Essentials of Organisational Behavior - Essay Example

In the current economic climate companies need to embrace effective management of organisational behaviour for them to maintain business performance. This way companies can become more profitable since good employees are not only difficult to find but are also a valuable resource that are difficult to imitate. They create a history that is unique to a given company, they make multiple small decisions that competitors cant copy and are also instrumental in creating other socially complex resources which include teamwork, a good reputation for a company trust and culture. For a company to survive in the current economic climate it is therefore imperative that it creates good organisational behaviour policies that will enable it increase employee productivity ,company survival and increase profitability. The two principal outcomes of organisational behaviour are job performance and employee organisational commitment. Since most employees want to perform their jobs well and remain in the organisational for a long time; improving their working conditions and creating a feeling of commitment to the company can greatly improve business performance (Nair, 2010). Aspects of organisational mechanisms including organisational culture and structure, group mechanisms constituting teams and leaders interact with individual characteristics such as personality and ability together with individual mechanisms such as job satisfaction ,motivation ,learning and decision making and also stress at workplace to influence an employee’s job performance and organisational commitment (Mullins, 2006). One way of improving business performance is by hiring creative talented and outgoing individuals. This can only be achieved through an intensive interviewing and screening process that allows the management to assess the personality traits and cultural aspects of the potential employees that is values that might affect the way they will act once hired, the type of tasks they will be interested in and how they will potentially react to events that happen at the place of work (Glynn, 1995). This intensive screening and interviewing process is also very important in assessing the cognitive abilities of the potential employees. This includes both verbal and qualitative abilities. Emotional skills including emotional regulation and awareness of others are also assessed. There is also need to assess the physical abilities such as strength and endurance. This way the management ensures the they hire the best possible employees and this greatly improves business performance (Schermerhorn, 1996). Once on the job the employees need to be satisfied with their jot, motivated and stress free. It is in achieving the above requirements that makes most employees productive. Motivation can be through formal and informal ways. One way would be for a company to offer wages that are higher than the industry’s average wages. This way employees remain content and since they are not searching for greener pastures; they are completely dedicated to their jobs making them more productive. Appreciation for work well done goes a long way in motivating employees. Managers could spend some time with the employees getting to know their names ,their hobbies and even about their families. This gives them a sense of being wanted and appreciated (Ontwikkelteam, 2006). Stress may be managed through creating an aura of excitement at the workplace. Large displays of artwork with ambient lighting and large windows may also be used to reduce stress. Focussing on safety and ensuring safe working conditions is also very important. Enhancing openness in the company through sharing of financial information with the employees creates a perception of truth and justice thus reinforcing the employees commitment to the job. Continuous training for employees enables them acquire new knowledge .With the current constantly changing technology it is very important to keep training and retraining personnel in order to get the best out of them. New ways of doing things at the company level are learnt which may be more effective. Through offering refresher courses efficiency at the workplace is also improved. Continuous learning empowers employees especially when it comes to decision making. When they are knowledgeable they weigh all the options and are able to make the best possible decision for the wellbeing of the company. In order to maintain business performance at times there is need for employees to work in groups or in teams. Group goals should be aligned with the organisations goals this way group norms result in high levels of group performance. To facilitate goal alignment there is need for group members to benefit or to be rewarded when the group perform highly and contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organisation (Robbins, 2005). Setting of clear goals for teams ensures that the individual members don’t waste time and resources trying to figure out what they are supposed to deliver. Specific objectives which are measurable achievable realistic and time bound are very important if a team or group of individuals are to work together. The members of the group should be carefully selected keeping in mind the goals of the team. Each member responsibilities should be clearly defined this way members have a personal responsibility and this avoids the challenge of social loafing. Individuals contribution to a group should be identified although the reward system should be in such a way that it is team effort that is rewarded .Rewarding selected individuals in a group promotes competition which is not very good when people are expected to work together. When individual contribution is made identifiable performance can be evaluated and appropriate outcomes delivered. Managers should remind members of a team that they were all selected based on their personal abilities and uniqueness this further promotes individuals contributions to teams (Brooks, 2006). In order to make teams more effective they should be allocated enough resources as scarcity of resources has a direct impact on the team’s performance in that it directly reduces the ability of the team to perform more effectively. Skill training of members should be carried out this leads to small success which in turn builds confidence in the members of a team. Confident members are more effective when carrying out assignments. Peer evaluations should be carried out periodically. It has been established that teams that are self managed tend to perform better than teams with a formally appointed leaders therefore whenever possible teams should be allowed to be self managed in order to improve or maintain business performance. In cases where a formally appointed team leader is in charge, He should instil focus on team member .A participatory leader is more often than not effective as the members of the teams feel that their voices are heard when making decisions regarding team activities (Mullins, 1996). Efforts to reinforce team effort should never cease. This may include group based appraisals, Gain sharing, small group incentives and profit sharing. The size of the team should be decided upon depending on the type of work to be done. For action taking tasks smaller groups are more effective whereas larger groups tend to be more efficient when they are involved in fact finding activities. Norms and standards should be established for each group and or team constituted .This creates a scale against which behaviour can be measured. Compliance with the norms and standards ensures a high output. For instance there should be a maximum number of days that a team member can be absent. Clear and open communication should be insisted upon as this is the only way information can be passed from one individual to another. Conflicts among team members should be solved amicably to allow them to continue working in harmony. At times differing in opinions is good as it promotes further evaluation of the different courses of actions eventually leading to making the best decision for the company. Since cohesiveness in teams is important, reduction of the differences in status of team members should be done. This may be achieved through use of symbols such as company logos, a universal language, same physical space, compensation structures and a dress code at the workplace (Mullins, 2010). An organisational culture that captures the way things are in the organisation, shared norms, knowledge concerning rules and norms and values shaping employee attitudes and behaviours is essential for improving business performance. There is need for companies to manage issues concerning structure and culture in order to achieve success. If expansion is taking place the new plants should be divided in accordance with the regions markets and should create general area directors who is able to specifically focus on the specific needs of the market. The company should ensure that the expansion does not alter the organizational structure. Continuous monitoring and evaluation should be done.This is very important as it will indicate whether the system is working and if there is need for changing of some aspects of the way things are done. Recommendations given following an evaluation process should be implemented. Bibliography Mullins, L. J. (1996). Management And Organisational Behaviour. London, Pitman Ontwikkelteam Finance Hogeschool Inholland Cluster Finance. (2006). Management & Organisational Behaviour. Harlow [Etc.], Pearson Education Limited. Glynn, W. J., & Barnes, J. G. (1995). Understanding Services Management: Integrating Marketing, Organisational Behaviour, Operations, And Human Resource Management. Chichester, Wiley. Mullins, L. J. (2006). Essentials Of Organisational Behaviour. Harlow, England, Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management & Organisational Behaviour. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Nair, S. R. (2010). Organisational Behaviour Text & Cases. Mumbai, Himalaya Pub. House. Http://Site.Ebrary.Com/Id/10415957. Brooks, I. (2006). Organisational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups And Organisation. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. K. (2005). Management. Upper Saddle River, Nj, Pearson Prentice Ha. Schermerhorn, J. R., Naumes, W., Naumes, M. J., & Schermerhorn, J. R. (1996). Management. New York, J. Wiley & Sons. Read More