Reflection Report on Organizational Behaviour

INTRODUCTION

Organizations today are going global, people working in them are highly complex, diverse and unpredictable in nature and managing them is a difficult task.  When people work together to accomplish a goal or objective an organization is formed and managing employees is the biggest challenge that an organization has today. The people in an organization though have a common goal but their behaviours, leadership styles are different. A group effort is required by all the people involved as all the people in the organization who interact with each other are interdependent and require assistance from each to work on projects assigned to them. It is important that there is co-operation between employees and work groups to function and have a cohesive environment to work in. As people from different backgrounds are involved it is important to study their behaviour and this is a challenge for the manager as he needs to work together taking the team forward.

Individual behavior is discussed in terms of motivation theory, with emphasis on the antecedents of goals and goal acceptance, feedback, and attributions, and on the consequences of performance. (Evans, 1986)

Organizational behaviour is concerned with the thoughts, opinions, emotions, and actions of the employees working in an organization and the structure. (Selaiman A. Noori, 2011) Through this unit, I could understand how employee behaviour, group dynamics affect the organization, the reason why it important to understand and how it impacts the organization. In this self-reflection report, I have reflected on my learnings throughout the unit and how it has helped me understand OB and incorporate in the real world.

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Organizational behaviour is complex and diverse with so many people involved but it is important to understand both group and individual behaviour as it helps to understand by people behave as they do. This was the main motivational factor for me to choose the unit. This unit helped me understand the attitude, behaviour, and impact that the actions of the employee can have on the organization. Understanding OB is a monumental managerial task but understanding and managing employee behaviour is very vital to improve and maintain the change in the organization.

FINDINGS FROM THE UNIT:

This unit has helped me reproduce on my previous work and how organizational culture, organizational values, my supervisors/leader’s behaviour impacted my behaviour and what I could have done and can do to improve and be an efficient manager/leader in the future.

A major learning from this unit has been that motivation and individual needs are the major factors that influence employee behaviour and it important to understand the organizational structure, policies, and procedures, management effectiveness, team dynamic as this impacts the interactions between colleagues and contributes towards the conduct of the employee. One example of this being, when a new employee joins the company the way he behaves is dependent on his team structure and the organizational culture. My 1st job was as a Sales Manager in a start-up, the culture was friendly and there was open communication. I gained confidence as I got to express my ideas and contribute to the team rather than keeping my ideas to myself. I had a belonging to the organization and felt welcomed which helped me in being productive and contributing more towards the organization.

 As I started understanding Organisational behaviour this made me read and introspect better that it is not just the structure and the culture of the organization but the people, structure, technology and the environment that are the key elements that impact an employee’s conduct.

An example which helped me understand the concept of OB was:

A family-owned business was joined by their grandson who was very arrogant and did not treat the employees fairly. It was a clothing factory and one of the orders got rejected. The grandson immediately blamed and shouted at the manager in front of all the employees. The grandson did not even give the manager time to explain his situation and just shouted at him. This behaviour caused the manager to feel dejected and despite being loyal to the company for 12 years he started looking for another job. This attitude caused the organisation a great deal as he lost a hardworking and faithful employee.

This unit also helped me understand that the environment the organisation is in is very important, the owners/managers often dictate employee performance. In case, the manager is loud and abrasive, the subordinates would also be the same and if the manager is supportive, the employees succeed and are an asset to the organisation.  (Gorenak M, 2015)

Hierarchy in an organization also defines the relationships, some organizations like a family owned business are stringent at times and employees do not have much freedom to express their views. In such organizations where there is a high degree of control and formal structure, employees lose interest and their work is just a job ought to be done. The control, structure, and hierarchy impact the employees live of involvement and his attitude towards the organization.

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND OB:

Occupational stress is another theme that impacts the OB. Though I have personally never faced as a part of the unit I came across examples where the employees were very displeased and various researched have been conducted on it. It is a pervasive problem and various researches have been conducted on it. The main reasons for this being stressful working conditions, job dissatisfaction, psychological strain and individual goals not being met. (Maria Vakola, 2005) One example of organizational stress can be an employee asked to work overtime than required or being held accountable for others work. In these cases, the attitude of the employee changes and he loses interest. It is important that the managers are supportive and do not stress out the employees. The employees are supported, their roles defined and they are encouraged to speak their mind.

Humans are social beings and when the ideas are given importance/ appreciated in a group/ team they feel a part of the group which encourages them to give their best shot. It is important that there is communication and the managers are supportive so that the organizational stress can reduce.

LEARNING FROM WORKING IN A TEAM:

With so many different personalities in organisation you are bound to have a problem with some people. Every individual has a certain set of beliefs and values which he/she cannot compromise. My priority at work is to do the task efficiently and wholeheartedly. I get very involved in my work and expect everyone in my team to do the same. It is also essential to have a friendly environment at work but i believe one should be upfront with his/her thoughts and feelings. This kind of behaviour can have a positive impact when you gel with the other person in a team but can go the wrong way if you do not believe in the ideas of the other person.

 I had a negative experience working in a team once. Working in a team of 3, we had all our roles and responsibilities divided. I and my other team member DID OUR WORK ON TIME BUT OUR 3rd member kept on chatting and delaying her part of the work. We as a team tried to speak to her but to no avail and we gave up and did not take any initiative again.

This created a negative work environment with all the work coming on us and the 3rd team member creating a negative environment. This impacted our behaviour at work as we lost interest at work and this became a burden for both of us. This being my example, I realized how someone else’s behaviour can have a negative impact on my behaviour. After studying this unit, it helped me understand that OB is very essential as I should have tried to understand her perspective and not perceive but try to work out with her. In a team, you need to supportive of each other to create a positive work environment and avoid conflict when possible. 

BULLYING AT WORKPLACE:

It is very important to have a supportive boss who is appreciative of your work but there are bosses who can be a bully. The employees may get intimidated by their behaviour which causes physical and emotional distress to them. Ridiculing employees, insulting tem, not giving them credit for their work are some kinds of non-aggressive behaviours by a bully boss. It is important to understand what made the boss a bully and what impacted his behaviour (Moss, 2016). This impacts employee turnover and an organisation may lose a performing employee because of this behaviour. Rudeness at times may lead to aggressive behaviour which can make the employee upset and angry.

IMPACT OF COMMICATION ON OB:

My first experience how communication can impact management was during my internship, though I was just an intern they took my ideas into consideration and always appreciated my viewpoints. This feeling of acceptance is very important for an employee as it is necessary that the people working in an organization have the same goal and the same motivation level. In a team, if all the employees are not treated equally and their ideas are not given importance, there would be dissatisfaction in the employees. There have been cases in which employees, when they start in the organization, want to make a difference and work hard but due to lack of communication/support from their managers or the organization, they lose interest.

IMPACT OF TEAM STRUCTURE ON OB:

Employees make up the internal and social system of the organization, whether the team is small or big, formal or informal but it is best that there is clear communication and the employees feel that they are a part of the organization. A study was conducted by Elton Mayo between 1924 to 1932 in Hawtorne Works in which he discovered that there is a correlation between the performance and satisfaction of employee. As a part of the experiment, he conducted a study to determine if the level of light within the building affected the productivity of employees. He concluded that an employee would perform well and contribute better when he knows that the management is paying attention to him and his performance matters.

Even in the research, the workers increased their output when the light was switched on from off or vice versa and this led to a change in the worker’s behaviour as they were aware that they were under observation. The impact of the change was that the workers felt that they are being looked after and this raised their morale. As they were being singled out by the management and the changing of light was an effort from the management to study their behaviour, the employees felt productive and increased their output.  even in organizations when the employees are being listened to and appreciated they start working more and perform to their utmost potential. and great attention should be paid to communication as it is an important element of organizational behaviour (Željko Turkalj, 2009)

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND OB:

Another factor which is a very important factor is culture, the values, sense of belongingness, stories and values that hold the organization together. within the age of digitalization, most employees can look up about the organization, its structure, values, and missions. another thing that employees look for today is reviews online. while joining a new company, people tend to look up online about the reviews of the current/previous employees. the culture the company has invites a lot of proper to apply and join the organization. If the company supports growth opportunities provides ownership more and more people are attracted towards it. This also affects the psychology of the employee and he gets driven towards the organization’s vision and mission. (Željko Turkalj, 2009)

As a part of weekly activities and readings and activities, I came across an article by Timothy T.C. So, on positive organizational behaviour and better work performance. The article focused on positive organizational behaviour and how it impacts a firm’s strategy and performance. According to his article Self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency are the 4 key resources for an organization. The main context of the article was that instead of focusing on people’s weakness, it is important that the managers/leaders should focus on building the employees strengths and help them excel. Managers/leaders should focus on making the employees learn and grow rather than changing the fundamental personality traits/ This optimistic outlook would not only improve the performance and effectiveness but develops a positive behaviour, the employee develops sportsman spirit, civic virtue, courtesy, a consciousness which develops and encourages principled action and appropriate whistleblowing. (So, 2009)

An example of an organization that used optimism is American Express. They developed and maintained optimism at the workplace to develop its associates and has specific training guidelines that led to significant enhancement of work outcomes. (Luthans, 2002)

Companies like Starbucks and virgin are the best examples of employee empowerment. They encourage their employees to express their opinions on any personal/firm’s issues. (So, 2009)

Employee Misbehaviour and Misconduct:

In an organisation, it is important that a decorum is maintained and all the employees follow procedures and policies. There are norms that are required to be followed in an organisation and any employee not following them would lead to deviance. The consequence of this behaviour affects the decision-making process, productivity and has financial costs as well.

Examples of negative deviance is sexual harassment, vandalism, rumour spreading, and corporate sabotage which has a harmful effect on the enterprise. Arriving late to work, being rude to co-workers, INTENTIONALLY slowing down work are some types of negative deviant behaviours done by employees).The factors that create a  sense of belongingness to the organisation are personal interest, motivation, friendships, team  activities, personal morality and other personal factors dependent from person to person. (Paula Saunders, 2007) Other factors that affect the organisational climate are favouritism, blame game between employees and gossiping. If this kind of climate is there, the employee feels neglected and it impacts his performance. Corporate misbehaviour is another concept that is gaining momentum and today almost every newspaper has an article on misuse of funds by employees or illegal activities done by them. These days there are various corporate scandals that have come into light and it is important to understand the reason for this deviance. Employees are using the organisations money for personal trips or commit frauds which results in scams that impacts the organisation greatly.

PERSONALITY AND OB:

As a part of the unit, I did a personality test which helped me understand my positive and negative traits. This test was an eye-opener and helped me analyse myself and shed light on my previous and past experiences. I did the Myers Briggs personality test which is an introspective self-report. It helped me understand my personality and how I perceive people around me and make decisions. The test results were surprising as the thorough analysis was very accurate and led me to understand myself better. The personality type that I got was ENFP- Extraverted Intuitive Feeling perceiving. (Appendix-1) I am an outgoing and a warm person and this is a behavioural trait that would help me be a good manager and work well in a team. It was good to do the personality test as it highlighted my positive and negative traits. The negative trait being- short attention span which is a major problem during long conversations and meetings. This helped me find my areas of improvement as though I am productive, it takes a great deal for me to work though deadlines. This unit helped me take the negative and positive traits of personality and work together to give my bets at work. It is important to know all the aspects of the personality and work together to be a better employee and a manager in the future.

LEARNINGS FROM THE UNIT

This unit also helped me self-reflect and analyse myself as subordinate, supervisor and manager. Every individual is different and he brings with him a unique set of personal characteristics, experience which impacts the organisation he is in. It is important for the organisation to be open and welcome the employees, respect their background and take it in their stride to grow. It is important that the perspective and learnings of every individual in a team be respected for a positive organisation climate. Any kind of change that is implemented in the organisation, the employees need to be made aware as they feel that they are a part of the organisation. OB should look after all the people that work in the organisation and what motivates them to do better. The personal and organisational experiences shape the individual over time and it is an important factor that needs to be taken into consideration. When an individual stay in an organisation for long, his behaviour reflects the organisations culture. The culture influences the way the employees interact with one another and how the management works.

Works Cited

Željko Turkalj, I. F., 2009. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHA VIOUR. Interdiscipinary Management Research , Volume 5, pp. 33-42.

Evans, h. G., 1986. Organizational Behavior: The Central Role of Motivation. Journal of Management , 1 06, 12(2), pp. 203-222.

Gorenak M, F. M., 2015. The influence of organizational valus on compentencies of managers. Ekonomie a Management, 18(1), pp. 67-83.

Luthas, F., 2002. Positive organisationa behaviour: Developing and managing psycological strenghts. Volume 16, pp. 57-72.

Maria Vakola,  . N., 2005. Attitutes towards organisational change: What is the role of employees stress and commitment?.

Moss, S., 2016. Why Some Bosses Bully Their Best Employees. [Online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/06/why-some-bosses-bully-their-best-employees

Paula Saunders, A. H. J. G.-D., 2007. Defining workplace bullying behaviour professional lay definitions of workplace bullying. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30(4-5), pp. 340-354.

Selaiman A. Noori, B. A. K., 2011. Organizational Behavior: A Study on Managers, Employees, and Teams. Journal of Management Policy and Practice , 12(1).

So, T. T., 2009. POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND BETTER WORK PERFORMANCE. [Online] Available at: https://positivepsychologynews.com/news/timothy-so/200903181667

Maria Vakola, Ioannis Nikolaou,2005 Attitudes towards organizational change: What is the role of employees’ stress and commitment? Employee Relations, Volume 27, pp.160-174,