Behavior within Organizations - Literature review Example

Behavior within Organizations Introduction The behavior of individuals within an organization has become oneof the most critical aspects that determine the latter’s success. This is mainly because a significant number of organizations in the modern world have come to rely on the way that their employees behave in order to ensure that they are able to achieve their goals. The behavior of individuals within an organization makes it possible for the development of the necessary resources which ensure that not only are these individuals motivated to do their work, but also ensures that they are able to have the skills necessary to help in the completion of the tasks assigned to them. Behavior within organizations tend to be a basic part of their culture and it is for this reason that there tend to be expectations concerning how new people within these organizations have to behave in order to become a part of the established culture. Behavior within organizations is normally based on the relationship between individuals and management and this relationship is a basic part of the culture of the organization. Literature Review Baron and Greenberg (2008) argue that behavior within organizations is normally influenced by the culture and rituals that are observed on a daily basis within these organizations. It is essential to note that the behavior of individuals within organizations is based on the manner through which they believe they are being treated by its management. In most circumstances, one will find that individuals who are highly motivated tend to be the ones who have a positive outlook concerning their work within an organization. A highly motivated workforce within an organization influences the creation of a healthy work environment where there is easy cooperation between all employees to ensure that the organization is able to achieve both its short and long term goals. The ability of an organization to motivate its employees is based on the manner through which management is able to handle the various possible issues that might arise as a result of employee dissatisfaction. For example, in situations where employees are likely to resist changes that are being instituted within the organization to ensure its efficiency, management can take the initiative to motivate them to accept these new changes through their being provided with higher wages as well as the provision of training to ensure that they are able to better cope with the new changes in the workplace. Balzer and Gillespie (2007) state that organizational behavior is influenced by the manner through which individuals within an organization behave around those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. In the contemporary world, it has become common for organizations to encourage employee diversification because it has been found to be an efficient way of dealing with a globalized world. The globalized environment has brought about a situation where the highly conservative and closed behavior the was prevalent in most organizations in previous decades is slowly being replaced by a multicultural one where individuals from all religions, backgrounds and race have come to work within the same environment. The highly collaborative nature that has come about as a result has been instrumental in ensuring the success of organizations. Furthermore, the observance of human rights has ensured that there is less discrimination in the workplace because most organizations have made anti-discrimination a basic part of their workplace policies. Therefore, the behavior of individuals within organizations has in recent years developed into what can be considered to be highly multicultural, characterized by diversity at all levels of the structures of these organizations. Diversity in the workplace has become a basis upon which organizations have come to develop their cultures and this has been for the purpose of ensuring that they are able to gain different perspectives on how to achieve their objectives. According to Piskurich (2006), reward programs have become one of the most effective means of bringing about a level of control over organizational behavior. These programs are often implemented in circumstances where it is believed that employees need to be encouraged to increase their productivity or where there are low motivational levels within the organization. Under such circumstances, the best performing individuals within the organization are rewarded for their work through being offered promotions, bonuses, recognition, among others in a bid to encourage their fellow employees to aspire for the same. The need to have reward programs has become essential in the cultivation and maintenance of high performance by employees because it has been found to be among the best means of not only ensuring that they are motivated in their work, but also to ensure that there is low employee turnover. Reward programs also allow for the development of employee loyalty in such a way that the latter are less likely to leave an organization for the purpose of seeking greater opportunities in other organizations; allowing the organization involved retaining its top talent. In this way, the organization is better able to remain competitive against its rivals as a result of having an experienced workforce. Spector and Fox (2005) state that workplace stress often develops as a result of massive pressure that individuals experience in their places of work or in situations where employees come to feel that their efforts are not being appreciated by their employers. This is especially the case where there are no reward programs that are designed to encourage individuals to work harder. It has been noted that workplace stress also develops in circumstances where management is never willing to listen to employee grievances and this often leads to a situation where work-related stress makes employees not to perform as well as they normally would. There are also situations where workplace discrimination leads to high levels of stress among those employees who are being discriminated against. Discrimination in the workplace takes many forms and these can either be based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion and these tend to be extremely difficult for the victims because they end up affecting their work in a negative way. Therefore, in order to ensure that there are lesser instances of workplace stress, it is essential for the organization involved to develop strategies, such as encouraging a multicultural workforce as well as training and counseling programs to help its employees feel comfortable in their work because it will bring about a situation where employees are highly motivated in their work. Discussion In the current world, the need to recognize the different aspects that influence behavior within organizations has become a necessity to such an extent that it has created a situation where the need to influence employee behavior has become an indispensable element of the procedure of running an organization. It can however be said that while trying to influence the behavior of individuals within an organization is important, it cannot be successfully be done without the involvement of human resources because this is the only way through which employees can be influenced. The implementation of changes to the culture of organizations tends to be among the most significant aspects of the influence that management can have on the behavior of employees. This is especially the case where human resources is brought in to make sure that it exerts its influence on employees to such an extent that it ensures that the implementation of changes is successful. From the very beginning of planning and implementation of changes within an organization, its employees have to be involved to ensure that they are able to attain an understanding of what the proposed changes entail and the benefits which are to be gained for these employees. Such direct involvement in the affairs of the organization allows for employees to be highly motivated because there tends to be very little satisfaction in cases where their recommendations have been implemented. Furthermore, reward and training programs designed to ensure that there is employee motivation as well as a reduction of work-related stress helps management influence the behavior of employees; resulting in less employee turnover. Conclusion Behavior within organizations is normally based on the relationship between individuals and management and this relationship is a basic part of the culture of the organization. The study above has shown that a highly motivated workforce within an organization influences the creation of a healthy work environment because employees are more often than not encouraged to do their best for the sake of the organization. Furthermore, the behavior of individuals within organizations has in recent years developed into what can be considered to be highly multicultural, with people from different cultures work together in the same environment; essentially cultivating cultural understanding which has come to influence organizational behavior. The need to have reward programs has become essential in the cultivation and maintenance of high performance within organizations because it has allowed for employees to achieve job satisfaction as well as develop a sense of loyalty towards the organization for which they work. Finally, there has developed a realization that workplace stress often develops as a result of massive pressure that individuals experience in their places of work and this has led to a situation where it has become necessary to bring about an understanding of the pressures that employees undergo in the workplace in order to develop means of helping them get over the stress involved. References Balzer, W. K. & Gillespie, J. Z. (2007). Job satisfaction. In Rogelberg, S. G. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of industrial and organizational psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Baron, R.A., & Greenberg, J. (2008). Behavior in organizations. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Piskurich, G.M. (2006). The Congruency between Performance Improvement and Performance Management. Performance Improvement, 45(8), 5-7. Spector, P. E., & Fox, S., 2005. The Stressor-Emotion Model of Counterproductive Work Behavior. In S. Fox, P. E. Spector (Eds.) , Counterproductive work behavior: Investigations of actors and targets. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Read More