Three Issues of Organizational Behaviour - Coursework Example

Proposal In this essay, we are going to analyze three topics from the module of organizational behaviour by linking them with our personal experiences. This study will not only make our understanding of organizational behaviour more clear but also teach us how we can apply our learning in personal routine and certain work situations. G. A. Cole (2005) defines organizational behaviour as an interdisciplinary area that investigates the interaction between individuals, teams and groups structures at work and how they behave in a certain environment and work related situation. The topics we have chosen from the context of organizational behaviour are: motivation, leadership and organizational politics. We are first going to present the basic concept of each of the three topics of organizational behaviour and then relate them with our real life examples- at the end; we will conclude our discussion by creating association with any future actions. Three Issues of Organizational Behaviour First of all, we need to refresh our knowledge and understanding of organizational behaviour. It is an interdisciplinary area meaning, it comprises knowledge and theories of various fields such as psychology, management, sociology and communication. Angeli Kinicki, Robert Kreitner (2009) states that organizational behaviour talks about how an individual will behave in business environment where he has to interact with colleagues and groups; and also has to face and cope up with certain work related situations. For instance, maintaining harmony, collaboration and peace when working in teams and groups and coping up with work stress, communication issues, organizational politics, emotions; and then practicing mentoring, leadership and certain behaviours in specific organizational situations all come under the roof of organizational behaviour. Organizational behaviour also constitutes management and organizational theories which provide foundation and guideline for the study area. In this essay, we will be discussing the three issues from organizational behaviour and associate each issue with our real life experiences either personal and work related. The first issues we have chosen for our discussion is leadership. Leadership Ricky W. Griffin, Gregory Moorehead (2010) studies leadership on two approaches: one approach is process based and the other is property based. According to the process approach, leadership is the use of influence to direct and coordinate the activities and efforts of organizational members towards the achievement of certain goals. On the other hand, the property based approach says that leadership is a trait based concept. Leadership is formed of a set of powerful characteristics that have the ability to persuade others to direct their efforts towards the betterment of the organization while maintaining a thorough focus on their defined goals. Here we also need to look at the meaning of influence, which is the capability to effect or change perceptions, attitudes, behaviour and motivational level of others. At this point we also need to understand the linkage between leadership and management. A manager cannot be a leader every time but a leader necessarily posses both the traits of a good manager and a leader. There are a number of distinguishing features between a manager and leader but what creates borderline is the fact that a leader is the one who uses his influential traits to motivate the individuals and get the organization going even when the circumstances are not favorable. On the contrary, a manager is someone who ensures that all the organizational members direct their efforts towards the attainment of goals as laid down by the top management; the role of a manager is usually administrative and significant when the predictions are stable. In the organization where I worked, I was lucky to have experienced the power and influence of a leader. Our branch head was someone who I look up to whenever I sense trouble. He, with his influencing ideas and personality has not only inspired me but the entire team member in times when we lost all hope for the success of our organization. This leader has a very strong personality which was based on a blend of poise and charisma. Whenever he talked, every word that came from his mouth has a certain meaning and purity associated to it. He was someone who would want to see the entire team work with collaboration and harmony. Under the spell of his leadership, not only the organization walked on the road to success but he also won the hearts of each organizational members. He was someone who was concerned about each individual’s performance and motivational level and did every possible thing to make sure that the stamina and consistency does not fall. Motivation The second issue in the context of organizational behaviour that we will be discussing is of motivation. Motivation is one of the most complex yet important areas of organizational behaviour. Multiple definitions of motivation have been present in the literature. Debra L. Nelson, James C. Quick (2008) defines motivation as a process that ignites from within and directs the behaviour towards the achievement of goals. There are various theories which support and explain motivation. The internal theory of motivation suggests that motivation cannot be forced in into someone; it is something that comes from within and not forcefully. Maslow’s theory of motivation forms the basis for this theory. The external theory of motivation suggests that sometimes help from external factors has to be taken into account to create a desire, an ignition in an individual. Sharlyn J. Lauby (2005) suggests that there are different ways to motivate an individual for instance; sometimes words of appreciation and encouragement are more than enough to get him going. Sometimes, the individual feels motivated when rewards in the form of incentives, bonuses or pay increase are associated with the completion of a certain targets. There was once this situation I saw at this assembly line. I was doing my internship and my task was to examine how carefully the workers work on the assembly line and make a report on it. Apart from that, I noticed something really alarming. All the workers were working like a robot meaning they were just doing their job for the sake of without any involvement of interest and passion. This was because they find their job routine and boring. The management took notice of it and decided to announce bonus for the workers with the least defect count. The turnover was not even close to the expectations. This was a signal that something else must be done to lift up the motivation levels. After much consideration, the management decided to make use of non monetary techniques so job rotation was chosen as the best option. The workers were allowed to work on different sections of the plant. The result was remarkable. This initiative not only helped the workers practically learn what happens at other production area but also brought a change in the work behaviour of all the plant workers. They started to enjoy their job and felt more energetic and determined. The example explains that non monetary benefits are also important in motivating the workforce. Although money is the primary motivator but sometimes other factors which seem negligible are actually required to fuel up the organizational members. Organizational Politics Politics in organizations have been going on since the very beginning. It is a phenomenon that cannot be eradicated from an organizational setting no matter how many counseling or training sessions are conducted on it. The reason behind its persistence lies in the fact that jealousy, self interest and doing wrong for gaining or maintaining power and status quo are innate in human nature-such traits can be however suppressed, but there is no guarantee of complete carrying off. Eran Vigoda-Gadot (2003) wrote that organizational politics is a behaviour that has been widely studied by researchers over decades. Organizational politics is usually destructive and is the basic reason behind work stress, low levels of job satisfaction, low self esteem and most of all, less or no interest in actual assigned tasks. Sometimes, organizational politics is sometimes assumed the same as office gossips which is not really the case. Gossiping in office is considered as a social activity; organizational politics is much more than that. Organizational politics makes use of unethical ways by the employees to achieve their purposes. These purposes are usually in the personal interest of the employees and do not have anything to do with the organizational goals. Sometimes, organizational politics is seen as a means to attain high salaries, monetary benefits or promotion but studies have shown that politics are also used as a tool to gain power, authority and control. I have seen organizational politics to be much pronounced in the organization where I worked as a part time employee. Once there was an announcement for an internal promotion and more than six employees applied for this one seat. The management set up a written test and interview as the promotion selection method. The ones who were capable were confident of their skills and knew that that the best among them would get selected. However, one of them was a black sheep. His capabilities were not as much as the other five employees but he was good at maintaining social relationships with team members as well as the top management. Before the promotion test day, he started to increase his good terms with the senior management and through his words and actions communicated to them that the others are not worthy of this promotion by making use of fake stories about their performance and character. I was amazed when the result came out; the guy who played politics actually got promoted to the higher rank whereas the deserving ones were left behind. Those aware of this employee’s dirty game did report to the management about it but because of his good connections there, no action was taken against him. I suggest that the employees who see a lot of organizational politics around them must be very careful when communicating. They must first analyze the landscape like good golfers do and then make their move intelligently. References Angeli Kinicki, Robert Kreitner (2009). Organizational Behaviour. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited. p2-38. Debra L. Nelson, James C. Quick (2008). Understanding Organizational Behavior. 3rd ed. Mason: Thomson South-Western. p122-130. Eran Vigoda-Gadot (2003). Developments in Organizational Politics: How Political Dynamics Affect Employee Performance in Modern Work Site. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. p66-85. G. A. Cole (2005). Organizational Behaviour. London: Thomson Learning. p1-34. Ricky W. Griffin, Gregory Moorehead (2010). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. London: Cengage Learning. p120-135. Sharlyn J. Lauby (2005). Motivating Employees. USA: ASTD Press. p1-5. Read More