Understanding Human Behavior in Managing Workforce - Essay Example

Running head: Understanding Human Behavior Understanding Human Behavior Insert Insert Grade Insert 17 December Understanding Human Behavior Understanding Human Behavior is essential for optimization of potential of employees in an organization with regards to their interaction with the work environment. Organizational behavior is the bottom line in optimization of the workforce through organizational psychology that applies the concept of employee psychology. It applies principles of psychology managing workers with regards to the impact and the influence of management aspects, methods, and the general work environment on motivation, performance, and job satisfaction among employees. It is important for organizational leaders to evaluate themselves with regards to understanding human behavior to manage the workforce effectively and efficiently for optimized performance. Organizational leaders should be able to put in place the application of leadership principles through knowing oneself and seeking self-improvement by continually strengthening favorable leadership attributes. A leader needs to be proficient technically with regards to tasks and responsibilities of each employee under his/her leadership. Leadership must entail taking responsibility for the organization in general by guiding the organization to new heights alongside making an in depth analysis of challenges and taking corrective actions rather placing the blame on employees. More so, making timely and sound decisions, effective communication to employees and application of the team spirit is also essential for organization leadership. Good leaders seek to achieve self-improvement of leadership attributes that would be useful in understanding human behavior and leading the organizations to greater heights. Leadership attributes for understanding human behavior may include professionalism, selflessness, honesty, proficiency, and competence. Over and above the leadership attributes with regards to employee behavior, the environment in which responsibilities are discharged is paramount. All organizations exist and carry out their day-to-day operations in a specific work environment that is a significant influencing factor on the way leaders manage organizational behavior and respond to opportunities and challenges facing them (Gamage, 2006, p.76). In discharging their duties, leaders have the capability of to influence the work environment through establishing relevant and high performance standards and goals, values, employee and activity concepts. Organizations success and exemplary performance are dependent on the capability of leaders to set high employee performance standards and organizational goals with regards to strategies, plans, work environment relations, and productivity. Values set reflect the value that organizations place for its employees, clients and the community in general through is corporate social responsibility. The values seek to influence organizational behavior through definition of the manner in which organizations are expected to perform. On the other hand, concepts define process and means through which organization activities will be conducted by employees irrespective of their behaviors. In general, these aspects collectively make up the image of the organization concerning organizational behavior. Employee roles and relationships define the variety of human behavior that leaders need to understand considering the fact that roles are the tasks defined by a collection of work expectations with regards to behavior of the workforce. Job descriptions can be only be professionally fitted by understanding human behavior that is best fit to performed the tasks and responsibilities spelled out. Human relationships in the working environment can be properly determined by tasks that make up a job. Although a few isolated tasks can be performed independently, a vast majority of tasks are performed in relationships with other tasks collectively with other workers. Management of organizational behavior comes in handy in situations where tasks are carried out in relationship with others and therefore necessitates efficiency irrespective human differences. Tasks specifications determine the kind of personality behavior required to act in interaction with other tasks. Working as a team is the bottom line of successful performance of interconnected tasks of an organization As the different and connected tasks are carried out, the workers assigned to the tasks often find themselves in a highly interactive environment where human behavior determines if performance runs smoothly or it is brought to a standstill. Initial interrelation of employees is often challenging since the employees do not understand each other and worse off, the leader does not know the unique behavioral characteristics of each worker. However, after frequent interactions, workers get to understand the unique human behavior challenged by every individual employee. According to the normal human behavior, there is always difficulty in getting along with people one has no contact with and those whose behavior vary from our own. Overall, despite diverse human behavior, organizational behavior brings employees into a common and socially acceptable professional behavior through leadership and counseling services to employees with deviant behavior (Seligman, 2004, p.308). There exist distinct forces that influence human behavior within the environs of an organization that include organization climate and culture. Every organization is made up of unique culture that comprises a combination of founder characteristics with regards to past leadership, events, present leadership, history, and crises that the organization has gone through (Newstrom & Davis, 1993). These aspects collectively results in the routines, ways, and rituals carried out in the organization that consequently impact on the individual organization behavior with regards to what it takes for an employee to be consistent with the norm by directing his or her behavior with respect to prevailing circumstances. On the other hand, climate makes up a distinct force that influences human behavior in an organization. Organizational climate is the existing feel of environment in which an organization operates, alongside common and individual attitudes and perceptions of members of the organization (Ivancevich, Konopaske & Matteson, 2007). Although organization culture is a long-standing aspect of an organization’s traditions, rules, formality, and customs, it can be reinforced, replaced, or modified by leaders to fit the activities being carried out for success and efficiency. Generally, climate of an organization represents the beliefs of the workforce with regards an organization’s feel. A workforce perception of the climate of an organization arises from what the members believe concerning the activities being carried out in the organization and thus consequently influences both team and personal job satisfaction and motivation. These influences are dependent on how well a leader outlines expectations to members, the goals, and priorities of an organization alongside systems of rewarding, recognition, and punishment to members. Non-economic sanctions and rewards significantly influence behavior of workers of an organization although this may largely limit the impact of economic incentive plans. Workers do not act or react as individuals but as members of groups. Role of leaders both in formal and informal ways is an important factor in understanding and influencing behavioral aspects in organizations since members act as members of a group or organization but not as individuals (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2007, p.540). More so, influences are dependent on how competent leaders are autonomous to of their decision-making, as well as consequences of these decisions. In addition, climate of organizations are directly related to the style of management and leadership used by leaders on the basis of their skills, values, priorities and attributes as well as their actions and determinations towards the organization. Human behavior with respect to organizations entails ethical climate being the feel of the organizations concerning working environment aspects that form the basis of ethical behavior. Ethical climate concerns the feel of whether individual members of an organization do things in the right manner or behave in a manner that is ethically and generally accepted. These individual members are influenced and directed by their leader towards a particular climate that constitutes the organization climate (Harris & Hartman, 2002, p.5). Leaders therefore need training to understand human behavior and leadership skills that would help them to build workforce teams and effective workgroups. Through effective teams and workgroups, leaders can understand their roles better, their interpersonal developments, as well as how their weaknesses, strengths, and roles influence outcomes within a team. Team members learn how to capitalize on individual strengths and adapt to individual differences in a team to have more positive and target outcomes. Leaders need to understand that emotional intelligence and skills of people are essential competencies in all employee if he she is to overcome organizational behavior challenges. Leaders who recognize the need of developing these competencies in their workforce benefit by creating a more productive work force, better communication and team outcomes with less human behavior conflict . Team members get to attain enhanced job satisfaction in their teams (Wilcox, 2008, p.35) Reducing Prejudice in the Workplace Reducing Prejudice in the Workplace begins with recognizing, revaluating own prejudices and making corrections as a leader before looking at others. I then seek to recognize and reevaluate prejudice in subordinates where I then reinforce prejudice and discrimination that are productive and functionally relevant and contribute to the mission and task of the organization. Managing the prejudice will involve spending time with the person holding an unreasonable prejudice making it safe within the organization to discuss the differences. However, management of value-based prejudices will involve limiting the interactions between conflicting individuals and focusing interactions on topics that don’t hit on the values differences. Additionally, I would also undertake to reinforce non conflict areas of competence, negotiate areas of agreed cooperation and assign a mentor, coach, or a tie-breaker to watch the relationship between the differing individuals and constantly push it toward functional overlaps. Of importance is institutional Prejudices that may be managed through offering verbal reminders in meetings, making clear statements in public and private, establishing a grievance procedure and reinforcing the effective discriminated dimensions by recognizing, promoting, and reinforcing people who exhibit those behaviors. In particular, as leaders we ought to enforce laws, widespread norms, regulations, mass influence processes, and psychotherapeutic means to modify personality (Oskamp, 2000, p.5). Reference List Gamage, D.T., 2006. Professional Development for Leaders and Managers of Self-governing schools. NY: Springer. Harris, O.J., & Hartman, S.J., 2002. Organizational Behavior. NY: Routledge. Oskamp, S., 2000. Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination. NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Seligman, L., 2004. Diagnosis and Treatment planning in Counseling. NY: Springer. ProQuest Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K.K., 2007.Understanding Human Behavior and Social environment. Cengage Learning. Read More