Organizational Behavior - Essay Example

Organizational Behavior Stereotyping The world is a very diverse habitat for man ranging from the geography to the life in it. The human race in particular is very diverse in various aspects ranging from appearance like skin color and stature to language and culture. Culture can be said to define the different human groups that we have in the world. Culture can be said to be the general/collective setting of the people’s mind that differentiates the members of one human group to the members of another group (Wagner, 2009). Culture exhibit differences among different groups of people because they have different values that they believe in and define their culture. The standard patterns that regulate behavior and the institutions arising from these standard patterns also vary across cultures (Wagner, 2009). Stereotyping can be defined as the judgment of people based on the characteristics of the group that they belong or associated with (Mishra, 2008). Stereotyping is widespread in most organizations, and in most cases, it is usually unfounded, inaccurate and biased. This sort of judgment can be due to ethnic affiliations, race, age, or some other factors that are thought to influence behavior. In stereotyping, an individual is not judged based on their behavior but on a generalized platform of the characteristics of the group in which they belong. It is a source of prejudice (unfounded negative emotions towards people of a certain group) in organizations, and sometimes a basis forms of harassment such as sexual harassment. Stereotyping can greatly affect or influence the behavior of both the persons stereotyping and those that the stereotype is directed towards. This can in turn affect the organizational behavior in ways that are detrimental especially on the work performance and esteem of the victims of stereotyping. Stereotyping, can be and should be avoided at all times in an organization for a healthy and productive organizational culture. Managers should be able to respect the cultures of other individuals bearing in mind that they also have a culture. They should be able to integrate individual culture into organizational culture in a manner that is synergistic in enhancing attainment of both individual and organizational goals. References Mishra, M. N. (2001). Organisational Behaviour. Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd: Bangalore. Wagner, T. (2009). Foreign Market Entry and Culture. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag. For maximum productivity of employees in an organization, the manager must ensure that he has a highly motivated workforce. Abraham Maslow an author of the book Motivation and Personality, published 1954(second edition 1970) emphasizes on the need for employees to be in a working environment that provides motivation and enhances self-actualization. Maslow developed five theories that later augmented to seven, this theories are still relevant in the current era. The hierarchy needs theories refer to employee satisfaction in their needs, which may be personal growth, for example increment in salary and providing incentives, which is paramount to the personal welfare of the employee (Bagad, 2008). In his hierarchy, there is the need for the stepwise satisfaction of each need starting with the most basic. Maslow had foreseen the challenges associated with the lack of consideration of the needs of employees as a source of workforce motivation (DuBrin, 2008). He pinpoints that even with the skills in performing the duties and responsibilities, employees would not provide maximum commitment and efficiency in execution of their mandate. Maslow also deduces that the more the needs of the employees are denied the more they will develop the urge for the needs; therefore, there is the need to follow the hierarchy for fulfilment of those needs to make the employees attain to self-actualization. The most basic is the biological and physiological needs –air, food, water, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, and sleep among others. As the old proverb goes, “a hungry man is an angry man” therefore, it is imperative for the management to ensure that these needs are met sufficiently. The employer may provide housing allowance, transport allowance, food like tea and lunch, and appropriate working hours to motivate employees. This also ensures that the employees are in their right state of mind in the working environment. Safety needs-protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability among others are the second level of needs. Employees tend to be less motivated if their security is threatened, and every employee desires to be in an environment where security is guaranteed and uncertainties are minimized (Sapru, 2008). Giving health insurance cover or education policy for their children for example, makes them feel more secure, and will keep the labor force more motivated. Maslow indicated that developing a good employee-employer working relationship is motivating as it gives the employee the opportunity to express him/herself without fear. Instilling a sense of belonging to the employees such as showing value to their idea also motivates them (Bagad, 2008). Employees develop the urge to be recognized for their roles in their position as they stay in the company. Therefore, as Maslow put it the employee should be appreciated and rewarded for the achievement and promoted based on the merit. Cognitive needs- knowledge, meaning among others is the fifth level of needs. Workers should be given the opportunity to quench their thirst for knowledge and information and being given an opportunity to ask a question and fed with an answer. It is the human nature to be curious to know just like every child does when growing up (Sapru, 2008). The desire to learn and understand makes people to have a satisfaction. The sixth level is Aesthetic needs- appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, the management should understand that every individual likes to look attractive and presentable, and should thus appreciate the attempts by the employee to look beautiful and look attractive. The highest level is Self-actualization needs- realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, pursuing personal growth and top experiences. This is where the individual want to achieve the fullest creativeness; in this case, the person is given the opportunity to be what he wants. References DuBrin, A. (2008). Essentials of Management. Mason: Cengage Learning. Sapru, R.K. (2008). Administrative Theories And Management Thought 2Nd Ed. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Bagad, V.S. (2008). Financial & Industrial Management. Pune: Technical Publications. The human resource is possibly the most significant of all resources that are managed by managers in organizations, and are the most significant resource in the growth and success of an organization. Good managers are not only effective in their management of technical and economic resources but also very effective in people management bearing in mind that people are ultimately the most precious resource to their organization and are the only real source of continuing competitive advantage. The theory ,research and practice of HRM has changed significantly in the last century and has experienced major transformations both in form and function in different countries driven by internal, external and environmental forces. HRM has greatly transformed from the earlier maintenance function with minimal baseline impact to what is today called a source of sustainable competitive advantage. It is intuitive to all and evident that people have different behaviors at work in organizations. Behavior can simply be defined as the function of person to the environment in which that person is working in (Robbins, 2004). The iceberg theory suggests that the conscious behavior of an individual consists only 10% of their psyche whereas the greater percentage of an individual’s behavior is unconscious. The ten percent is likened to the visible part of the iceberg, and the 905 is likened to the submerged part of the iceberg. The factors that influence human behavior can simply be categorized into personal and environmental factors, where the intersection of personal and environmental factors defines the behavior of an individual in an organization. John Ivancevich and Michael Mattson argue that the prime variables/ factors that influence personal behavior in organizations are ability and skills, demographic factors, perception, personality and attitude each of which has a different bearing on organizational behavior and performance. The physical and mental capacity/capability of an individual to do something is what is called ability (Lombardo and Foschi, 2003). Skill can in simple words be defined as the ability of an individual to act in a manner that ensures good or excellent performance. Skill and ability can be acquired through learning or experience. In an organization, it is the work of the reporting manager to identify and match skills and ability with responsibilities and jobs available. The reporting managers for instance nominate individuals for Leadership training programs depending on their ability. A person’s full potential can be realized if his abilities are matched with the job requirements in an organization. The cognitive process that enables a meaningful interpretation of environmental stimuli is called perception (Griffin & Moorhead, 2012). How an employee perceives things in an organization can greatly influence his/her behavior and performance. Managers should ensure that employees have a positive perception towards the job they do by creating a favorable and conducive working environment. This is done by enhancing trust between the management and the subordinate staff; the employees are well managed and not bullied. The demographic factors are those that have a bearing on socio-economic background such as sex, age, education level experience and race (Robbins, 2004). Managers should seek to hire competent and experienced personnel to ensure that the organization has a competitive advantage. A good example is the BBC, which is a multiracial organization and a multicultural employer, and most of the staff is young and dynamic, this is exemplified in the vigor and energy they show in their work. There can be no doubt about the efficacy of a young and educated labor force; it is the kind that every manager desires. Personality is perhaps the most important variable that affects the behavior of an individual in an organization. The personality is the making of an individual and it can be said to be the characteristics and definitive traits of a person and their interaction with the manner in which an individual respond to others and situations. Research work has proven that there are five main compartments of personality commonly referred to as the Big Five personality dimensions. Conscientiousness is the dimension most related to job performance, it is attributed to reliability, being dependable, more careful and organized and having good plans and it has a great bearing on orientation and presentation of ability of an individual. Being an extrovert or introvert refers to the extent in which a person is sociable and can easily relate with others as well as themselves in meditation and reflections. More often than not extroverts are usually people who are talkative, active assertive and ambitious. They find it easier to interact with others and thus share ideas and speak out their mind. This is particularly important in understanding each other and enhancing mutual relationships. Openness to experience can be said to be the extent in which an individual is imaginative, curious, and adventurous in seeking new experience. It entails being open minded, thinking, and approaching matters in a wide spectrum perspective. This attribute is particularly important in innovation and creativity, the BBC creativity team is made up of people with a strong aspect of openness to experience. Emotional stability has a bearing on the degree of anxiety, depression, anger and insecurity, which has a direct effect on an individual’s productivity. Agreeableness on the other hand refers to the extent of good nature of a person, courtesy and being flexible which make a person likeable to many. It is however worth noting that the essence and relevance of personality dimension depends on the job level and the situation, and a match of personality and job is a very important aspect of human resource. In an organization, it is usually the work of the management in hiring and structuring the labor force. According to Johnson & Whittington 2008, four personality characteristics have a bearing on work related behavior, which are Locus of control, self-monitoring, Type-A behavior and Machiavellianism. It is imperative to consider the iceberg theory put forward by Sigmund Freud which stated that our conscious behavior only consist of 10% of our psyche which he compared to the visible tip of the iceberg. This means that the greater motivation of an individual’s behavior is actually the unconscious one which can only be revealed through psychometric tests. Attitude is another variable that has a complex relationship with job performance. Attitude can in simple terms be described as feeling, belief and behavior and has a direct impact on employee behavior and performance in an organization. One of the most important aspects of attitude is job satisfaction, which is determined by factors like pay, the job itself, promotion, the supervisor and relation with colleagues at work. Managers have a very great impact on job satisfaction than any other individual behavior. However, the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance is quite complex and involves intersection of multiple personal and organizational factors. Values are another important variable that influence behavior and personality. Values can be defined as terminal beliefs concerning what is more important, worthwhile and desirable in a certain setting, for instance cultural values in a certain cultural setting. Instrumental values are the means that an individual believe they should use to achieve a specific goal. One of the most important work related value is work ethics, but it interestingly elicits different feelings from different people. There are those who have a relativist view on ethics and believe that what is right or wrong depends on the particular situation or context and there are those who hold a universal view of ethics and believe that there is a standard code of ethic that should be observed at all times (Hatch, 2006). There are instances when there is a conflict between employee and organizational values, a situation, which managers should control by integrating, and trying to fit the various employee values with organizational values in a manner like that suggested in the expectancy theory. Motivational leadership goes beyond management, which involves getting things done using an organization’s resources, regulations, rules and formal patterns. Leadership entails effecting change and new initiatives, which might not have the support of the majority. However, it is about how you do it and not what you. Application of democratic and consultative leadership ensures that employees are involved in decision-making. This encourages dynamism as well as employee motivation, which in turn highly increases employee productivity. The employees feel more appreciated and develop a sense of ownership and responsibility. References Griffin, R.W & Moorhead, G. (2012), Organisational Behaviour: Managing People and Organisations, 10th Ed. South-Western: Cengage Learning.  Robbins, P. (2004). Organizational Behaviour - Concepts, Controversies, Applications. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Lombardo, G.P & Foschi, R. (2003). The Concept of Personality between 19th Century France and 20th Century American Psychology. History of Psychology. Hatch, M.J. 2006, Organization Theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More