Self-awareness
For a very long time self-awareness has been viewed by researchers and professionals as a means of psychological distress alleviation and a way of psychological self-growth for healthy individuals. (Polk, 2013), quotes that self-awareness growth is both an objective and a tool (Okpara, 2006). Currently, studies have shown that various self-awareness aspects such as rumination and mindfulness facilitate the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on the implications of mental health. The relevance of self-awareness is far beyond mental health and involve considerable effects of day –to-day operations. Self-awareness has significant impact on performance, with mindfulness and reflection which encourages perseverance in a given activity regardless of the performance-related stress and interpersonal problems caused by rumination.
Even though, several studies show that the importance of self-awareness is continually growing, there is yet a broad measure to capture this range of outcomes and effects. Self-awareness comprise of emotional abilities that enables a person to be more effective and efficient and be able to form exceptional relationships at their place of work. In simple terms self-awareness refers to the ability that enables a person to acknowledge their emotions and the effects of the emotions. Several reaches suggest that people who understand their emotions are very effective at their work place. Those people know and understand their emotions, moods and needs and they understand and recognize how their actions influence other people (Okpara, 2006). Competencies of self- awareness comprise of accurate self-awareness, self-confidence and emotional self-awareness. People with self-awareness are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, are open to candid feedback, they are also able to learn from previous experiences. These people are also constantly learning and have obtained self -development.
Self-awareness entails a strong sense of one’s value and abilities. According to Okpara, (2006), People who have acquired self-awareness ability present themselves with self- assurance. These people have presence, are able to voice their unpopular views, are decisive, are also able to make informed decisions under pressures. Generally, self-awareness is an inward focus evaluative process through which a person applies reflection to achieve self-comparisons with reality and responses from other people. The main objective of self-awareness process is the creation of better self-knowledge, make changes and enhancements and the readiness for weakness accommodation (Okpara, 2006). The self-awareness process enhances one’s ability through comparing themselves to other people and the responses they obtain. This comparison is important because it enables one to evaluate alternatives, identify problems and make progress towards the attainment of his or her goals.
Sharon Merriman of the University of Iowa (Iowa State University, 2017), describes a self-aware adult learner as one who:
- Has an open-minded self-concept.
- Is capable of directing his own learning.
- Is capable of accumulating a reservoir of life experiences that can be a resourceful.
- Has learning requirements that relate to changing social roles.
- Is problem-centered and has interest in immediate knowledge application.
- Is willing to learn and is internally motivated, and not externally.
Self-awareness skills is important because it enables one to think critically. Without self-awareness the process of thinking can be changed by self- deception which is a thinking process that makes a person to be misinformed and make them to unable to communicate, unable to learn and pass wrong information to other people.
Organizational behavior(OB) is the study of human behavior in organizational environment, the interaction between an organization and human behavior, and the organization itself. It is a field of study that examines how individuals, associations and structure influences the behavior in an organization with an aim of using that knowledge towards the enhancement of organization’s effectiveness. A company is termed effective it offers right services and products that consumers want and are ready to patronize. The company becomes efficient if it provides those products at a reduced price. Researches have been carried out in advanced world of Europe, America and Asia have demonstrated that self-awareness is part of emotional intelligence which enhances organizational performance (Anon., 2017). The purpose of study is to assess and critically examine several key issues and concepts related to organizational behavior along with organizational change models and methods that outline and explains management change in an organizational perspective. The article also examines value and motivators aspect, personality of an individual in relation to The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as well as emotional intelligence, leadership, power and politics and decision making and planning based on self-awareness theories. The general coveraged of this study is to investigate the relationship between self- awareness and organisational behaviour of Motel 6 hotel in Texas, United states of America.
Personality
Generally, self-awareness can be described as the level to which people are willingly aware of their inner state, relationships and interactions with others. Depending with the focus of the study, self-awareness can be operationalized in several ways (Iowa State University, 2017). For instance, this article examines value and motivators aspect, personality of an individual in relation to The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as well as emotional intelligence, leadership, power and politics and decision making and planning based on self-awareness theories.
By undertaking this course, I learned that there are two types of individual differences, these are ability differences and personality. Not only did this chapter capture my attention, but also enabled me to understand how important it is to know the determinants, nature and repercussions of individual differences in managing organizational behavior when working in groups when given an assignments or when working in the future (Polk, 2013). The course also has enabled me to understand people’s actions and why they act in that particular manner and why people’s actions differ from one another. I also learnt from the topic that, whether one is in the university or at work place personality will always differ, people’s thoughts and behavior will forever be different from one another. Before pursuing this course, I always thought that everyone’s personality was destined to be the way it is. But by learning this course, I now understand that personality is influenced by both nurture and nature (Polk, 2013). This is true in the sense that some of my personality section is same as that of my parents while other section has been modelled by the experiences I experienced when I was young. By understanding the inherited personality and situational factors personality am able to know which personality part that can be changed or cannot be altered. As people’s personality continue to stabilizes with time, someone cannot be expected to change in a short period of time. Therefore, it is essential that people learn other people’s personalities accept them the way they are or establish effective ways of dealing with them if they feel their personality is unfit.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) indicates how the world is perceive by individuals in terms of decioson making, communication and learning. Myers-Briggs test, notes that there are four kinds of personality subdivided in 16 different kinds of personalities (Anon., 2017). Personality tests assists agencies to understand their employees better, leverage the employee’s strength and support their employee’s weakness. MBTI assessment, enables the employers to understand what strategy can work for the company, be able to deal with stress and how the company can make informed decisions. Other benefits that a company can gain from personality testing include: Assembling teams, motivating employees and developing leaders who can develop the company to another level.
By learning the topic, I can now confirm that I understand the importance of knowing and focusing on my personal values. Right now I also know what I want to achieve in life starting with my first priority which is to work in Motel 6 which is a multinational hotel. The course has made me realize that by focusing on my values and motivators am able to accomplish what I consider significant (Iowa State University, 2017).
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Currently, emotional self-awareness is among the five aspects of emotional intelligence that has become a hot topic of discussion. Organizational behavior as a field of study has helped me understand my own feelings, how they occur and what triggers them. Through studying this course, I have also understood how my feelings influence my actions and thoughts (Iowa State University, 2017). The course has also helped me to acquire high emotional self-awareness that enables me to understand internal process related to previous emotional experiences and thus have a greater control over the bad experiences.
Regarding leadership my personal interest was influenced by two distinct leaders. For a very long time I wondered why I admired them and what made them different from other leaders. I felt that it was so simple to cultivate the skills of being a good leader like them. I wondered if those leaders were born with those skills or was a just about their personality (Dowling, 2014). This course brought light to my uncertainties through the theoretical explanations concerning how people can develop to higher consciousness levels. These has had a positive impact on how I communicate, how I relate to the world which has also helped me improve my leadership traits. Another interesting aspect that I learnt from the topic was the ability to reflect upon myself and fully understand myself. I noticed that this aspect has be essential to these two leaders in their leadership practice and has assisted me to do more research regarding this topic. Self-awareness concept has been elaborated in this course symbolizing how relevant it is for anyone aspiring to be a leader in future (Dowling, 2014). With the aspiration of being a CEO of Motel 6 hotel I wish to state that this course has been a great inspiration to my career.
There is a fine distinction between application of power effectively, utilization of power and power dependency in an organization. Through the course I was able to understand that in order to be a successful manager I need to maintain positive relationship with everybody who is involved in the company but I cannot become dependent on these people: regulating agencies, competitors, superiors, outside suppliers, peers, customer unions and subordinate. By heavily being dependent on them there will be creation of weakness and vulnerabilities which might cause the organization not to operate smoothly or even collapse. The people on the list have their own agenda and different behaviors which requires that the manager adapt to each of them, leading to dependency on the people on the list (Dowling, 2014). Dependency should not be viewed as a negative term but it should just be moderated. In the course I have learnt that as an intern I will have to know and understand my exact responsibilities so that am I can execute my duties as per the company’s expectations. Throughout the course I was able to learn that it is important to establish power and prevent unnecessary dependence. From the topic I was able to understand that power is equivalent to planning, organizing, good staffing and appropriate budgeting. Essentially, effective management comes from the top down to the manager having a sense of responsibility which dribbles around the company. The employees establish a defined trust in the manager’s expertise, that his decisions are the right ones
Values and Motivators
In many organization people can recognize and Many people at the organizations are able to recognize and notice supervisor’s political behavior at the organization’s top level. A number of organizations promote political activities such as dictatorial decision making, limited resources, undefined goals, uncertainty and ambiguous lines of authority (Dowling, 2014). Organizational behavior teaches the activities that are usually involved in politics. In this course I understood that political behaviors should not be used for self-interest since they can way on the negative side which eventually leads to one being inconsiderate to other people’s needs. The study also encourages one to allow employees feel safer and helpful at work place and not to view the workplace as a threatening environment.
The process of perceiving and resolving a gap between desired goal and situation, where the path to the achievement of the goal could be blocked by unknown and the known difficulties can be referred to as problem solving (Huitt, 1992). In this case, the situation is one that has not been previously encountered, or where at least a certain solution from previous experiences unknown. Whereas, decision making is a process of selection where one of two or more possible solutions are selected to attain a required goal. The stages in problem solving and decision making are similar. In fact, the concepts are sometimes used interchangeably
Various self-theories investigate the self-beliefs implications on emotion and motivation. This study intersected two main self-theories. These are objective self-awareness theory and self-discrepancy theory. Objective self-awareness theory explains that high self-awareness strengthens the relationship between emotions and self-discrepancies whereas self-disagreement theory explains that ought and ideal discrepancies cause distinct negative emotions. Organizational behavior course relate problem solving process model to the personality theory which facilitates problem solving (Huitt, 1992). I learnt that through careful choices and application techniques there is a possibility that I will enhance my strengths which will be essential during my internship.
As a graduate of Southern Cross University, I look forward to begin my first stage in my career in Tourism and Hotel Professional Development. I would like to build my career from the experience I gained from my study on organizational behavior. As an intern who seeks employment I am passionate about organizational behavior and particularly willing to educate an organization’s employees about organizational behavior. Through studying this course am enthusiastic and imaginative to any position I will be offered. I am also confident that I will bring a sound knowledge strong and organizational skills in relation to organizational behavior (Huitt, 1992). By learning this course I am able to find innovative solutions to problems and I believe that any company can be improved. Right now I am a qualified graduate with a Bachelor certificate in Tourism and Hotel Professional Development. Throughout, my time at the university I have obtained knowledge and skills in several aspects of the organizational behavior. I also acquired valuable skills that I feel will be very beneficial to my internship program.
Conclusion
The major objective of this report was to examine the relationship between organizational behavior and self-awareness . The report has so far established that there is a relationship between organizational behavior and self-awareness. With the outcome I was able to determine that self-awareness influences an organization positively. Organizational performance is determined by self-awareness of the manager. The more self-aware the organization’s manager is the better the organization’s performance. Precisely the more organization’s managers possess self-awareness skills the more likely the organization will enhance its revenue and return on investment.
Universities should enhance learning through experience. While knowledge that is class-based is significant in learning, conventional lecture-based studying is not enough. The honor course helps in development of organizational behavior by concentrating on critical thinking and reflection as vital to the course. I have noted that this approach to self-awareness for organizational behavior utilizes the 4-V model of leadership to assist the honor college to attain its objectives. Leaners perceive themselves at the core of their communities and not at the top of hierarchy, hence establishing mutual influence capacity. Similarly, conventional curriculum boundaries result in a learning environment that enhances the ability of learners to explore. I have noted that for one to perfect his skills, the best way to begin with is self-awareness. A plan for professional or personal development can be initiated upon the determination of who you are. In a nutshell, this module has been of great benefit to me. By understanding other people’s behavior, the work can be allocated appropriately and accomplished in an efficient and effective manner.
References
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