Definition of Organizational Behaviour - Term Paper Example

?Organizational Behaviour Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Line Managers and Organizational Performance 3 Organizational Culture & Line Management 4 Present day Leadership & Working Style of Line Managers 7 Line Management & Staff Motivation 8 Summary and Conclusion 10 References 12 Introduction Line Managers and Organizational Performance Line managers or front line managers are managers to whom individual employees or the team reports directly. The front line managers report directly to the mangers at the top level. The line managers are managers at the lower level of hierarchy of management (CIPD, 2013). The employees who report to the line managers do not bear any managerial or supervisory responsibilities. The line managers are usually promoted within the organization and usually do not possess any formal education. The immediate responsibilities of front line include day to day management of employees, managing the operational responsibilities, providing technical expertise, monitoring the organizational process, checking the quality of the work (CIPD, 2013). Some of the major responsibilities of the line managers include planning the objectives, prioritizing the work and communicating these work responsibilities to the employees, scheduling the work of the employees and detailing the work of the employees on monthly or weekly basis, managing the financial resources by monitoring the budget (ACAS, 2009). The line managers manage the employees by treating the employees equally and by creating a congenial work atmosphere (ACAS, 2009). They also set well defined performance standards; ensure that the employees meet the objectives and the performance standards and conduct review meetings which help in facilitating communication. The way line managers present themselves has a significant impact on the performance of the employees. Every organization goes through transformational changes which can have positive or negative impacts on the performance of the employees. To survive and be successful an organization needs to embrace the technological, cultural, behavioural changes with open arms. Creative innovation ensures the long term growth and survival of the organization (Rahimi, Damirchi and Seyyedi, 2011). The line managers play a pivotal role in the creation and facilitation of the innovative, cultural and technological environment of the organization (Rahimi, Damirchi and Seyyedi, 2011). Organizational Culture & Line Management Organizational culture is defined as shared values and understandings that guide the actions of those in organizations (Patti, Fok and Hartman, 1999, p.218). Effective organizational culture provides a work environment which helps the employees to align their personal interest with the organizational objectives (ACAS, 2009). Organizational culture is modified by certain management practices through employee selection, rewards, recognition, strategic direction and innovation (Rahimi, Damirchi and Seyyedi, 2011). Although there are various organizational and environmental factors which affect the organizational performance but the management behaviour and organizational culture plays a key role in the in the employee performance. The organizational environment helps in shaping the management behaviour. However, line managers need to behave and apply leadership oriented style of management to help increase employee performance, innovation and behaviour (Rahimi, Damirchi and Seyyedi, 2011). Firstly, line managers and the top level managers need to identify the leadership style required to increase the organizational effectiveness. Secondly, the leadership style adopted by the line managers currently should be modified as per the organizational culture and employee behaviour. The line manager has to keep one thing in mind that employee behaviour, expectation and performance may vary with different national cultures. The difference in the national culture reflects the difference in the organizational structure and management (Lok and Crawford, 2004). For example it was observed that the organizations which were established solely by a family had a paternalistic approach, promoted value of collectivism and high power distance, bureaucratic control and centralized decision making. Promotion with the organization is often associated with the family members and networks. However, organizations with a hint of western influence have a flat organizational structure which were less bureaucratic, promoted individualism and had decentralized decision making and work empowerment was given to the employees of the organization. Promotion was associated with the merits and personal competencies of the employees (Longenecker and Neubert, 2003). With increasing globalization the organizations and the line managers need to focus on important variables like organizational culture and the leadership style adopted by the managers. The organizational culture determines the leadership style of the managers which in turn determines the organizational commitment, performance and satisfaction of the employees (Lok and Crawford, 2004). Organizational culture influences how the line managers set the personal and professional goals, perform tasks and manage the resources to achieve them. Organizational culture affects the way the employees behave, think and make decisions. The managers adopt a suitable leadership approach which helps in exerting considerable influence in areas like organizational commitment and performance of the employees. Different theorists have proposed different leadership-culture approaches suitable for organizations. For example authors Jones and Goffee have identified four forms of organizational culture which are mercenary, networking, communal and fragmented (Lok and Crawford, 2004). However author Wallach that there are three important types of organizational culture which are supportive, innovative and bureaucratic (Lok and Crawford, 2004). It is observed that the organizations in the east like Hong Kong and Japan have a high power distance and the important decision is made by the managers at the top and senior level managers (Lok and Crawford, 2004). These organizations are very bureaucratic in nature and the authority lies within the top level managers. However, organizations in Australia and USA have low power distances and the authority is delegated and decentralized in the lower levels of the hierarchy (Lok and Crawford, 2004). Organizations with a bureaucratic approach have a strict ownership, control and centralized decision making. Employees have to follow the instructions set by the top and line managers (Lok and Crawford, 2004). As mentioned before that the leadership approach can be adopted only if the organizational culture is identified. Hierarchal culture signifies bureaucracy and stability (Agbejule, 2011). Group culture signifies participation, teamwork and communication to achieve organizational development and effectiveness (Agbejule, 2011). Development culture signifies creative innovation and stability in an organization which promotes idea generation and control (Agbejule, 2011). Organizations possessing this type of environment usually have flexibility values; these values are correlated to the employee performance (Agbejule, 2011). A strong culture has a direct and positive influence on the organizational performance. Strongly held flexibility values in an organization helps the managers to predict employee reaction which helps to minimize the undesired consequences (Agbejule, 2011). It was also observed that superior performance of the employees requires vision, creativity, perspective, judgement and critical analysis of the line managers (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). Interpersonal sensivity, communication skills are required for coordination of activities, problem solving and decision making (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). Effective communication skills between the employers and employee, employee and employee determine the organizational efficiency (Agbejule, 2011). Organizations with different cultural environment have different communication process. Organizations with a stricter control and bureaucratic approach follow the poor bottom up and poor top up communication model which indicates that there is a non systematic flow of communication (Longenecker, Simonetti and Sharkey, 1999). In this model there is flow of informal communication only among the employees and poor top up communication approach suggests that instruction and directions are discussed only at the top level (Longenecker, Simonetti and Sharkey, 1999). The instructions are not disseminated at the lower levels of management and results in failure of following the instructions among the employees at the lower level of management to understand the instructions or initiatives (Longenecker, Simonetti and Sharkey, 1999). This communication gap is also called as communication vacuum (Longenecker, Simonetti and Sharkey, 1999). Organizations which posses group and developmental culture usually follow the systematic communication model which indicates flow of communication from the top level managers to middle level, middle level to lower level managers. The line managers usually conduct regular meeting which focuses on topics like performance standards, progress, activities and problems of the employees. Present day Leadership & Working Style of Line Managers Presently, front line managers are known by various names like team leader, supervisor, project leader, manager etc (ACAS, 2009). Traditionally the function of the managers was limited to monitoring and supervising. However, the modern day line management practice focussed on arranging and conducting meetings, delegating work responsibility, engage in smooth interaction with the employees and the HR department, arrange training and development facilities for employees, manage conflict at work with employees (University of Edinburgh, n.d). In today’s work environment the line manager needs to work closely with the employees, trade unions and employee representatives. For example in retail sales the responsibilities of the front line managers are usually to manage the customer care (ACAS, 2009), manage the sales staff including recruitment and selection, planning and preparing schedules and arranging meetings which focuses on topics like the performance and the future targets of the employees (University of Edinburgh, n.d). Although the line manager directly reports to the managers at the top and higher levels, he has to main an effective communication channel with the managers at the top level, HR department, supplier, employees etc (Sims, 2001).The line managers today are more concerned on developing established connections with the employees, establishing a bond with the employees helps in enhancing the efficiency of the employees. Certain line managers are even focussed on recruitment & selection of the employees because they are more acquainted with job requirements and job skills than the HR department of the organization (Armstrong, 1998). Thus, we can say that the key elements on which the line managers in restaurants, multinational corporations, tourism etc focus today are 1) effective communication skills 2) managing the human resource 3) team development skills 4) customer service skills 5) problem solving skills like managing conflicts among employees (CIPD, 2008). Managing work conflict is an integral part of management process. It reflects that the line managers are capable of effective human resource management, facilitating communication and providing effective development to the employees (CIPD, 2008). Line Management & Staff Motivation Traditionally the line managers focussed on identification of the tools and techniques to be used for increasing the efficiency and enhancing the skills of the employees (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). However, the recent focus of the modern day line managers is to adopt a leadership style that has a combination of the knowledge, skills, and core personality characteristics which include traits, self concepts and motives that lead to organizational effectiveness and organizational commitment among employees (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). It is believed by various theorists that the competencies and skills of the managers are closely related to the superior performance of the organization (Agbejule, 2011). The line managers and the top level managers have considerable amount of difference in their leadership and management style. Line managers are focused on motivating the employees because they believe that motivation can lead to the enhancement of the skills of the employees which in turn increases the organizational effectiveness (St-Onge et. al., 2009). For example the Equity theory proposed by Stacey Adams laid emphasis on the fact that employees are motivated by the perception of inequity as measured by “outcome” and “input” ratios in comparison to a referent employee (Patti, Fok and Hartman, 1999). Adams has identified three types of employees: Equity sensivity: They follow the traditional equity theory behavioural model and they can sense equity when the input is equal to outcomes. Benevolent : They can sense equity when the input will exceed the outcome Entitled: They sense equity when the outcome exceeds the inputs (Patti, Fok and Hartman, 1999). This theory focuses on how certain employees are not motivated to establish equity relationship in certain equity equations. The benevolent also known as “organizational givers” may be more accepted of the increased competition. The line managers who focus on the organizational structure and the process usually have a team consisting of benevolent employees (Patti, Fok and Hartman, 1999). The other theory known as “Organizational citizenship” was developed in the year 1950 by Denis Organ. The theory proposes that activities like employee contract are voluntarily undertaken by the employees of the organization (Patti, Fok and Hartman, 1999). The contract is divided into two elements; compliance and altruism. Compliance forces the employees to give extra effort to their work so they can exceed their targets and deliver superior performance. Altruism leads the employees to engage actively in the organizational activities and requires the employees to lay emphasis on team work (Chau, 2008). These two elements are believed to increase employee performance and organizational effectiveness. The growth needs &strength or job characteristics model theory focused on specific job characteristics that lead to the critical psychological states of knowledge, responsibility and meaningfulness which can deliver actual and positive results. When critical psychological states are usually present then the high job satisfaction and high motivation factors increase naturally. However this theory is specifically meant for employees and not workers. There is no specific motivational theory that the line manager can adopt to increase the organizational effectiveness and the employee performance however, the theories mentioned above will increase the organizational effectiveness and organizational commitment among employees to a large extent. The line managers have to identify the motivational factors that can increase the efficiency and help the employees achieve their established targets. Summary and Conclusion Thus we have observed that the task of the line managers does not extend only to the immediate reporting to the top level managers and senior management (Longenecker and Neubert, 2003). Human resource management, monitoring employee performance, coordinating with various departments of the organization and critical analysis of the progress of the employees are some of the extended tasks of the line managers. A positive link between the leadership dimensions of the line managers and employee performance strengthens the bond between the employer- employee and employee –organization (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). Thus we can observe that organizational culture affects the leadership and motivational skills of the line managers to a certain extent but line managers have the capability of inspiring the employees and inculcating positive change among employees. The efficiency of the line management practice in the organization decides the success of the organization (Turner, Muller and Dulewicz, 2009). References ACAS, 2009. Frontline managers [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 16 May 2013]. Agbejule, A. T., 2011. Organizational culture and performance: the role of management accounting system. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 12(1), p.74-89. Armstrong, M., 1998. Managing people: A practical guide for line managers. London: Kogan Page. Chau, V.S., 2008. The relationship of strategic performance management to team strategy, company performance and organizational effectiveness. Team Performance Management, 13(4), p.113-117. CIPD, 2008. Managing conflict at work [pdf] Available at: < http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/humrs/staffinfo/organisationaldevelopment/leadership/dashboard/Managing%20Conflict%20at%20Work%20-%20a%20guide%20for%20line%20managers.pdf > [Accessed 16 May 2013]. CIPD, 2013. The role of line managers in hr [online] Available at: < http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/role-line-managers-hr.aspx > [Accessed 16 May 2013]. Lok, P. and Crawford, J., 2004. The effect of organizational culture and leadership style on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Journal of development management, 23(3), p.321. Longenecker, C., and Neubert, M. 2003. The management development needs of frontline mangers: Voices from the field. Career Development International, 8(4), p.210-218. Longenecker, C., Simonetti, J. and Sharkey, T., 1999. Why organizations fail: the view from the front-line. MCB University Press, 37(6), p.503-513. Patti, A.L., Fok, L.Y. and Hartman, S.J., 1999. Differences between managers and line employees in a quality management environment. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 21(2), p.214-230. Rahimi, G., Damirchi, G.F. and Seyyedi, M.H., 2011. Surveying of organizational culture and management behaviour affect in organizational innovation. IDOSI Publications, 14(11), p.1763-1769. Sims, R.R. ed., 2001. The challenge of front-line management: Flattened organizations in the new economy. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. St-Onge, S., Morin, D. Dupuis, F. and Bellehumeur, M., 2009. Managers’ motivation to evaluate subordinate performance. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 4(3), p.273-293. Turner, J. T., Muller, R. and Dulewicz, V., 2009. Comparing the leadership styles of functional and project managers. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2(2), p.198-216. University of Edinburgh, n.d. Information for line managers [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 16 May 2013]. Read More