Organizational Behavior: Work Motivation, Leadership and Organizational Goals and Structure - Essay Example

 Organizational Behavior: Work Motivation, Leadership and Organizational Goals and Structure. Organizational behavior relates to the interaction and responses of people molded from diverse situation, background, culture and sense-of-valuing but are working in same institution to contribute for its goals. Their motivation may vary depending on their discipline, knowledge, talents and realities. Leadership, organizational structure and goals have levels of influence though about workers performance and satisfaction. This essay will critically discuss the relation of work motivation, leadership and organizational goals and structure amid challenges in the economic front. It will also cite Concentrix company to partially view its organizational behavior using select themes. Work Motivation Work motivations are either pushed by internal or external factors. Intrinsic motivations are caused by sense of achievement, self-esteem, for survival, and for job satisfaction (Dur & Delfgaauw, 2003). Sense of achievement refers about rewarding accomplishment while self-esteem meant about being considerably ‘feeling good’ for contributing to the achievement of organizational goals (Dur & Delfgaauw, 2003) or are meeting fundamental human needs. Job satisfaction refers to sense of fulfillment and contentment for wages received that is commensurate to services rendered. Motivated employees work hard, regardless of educational status although companies would prefer and value workers who are intrinsically motivated or those who can incredibly commit to work specific functions despite minimum wage (Ashraf, 2011 & Fulmer, 2000). This can be exploited by any company to prefer optimal worker’s selection although this largely depends on the ability of the management to observe the worker’s motivation (Dur & Delfgaauw, 2003). Motivation is something physiological and psychological that drives a person to invest his thoughts and force to achieve a goal in exchange for remuneration. Such enthusiasm however can be improved through external drives (Ashraf, 2011). This are done through job enrichment, making time flexible, workers’ empowerment, creation of spaces for job discourses and offering workers company stock(Ashraf, 2011). Job enrichment can be done through conduct of series of training and seminar. Highly skilled employees can improve company’s performance and leverage in production or marketing (Ashraf, 2011). Empowering workers refer to the strategy of engaging employees in decision-making on issues relating to their work and environment. It is providing them ample and appropriate authority to decide on matters that are directly affecting them (Ashraf, 2011). They should also be provided with spaces or a forum where they can discuss their issues and problems as workers to enable them to find resolutions that will improve their conditions. Other motivational factor is that strategy where employees are provided with company stock in exchange of developing a more positive and performance-oriented performance management (Ashraf, 2011). This practice is evident or offered by Concentrix Company, a leading call center and sister company of Synnex, to its employees. Employees who are able to achieve targets within specified period are able to receive benefits of stock share at the end of the year. Job satisfaction is indeed externally motivated by reward system expressed in a form of incentives, bonus, additional fees, or promotion from present designation to a higher post. It is also influenced by the nature, environment and conditions of work as well as supervisory behavior although it must be realized too that job satisfaction impartially depends employee’s job performance. Leadership Job satisfaction relates to leadership. It is about providing guidance or direction to an institution in accordance to set vision, mission and goals. Corporation requires competent business leadership to lead the structure, management, marketing, production and in ensuring business accountability (Ashraf, 2011; Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). Business leaders should be imbued with principles to model, technical skills, entrepreneurial drive, charisma, dedication, focus, commitment, optimism, ability to nurture, understanding, and sense of purpose (Ashraf, 2011). This is because business organizations have hierarchies of responsibilities that need to be manage responsibly. Business leadership demands innovative leadership, process-oriented, systemic control, performance sensitive, concern on development, flexibility, and adept on appraisal (Ashraf, 2011; Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). Such leadership is maybe directive, delegative, consultative, participative, or may take negotiative skills, transformational and transactional, depending on what the institution or organization wanting to achieve (Ashraf, 2011). All these leadership styles can be practiced in business politics since decision-making, bargaining, marketing, production or defining leverage in the market needs business managers’ skill on making use of authority that will redefine the organization’s social niche and ensure competence in business performance. Leadership is essential in organizational politics, if by politics it’s meant distribution of responsibilities, rewards and resources to those who have exhibited competence in their respective performances and to balance interests. This is because leadership’s frame of thought and change of mind, with vested authority, will also affect the internal and external dynamism of an organization. Thus, organizational development experts would relentlessly argue about identifying organization’s vision, mission, goals, ethical values or code of conduct to ensure that decision-makings will not be flawed or fraudulently maneuvered to the detriment of the institution and of employees. Organizational Goals and Structure Organizations are living systems of structure which changes or evolve in accordance to needs and environmental developments (Chandler, 1962 & Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). It is both a system and a process. Its goals are fundamentally the forces that direct the institution and its workers to achieve. Organizational structure is strategic management tool to succeed with long-term objectives; it is a business strategy (Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). With appropriate leadership, organizational structure enables institutional capacity to respond effectively and efficiently to socio-economic environment through planning, allocation of resources, risk management, hiring, decision-making, professional development, communication and reporting, skills and knowledge transfer, as well as performance appraisal (Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). This shows that organizational structure is determined by its plans and goals, dynamically adapting to processes in a rapidly changing society. As a strategy, the structure defines its focus and its framework of management so that leaders or managers are able to exercise authorities based on goals and organizational dynamics in relation to workers’ performance (Mintzberg & Lampel, 1999 and Mayo, 2001). The structure further, will serve as the system where information, communication, and regulations flow in either central or decentralized system of management (Kivipõld & Vadi, 2008). The vertical and horizontal responses and movements of employees and employers within these structures toward achieving goals are perceived as organizational behaviors. Concentrix: Motivation, Leadership, Goals and Structure Applying select themes of organizational behavior to Concentrix, researcher examines motivations, leadership, goals and organizational structure to partially draw an understanding of its organizational behavior. Concentrix, is world’s leading call center built fundamentally on providing customer support services through interaction worldwide (Concentrix, 2011). It claims that it is maximizing long-term value of customers by offering solutions to problems relating to technology or of informational needs of people living in Asia, Latin America, United Kingdom, and United States (Concentrix, 2011). It is a sister company of SYNNEX Corporation and has 25 years experience in managing technology, communications and media (Concentrix, 2011). It is awarded with quality control ISO 9001-2000 and ISO 27001 certifications. As a company that is founded for Knowledge Process Outsourcing, its business is focused on customer support, sales and marketing and back office transaction processing (Concentrix, 2011). Concentrix claimed to have clients who reported satisfaction of services and some maintained relationships with the company for more than 12 years (Concentrix, 2011). Concentrix mission is to deliver knowledge-based sales and support services with sole measure of success i.e. customer satisfaction (Concentrix, 2011). As it is serving clients in major continents of the world, its companies are present in eight countries serving variety of customers from different cultures and of varying languages (Concentrix, 2011). The company’s strategy is building success by making profitable, long-term and strengthened customers’ relationships (Concentrix, 2011). As a center, its programs are focused on sales and marketing support, technical support, customer support, platforms, products, back office, remote infrastructure management, and media business services (Concentrix, 2011). Since the company is working with leading companies worldwide, Concentrix prepare employees with comprehensive training in this career and provided more opportunities for advancement and professional growth. It offered high energy working environment thus as motivation, it offer excellent benefits and incentives program, perks, health benefits, membership to Presidential Club for high performing workers, as well as employees stock share in the company (Concentrix, 2011). Structurally, the company offer posts for Customer Service Representatives (CSR); Help Desk or Technical Support Representatives (HD/TSR); Sales Representatives (SR) and Managerial or Supervisory Functions (Concentrix, 2011). CSR address customer inquiries and problems as well as promote additional products or services while HD/TSR provide efficient diagnosing and resolving technical issues and inquiries often done by experts on computer networks, systems, softwares, hardwares and the likes (Concentrix, 2011). SR promotes products and services to customers, taking orders, closing sales, finding new opportunities and nurturing clients to become regular customers (Concentrix, 2011). The managers and supervisors are on the other hand, responsible for coaching, motivating and conducting performance appraisals with management teams and producing regular reports on the general flow of the companies’ performance (Concentrix, 2011). Being concern of its services and customer satisfaction, Concentrix ensured that all customers can rate or appraise employees’ services through online-based evaluation (Concentrix, 2011). This is part of the external appraisals made to ensure that employees will perform with its mandates very well. Internally, the company rate employees’ performance through its appraisal form which includes target quota sales, tardiness or absenteeism, and management-based evaluations of employees’ performance based on company policies (Concentrix, 2011). Conclusion Motivation, leadership, goals and organizational structure are essential in human resource management and in defining leverage or competitive differential in managing a business in a challenging market. Citing Concentrix as an example, motivating employees are necessary to ensure job satisfaction and to defeat fast turn-over of employees. Leadership, which should be evident in managerial and supervisory posts, should be directed in accordance to companies’ policy and aligned with its goals and direction. The organizational structure provides the system and programs to ensure that each network is contributing towards performance efficiency and efficacy and to ascertain that all movements are geared towards companies’ mission and objectives. REFERENCES Dur, Robert & Delfgaauw, Josse (2003). Signaling and Screening of Workers' Motivation. CESifo Working Paper No. 1099 Kurmet Kivipõld & Maaja Vadi (2008). A Tool for Measuring Institutional Leadership and Its Implementation for the Evaluation of Organizational Leadership Capability.Working Papers 172, Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology. pp 56-68. Ashraf, T. (2011) Organizational Behavior. http://www.unesco.org/education/aladin/paldin/pdf/course02/unit_14.pdf Accessed June 2, 2011 pp 155-168. Chandler, A. D. (1962). Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise. The MIT Press. United States. Fulmer, W. E. (2000). Shaping the Adaptive Organization: Landscape, Learning, and Leadership in Volatile Times. New York: AMACOM American Management Association. Mayo, A. (2001). The Human Value of the Enterprise: Valuing PEOPLE as Assets Monitoring, Measuring, Managing. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Mintzberg, H. and Lampel, J. (1999). Reflecting on the Strategy Process. Sloan Management Review, Spring, 21–30 Concentrix (2011). Company. http://www.concentrix.com/company.html Accessed June 2, 2011. Concentrix (2011). Solutions. http://www.concentrix.com/services.html. Accessed June 2, 2011. Concentrix (2011). Careers. http://www.concentrix.com/careers.html Accessed June 2, 2011. Read More