into the creation of an environment that foster self-driven urge to perform and realize the full potential of one. Rewards demonstrates to the employees that the management is concerned about their wellbeing and is putting more effort towards improving their welfare in an effort aimed at increasing performance and improving productivity (Dailey, 2012). Dan and Jonathan have adopted different approaches to job design and employee shifting, one that has posted contrasting results to the organization. Jonathan appreciates the impacts of adopting a flexible work schedule in which Stephanie and her colleagues are allowed to rotate in different sections of the department. This has motivated her and her fellow employees to work towards the realization of the department’s goals and objectives. This cannot however be said of the produce department under Dan which seems to ignore the benefits of positive job design and shifting. Job design is the management role of allocating tasks and responsibilities to individuals and groups in the organization, a process that is essential in the creation of order and timely execution of roles. Designing of jobs and assigning of different responsibilities to employees in an organization creates room for the division of labor and specialization in an organization, a process that is critical in the development of innovation and growth. Job designs can be used in the development of employee behavior and this can be done through the development of designs and allocation process that increases the motivation of employees. Through job designs, a rotation program for employees is developed which is essential in the elimination of boredom among the employees and an increase in the overall motivation (Dailey, 2012). Alternatives and solutions to problems The supermarket case demonstrates the benefits of organizational behaviors on the attitude, emotions, motivation, and development of stress and the input of the employees. Though the supermarket is a single unit, the management approaches adopted differ and this affects the output and motivation of the employees. The performance of the separate departments affects the success of the supermarket as a whole and cannot therefore be isolated and handled independently. The management must therefore develop a common organizational behavior which will create room for a similar treatment of all the employees. With a common behavior, the work design in the organization will be common and the incentives and rewards adopted will be universal. This will eliminate the case of some department demonstrating better management resulting to better-motivated employees with positive attitude while others seeing no valuing in increasing their effort. (Dailey, 2012). The problems that affect the development of organizational behavior essential of for success and growth of an organization must be addressed for an organization to remain relevant in the competitive market. A number of approaches exist that can be used to improve the values, emotions, employee attitude and the rewards scheme, aspects of management that are critical for success and growth in an organization. Communication can be developed as alternative approach to develop a positive attitude among the employees and increase the overall performance (Carmeli, 2003). Justification of the solutions The development of a positive organization behavior can only be achieved if approaches that target the employees are adopted as opposed to the development of systems and structures. Even through the structures are essential in the development of the employees, structures alone cannot enable an organization improve the attitude and emotions of employees, which are essential in the development of, focused and result oriented organization. Organizational management and leadership must therefore work towards the development of a work environment that appreciates the input, challenges and values of every employee in order to create a win-win scenario. By motivating and rewarding employees, the feeling of self-belonging is enhanced and this eliminates the development of negative attitudes that affects performance and productivity. Jobs designs are also essential in reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of employees, a process that provides basis for motivation and rewarding. Conclusion Organizational behavior is a process that cannot be achieved at once but must be developed with the contribution of the employees, the employers and the stakeholders. The process of developing a positive behavior in the organization must be inclusive, involving and considerate of the challenges that employees face on a daily basis. The development of positive values, emotions and attitudes is essential in ensuring that employees are highly motivated and energized to work on the challenges of the organization irrespective of the circumstances. References Dailey, R. (2012). Organizational behavior. Edinburg: Edinburg business school. Knights, D. & Willmott, H. (2007). Introducing organizational behavior and management. Stamford, CT: Thomson learning. Carmeli, A. (2003). The relationship between emotional intelligence, work attitudes, behavior and outcomes: An examination among senior managers. Journal of Managerial Psychology 18(8), 788-813. DOI 10.1108/02683940310511881. Borman, W., Ilgen, D. & Klimoski J. (2001). Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley. Adler, N. J., & Gundersen, A. (2007). International dimensions of organizational behaviour. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Ahmad, S. F. (2008). Organisational behaviour. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Kusluvan, S. (2003). Managing employee attitudes and behaviours in the tourism and hospitality industry. New York: Nova Publishers. Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. (2007). Understanding organizational behaviour. Mason: Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Pinder, C. C. (2008). Work motivation in organizational behaviour. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Read More