IJEOMA AGOHA ABUMBA02015000845 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FOR BUAD 819 (MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR) TUTOR: DR. KABIRU JINJIRI 1 QUESTION Read the article on introduction to organizational behavior. Explain in detail how you can apply different organizational behavior theories in public or private organization. DISCUSSION The word organization has been defined and interpreted in different terms by several authors. All these definitions have focus words such as ‘people’, ‘activities’, ‘behavior’, ‘authority’ and ‘relationships’. We can therefore infer that an organization is a group of people who behave in different ways while involved in several activities that define their working relationships under authority. Koontz and O’Donnell explain that “organizing involves the establishment of an international structure of roles by identifying and listing the activities required to achieve purpose of an enterprise, the grouping of these activities, the assignment of such groups of activities to a manager, the delegation of authority to carry them out and provision for co-ordination of authority and informational relationships horizontally and vertically in the organization structure”. An organization is a group of people working interdependently within a relatively structured system to accomplish a common goal or set of goals.
It can also be defined as a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. Business organizations can range in size from one person to several thousands. All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members; subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Some examples of organizations include Corporations, Charities, Educational Institutions, Military, Private Firms, Governments, Non-governmental organizations, Partnerships, etc.
Since we have different people from different backgrounds and social class working in these organizations, their behavior will definitely differ. The Oxford Dictionary defines behavior as ‘the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others’. Organizational behavior studies what people do in organizations and how their behavior impacts the organizations’ performance.
It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management. Moorehead and Griffin define organizational behavior as ‘the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself’. Organizational behavior examines human behavior in a work environment and determines its impact on job structure, performance, communication, motivation and leadership.
Some work-related behaviors are shown in Figure 1 below.IJEOMA AGOHA ABUMBA02015000845 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FOR BUAD 819 (MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR) TUTOR: DR. KABIRU JINJIRI 2 Figure 1: Types of work-related behavior The behavior of individuals in the organization is influenced by numerous factors such as culture, structure, leadership behavior, functioning of teams, personality, values, ability, job satisfaction, stress, motivation, technology, ethics, learning and decision making. It is easier to create positive change when the way people and groups interact in an organization is clearly understood. When an individual understands how to communicate effectively, the organization will become more efficient and productive.
IJEOMA AGOHA ABUMBA02015000845 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FOR BUAD 819 (MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR) TUTOR: DR. KABIRU JINJIRI 3 The various theories on Organizational behavior are explained briefly below: 1. Scientific Leadership: The emphasis of this theory was on how jobs could be done more efficiently by determining the objectives of the organization and defining performance standards. The workers were assigned to tasks and their performance was measured by the standard time which had been pre-determined by the managers who believed that there was “one best way” to perform any given job. Organizations then selected workers based on how they fit to these new job requirements and trained them in the standard work methods. Managers carefully planned work to optimize the new processes and methods.
This theory focused more on mechanization and automation of the jobs instead of how people behave in the organization. 2. Human Relations Approach: According to the human relations approach, management is the study of the behavior of people at work. This approach was developed after a lengthy study of the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company by a team of Harvard researchers. These studies identified formal and informal organizations, and discovered that productivity had a direct relationship with the satisfaction of the employees in work situations. The theory propounds that production and motivation increase when workers experience good human relations with their colleagues.
This approach recognizes the fact that people are the central resource in any organization and that they should be developed towards higher levels of competency, creativity, and fulfillment. They concluded that a manager must have a basic understanding of human behavior especially in the interaction of people within the organization. 3. Contingency Approach: This approach (sometimes called the situational approach) is based on the principle that methods or behaviors which work in one situation may fail in another situation. The contingency approach analyses each situation prior to action and discourages the habit of making assumptions about methods and people.
It encourages the manager to identify the best method which will work in a particular situation in a way that the organization’s objectives will still be achieved. 4. The Neo-Human Relations School: this theory focuses on the structures of modern organizations.
It gave rise to several famous theories, including Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which suggests that workers are motivated to satisfy basic needs at five levels: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. This school of thought also includes Theory X and Theory Y. Under Theory X, leaders must direct worker behavior and allocate rewards based on meeting organizational needs. Otherwise, workers will be passive or resistant.
Theory Y, on the other hand, assumes that people are capable of assuming responsibility in the workplace, and that the job of leadership is to facilitate the achievement of individual worker goals through the achievement of organizational goals. 5. Systems Approach: The systems approach measures organizational behavior as a function of input, processes within the system and output. The organization is seen as a united system composed of subsystems such as management, maintenance, clerical support, finance, human resources, sales, production, etc. The input of each member of the organization affects the entire system and as such, managers should useIJEOMA AGOHA ABUMBA02015000845 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FOR BUAD 819 (MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR) TUTOR: DR. KABIRU JINJIRI 4 organizational behavior to help build an organizational culture in which talents are developed, people are motivated, teams become productive, organizations achieve their goals These theories can be applied effectively in any kind of organization whether public or private. Organizations are made up of people who I believe are the most important resource.
Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc., a billion-dollar cosmetics company, says that ‘A company is only as good as the people it keeps’. No matter how automated the processes in an organization are, there must be contributions from people to make the overall output (either a product or service) successful.
Hence, understanding how people behave in varying situations will help each organization to meet its objectives. People can make the work environment either an exciting and productive place to be, or they can make it a routine, boring, and unproductive place. Organizational behavior studies and applies the knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work. Successful organizations with very low employee turnover are definitely doing something right which is worth emulating. These organizations are decentralized, pay well, train staff, provide employment security, and practice employee engagement. An engaged employee is a person who is fully committed and enthusiastic in using their talents to help grow the business. These theories of organizational behavior focus on fundamental concepts such as individual differences, perception, motivated behavior, the desire for involvement, the value of the person and mutuality of interest.
As a Manager, I understand that these theories help to standardize the organizational structure and I will apply these theories to ensure that employees’ behavior match the expectations of my firm in sustaining growth. The scientific management theory is particularly useful in the standardization of code of practice in an organization so that maximum productivity can be achieved. I will use this theory to optimize the use of available human resources by setting standards and procedures which focus on strategies which will enhance the performance of each worker so that there will be an overall increase in output. The theory of human relations approach will be applied in maintaining open communication lines and ensuring that the working relation between the management and staff is smooth. Flexible communication (whether formal or informal), increases morale since they understand that the management has a listening ear and is not autocratic. The application of these theories within the workplace will help me to actively manage change and communicate well with my colleagues.
Since the emphasis is on managing behavior, I will ensure that I put as much emphasis on people issues as I do to other issues at work.IJEOMA AGOHA ABUMBA02015000845 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FOR BUAD 819 (MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR) TUTOR: DR. KABIRU JINJIRI 5 The organizational behavior theories will be applied by doing the following: 1. Increasing the skills and knowledge of employees by training and re-training. 2. Rewarding employees to encourage high performance. 3.
Encouraging employee commitment and cooperation. 4. Improving and changing work behaviors that are detrimental to the success of the organization. 5. Learning how to predict human behavior so as to effectively utilize their skills and talents. 6. Understanding why people need motivation and how to motivate them. 7.
Maintaining cordial working relationships which help to increase the overall productivity of the organization. 8. Managing my hiring, training and assessment processes in order to get the best out of my colleagues. 9. Treating people fairly to avoid unhealthy attitude at work and improve job satisfaction. 10. Developing good leader who will help in building a great team. 11.
Prompt resolution of differences and conflicts. 12. Continually developing managerial skills which include listening skills, motivating skills, planning and organizing skills, leading skills, problem-solving skill, decision-making skills etc. 13. Providing recognition, growth and promotion opportunities. 14. Using various analysis and methods for measuring and matching the needs and expectation of employees. 15.
Motivating my colleagues by providing job security, healthy work environment, benefits like promotion, bonus, rewards, etc. to improve their performance and reduce staff turnover. 16. Empowering my colleagues so that the control does not rest solely on the Managers but each individual will exhibit ownership and take responsibility for his/her job. 17. Reducing dysfunctional behavior in workplace like absenteeism, dissatisfaction and tardiness etc. CONCLUSION Application of these theories has helped me to understand that money is not the only motivator or factor which affects behavior in the workplace. Some other factors include benefits, job level, interesting work assignments, pay stability, organizational culture, incentives, autonomy, empowerment, social status, self-fulfillment, relationship with colleagues and work environment.
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