Why Identity Has Become Central to Understanding Human Behavior at Work - Assignment Example

People Processes and Context ID Lecturer (a). Why identity has become central to understanding human behavior at work? Human behavior at work suggests the manner under which organizations treat their employees and thus expect work in return from them. These linkages manifest the basis of getting productive work done from the employees and thus it is the duty of the employees themselves to demonstrate sound work ethics, corrective procedural followings and so on. Identity under such a context gains quite a significant role as the people behind these identities in essence bring out the real work and exhibit the much talked about behaviors. (Sims, 2002, 223) These human behaviors are not only seen in the wake of the employee-to-employee contact but also the linkages that are formed outside the organizational domains. The people management aspect thus comes into the related equation and acquires a very quintessential position nonetheless. Managing people within any organization is indeed one of the most difficult tasks that there could be. Diversity of these people makes it even harder. There is so much to understand in the wake of their differences and styles that they bring to the table that the organizations face problematic situations whenever they hire new employees or retain old ones in the face of a changing culture. Such is the nature of this quagmire that organizations are known to wilt under pressure from different quarters when it comes to having a clear cut understanding of the way people would react to a ‘change’ scenario and as to what their reactions would be in the wake of closing certain offices and more than that putting an end to their jobs. (Hacker, 1990, 109) Human relations in the wake of understanding the identity basis exists within any workplace when there is a desire to get things done in a corrective fashion. This documentation comes about with a longing to set the organization in order and to bring about accountability within the pertinent ranks. Human relations look to handle conflict and manifest for being assertive on most of the occasions. This allows the personnel to understand the proper use of these skills as well as to incorporate the same within their working domains. (Killian, 2003, 151) In the wake of understanding the identity basis, stress management can come about within human relations in the workplace if the organization is serious on tackling such issues and when personal productivity is a serious concern for the well-being of the employees. Stress indeed mars the basis of any employee who is working towards the completion of the tasks at hand and thus it is the duty of the organization to understand the problems attached with stress itself and how to overcome with the facilitation of quick-fix remedies. The burnout factor happens within the related regimes when the employees are doing the same work over and over again and when there are no changes whatsoever. They are stuck in a role overload scenario and they need to have a serious change within their professional ranks. (Fulton, 1998, 87) Also they have become stale in their jobs and nothing new comes to the fore which makes them feel alienated on most of the occasions. These are the moments when the role of the employees could slide towards negative affectivity and this is something very perilous for the organization and its workplace culture. The identity basis starts becoming complex and there are rifts and procrastination taking place on quite a few instances. Thus the ‘work-aholism’ concept is indeed counterproductive for any organization and all-out efforts need to be taken to do away with such mechanisms which have slowly but surely crept into the workplace domains. It is advisable for any organization to have a workplace which is full of fresh ideas and which inculcates positive energy on a consistent basis more than anything else. (b). How this understanding is informing management practice? The concept of work has changed drastically. People who used to work endlessly without any breaks in the past were considered loyal and dedicated towards the organizational tasks. The same is not the case anymore. Management regimes have made the workers realize that it is all about working in a smart capacity which is important at the end of the day. What this means is the fact that a smart worker would do the same amount of work which a hard working employee carries out, but he would do in such a way that his resources are utilized in a very effective and efficient way, with minimal or absolutely nil wastage levels at his disposal. The new management ideology has coined the terminology of the ‘smart worker’ to enable the employees to understand what is sought from them in the long run and how they can bring about major shifts in their respective attitudes to suggest difference as per their work ethos. (Bishop, 1991) Moving on, the identity basis within the management practice regimes gains its due share since the management understands that different people work within its entirety and it is necessary to keep all of these different people on board. There must not be a single moment where these different identities or people feel that they are left out from the related equation, on one pretext or the other, for or against the betterment of the organization or one another. The identity understanding needs to focus on the shortcomings of the system that is in place within the organization but must not comment on the personality weaknesses. (Green, 1999, 71) The employees must be encouraged in such a way that their distinctive basis comes out clean and clear. There must not be any apprehensions as such and hence a clear cut basis as per their linkage with the organization needs to be ascertained all this while. Diversity is established in the area of managing the people in an effective manner with the help of a manager. This manager not only takes care of the people working under him but also acts as a person who is professional and knows how to get work done from them, be it the specialists, the technicians or other sub-ordinates which are there within the different echelons of the organization. What is significant here to understand is the fact that the aspects of selection demand rigid and hard challenges to be made by the recruiters - the organization’s human resources department as well as the top management as they have to take the best man possible on the job, coming from different professional backdrops. (Galang, 1993) The workers need to be taken as human beings first and foremost and then they should be assigned work in a way that is equivalent with their job capacities and focus. In other words, the amount of work which must be given to them should be commensurate with their management skills and capacity measures. Merely getting work completed through them is an exercise in futility since the end result is one which does not help anyone and the organization suffers as a result of the same. Organizational identity basis and indeed diversity means what kind of organizational working a company usually has within its folds. This could be in the form of a centralized fashion or a company which has a decentralized approach as far as its working methodologies are concerned. The centralized diversity of an organization understands the fact that the supreme basis of instructions and commands rests with only one single party and all the other staff members encircle this post of authority. (Pava, 1999, 62) It might also be true that an organization has different departments and within those different units, there is either the provision of centralized or decentralized approach. The decentralized form of diversity takes its basis from the rationale that more the number of staff members or employees within the organization, more distributed are the chain of command and authority within them. References Bishop, Terence R. (1991). Functional Requisites of Human Resources: Personnel Professionals’ and Line Managers’ Criteria for Effectiveness. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 20 (Journal Article) Fulton, Richard L. (1998). Motivation, Emotions and Leadership: The Silent Side of Management. Quorum Books, pp. 87 Galang, M. Carmen. (1993). Diversity in the Workplace: The Human Resources Management Challenges. Human Resource Planning, Vol. 16 (Journal Article) Green, Thad B. (1999). Motivation, Beliefs and Organizational Transformation. Quorum Books, pp. 71 Hacker, Hartmut. (1990). Work Motivation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 109 Killian, Jerri. (2003). Handbook of Conflict Management. Marcel Dekker, pp. 151 Pava, Moses L. (1999). The Search for Meaning in Organizations: Seven Practical Questions for Ethical Managers. Quorum Books, pp. 62 Sims, Ronald R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Quorum Books, pp. 223 Word Count: 1,316 Read More