Organisational Behavior - Case Study Example

Organizational Behaviour Name Institution Date Organizational Behaviour Introduction Motivation is a crucial component in organization Theories have been formulated to encourage and elucidate to organizations the importance of knowing what drives individual employees in an organization. Currently organizations try as much as possible to train their managers on how to use motivation as a tool to increase production. For a manger or employer to know the attitudes, behavior and character of individual employees, understanding of motivation and its theories is essential. This case study will discuss and highlight importance of motivation both to the employer and employee and draw its evidence from motivation theories. Organizational behavior theories which help an organization in strategizing have also been mentioned. Organizational Behavior Concepts In the organization that George works for, there are no motivational concepts to inspire employees. Employees are not appreciated and this greatly influences their delivery and performance. Performance is the accomplishment or achievement of a task measured against effectiveness, efficiency, speed and cost. An individual’s performance and hard work are very significant in determining ones performance appraisals. In George’s situation, the he lacks motivation from the superiors at work. He puts so much effort in his work, works very hard but does not get any appreciation or motivation from his team members. His work and effort does not seem to be recognized. This ends up de-motivating him and he starts losing interest in his work. He starts coming to work late and does not show much interest compared when he started. This takes away his love for the job and the company in general (Cardy and Leonard, 2011). He loses a kin interest in his work. The de-motivation robs him of flexibility at work because he has sacrificed so much time and put in a lot of time in the project that he was to do together with his team members Janet and Daniel but they do not see it. Instead of Janet encouraging him for his hard work and dedication, she blasts him and intimidates him in front of the other team member-Daniel because he was unable to contribute any point in the development of the project. George seems to lack tolerance and he gives up so fast because of the de-motivation that he encounters and the bad comments about his work. He was feeling a loss of confidence and adequacy. George is not getting any recognition for the effort that he has shown. Daniel and Janet his team members did not give him a chance to show them his ideas or go through them. They did not give him time to learn and familiarize himself with the project and task at hand. They went through their ideas and points so fast as he was not part of the team. George shows patience and love for his work that when he goes back home, he went through the project again in order to look at it from a new angle and give other ideas. After all that, Janet still thinks George is not good enough and this de-motivates him greatly. The organization lacks recognition of employees (Vecchio, 2006). The team members do not value his ideas and Janet went to the extent of going through his ideas without his permission and then shredding it to pieces and even after that, George still went through the project again putting into consideration the comments that Janet had made on his ideas but even after the changes, Janet was still not satisfied and did not see any value in his suggestions and ideas. She was killing his creativity and innovation. What Janet may have forgotten is that motivation and utilization of one’s talent-especially fresh minded and new employees can be the greatest asset that a company can have. The company does not have a job security. George was employed but still had to go through a probation period of three months after which his position in the company could be determined. He was assured at first when he joined the company that every new employee was eligible for the bonus after the first three months but even before the three months elapsed during his review, Janet told him that he cannot get his bonus because she finds him below the standard that they expected. The organization does not keep its promises and this makes George lose his faith and loyalty to the company. He starts losing interest in his work while it is still very early in employment. He started feeling resentment and hate for his work and the enthusiasm that he had for his work started diminishing gradually. He started thinking of resigning when he had just started. The company had no rewards that were given in order to motivate the employees. There are no financial rewards or any other kind of reward whatsoever. Importance of motivation Many companies always strive hard in motivating their employees of all levels. Managers are the ones that are given the responsibility of motivating their subordinates. Every individual n a company needs motivation to keep them going and remain dedicated to their work. Currently, many managers are aware of the effects that lack of motivation can do to their businesses. So it is very important for them to learn and understand it’s important and how to deliver positive motivation in the workplace (Hoffman, 2007). Motivation is done differently by different businesses and the responsibility of its inclusion depends on immediate supervisors of the employees. It’s the business owner who must use motivation as a tool and strategy to attain corporate goals and objective. Motivation is the drive that makes people do things and reach a certain goal or objective. It works as an inspiration that helps individuals to complete the task at hand. These needs vary from individual to individual and this sort of need is what encourages a person to motivate themselves. The effort we put in work and how hard working we are depends on how motivated we are. Motivation can have a major effect on the production and general output of a business and concerns both the quantity and quality aspect. Motivation helps managers learn that employees are a company’s greatest asset superseding how effective their equipment and technology is (Grasser, 2008). No matter how effective the equipment and technologies are, they can never be as effective and efficient as the people who operate them. In George’s situation, his manager has not learnt anything about motivation, its importance and how effective it can be in boosting the company’s general development and business. George lack motivation from within or from the workplace. His needs are not met by his employers. Motivational theories Motivational theories are used to guide mangers in determining what motivates people to behave the way they do. They help them in determining an employee’s attitude and character. Motivational theories can be used in work place settings for mangers to know why some employees are hardworking than others, or more committed and dedicated than others. This determination and discovery will guide employers and managers in understanding and learning how to motivate each employee to perform in the best way possible and to give the task at hand their all (Hoffman, 2007). Through managers understanding how to apply motivational theories at the workplace will help take their leadership skills to a higher level. If Janet-George’s manager had learnt and understood how motivational theories work and applied it on George’s case, then she would have handled George better and better results would have been achieved on George’s part. In the case of George’s situation Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory can be used to explain his behavior and attitude. The theory is based on the explanation that basic human needs should be achieved before the individual pursues higher level needs like self-actualization. This can be interpreted to mean that work needs to be steady and reliable, and this in turn will contribute greatly to the workers’ well being in terms of supplying food, shelter, physical and property security and personal needs and this in turn will lead to successful workplace motivation (Kinicki, 2008). When these needs are met satisfactorily, then the worker can start working on the higher level order and goals like actualization which yields long-term happiness. In George’s case, his basic needs were not being met because the company had promised to give him his bonus at the end of three months which would have contributed greatly to the supplying of his basic needs but the company did not fulfill its promise. This lead to George being de-motivated and losing his interest in work and was even thinking of resigning. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory can also be used to explain George’s behavior and attitude at work. This theory is almost the same as Maslow’s only that it expands more. This theory just like Maslow’s divides the basic needs as shelter, food, water, physical security and health benefits but also insists on adding hygiene of the work place in the list. The theory is also known as motivation hygiene theory. Work place hygiene is considered necessary for minimum functionality. The theory tries to explain that workplace dissatisfaction is greatly related to employer’s difficulty in meeting the employee’s needs. More severe levels of dissatisfaction are fueled through an employer’s inability to provide basic safety and physiological needs for his employee (Miner, 2007). However, long term productivity and employment retention depends on the need of self-actualization. The theory states that after factors of hygiene have been met, a worker can be able to pursue the higher level needs which are necessary to build superior worker productivity and particular emphasis upon self-esteem and creativity, as well as earning respect from others. George is not getting any positive reinforcement from his manger. Positive reinforcement for diligent employees is important in fulfilling higher order needs who want self-esteem, sense of achievement and respect and this is what George needs but is not getting from work. According to Pomsuwan, (2007), organizational behavior theory investigates and tries to explain the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within an organization for the main reason of applying the knowledge towards improving an organization effectiveness and efficiency. Organizational behavior includes all aspects of fields like psychology, communication and management which include human resource. The understanding of organizational behavior increases the chances for successful organization. Knowing and understanding the organization’s culture is important for continued diverse development and growth. For an organization to attract the best talent and consultants, a culture of diversity and free and open communication is needed. After an organization has achieved the best talent, the organization can be then improve its efficiency, effectiveness and have more view points to learn from. Diversity is important in every organization. If an organization refuses to employ someone solely because of their gender, race, religion, age and ethnicity is wrong and illegal. An organization needs people from different background so that they can bring their different experiences and energy to help improve the company at large. Most organization have two types of communication; formal and informal. Formal communication channels follow the chain of command or organizational chart from the top to the bottom while informal channels are open and spontaneous. The advantage of using informal channels is that employees are more active in feedback and decision making than in formal communication. Organization should use both forms of communication in dealing with and retaining both their old and new consultants. Organization can base their strategies on systematic theory which encourages all components of the organization to be interrelated. This is seen as a way of impacting many others (Robbin, 2000). This theory views organizations as open and free systems which continually interact with their environment in general because they are in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The main guide to system theory is that nonlinear connections may exist between variables and small changes can cause huge changes in another and vice versa. The organization can also base its strategies on classical organization theory which was as a result of a merger of bureaucratic theory, scientific management and administrative theory which is based on four principles; to find the one best way to perform each task, carefully match each worker to each task, closely supervise workers, use rewards and punishment as motivators and the task of management is planning and control. Conclusion If George was motivated by his manager, he would have brought out better results. If his ideas were exploited, he would have been encouraged and made more effort in his work and would have never thought of quitting. Punishing him by not giving him his bonus might not bring positive changes like making him work harder or it might kill his confidence and zeal for working. His manager should have guided him well and given him a chance to explain how and why he ended up with his ideas for the project instead of shredding his ideas. The manger has not learnt the importance of motivation and this fails her as a leader. References Cardy, R, L and Leonard, B. (2011), Performance management: concepts, skills and exercises, New York: M.E Sharpe Grasser, A; (2008), Understanding Pretense: A Look at Theories of Motivation, Paris: ProQuest Hoffman, S. (2007); Classical motivation theories-similarities and differences between them, Montario: GRIN Verlag Kinicki, A. (2008), Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills and best practices, New Jersey: MCGRAW-HILL Higher Education Miner, J, B. (2007), Organizational Behavior: From theory to practice. 4, Volume 4, New York: M.E. Sharpe Pomsuwan, S. (2007), Organizational behavior: Theories and concepts, Bangkok: Bangkok university press Robbin, P, S. (2000), Organizational behavior; concepts, controversies, applications, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Vecchio, R, P; (2006), Organizational behavior: Core concepts, Ohio: Thomson Publishers. Read More