Understanding Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior (OB) refers to the study of the approach that people adopts for interacting within the groups (Miner, 2015). The study was generated in an attempt for creating effectiveness within business organizations. The essential idea to the study involves a scientific approach applicable to management workers. The theories related to the Organizational Behavior finds an application in purposes relating to the human resource for maximizing the output of the individual members of the group. The Organizational Behavior helps in explaining the situations and predicts consequences because of any change due to changes undertaken within the organization. There are three aspect of organizational behavior that involves research, theory and practice. Any organizational behavior model will have six dependent variable and independent variables. The six dependent variables include absenteeism, turnover, individual productivity, deviance in workplace behavior, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. The independent variables include learning, attitudes, personality, biographical characteristics, perception, values and emotions.
The study of the organizational behavior does depend on single discipline. Therefore, it is necessary for providing a behavioral science and multidisciplinary viewpoint to it. Three disciplines have made contribution in the field of the organizational behavior that includes psychology, sociology and anthropology (Thompson, 2017). Therefore, the multidisciplinary origin of Organizational Behavior includes:
Psychology: It represents the study of individuals working within an organization under the mentioned regulations and rules of an organization (Frederickson, 2015). This helps in studying the individual as a whole with a focus on his personality traits that includes emotions, perception, leadership qualities, power of decision-making, attitude, measurements and job stress.
Sociology: This refers to study of the social behavior, maintenance of the order and the relationship among the societies and the social groups (Picone, Dagnino & Minà, 2014). The primary focus lies in the analysis of the social structures and the positions within the structure like the relationship that exists between the follower and the leadership behavior. This perspective helps in studying changes in attitude, behavior, communication and decision-making of the individuals.
Anthropology: This refers to the study of corporate culture within organization (Guastello, 2013). This helps in finding out comparative attitude, values, cross cultural analysis and the environmental power of the organizational environment.
The three dependent variables of organizational behavior model that could be applied to Slips & Slides includes, job satisfaction, individual productivity and deviance in the workplace. The description of which are as follows:
Job Satisfaction: Bartholomew and Hatty who worked for taxation division of the Slips & Slides, had immense job satisfaction (Schwab, 2013). This is because; the company provided them with the opportunities of learning and developing a better prospect for their careers. Further, the company also followed an open management style.
Individual Productivity: Better & Grow took over Slips & Slides. On completion of two months of the takeover process, a meeting was conducted where staff members were advised about a restructure that involved all the staff members in applying for newer positions (Heck & Thomas, 2015). The newer structure forwarded through the consultation documents. This made the employees worry about the goals, career pathways and the fairness in the process adopted by the company. The employees felt confused and were uncertain about future. This resulted in a drop in the individual productivity of the employees.
Multidisciplinary Origins of Organizational Behavior
Deviance in Workplace Behavior: This was evident from the approach adopted by Osbert Farnsworth who took over the as the managing partner after Michael Movers. The approach adopted by Osbert Farnsworth allowed the organization in retaining the skilled staff members. The new approach adopted allowed Better & Grow in considering alternative approach in moving forward after takeover. There were also plans for implementation of motivational theory that awaited the approval of Osbert.
a. Explanation of the Four Classical Functions of Management
These include:
Planning: This management function referred to positioning of the Slips & Slides through selection of the necessary steps (Griffin, 2013). As per this function, the managers of the new organization will not only need to be aware about the challenges faced by the business but also be in a position to forecast the future economic and the business conditions. The managers of the new company will also be able to formulate the objectives for reaching certain deadlines and re-evaluating the plans as per the change in conditions. Planning also helps in allocating resources and reducing waste.
Organizing: This refers to the management function of Slips & Slides where the managers ensured organization of activities by putting together the human, physical and financial resources for achieving the objectives (Byrnes, 2014). Therefore, this function will entail the managers’ of the new organization to accomplish activities, assign the activities to the groups or the individuals, classify activities, delegate authority and create responsibility.
Leading: Leading in Slips & Slides involved the managers in motivating the employees for achievement of the business goals and objectives (Schraeder el al., 2014). Thus, through this management function the new organization can make use of authority and adopt the ability of communicating in an effective manner. Managers through acting as a leader can influence the employees through their perspectives in the new organization.
Controlling: This refers to the management function in Slips and Slides that involved the measuring of the achievement against the existing goals and the objectives (Guimaraes & Cunha, 2013). Through this function the new organization can identify the sources of deviation and hereby adopt corrective measures for successful running of the organization.
b. An Overview of the Approach of Two well-known Researchers in the Management Area
Frederick W. Taylor put forward the scientific approach to management that helps in synthesizing and analyzing the workflow (Lawrence & Lee, 2013). The primary objective involves the improvement o the economic efficiency, specially the productivity of the labor. This refers to the earliest attempt in applying engineering and science to management and processes. The adoption of this approach aids an organization with the following advantages:
- It helps in reducing the cost of the production
- It ensures delivering quality products
- There are benefits of the division of labor
- There is avoidance of any disputes between the management and labor
- Employees get hike in wages due to increased productivity
- Benefit to the investors or the owners
- Ensures proper methods of training and selection of the workers
- Provides the provision of the better conditions for working
Henri Fayol put forward the administrative approach to management that refers to the attempt of finding a rational way of designing the organization (Khorasani & Almasifard, 2017). This approach to management follows a formalized administrative structure that involves delegation of the authority and power to the administrators based on their responsibilities along with a clearer division of the labor. Henry Fayol also put forward five ways in which the management must interact with the employees for planning and controlling production. This involves:
Three Dependent Variables of OB Model and its Applications at Slips & Slides
Planning: According to this approach, management should schedule and plan every part of the industrial process
Organizing: Fayol also put forward that in addition to the planning for the management process, managers should ensure the supply of the necessary resources.
Commanding: He also put forward that managements should direct and encourage the activities of the employees
Coordinating: Henri Fayol also made sure that the management should ensure to make the employees work in a cooperative manner.
Controlling: According to him, the final activity of the management involves in ensuring and evaluating the fact that the employees follows the command of the management.
c. A Brief Discussion of How Perception Influence Decision Making
Perception refers to the method through which the people interpret and organize sensory impressions for providing a meaning to environment (Robbins & Wansink, 2015). The process requires individuals in selecting, storing, interpreting and organizing their impressions. Thus, perception relates the five senses and not only the sight. Perception is not the similar as objective reality. It is either selective or subjective. According to Robbins & Wansink (2016), perception can influence the decision-making through its rational decision making model. This model involves adding an ordered structure to the process of decision-making. Thus, it helps in building discipline, logic and consistency into the process of decision-making. This involves six steps that include:
- Defining the problem
- Identification of the decision criteria
- Allocation of weight to the criteria
- Development of the alternatives
- Evaluation of the alternatives
- Selection of the best alternative
These include (Pinder, 2014):
- Facilitate Learning of the Employee: This involves focusing on employee development through emotional maturity, compassion and integrity by them in feeling more invested towards changes in the organization. Employees feeling more invested in the organizational change portray higher motivation levels. This not only ensures a smooth transition but helps in enhancing the overall productivity of the company..
- Alignment of the Goals of Employee: This helps in increasing the workforce motivation through the organizational change.
- Ensuring Open Communication: Transparency in the process of communication helps the employees in clearing doubts about the organizational change. This helps in motivating the employees and be involved in the new initiatives undertaken by the company.
The three methods relate in explaining the process theories of motivation (Sahito & Vaisanen, 2017). These include the expectancy theory, equity theory and attribution theory. The process theories help in describing the exact processes by which the needs of the individuals helps in driving behavior. The theory helps in explaining the reason of why individuals having specific need make a choice of engaging with specific level of intensity in specific direction having specific persistence level. These theories try in portraying how the managers can act for channeling the external perspective or the motivational factor. An organizational change can be a motivating factor for the employees when the managers tried to motivate the employees by informing them about the upcoming change. This not only made them realize their importance and acted as a major motivating factor. The managers also tried to act as a motivating factor by aligning the goals of the employee goals with the organizational goal. The method of open communication and transparency about an organizational change also makes the employees feel to be part of the organization and thereby act as a major factor for motivation.
Attribution theory is one of process theories that helps an individual in understanding the causes of the human behavior, whether it is their own or of someone else (Graham & Folkes, 2014). The base of attribution theory lies in the fact that the people want accountability for the actions taken either by them or by the others. In other words, they try to attribute the causes to the behavior they observe instead of assuming that the behaviors are a result of random actions. The application of the attribution theory aid the managers in understanding the actual causes of the employee behavior that can assist the employees in understanding, analyzing and realizing their own behavior. This will help in maintaining employee motivations and thereby their productivity. This might lead to the improvement in situation at combined better and grow.
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