Organizational Behavior: The Exeter Story
Introduction
An organization is a system of two or more people, engaged in cooperative action, trying to reach an agreed-upon purpose. Organizations are bound-bed systems of structured social interactions featuring the use of incentives, communication systems, and authority relations. Examples of organizations include retail stores, universities, businesses, and hospitals.
Whether we want to be or not, we are all part of organizations. In your daily activities you move from one organization to another. You may deal with a government agency, go to work, or shop at a store. Understanding organizations and their management can give us significant insights into systems that have major effects on us all (2002).
Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior is defined as the actions and attitudes of people in organizations. The field of organizational behavior (OB) is the body of knowledge derived from the study of these actions and attitudes. Organizational behavior can help managers identify problems, determine how to correct them, and establish whether the changes would make a difference. Such knowledge can help people better understand situations they face in the workplace and change their behavior so that their performance and the organization’s effectiveness increase.
As a field of study, organizational behavior includes a collection of separate theories and models, ways of thinking about particular people and events. It has its roots in the disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science. Organizational behavior can help managers understand the complexity within organizations and that most organizational problems have several causes. Organizational behavior principles play an essential role in assessing and increasing organizational effectiveness, which is a central responsibility of and focus for all managers.
To appreciate behavior in organizations, researchers and specialists in OB cannot focus exclusively on individuals acting alone. After all, in organizational settings, people frequently work together in groups and increasingly in teams. Furthermore, people—whether alone or in groups—both influence and are influenced by their work environment. Therefore, OB focuses on three distinct levels of analysis: individuals, groups, and organizations.
The field of OB recognizes that all three levels of analysis must be used to comprehend fully the complex dynamics of behavior in organizations. Careful attention to all three levels is a central theme of modern OB and is fully reflected in this book. For example, at the individual level, we describe how OB and managers are concerned with individual perceptions, attitudes, and personality. At the group level, we describe how people communicate with each other and coordinate their activities in work groups and teams. Finally, at the organizational level, we describe organizations as a whole—the way they are structured and operate in their environments, and the effects of their operations on their employees.
Moreover, the questions such as why do employees behave as they do in organizations? Why is one group or individual more productive than another? Why do organizations continually seek ways to delegate authority and empower their employees? These and similar questions are important to successfully managing behavior in today’s organizations. Understanding the behavior of people in organizations has become increasingly important as management concerns—such as individual and team productivity, job stress, and career progression—continue to make headlines.
At its core, OB is interesting because it is about people and human nature. OB does not have to be exotic to be interesting. Anyone who has negotiated with a recalcitrant bureaucrat or had a really excellent boss has probably wondered what made them behave the way they did. Organizational behavior provides the tools to find out why.
Organizational behavior is important to leaders, managers, employees, and consumers; and understanding it can make us more effective leaders, managers, employees, and consumers. Organizational leaders and managers in organizations are challenged by many changes occurring within and outside their organizations. Increased calls for change and a more diverse workforce points out that organizational leaders are being asked to perform effectively in a changing world. Organizations are also expected to efficiently use and manage the available information technology so that they can compete globally.
Employees were not always so valued as they are today. Today’s sense of caring about individuals has evolved over the years. Many of history’s great philosophers have contributed to our understanding of leading or managing behavior in organizations. , a sixteenth-century Florentine statesman and political theorist, wrote The Prince, a cynical guide to ruling people. He assumed that all people were lazy and self-centered and that tricking them into working made good sense. Machiavelli believed that the end justified the means. Indeed, we have come to associate his name with the process of manipulation. Thus, an individual utilizing his principle is called “Machiavellian.”
Throughout history, people were members of various classes. Some were rulers (kings, nobles, and trusted aristocrats) and many more were followers. If one assumed that people of lower social status should be subservient, management of them would likely rely on exerting power or force. Managers with such assumptions did not give much thought to the importance of human relations as a means of effectively managing people—after all, lower-class people were seen as barely human.
The eventual breakdown of the rigid class system with the advent of democratic thinking called for new and different ways to manage. The notion that people are “created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights,” as Thomas Jefferson asserted, was a radically different way of thinking about people and human relationships. Today’s successful organizations and managers must be concerned with the “people element” instead of dictating to their employees as the ancient aristocrats did.
Managers today must continue to find ways to better manage the behavior of people in their organizations. Today, the field of OB is filled with a rich variety of approaches. It is interesting to examine the various ways of viewing employee behavior that have emerged over the years. Taking a historical perspective on attitudes toward employee behavior helps us both understand where the management of organizational behavior stands today and visualize the directions it may take in the future.
Company Profile
“The Exeter Story” is a tourist attraction which is a multimedia attraction providing an insight into Exeter’s history, its famous face and the university. It is located within the three floors of an historic warehouse on the quay which is used to be one of the prime visitor attractions in Exeter. The visitors walk through each floor, which moves from Roman times through the twentieth century and the glass cased exhibits have written explanations and at the same time an illustrated guide is available in English and French language.
In the recent years however, the visitor’s numbers have fallen and a new manager has been appointed to turn things around. The previous manager was an elderly academic who is in fact a retired history professor from the university who had a very laissez-faire attitude and enjoyed chatting to the visitors about the history of Exeter leaving them with the day-to-day running of the organization.
The Exeter Story organizational structure is divided into four wherein which each has its own subdivision and own tasks to perform in the organization. There is the Marketing Manager and its subdivision, the Finance Manager and its subdivision, the Assistant Manager and its subdivision and lastly the HR Manager and its subdivision all of which are under the control of the manager who is responsible for the overall operation of the organization.
The Problem
Having a new manager who wants to clean and sweep and revamped what needs to renew in the organization is a big step for not only does it affect the staff and the employees within the organization but it also affects the entire organization and its operation. Change is the word here and change is not that simple and not a piece of cake. When considering change, things are turned around and things are not done the way they used to be before.
Considering that the manager wants to get rid of the Finance staff and the HR staff, this would create chaos within the organization since there are people involved in her decision who might lose their job. Criticisms would also arise since these staffs are working before she came and entered unto the company. Aside from that the manager wants to focus on the previous organizational structure which she commented as an old-fashioned which prevents communication rather than encouraging it.
Therefore, before considering such actions require proper analysis and considerations to prevent company loss, establish a united organization wherein people can work freely, the work load divided equally, the operation done smoothly and establish harmonious relationship to one another.
Critical Analysis
In fairness of everyone within the organization, each of the staff and their respective load work should be evaluated and investigate who among of them are doing their job and who are among are not (1997). This would be easier for the manager to determine who goes out of the company and who stays. That way, there would be no hard feeling left. This would be the time wherein the finance staff and the hr staff would be joined to another department and have their work subcontracted. That, way tasks and work are divided equally.
The manager’s wish to revamp the organizational structure is a good idea since the previous organizational structure prevents communication in an organization because of its many division (1997). That is why she decided to get rid of the HR and the Finance department and have both of them subcontracted to the remaining department.
In regards to the communication problem, it is important to be aware how important communication is to an organization (2002). Typically, People in organizations spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communications. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, intragroup, organizational, or external levels. Although all of us have been communicating with others since our infancy, the process of transmitting information from an individual (or group) to another is a very complex process with many sources of potential error. In any communication at least some of the "meaning" lost in simple transmission of a message from the sender to the receiver. In many situations a lot of the true message is lost and the message that is heard is often far different than the one intended (1997). This is most obvious in cross-cultural situations where language is an issue. But it is also common among people of the same culture. Thus what appears to be a simple communication is, in reality, quite complex.
Communications is so difficult because at each step in the process there major potential for error. By the time a message gets from a sender to a receiver there are four basic places where transmission errors can take place and at each place, there are a multitude of potential sources of error ( 2002). Thus it is no surprise that social psychologists estimate that there is usually a 40-60% loss of meaning in the transmission of messages from sender to receiver.
It is critical to understand this process, understand and be aware of the potential sources of errors and constantly counteract these tendencies by making a conscientious effort to make sure there is a minimal loss of meaning in your conversation.
It is also very important to understand that a majoring of communication is non-verbal. This means that when we attribute meaning to what someone else is saying, the verbal part of the message actually means less than the non-verbal part. The non-verbal part includes such things as body language and tone.
Through communication, the manager and the assistant manager could have a detailed information about how the operation of the organization is going on, how the work is done, the mistakes easily tracked, problems easily solved and action can be done before everything is too late.
The gap between designing a new organization on paper and bringing it into reality is the domain of organization change and development. , a famous social psychologist, once wrote that a social organism becomes understandable only after one attempt to change it. It often happens therefore that management's awareness for a new organization design emerges only after the start of an intensive change process ( 2005). And even if it were possible for an omniscient manager to develop a master blueprint before introducing organization change, it is doubtful that other employees would readily accept the new design or have the required skills for making the design work. For these reasons, managers need to be as skillful at handling the question of how to introduce change as they are in diagnosing what needs to be changed.
Basically, most of us know the saying “change is the only constant”. However, scholars and practitioners have started with gusto to try to understand change dynamics in and around our institutions with the intent to influence the direction and impact of change ( 2002). Organization development, the discipline focusing on organizational change is still emerging as science. In the meantime, fads and trial-and-error dominate our efforts to deal with the important and pervasive issue of change. Change causes stress especially to the employees and at the same time affects the operation of the entire organization.
The impact of change on most employees, both line and management, and on safety, health and environmental performance is typically negative. Results include increased worry, frustration, resentment, stress and distraction (1997). These lead to lower productivity and an increased possibility of accidents, injuries and environmental incidents. Most of us resist change rather than welcome it. We fear that we will lose something. We resist change because we don't like it, don't want it, don't agree with it, don't know what the future will bring and what will happen, are afraid of it, and just don't know how to deal with it. When change results in downsizing or reorganizing and the loss of jobs, those who are left often resist change because it leads to increased responsibilities. Others feel guilty that they are the survivors and others have lost out. Their guilt and remorse adds more stress. Some, though, may see change as an opportunity to advance. How they handle change depends on perspective, self-image and a belief in their ability to handle it constructively.
Often, what underlies resistance is the belief that if we resist something enough, it will disappear or change. However, it doesn't usually happen that way. Rather, the resistance creates tension, doubt or uncertainty, resentment and fear, and stress. Resistance also is a distracting factor. When distractions occur, so can incidents.
The sources of stress are many, from downsizing to upsizing, re-engineering, incentives, the future, job security, work conditions and environment, restructuring, production pressures or quotas, internal and external competition, personality conflicts, and personal issues and concerns related to organizational or outside issues.
Rest assured, change is important in an organization. There are always things that need to be refreshed, restructured and change in order to be successful. It is also part of an organization’s strategies to be successful and achieve their organizational goals.
Recommendations
“Nobody wants to work like they did in the good old days.” “Half the problems we have around here are due to a lack of personal motivation.” “Workers just don’t seem to care.” Such sentiments are often expressed by many of today’s managers ( 2002). However, motivating employees is not a new problem. Much of the pioneering work in the field of management, which took place early in the twentieth century, was concerned with motivation. One can even find examples showing motivation problems existed back in biblical times. One reason why leading is such an important management activity is that it entails ensuring that each member of a team is motivated to perform highly and help the organization achieve its goals. When managers are effective, the outcome of the leading process is a highly motivated workforce. No two managers will answer these questions in exactly the same manner. Motivation is an individual phenomenon affecting each person in a different way. Although motivation continues to be a popular word, it is extremely difficult to define. Yet its importance cannot be overemphasized. In reality, managers are not evaluated on what they do, but, instead, on what they cause their direct reports to do. The mark of a successful manager is to be able to motivate people, causing them to advance their best efforts to accomplish and possibly exceed organizational goals and objectives.
Moreover, an organization's success depends on the people who populate it. Individual development, employee empowerment, and socialization are important topics related to organizational behavior and the speed at which a company can use personnel for maximum effectiveness (2001). Competition is a method by which opposing elements bid for resources and power. What separates the winners from the losers in corporate America is the ability to provide customers exactly what they want in a manner that is profitable. More than ever, staying competitive means maintaining a constant focus on market demands and rival forces. Increased pressures due to globalization and participants once foreign to U.S. markets have necessitated a re-evaluation of the key behaviors in an enterprise that can lead to success. There are three elements crucial to staying competitive: maximum quality, minimum cost, and on-time delivery. This triumvirate of quality, cost, and delivery often referred to as QCD, is what allows companies to thrive, whether they are service industries or manufacturers. The key organizational behaviors that affect QCD are abundant and offer an endless supply of opportunities for improvement. Some of these behaviors include: Incremental continuous improvement and innovation; change management; unification of the culture; managing critical variables; individual development, employee empowerment, and socialization; and lastly, forming, developing, and optimizing teams (2001). Additionally, innovation has been viewed as the answer to staying competitive. Large-scale improvement of existing processes, such as the rollout of an ERP system or the acquisition of new equipment, provided management with returns on investment that were difficult to ignore. It is a safe bet that, without innovation, companies will eventually be left behind or even eliminated. Innovation offers a one-shot, large scale improvement, a company is destined for a steady decline in performance until the next innovation arrives, which may never happen. Reliance on innovation alone has inherent risks. Continuous improvement activities range from quality control circles and short-term, focused activities to incentive suggestion programs and the regular use of statistical process control charts. All of these can and should be incorporated into the business model and made an integral part of company culture. Effective change management is vital to any organization. Typically, vast amounts of resources are expended to adjust employees to a new way of achieving the corporate mission. Frustration can abound when a manager is not prepared to deal with the inevitable resistance to change. Many different models for change attempt to provide a path for facilitating change and affording a company the opportunity to go quickly from idea generation to implementation. A sense of urgency is critical. Too often, employees who are far removed from the front lines don't feel as though the competition is close and, as a result, are complacent and less likely to want to act differently when needed. A guiding coalition consists of a group of individuals, leading by example, with sufficient authority to steer the change effort. Just as a vision and strategy are important to a company as a whole, they are essential to a change effort. By definition, change represents something different from what employees are accustomed to; therefore, a clear, well-communicated vision and a path to achieve the change are needed. Asking employees to change must be paired with giving them the tools to achieve it and removing all obstacles. Careful planning will ensure that all aspects of the project have been accounted for and that unexpected roadblocks will be avoided or minimized. Creating short-term wins allows the workforce to see the benefits of the change effort early on in the program and acts as a motivating factor for the remainder of the change evolution. In addition, during times that it may be difficult to justify a change project to upper management and approval is contingent upon quick returns, consolidating short-term gains can be invaluable. Quick wins help eliminate doubt about the effectiveness of the change and increase everyone's confidence when unforeseen changes are needed. Anchoring the new approach in the culture is the stage that, if not done correctly, will lead to backsliding and wasted effort. Every company's business model must be an integral part of the company culture or else the change is destined to fail.
Conclusion
Optimizing the team's performance is critical to gain full participation by all members and make the best use of the human resources in the team environment. Ways to do this include reflection, actively asking questions, and discussing errors. It's also a great benefit if team member’s share the belief that open communication should not be dampened and clear team goals should be compelling. Another natural element to teams that starts as a challenge until mastered is conflict resolution. Every team has differing personalities; therefore, every team has conflict. Dealing effectively with conflict is where some teams falter while others become effective. Unless the organization has a monopolistic hold on a segment of the market and no intentions of branching out into uncharted waters, the individuals who lead the organization will be continually tasked with formulating strategy to address the competitive nature of their market. The risks associated with a failure to do this are enormous. Conversely, the benefits associated with altering organizational behavior in an effort to remain competitive are immense. A company needs to re-evaluate how it approaches a multitude of behaviors, the cumulative effect of which separates world-class enterprises from those destined for failure.
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