Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example

?Organisational Behaviour Table of Contents Introduction 3 Theories of Contemporary Organizational Behaviour 4 Issues in Contemporary Organisation 6 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Organisation behaviour can be identified as a study which is concerned with the human behaviour in the context of an organisation. It also tries to identify the ways human communicate within the organisation and with the other external entities associated with the organisation (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2010). The main objective of the paper is to identify the contemporary issues in organizational behaviour facing the organisations in the modern day context. Therefore, this paper will try to study the problems that the contemporary organizations’ tend to face and the methods that can be employed to deal with them. Theories of Contemporary Organizational Behaviour Most of the modern organisations are essentially multi-tasked and multi-faceted. There are numerous theories on contemporary organisations. However, the common factors that are noted in all the theories are the importance of external environment and its influence upon the organisation, the significance of strategic planning and top managerial decision making, the requirement of workers cooperation, the importance of technology and resource dependence among others (Mullins, 2010). Human Relation Theory The discovery of the human relation theory in management is linked to George Elton Mayo. The theory focuses upon the individuality of each human being. It can be stated that the worker has his own attitude, ways and beliefs and he tends to inculcate this in his workplace (Montana & Charnov, 2008). Scientific Management Theory According to scientific management theory which has been prepared by Frederick W. Taylor, managers are supposed to observe and evaluate each aspect of the task in order to identify the most economical way of allocating the process into general operations. It has been observed by Frederick W. Taylor that all the individuals in this world are not created equal and therefore it is significant to provide them adequate training in order to alter the differences in the behaviour and the performance (Montana & Charnov, 2008). Classical Management Theories The classical management theory was floated by Henry Fayol. He tried to monitor workplace processes and therefore categorized to be into rational and descriptive, possessing broad applications and importance. The numerous workplace processes upon which he paid due attention are division of work, hierarchy, unity of command, discipline, unity of direction, chain of command, order and stability of tenure among others (Montana & Charnov, 2008). Systems Theory It can be mentioned that the systems theory of organisational behaviour embraces various key components to the parameters of the field replicating the evolutionary process of the time. This theory has numerous characteristics which need to be noted. The contemporary organisation tends to obtain inputs from the external environment, change inputs into outputs and therefore return them back to the society. When there is constant interaction with the environment, organisations learn and try to adapt themselves with the environment (McCrie, 2006). Contingency Theory Contingency Theory is almost similar to the systems theory and therefore states that it is the environmental situation that demonstrates the structural and functional perspectives of the organisation. It further tries to mention that in order to respond to the contingencies of the environment there is requirement of numerous organizational forms. Contingency theory can be summarized as the ways of organizing activities that relies upon the characteristics of the environment to which the organisation must have some linkage (Farazmand, 2002). It can be observed that the evolution of the management theory tries to reflect how there has been significant modifications in the environmental conditions as well as in organizational and managerial practices. In order to assist the modern managers and the organisations, it is significant to provide them value. It is also significant for the theories of the organizational behaviour as well as the management to identify the numerous challenges and the environment at which these managers operate. International integration, cultural diversity along with globalization introduces the organisation with complex environment and therefore these bring in a major challenge for those managing these people. There are many tools as well as insights in organizational behaviour that can assist in dealing with the challenges. However, it is significant for the managers to complement those theories as well as tools with their own understanding so that they can identify the best ways to deal with the challenges faced by them (Farazmand, 2002). Issues in Contemporary Organisation It has been identified that one of the significant problems faced by the modern organisation begins from the fragmentation of the boundary between the organization’s internal as well as external aspects. Few decades back, it was easier for the organisation to break internal functioning from their external relations in the environment. The reason behind this was the fact that the organisation did not have much contact between the insiders and the outsiders (Hatch, 2007). It has been realized that the subject of organizational behaviour has developed itself into three main sub-divisions. They are micro organizational behaviour, meso organizational behaviour and macro organizational behaviour. Therefore, the point to be considered is that either individually or collectively, all the three subfields of the organisation named above provide the organisation with valuable information, advice and insights to the managers who are confronting the problems of comprehending and reacting to a variety of contemporary issues. According to the views of the numerous researchers and the academicians, the managers in the modern day context face five significant problems. They are related to workforce diversity, organizational adaptability, international development and growth, team productivity and ethical concerns (Hatch, 2007). One of the significant challenges faced by the organisation in the modern day context is related to adjusting to the people who are of dissimilar cultural background. Managing distinct personnel is known as workforce diversity (Hatch, 2007). Workforce diversity presents the contemporary managers with various challenges. The first issue is related to individual fairness and group fairness. This issue describes the steps that need to be taken by the management in acclimatizing the HR programs to varied groups of employees. Confrontation to change is another factor which is considered as one of the most challenging tasks in managing the diverse workforce. One of the crucial resistances to change is corporate culture which acts as a roadblock for those people who wish to survive in the corporate setting. Group cohesiveness and interpersonal conflicts can also be considered as the significant challenges in managing the diversity. On one hand, when employee diversity is the main driver of creativity and problem solving, diversity can also introduce with open conflicts as well as chaos within the organisation when there is lack of esteem as well as doubt among the members of the group. This indicates that with the rise in the diversity in the organisation, they face high risks since the employees are at times reluctant to work together successfully. There may be high interpersonal frictions instead of cooperation among the members of the organisation (Slideshare, 2008). Team productivity is also one of the significant issues of organisation behaviour faced by the modern organisations. It has been recognized that the management of the organisation at times is not capable of focusing much upon the processes of the organizational behaviour. The top-down approach is being followed where the chain of command and the control flows from the top management. Therefore, all the power rests on the top management whereas there is very little power with non-managerial employees. It is because of this fact that most of the organisations in the recent times have started using high degree of empowerment. With the term empowerment, it can be referred to as the delegation of the authority to the non-managers so that they are capable of making decisions relevant to their jobs. Organizations in order to accomplish empowerment try to make teams and thus assign these teams with the responsibility of self management such as hiring, training and firing, assessment of the quality of the output, setting of the production targets among others (Hatch, 2007). The other main issue faced in the contemporary organisation is related to organizational adaptability. It has been observed that in the modern business context the focus of the business houses is not upon the mass production of cheap and interchangeable commodities. It is more centred towards producing high quality goods and services which are prepared in small batches and focused towards meeting the needs and the demands of the customers. This change in the production method requires huge amount of flexibility and therefore it is significant to focus upon quality. The organisation are adapting to such changes by executing programs requiring novel ways of fragmenting the work of organizations’ into jobs and thus coordinating the work of the employees of the organisation (Hatch, 2007). International growth and development has also been noticed to gain increasing prominence in the modern day organisation. It presents a challenge to the managers of the 21st century. There are very few firms that prevent themselves from expanding their operation in the international markets. The organizations today are paying attention towards multinationalism or statelessness. Globalization has altered the way companies perform their business operations. Therefore, managers are faced with the issues of change and they must prepare high sensitivity towards such international cultural differences (Hatch, 2007). Managing the organizational behaviour in the organisation takes into account the use and acquisition of the power. Therefore, managers in the contemporary organisation are faced with the problems in identifying whether the utilization of the power at a particular point of time is effective or not. In this context it can be mentioned that the approach that can be utilized by the managers to effectively deal with the problems related to ethical concerns is utilitarianist perspective. They can then review the suitability of the utilization of the power in terms of consequence of the use. The companies can also make use of the other perspectives in order to deal with the issues related to the ethical concerns in the contemporary organizations. This perspective is extracted from the theory of moral right which states that the power can be used suitably only if no person’s personal right or freedom is sacrificed (Wagner & Et. Al., 2009). Conclusion The modern organisations are characterized as multi-faceted and multi-tasked. It is significant for the organizations’ to express the values for the employees clearly so that it can foster innovation and creativity. The issues need to be handled effectively so that the task of the organisation does not get hampered and the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organisation are enhanced. It has been observed that there has been transformation in the theories of organisation behaviour with the pace of time, thus possessing new challenges for the organisation. The application of organisation behaviour theories can help to effectively deal with these challenges. References Farazmand, A., 2002. Modern Organisations: Theory And Practice. Greenwood Publishing Group. Hatch, M. J., 2007. “Relations Between Organization Al Culture, Identity And Image”, European Journal Of Marketing. Vol: 31, Iss: 6. Huczynski, A. & Buchanan, D., 2010. Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall. McCrie, R. D., 2006. Security Operation Management. Butterworth-Heineman. Montana, P. J. & Charnov, B. H., 2008. Management. Barron’s Educational Series. Mullins, L.J. 2008. Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. Pitman. Slideshare, 2008. Diversity Management- The Challenges And The Opportunities. Managing Diversity. [Online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/shruti27bhatia/diversity-management-the-challenges-and-opportunities-presentation [Accessed November 22, 2011]. Wagner, J. A. & Et. Al., 2009. Organisational Behavior: Securing Competitive Advantage. Taylor & Francis. . Read More