Leadership, Motivation, and Communication - Example

Critical Analysis of Organizational Behavior Topics Author’s Name Institutional Affiliation Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Interpersonal Communication 5 Strengths and weaknesses of Interpersonal communication to a manager in organizations. 5 Examples of interpersonal communication. 7 Motivation 8 Strengths and weaknesses of motivation to managers in organizations. 9 Examples of current motivations used. 10 Personality and Values 10 Strengths and weaknesses of individual personality and values to managers in organizations. 11 Examples of individual personality and values. 13 Leadership 13 Strengths and weaknesses of the Leadership in organizations. 14 Examples of current reported leadership. 15 Conclusion 16 Appendix 16 Reference List 17 Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. (2009). Organizational Behavior. 12th Ed. Mason, OH: South Western Cengage Learning 17 Abstract The document entails a brief discussion of the leadership, motivation, communication and individual personality and values topics, which constitute the broad organizational behavior. Organizational behavior (OB) seeks to analyze structures and humans as individuals and in their respective work teams and groups to establish their effect of the organizations’ behavior. With sufficient and efficient knowledge about this, managers in their roles can apply the knowledge in organizations to improve OB and attain effectiveness. Communication promotes interaction, disclosure and exchange of information among the employees and between superiors and subordinates. Motivation entails the effort given to achieve a specific goal while leadership is about influencing others and coping with change. Personality concerns people characteristic while the value what is of utmost importance guide to establish the right and wrong. All these topics are sensitive to the effectiveness of the management roles; their strengths and weaknesses to the benefit of managers are further developed in the text. It also gives examples of their application in the contemporary world. Keywords: Organization, Organization Behavior, Personality, Values, Leadership, Motivation, Communication, Managers, Employees, Change, Perception, Introduction Organizational behavior is a broad study that affects employees, the companies and how they operate as organizations. Literally, organizations are social systems that entail coordinated efforts of the variables operating within to accomplish collective objectives. Organizations that people work in vary, but all have some set of values placed to guide the functions and perspective of the business function. Human resources are the organizations capital assets and posses different talents/abilities that are to be used to reach organization’s effectiveness. They undertake specific tasks contributing to the sub or main goals, which they are aided by the applied technology in the working environment, based on the organization structure. Considering that people are employed at different capacities, there is a need for the management of the organization and the employees who come with different behaviors that influence organization culture. The behavior of the organization is therefore affected by the actions and impacts which groups, individuals, and organizational structures brings. Some human behaviours influence positively or negatively; that is why you find employees rewarded differently due to their differences. Organizational behavior seeks to explain why and how human resources behave within organizations, ways of improving their adopted behavior and attitudes, assist in knowledge of how to control the behavior, and predicting possible behavioural reaction to introduced changes (Acquinas, 2006). In simple terms, it addresses human behaviours in organizations and how it influences other variables to ensure organizational effectiveness. It is no doubt that OB is necessary especially in management of humans for they are valuable resources that affect firms’ profitability (highered.mcgraw-hill.com, n.d). In this context, the discussion will cover few of the topics in broad; motivation, interpersonal communication, groups and teams, leadership behavior and power, which are all essential to management function. Interpersonal Communication Organizations deal with different people from different cultural backgrounds. It is most likely that firms like multinationals corporations have population from different ethnic groups working in their departments. Their spoken languages could be quite different and hence have to use one common language in office, for purposes of communication. Even so, some employees have quality and desired talents that not even their language barrier could hinder the employers or management of the firms from hiring them. Communication in organizations is very essential for interaction among employees and passing information to concerned departments and individuals in their capacities. In behavioral terms, communication is more than information disclosure; it is a symbolic process in which parties exchange their perceptions and eventually enhance their knowledge bank for others and themselves to shape their prospective actions (Mills et al, 2006). At all level of the organization structure, leaders, immediate supervisors and employees need to communicate with one another within and across departments and with the external environment (inclusive customers and suppliers) to achieve their objectives. Strengths and weaknesses of Interpersonal communication to a manager in organizations. The managing roles of managers require them to develop effective communication skills to relay right information with their subordinates and employees. First of all, managers are the organizations’ right hand employees linking the executives and firms’ purpose to subordinates and employees working in their departments. Managers require effective interpersonal communication skills in their leading roles to communicate clearly, the organizational visions, short and long term goals to the employs, to persuade and emphasize the expected results and actions in the end (“Managers,” n.d). Employees understand what behavior and performance is expected of them right from the start to achieve the set objectives. Effective communication also enables managers to improve working relations with their subordinates, and make informed decisions as information flows vertically or horizontally (based on organization structure) to the employees and back to the management. Where conflicts arise in organizations between different parties, managers can successfully resolve them by applying open and direct communication or engage parties in negotiations and mediations, by managers taking active roles to foster good human relations among their workers (Spaho, 2013). In line to the organizations goals, managers’ interpersonal communication determines how well they sell or demonstrate the company’s ideas to the internal and external environment of the organization. The manner in which managers communicate would have a profound effect in employees’ productivity and motivation. For example, a manager training new employees in the organizations needs more than verbal communication to demonstrate how operations are conducted or how people should behave. Their actions, body language, choice of words and tonal variation among others, enhance employees understanding of their new tasks and organization’s code of ethics. The weakness of interpersonal communication can be established in its strengths and modern technologies adopted to strengthen communication. Though the sender may be an eloquent speaker, how are the words used interpreted by the receiver of the message? Some people are direct speakers and the words they use to express themselves may be driven more by their emotions. Others are indirect speakers and rely more on both vocal and non verbal skills in communication. The choice of words and signs managers use could be interpreted differently by listeners, especially when they engage in selective perceptions, attend, capture and assign meanings to things that are of key interest to them and ignore others (West & Turner, 2011). Where communication occurs in face to face, the message delivered could be subject to vocal cues that may offend the listeners leading to some deviant behavior. Different non verbal communications in the societies could imply varying things; some could be lewd and this would result in communication generated problems due to the cross culture factors that affect employees’ satisfaction (Robbins et al, 2011). Technology evolution and it incorporation in communication has also contributed to interpersonal communication weakness, specifically via text and email messages. Unlike in face to face communication, they lack sufficient emotional contents and where automated icons are used to represent paralinguistic cues, may not be accurately interpreted, which impair original communication of message from the sender (Perry, 2010). Lastly, poor communications could create situations where production and performance errors can occur. Examples of interpersonal communication. If you take an example of broadcasting stations that has numerous employees operating and conveying information in the news room and back forth to their reporters in field, you would establish the differences in the richness of communication based on the channels used. Telephone (only audio) communication facilitates immediate feedbacks between news anchor and reporters in the field; however, much cannot be revealed because much of non verbal cues are not available. Majority of organizations have face to face communications in the interactions between the bosses and employees, which is the most traditional one and efficient. However, in the contemporary organizations, (CMS) have become a norm in the workplace where superiors interacts and disseminate work related information to the employees and other colleagues (Ean, 2011). They entail audio and video conferencing, computer conferencing and electronic mails among other online communication mentioned earlier. Motivation Organizations need focused and dedicated people to their distinguished assignments. Finding or ensuring people stay in this state demands management attention, to develop attainable policies that can be used to influence the human behavior so that they devote their efforts in achieving what they value. It is the central factor in OB that gives an insight of people behavior in organizations. Motivation is concerned in efforts given to achieving a given goal; in this perspective, Robbins et al describes it as a “process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards accomplishing the organizational goal” (2011, p. 176). Employees tend to portray some detrimental behaviors when they are not satisfied with the work practices and treatment among others in organizations. It is vital for managers to identify unsatisfied employees and use appropriate motivational approaches to support employees’ behavior that lead to positive outcomes Strengths and weaknesses of motivation to managers in organizations. The modern organizations deal with rapidly changing workplaces that require motivated employees to keep the organization competitive and moving forward. The manager alone cannot drive the firm towards its goals, and would require committed and energized human resources to implement the actions he/she provides. In competitive labor markets, motivation assists managers in retention of talented employees for a longer period, facilitating a stable workforce while avoiding the cost of recruitment and training to acquire a person with similar abilities (Kreisman, 2002). Managers can get to retain knowledge within the organizations, efficient for the teams and future leadership of the organization. Psychological needs affect employees’ performances by distracting their attention to work. Upon satisfaction of their emotional needs through possible motivational programs, employees can enhance their involvement, efficiency and effectiveness in organizations’ duties and production (Oyedeji, n,d). In other words, employees are not only present physically, but dedicate their mind to recognizing, correcting and improving operations in organizations. In general, workers’ absenteeism and turnover reduces, production and concentration increases and managers eliminate resistance to change in employees amongst others. Organizations may require some extra resources to facilitate motivation in its workforce. It means that managers need to observe the amount of available resources (e.g. time and finances) before using them to motivate individuals. Resources like finances could be easily depleted; and the managers do not want to find themselves in situations where they made false promises to keep organizations running. Conflicts also could arise due to motivation decisions. As managers concentrate on motivation through approaches like feedbacks and incentives, the ambiguity in reward systems could stimulate intergroup conflicts when the variation in groups’ goals become perceptible (Belak, 1998). Poorly motivated employees could continue to challenge managers in their roles because they fail to take an interest in the organizations. Examples of current motivations used. Many organizations use increased wages/salaries to encourage higher performances among people. Though the basic wages may be set by the governments in the labor laws, workers needs are not standard and cannot afford to stick in organizations that do not value their needs. It is however an issue that is highly discriminative when it is tied to quantity of production delivered by humans. Some people are motivated by the challenges they face in organizations so that they enhance their capability. HRM have gone forward to develop special programs such as job rotations to alleviate monotony, and enhance sharing of knowledge between superiors and subordinates; it is a strategy used in Tata group of companies, where employees are assigned new responsibilities, even away from their home environment (Lulla, 2009). Recognition is also common to motivate individuals in organizations for exemplary behavior. Based on a report by WorldatWork, organizations are widening their varieties of recognition programs in effort to align the employees with the firms’ values; use of cash, gifts and certificates awards among others are common (2011). Examples are the employees of the month or how winning companies from a particular industry are awarded/ recognized by the media for their products and services. Personality and Values Each individual in organizations can be described through their personality traits. This forms the basis of people’s heterogeneity when it comes to reactions over issues they face in life. Personalities and values influence human behaviors, such that if one would monitor them in an individual, it is more likely to understand how they behave. Robbins refer to personality as “the total sum of ways an individual reacts to and interact with others,” ( 2011, p.84). Typically, employees have certain patterns of traits that influence them either negatively or positively in work. These characteristics affect their cognitive perception in the situations they find themselves and how they respond to specific stimuli. For example, some people cannot stand challenges; in fact they get aggressive upon critics, which tend to be a motivator for others. People with specific personalities will hence be chosen over others for certain assignments because of their predicted behavior in work and its environment. They can change over time but are genetically developed (heredity) and shaped by experiences in the environment (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2009). Organizations have adopted different frameworks to identify employees’ personality traits. Values also influence people’s perceptions and deliver a judgment in a situation as to what ought to be or not, based on what is important to a person. They give individuals an idea of what is ethical and not: they “are beliefs or convictions about desirable end state/behavior that transcend specific situations and guide in making judgment and choices depending on the relative importance” (Bilsky & Schwartz, 1994, p. 164). People will tend to emulate the conduct they hold valuable to them, hence impacting on their behaviors and of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses of individual personality and values to managers in organizations. Strengths: They are effective tools that enhance management understanding of who they work with. Once the manager establishes an employee’s personality traits and values, he gets to understand their attitude, reasoning and perception, and what motivates them. For example, some people are used to accepting defeat or use of ‘it is impossible’ even before they tackle a task. It is evident that challenging task induce negative attitude, least been a non motivator to them. Second, it becomes easy for managers to know how to address them, where emotional factors count or conflicts with the organization/ another party arise. Organization behavior can be improved by tapping from employees’ behavior generated through positive personalities and values, into the firm’s accepted code of ethics. Honest and transparent workers influence the same to the organization. Considering the dynamic and changing working environment in the contemporary world, organizations have become very sensitive in the hiring process; not only to match best personalities and values with job requirements, but to establish how well they fit with the overall organization’s culture (“Personality and values,” n.d). When they fit, both parties’ needs are fulfilled and employees’ satisfaction and performances on their jobs enhance. Weakness: Personalities and values differences among workers could lead to a clash of interest and disagreements among them. Intergroup conflicts can result when a similar reality is perceived differently, when people fail to tolerate each other, develop their opinion and claim dominance over the other. Individual differences (personalities, goals, attitudes and values) and interpersonal factors entailing previous interaction, behavior and perceptual interface can provoke disputes (Wall & Calister, 1995). The fact that HRM can use personality tests in recruitment process, best personalities chosen for a job or organization requirement may not reflect actual behavior of the person. Employees can fake their values and personalities to pass the test and get employed, while managers can miss out the best talents necessary for the organization when they concentrate on these virtues. People get employed and have various expectations from their jobs and working environment. Failure of their values and personalities to fit with the jobs and organizations can be a great disappointment that could stimulate their dissatisfaction. Past surveys indicate that personality have some degree (inconsistent and low) of influence on individual perception and job satisfaction in their work environment (Furnham et al, 2002). Personality traits and values could explain the motivation and job satisfaction behind self employed people. Examples of individual personality and values. Current business practices and the set short and long term goals demand for different types of personality to achieve them. For example, sales departments need their goods and services to move quickly and profitably. Machiavellian personality has become very crucial in profit motivated sales organizations; they employ their tactics and persuade buyers, but under strict rules to prevent them from unethical conduct. With the technological development around the globe, majority of the younger people seem to fit in the openness to experience dimension. Most people posses’ curiosity, open minded, creative and innovative traits crucial for organizations behavior in offering solutions to the society’s problems. Modern organizations have incorporated spirituality in business, where employees demonstrate and use their personal values in work; this may consist of meditation, caring, respect, honesty, transparency and accountability among other (McLaughlin, 2009). Leadership The success and development of organizations rely on the leadership available. Leadership is a process that has been confused with management; it focuses on managing change in businesses to address the developing challenges and help the co-workers to adjust successfully. Robbins et al describes leadership as “the ability to influence a group towards achievement of the set goals and vision” where influential power could be formal or informally attributed (2012, p. 259). Leaders come with different skills and abilities, necessary to ensure organizations thrive and survive the difficult times resulting from internal or external environment change. Their behaviors are associated with their motives, which is subject in influencing other employees’ behaviors. Strengths and weaknesses of the Leadership in organizations. Effective leadership helps employees and organizations go through the turbulent times of economical, social and political crisis. By deploying a tactical approach and leading people with flexible strategies, employees can adapt or remodel, hence coping with change and new demands. In line with change and crisis management, their leadership enables people to practice in a less stressful environment, if they exercise their authority to make effective decisions in solving the problems. They are role models to the employees; they lead and act to inspire them. Employees get to emulate leaders’ behavior, which enforces discipline among them in the work teams and groups. They drive organizations’ employees into better performance by been part of the teams, ethically relating with them, understanding their perceptions and experiences to improve them. Effective leadership lays out the visions and goals of the organization, communicate them to the employees and leading them to achieve them (Robbins, 2012). Leaders cannot work alone and depending on their status and abilities, they are in the best position to sensitize, motivate, communicate appropriately and engage with the employees to realize the organization’s purpose. Most of their weaknesses evolve from their strengths, especially where it is manipulated to influence subordinates negatively. Some leadership styles with strong affiliation motive can be misinterpreted by employees to tolerate lower performances, simply because good relations have been forged. The leadership styles and strengths of leaders are subject to opposition from competitors and subordinates. In most cases they bear the consequences of the larger team or group for the decisions they make on their behalf, and implement through them. As much as they are praised for the good leadership, they are also held accountable upon failure in groups/teams performances for their leadership. Overconfidence element in leaders could prevent critics and welcomed suggestions from the co-workers and subordinates, which may block the right solution/plan required. Over control could lead to disgruntled employees. Basically, over exploitation of their strengths could be harmful and negatively influence the followers and organization. Examples of current reported leadership. Many leaders have excelled in their assigned position in the organization, for one, because they have been accepted and supported, without opposition from their employees and superiors. Certain personalities, skills and drive empower them in their leadership roles. A variety of leadership styles are currently applied in organizations; Examples are authentic leadership in Malaysia’s YTL Corp and American express in U.S, visionary leadership through John Mackey of Whole foods and Steve Jobs in Apples company, empathetic leadership through Gary Kelly (CEO of Southwest Airlines) and humble servitude leadership through Rob Walton of Wal- Mart company (Karlgaard, 2009). All of them narrow down to what are either described as transformational, transactional or charismatic leaders. Conclusion Organizational behavior is a concept that borrows from different disciplines; psychology, human resources, management and other sciences to develop and use the knowledge to explain organization’s behavior. From the few topics covered (leadership, motivation, individual personality and values, and communication) provide an insight into human behavior, what causes how they react, and their impact in the organization, besides what they bring as a group. However, it vital for managers to know that both humans’ conduct and organization’s code can modify each other to provide the desirable human and organizational behavior. Appendix OB - Organizational behaviour HRM - Human Resource Management CMS - Computer Mediated Communications CEO – Chief Executive Officer Reference List Acquinas, P.G. (2006). Organization Behaviour: Concept realities Application and Challenges. New Delhi: Excel Books India Belak, T. (1998, December). Intergroup Conflict in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://www.mediate.com/articles/belak1.cfm Bilsky, W., & Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Values ad Personality. European Journal of Personality, 8, 163 – 181. 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