Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management - Essay Example

  Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management BEM2004 Lecturer: presented: Introduction The contemporary society is characterized by a quest for a decent lifestyle, which is usually hard to come by. It requires financial stability to maintain good standards of living, and only a constant source of income can help a person to accomplish such desires. For this reason, people who have attained the legal age to work tend to seek paid employment with zest, which is viewed as the key to a pleasant future. Nevertheless, paid employment does not always yield the anticipated results. This paper evaluates how paid employment affects a person’s identity. It includes a discussion of concepts relating to the meaning of work, globalization and the enterprise culture, which are significant factors that influence the existence of paid employment. Paid Employment Paid employment refers to work whereby the serving holds clear or understood employment agreements that offer them fundamental remuneration that is independent of the income gained by the section or department that the person works. The employer may be a business organization, government, non-profit organization or a family unit. The method of payment differs depending on the agreement. It might be in form of wages that can be paid hourly, weekly or per unit of output. Salaries are equal amounts that are paid regularly to the worker upon expiry of the agreed period; while others such as salesmen are paid by commission depending on the amount they sell (Baruch, 2006). The industrial revolution brought major changes in people’s lifestyles at the turn of the 20th century. The global society that was used to the traditional work such as small scale farming, herding, hunting and gathering was transformed in to a modern society that worked in the emerging manufacturing industries and construction and mining companies. The new industries employed millions of people in the early 20th century. Even though employment opportunities were created in the new industries, the wages that the average workers were paid were insufficient. People worked for long hours and were exposed to injuries (Norberg, 2003). During this early period of industrialization, work was structured in a scientific way whereby people were considered as essential components of the machine. They were taught simple skills that helped them perform special functions in the process of production under close supervision by owners. Under such circumstances, workers were dehumanized by the scientific management that was mainly focused on the results rather than the process of production. Performance based pay made people to work harder to earn more (Minda, 1999). In general, employees were counted among the organizations’ resources such as machinery whose sole purpose was to help the industries to accomplish the financial goals. They were paid for the extra time worked and were expected to dedicate their time, skills and efforts to the accomplishment of organizational goals. This manner of work degraded human dignity and gave work objectionable meaning that people were supposed to work for organizations to make profits. The long hours of work in the industries and low wages were a major source of discontent among workers. The tall hierarchies in the factory management hindered their access to the factory owners, which made it difficult to present grievances (Isaak, 2004). Meaning of Work In the post modern period, the meaning of work has taken a different perspective. People have internalized as an issue in the society. Rather than viewing work as a pleasurable activity that makes the mind happy, they view it as an obligation that consumes most of their lifetime. On the contrary, human hands enjoy work in coordination with the mind, which brings satisfaction to a person. Without gainful employment, many people decline to work. Nevertheless, they are compelled by the nature of the post modern lifestyle. Without money, necessities as well as comforts can not be accessed and therefore the mindset of the post modern person has been configured to love work on the basis of the income gained (Macionis & Plummer, 2005). Generally, paid employment is viewed as a financial necessity that defines the gap between the haves and the have-nots. If all able bodied people could get a chance to work, poverty eradication could be accomplished in the post-modern society (Weightman, 2008). This view helps in ensuring ethical behavior and adherence to the rules and regulations of work to safeguard it from slipping from people’s lives. Many who have lost their jobs due to various reasons encounter difficulties in maintaining good standards of living. Apart from the economic aspects of work, there is a special instinct that motivates people to work. Accomplishment of personal goals through work generates satisfaction and self esteem. This means that work promotes self identity. Humans are competitive in nature, and the desire to be respected in the society makes people work hard to accomplish better results than anyone ahead of them. The instinct to work induces people to apply their mental and physical capacity to accomplish their goals or to communicate their aptitude to others. Generally, a person is usually proud of solving his own problems and becoming the savior of his/her community thereby earning dignity and worth in the eyes of others. This is accomplished through work, which also helps the body and the mind to remain healthy (Rollinson, 2003). Work usually becomes a burden to the people who are unable to link it with their own life. This according to Weightman (2008) is alienation that generates disillusionment making a person think of work as a job. Work actually carries more meaning than a mere job. A person fits in the society through work, which also helps him/her to develop relationships with others. Work gives a person a sense of belonging and is a sign that he/she is active in the society. Globalization Globalization is the process through which production, trade, governance and many other aspects of life have continued to be standardized across the world. The recent wave of globalization has led to the expansion of foreign industries in third world countries. Global capitalism is the situation in which industries are engaging in private investments worldwide. Trade is controlled by the market forces such as supply and demand rather than the government. The current mixing of societies globally is attributed to people exploring opportunities to work beyond political boundaries (Macionis & Plummer, 2005). After the industrial revolution, investors began searching for better investment opportunities especially in the less developed countries where resources were largely unexploited. The developing economies began changing as investors ventured in to virtually all available opportunities. Investors in the developed countries understood that the domestic labor market was expensive (Yarbrough & Yarbrough, 2002). They therefore sought to establish in the regions where they could make use of cheap labor and produce the same quantity as they would in the parent country. Even though foreign investors may be considered to create employment, Minda (1999) argues that a closer analysis of the kind of jobs created reveals poor working conditions and meager wages especially in the less developed countries. Many workers lack job security in the foreign firms and also have diminutive prospects of personal or career development. In other words, their standards of living remain deplorable even with employment in the foreign firms. The quality of jobs generated through foreign direct investment might therefore be questionable (Feenstra, 2003). For example, the casual jobs created by foreign manufacturing, mining and construction companies for people in less developed countries are labor intensive and poorly paying. The laborers are not duly compensated or guaranteed job security. Most of the companies do not insure their workers. Many succumb to injuries due to poor health and risk management in the workplace (Isaak, 2004). Many working poor in the globalized industries attach little meaning to work. Their daily chores involve hard and painstaking labor that has little to offer for their lives. In most instances especially in urban centers of the less developed countries, such workers can not afford proper housing, healthcare or adequate food. They live in informal settlements and still face difficulties of paying for rent. The meaning of work to them is to earn some money to help them survive. A person working under such circumstances lacks motivation to work and does not find dignity or satisfaction in working. However, he/she has to safeguard the job for survival. Even though it is paid employment, it does not uplift the dignity of laborers (Soros, 2000). Enterprise Culture In a bid to maintain good standards of living, societies globally developed an enterprising culture whereby people are recognized by personal accomplishments and aptitude to establish and run businesses that make profit. Members of the society are encouraged to start-up income generating ventures that can help in poverty alleviation (Oetinger, 2004). Just as in paid employment, work in private business requires dedication and hard work for the entrepreneur to accomplish the business goals. Dignity in the society is attained when a business thrives out of a modest start-up. Entrepreneurs are regarded as risk takers that are able to think out of the box. They are considered to be liberators of the society. The working class and the rich business people are able to deliver their communities from their financial tribulations through participating in fund raising and supporting community projects (Bhatt, 2002). People belonging to an enterprising culture are creative and are able to develop strategies for problem solving. Organizations in the contemporary operating environment are compelled to develop strategies that enhance competitiveness, which include uphold an enterprise culture that encourage teamwork and creativity in the workplace. Members of a team possess diverse skills and therefore they can accomplish different tasks and share knowledge to form a strong workforce. Mullins (2007) observes that there is a possibility for people working in a team to discover their talents and utilize their potential maximally. Conflict resolution is accomplished when all members of the team are dedicated to the maintenance of harmonious relations in the workplace. They develop strong interpersonal skills that are also necessary for customer satisfaction. This is because when working in a team, every employee views the other as an integral part in the success of the group and they work towards the accomplishment of shared goals (Harold & Frank, 2009). Conclusion Paid employment is based on agreed terms and conditions before the job is offered. It is attributed to the industrial revolution that changed people’s traditional lifestyles to work in the emerging industries. The post-modern society has entrenched work as an obligation in life. Paid employment is a significant aspect of poverty indices in the society. Nevertheless, people are also motivated by an instinct of work that compels them to strive to accomplish their personal goals, which engenders fulfillment and self-esteem thereby promoting self identity. A person becomes dignified by virtue of what he is able to offer for the common good of the community, hence people strive to utilize their talents in work to identify with the society and acquire dignity. Through globalization, people are able to work beyond political boundaries as well as in foreign firms within the domestic market. Cheap labor is one of the significant factors that attracted investors in developing countries after the industrial revolution. Nevertheless, the employment opportunities were a disguise of exploitation of workers, and many of them lacked meaning in their daily work apart from the fact that they are able to earn their daily bread. Apart from working in industries, the post-modern society encourages an enterprising culture whereby individuals are recognized by their efforts to start and establish businesses. Such people are renowned for their heroism in risk taking. Their work promotes dignity and self identity in the society. References Baruch, Y. 2006. “Career development in organizations and beyond: Balancing traditional and contemporary viewpoints.” Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 16, 2 pp 125-138 Bhatt, G. D. 2002. “Management strategies for individual knowledge and organizational knowledge”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 6, 1 pp 31-39. Feenstra R. C. 2003. Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence, Princeton University Press Harold, E. & Frank P. S. (2009). Value-Driven Project Management, John Wiley & sons.  Isaak, R. 2004. The Globalization Gap: How the Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Left Further Behind, Upper Saddle River: FT Press Macionis, J. J. & Plummer, K. 2005. Sociology: A Global Introduction, Third Edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Minda, G. 1999. Globalization, Decline of the Nation-State, and Foucault, Brooklyn Law School. Mullins, L. 2007. Management & Organisational Behaviour, 8th Edition, FT Pearson, Harlow.   Norberg, J. 2003. In Defense of Global Capitalism, Cato Institute Oetinger, B. 2004. “From idea to innovation: Making creativity real”. Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 25, 5 pp 35-41. Rollinson, D. 2003. Organisational Behaviour and Analysis, Prentice Hall. Soros G. 2000. Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism, PublicAffairs Weightman, J. 2008. The Employee Motivation Audit, Cambridge Strategy Publications Yarbrough, B. V. & Yarbrough R. M. 2002. The World Economy: Trade and Finance, South-Western College Publishers Read More