People and Organization - Literature review Example

People and Organization Student’s Name Subject Professor University/Institution Location Date As organizations are created, success is always a vital objective. Still, organization longevity and continuous success promote is a concern of every manager. Organization managers accept that there are secrets to prolonged success which they need to know and apply. There is no single magic tool, strategy or technique for organizational success. However, one characteristic that is consistently manifest within some most successful companies’ people (Drucker 2008). This is because, people exhibit and carry with them different personality, levels of learning and education, relationships and work experiences over wide range of activities involved in an organization. This paper will therefore dialogue on people as a core aspect of organizational success. The roles of people as workers, leading and managing are paramount for organizational success. This leads to integrity and effectiveness for an organization to achieve its purposes and continued existence. People are linked to almost every other element found in an organization. Without human resource, the other resources; physical and financial, including money, materials, machines, markets and methods are hard to acquire and utilize. Ability, knowledge, intelligence and decision making directly relate to an organizational behavior. A potent characteristic of people is that they act, and their capacities to be active and dynamic lacks in other elements. Through people, these factors can be developed and utilized since human factor has been responsible for success and failure of any organization. People are significant organizational input and output that even if it starts from zero funding but have creative, hardworking, resourceful and honest people, the organization becomes financially viable. Human resource focuses around people within an organization. People experience, work ethics, attitude and skills are by far an important element of organization (Allen & Meyer 2011). For instance, a commercial or industrial company, everything is organized to take account of people. The offices and factory main work is set as a space for people to carry out their work. It is also designed, equipped and decorated for provision of hospitable working environment for workforce. The management offices with senior officers are tasked primarily with management of organization employees. There are key departments in an organization which reflects on importance of people including human resources, production, accounts and payroll, customer relations and others. The services organization such as a medical facility brings trained people to cooperate with each other under set guidelines and procedures to offer care services to people. The hospital facilities are designed for assisting people and the departments are created with activities build on roles and responsibilities of people (Thomson, Perry & Miller 2009). The people who operate and run the organization behind the scenes are the most valuable resource an organization can utilize. According to Amos & Weathington (2008), employees and workers in an organization influence the organizational behavior. Interrelated roles are assumed and form part of routine system which may become dysfunctional if one area is hindered. These people could be accountants, managers, salespeople, drivers, janitorial workers, cashiers, stockers, maintenance workers, distributors, designers, waitresses, nurses, editors, chefs and almost every other related job title. The people may assume small or insignificant duties, job and responsibilities but play an important role, as without them most likely the organization could not run effectively. Every job is essential no matter how low or high it might be seen. For instance, in an organization selling cars, it is hard to sell any cars without the salespeople. To pay their salespeople they need individuals who are well-versed in accounting so as to enable management of the finances and to work out payroll. According to Tosi & Pilati (2011), the organization depends also on officials as leaders who dictate how an organization is run. One important element of organization is leadership and strong leaders are effective people who create, drive and implement the organization’s strategy. Leaders develop other key elements in an organization for success. Struggling organizations often are turned into success after leadership change, the opposite is also possible, and this demonstrates the influence people have on success of an organization. They enact policies which are then put into place to ensure smooth functioning of the organization. They are mandated and charged with hiring individuals who work for the organization. It is their role to create or close job positions as the organization see it beneficial. Leaders’ roles in details influence an organization function, they determine all the employee positions it requires, even positions that seem more minor (Ostroff & Rothausen 2011). The organization needs people to work together and generate income or add value. The presence of employees by itself means the organization needs human resource worker to be in charge of hiring other workers. The role also ensures a positive workplace and also constantly addresses employee complaints. An organization would surely falter, without officials to dictate how the organization should be run. The policies that are put in effect are meant to ensure smooth operation. As Tosi & Pilati (2011), argues, leaders drive organization change which is consciously deployed and thus the importance of people. There are three elements of equal importance including stages, techniques and the processes of change. The inter-related and inter-dependent elements depend on people’s criticality to bring about and manage change. Leaders are a must for effective change and to assist others to make changes. People effectively combine the stages, techniques and processes of change and provide the best options to help changes. It is only human resource who knows what to do, why it is to be done and also the best time for something to be done. This character makes them the successful change agents through their efforts. Leader identifies and diagnoses problems by collecting facts and analyzing the situations. They then possibly decide on organizational goals and other alternatives. As Nastase (2009) notes, successful leadership is meant to evaluate adversaries and challenges, developing strategies and applying cooperation tactics. People initiate professional process through planning, implementing and renewing stages. No other organization resource can know and plan for the future of an organization or other context. People and leaders in some organizations are able to identify and capitalize on opportunities which go unnoticed with other organizations. When those opportunities are exploited an organization promotes its foresight and success. An organization not only identifies opportunities but also the threats and thus has great chance for success. According to Wilenius (2008), foresight promote risk management as there organizational risks which are inherent. It is thus possible for people to precisely predict future market swings and other economic events which directly will impact an organization. Foresight can help an organization identify emerging risks together with opportunities. The organization is also able to manage this risk which foresight may not fully eliminate. People do not only manage risk by just avoiding them but also capitalize on inherent uncertainties of the organization and business world in order to generate profits and also outsmart competitors. People promote an organizational culture which is very important in all levels of an organization. It is important for employees to be proud in their work and become motivated in carrying out organization’s business. Culture is started, developed and changed through the efforts of the people. Organization culture which stresses skills like ingenuity reaps the benefits of the independent activities where employees act on their initiative to benefit the organization. Organizations’ culture even though less tangible creates customs, values and beliefs which manifest variously in organization. There are different and diverse organization cultures that are created by people and are ideal for different prospective employees. Culture manifests in the manner of dealing with diversity, building programs and reduced discrimination in work place. The people attend diversity training and improve quality and balance orientations of race, status, gender, equality and opportunities within. Conflict resolution is promoted by a strong culture to avoid eroding and staining of organizational relationships. Management is thus vital to make it result for the good of the organization. People maintain loyalty in an organization and reveals abilities to creativity and constant reinvention which promote constant adjustments.  Another important advantage of culture promoted by people is possibility of gathering great ideas and information exchange. People engage in diverse thinking, criticism and decision making processes. In this process to dig and defend views and positions, they achieve a deeper understanding of a problem and this directs the systematic approach to solutions. People develop culture which is remarkable in dealing with customers, outsiders and working teams (Nastase 2009). People are an organization’s invaluable resource and act as a representation of their organization to the immediate and external public. The people use the thoughts that control the machine. They do this by coming up with innovative ideas, developing new products, devising new ways of handling different problem and situations, solving them based on their experiences, opinions and knowledge. The people are responsible and help the organization progress, coming up with newer and more innovative ideas. The people who act behind the scenes have a responsibility in helping identify the needs, marketing specific service or product to potential customers that finds their services or product useful and thus contribute to organization success (Nooteboom & Went 2008). Good employees and people are rare of organizational resource. They are harder to find and are also inimitable as their efforts and actions cannot be copied. Other organizations may imitate a product or an idea, however, they it is hard for them to imitate employees actions of an organization. Good people or employees who are happy with their roles and jobs perform all the required tasks, are considerate of other coworkers, and are reliable people (De Cooman, et al 2009). Though they are hard to find, the role of leadership can develop such employees through training and guidance. When organization manages to find such employee, they try hard to hold to them since their efforts are a positive reflection of an organization both to workers that directly deal with customers and those who do not. As Drucker (2008) argues, people are the representations of the organizations. Employees that deal directly with organization customers and clients are expected to be courteous, friendly, respectful, informed and knowledgeable. This is because customers wants to realize that they are valued and those who are serving them are also experienced whether selling and product or offering a service. When customers are poorly served by an employee, they are less likely to return to meet the same need and can still speak ill of the organization to their acquaintances and friends. When customers are treated extremely well, with incredible, friendly and informative help from the employees who serves them, they are more likely to return and recommend the organization to their friends and acquaintances. Furthermore these employees who do not directly serve the customers are as well important and develop positive attitudes when organization succeeds. Those who work behind scenes perform better in their job if they are also comfortable and satisfied with their organization. The feeling of satisfaction and comfortableness are directly linked to interactions of both workers and the superiors (Ostroff & Rothausen 2011). When there is a feel of tense, stress and hostility in an organization, the employees less likely perform their best from their abilities compared with when they feel comfortable, happy and satisfied in the working environment. Those employees who are satisfied with their organization and jobs are capable of working beyond and above their expectations, are happier and do more than is required. According to De Cooman et al. (2009), people in an organization are adaptable and are capable of switching modes quickly when necessary. If an organization has employed day workers, they have to be assured that that person will perform all the tasks which are necessary for the job and will be enthusiastic for what they do. The organization becomes comfortable when they belief that those persons they hire are quick thinkers and would act quickly in emergency cases and defend their roles from any threat which may be present or abruptly appears. Those people go beyond job requirements more so in cases of emergency. In this case, organizations look for people who can manage, keep facilities running, maintain the set schedules, and be trustworthy to act quickly, do their best and protect their roles welfare and other things entrusted to their care. The role of people is obviously unmatched with any other element of an organization. As Allen & Meyer (2011) dialogues, people promote collaboration and thus organization stability. When leaders develop moral purposes in organization, and treat people fairly, they adapt and sustain the same. The emerging collaboration is important in relationship building, information sharing and evaluation. This is a natural and essential need and collaboration maintains the survival of organization. Organizations created by people, in collaboration with other people for the purposes of serving other people. As Nooteboom & Went (2008) reasons, people bring different talents into the organization and people driven strategies which are currently adopted by many successful organizations realizes long-term objectives. This is a stepping stones for organizations achievements enabled by people’s compelling vision, strategies to achieve and team work. People come up with new ideas, develop services and decide on ways to handle challenges to fuel organization’s advancement. As part of the society they also assume social responsibilities. In conclusion, organizations must utilize its available resources in order to get chances of being successful. Out of all these resources, financial, physical and those related to organizational behavior, people are most important resource an organization can utilize. Money, offices and buildings have very little chance of serving people alone and thus it is very essential to understand that people plays a major role in organizations. The roles of people, especially the innovative, hardworking and positive employees greatly promote a good organization impression upon the community. Furthermore, without people, organizations have little or no chance of survival, and thus, it is important for the organization to take special care and ensure that employees, with major and minor roles are satisfied in their work environment. For every organization, people are always play major roles and are the backbone of success or failure in an organization.  References Amos, E A, & Weathington, B L 2008 ‘An Analysis of the Relation Between Employee—Organization Value Congruence and Employee Attitudes’, The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 142(6), 615-632. Thomson, A M, Perry, J L, & Miller, T K 2009 ‘Conceptualizing and measuring collaboration’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19(1), 23-56. Wilenius, M 2008 ‘Taming the dragon: how to tackle the challenge of future foresight’, Business strategy series, 9(2), 65-77. Nooteboom, B, & Went, R 2008 ‘Innovation and organization’, B. Nooteboom & Stam (Eds.), Microfoundations for Innovation Policy, 219-48. Ostroff, C, & Rothausen, T J 2011 ‘The moderating effect of tenure in person—environment fit: A field study in educational organizations’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70(2), 173-188. Allen, N J, & Meyer, J P 2011, ‘The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization’, Journal of occupational psychology, 63(1), 1-18. De Cooman, R., et al 2009 ‘Person–organization fit: Testing socialization and attraction–selection–attrition hypotheses’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(1), 102-107. Nastase, M 2009 ‘Importance of Trust in the Knowledge Based Leadership’, Review of International Comparative Management, 10(3), 518-526. Drucker, P F 2008 ‘The five most important questions you will ever ask about your organization’, (Vol. 90). Jossey-Bass. Tosi, H, & Pilati, M 2011, ‘Managing Organizational Behaviour: Individuals, Teams, Organization and Management’, Edward Elgar Publishing. Read More