UNIT
I ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
DEFINITIONS
“Organizational BEHAVIOR is a field of
study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and organizational
structure have on BEHAVIOR within theorganization, for the purpose of applying
such knowledge towards improving an organizational effectiveness”
Organizational behavior (OB) is "the study of behavior in organizational settings, the
interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization
itself.
NEED
AND IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Importance of Organizational BEHAVIOR
for the managers
Organizational behavior provides a
useful set of tools at five levels of analysis.
It helps managers to look at the
behavior of individuals within an organization.
It aids their understanding of the
complexities involved in interpersonal relations, when two people (two coworkers or a
superior-subordinate pair) interact.
Organizational BEHAVIOR is valuable
for examining the dynamics of relationships within small groups, both formal teams and informal
groups.
When two or more groups need to
coordinate their efforts, managers become interested in the intergroup relations that emerge.
Organizations can also be viewed and
managed as whole systems that have inter organizational relationships.
NATURE-
First organizational behavior is an
investigative study of individuals and groups, second, the impact of
organizational structure on human BEHAVIOR and the third, the application of knowledge
to achieve organizational effectiveness. These factors are interactive in
nature and the impact of such behavior is applied to various systems so that
the goals are achieved. The nature of study of organizational BEHAVIOR is
investigative to establish
cause and effect relationship.
OB involves integration of studies
undertaken relating to Behavioral sciences like psychology, sociology,
anthropology, economics, social psychology and political science.
Therefore, organizational BEHAVIOR is a
comprehensive field of study in which individual, group and organizational
structure is studied in relation to organizational growth and organizational
culture, in an environment where impact of modern technology is great
SCOPE –
The scope of the organizational BEHAVIOR is as under:
(a) Impact of personality on performance
(b) Employee motivation
(c) Leadership
(d) How to create effective teams and Frame work
(e) Study of different organizational structures
(f) Individual BEHAVIOR, attitude and learning
(g) Perception
(h) Design and development of effective organization
(i) Job design
(j) Impact of culture on organizational BEHAVIOR
(k) Management of change
(l) Management of conflict and stress
(m) Organizational development
(n) Organizational culture
(o) Transactional analysis
(p) Group BEHAVIOR, power and politics
(q) Job design
(r) Study of emotions
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
MODELS.
The models of organizational BEHAVIOR
are developed considering input, process and output.Input contains various
independent variables. Processes involve interaction with other individuals,
groups formally or informally and take into consideration organisatioin resources,
managerial roles, leadership styles, motivational factors, level of conflicts,
stress factors, channels of command and control, organisatioal development
measures undertaken
by the organization, prevailing
organizational culture and hosts of other factors. These factors then culminate
into output in the form of dependent variables discussed earlier. The models of
organizational BEHAVIOR have been developed through the historical development
of management thoughts discussed in chapter two of the book. In India, organizational
BEHAVIOR models differ from organization to organization. Every organization
adopts one or more models of BEHAVIOR.
The different types or organizational BEHAVIOR
models are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
FUEDAL MODEL: Feudal Model treats
employees inferior. The concept is based upon Theory X where actions, polices
and procedures are considered superior to human beings. In fuedal model
employees are treated sternly and hire and fire principle is applicable in the
organization. A fear psychosis is created among the employees. These models
have been practiced world over by various organizations where people have been
laid off for cost cutting. Employee desires, value, emotions are not considered
pragmatically by the organizers. People are treated as another resource for all
purposes.
AUTOCRATIC MODEL:
Autocratic model is based on the
concept that managers are superior.They have power to hire and fire any
employees. Managers words are considered final Autocratic model believes in
power and authority of the manager. Employee have to obey the orders of the
boss. Autocratic model proposes that minimum employee needs are met. It
believes that higher salaries given to employees is sheer waste of resources as
they spend money for unproductive needs.
Individuals are controlled by the
managers based on official authority and power attached to it. Employees are
driven to work as this model assumes that nobody wants to work unless he is
forced to do so. Managers are considered neutral born leaders who are obeyed
and respected in all areas. The autocratic model is very commonly used in
Indian organizations like, railways, defense organization, police organization,
banks etc. Autocratic model has however proved to be partly in-effective because
of introduction of human rights commission. This has reduced the scope to
abiding by rules regulations and written instructions of an organization. Custodial
Model: Custodial model imply that owners are custodian of resources in the
organization and they are bound to look after the welfare of employees. It
considers that assets of organization belong to industrialist, managers and
employees in equal measures and that nobody has monopoly rights. Employees are
given opportunities to bring their problems to the notice of the employer and
it is the duty of the latter to solve the same. Redressal of grievance
procedure exists in the organization. Employees depend on the organization for
security and their welfare. The organizations provide wages and salary while
employees are in service. They also provide pensioners benefits to the employees
so that they can sustain their post retirement life comfortably. While in
service employees get fair wages rather than subsistence wages. They depend on
the organization rather than the boss. Employees devote themselves for the
organizational development because they feel that the organization look after
the employee welfare not only during service but also post service periods.
Employees are interested in economic rewards and benefits. The model proposes
passive involvement of employees and money as the only motivating factor.
Direct cooperation of employees is not sought. Employee value, preferences,
attitude, emotions and psychological motivational factors are not considered for
organizational effectiveness. The model however is useful for organizational
growth.
SUPPORTIVE MODEL:
Employees are considered active workers
who have their value, attitude, desire, and preferences. Leaders use attitude
and value system of employees to motivate them. Supportive model believes that
employees are active and with ideal environment and support, they can use their
energies and skill for higher productivity of the organization. If employees
are given oppourtunities they can increase their capacity to do a particular
work. Owner has to provide and support various activities for individual, group
and organizations. The employees should develop sense of belonging and feeling
of participation in over all organizational growth. The model does not support
the custodial model concept where money is considered as motivating factor.
Employees get oppourtunities for recognition. They develop positive outlook
towards work culture. Managers and workers participate together in the
development of organization while achieving development of their own skills.
Many organizations have developed as a result of adopting the supportive model.
The model helps in the development of individuals, groups and organizations. It
is more effective in developed countries. It has not been proved very effective
in developing nations because of restrictive social and cultural environment.
Supportive model is used
in many organizations with
modifications.
COLLEGIAL MODEL:
Collegial model refers to body of
persons having common objective. The basis of the model is the partnership of
the employees with owners. The emphasis is on team management between workers
and owners. Employees are given responsible and trustworthy jobs. They are
self-disciplined and self-motivated. Managers and workers have similar
activities, work environment and understanding. Managerial cadre is not considered
superior to the employees. They contribute jointly rather than bosses or
leaders. They have to develop as a team with employees and impress upon quality
and performance. Combined efforts contribute to the growth and performance of
the organization.
HUMAN VALUE MODEL:
The natural process of BEHAVIOR is Stimulus,
Organism, Behavior and Consequence. It is generally known as SOBC. Every organization
should provide enough incentives in the form of intrinsic and extrinsic
stimuli. Intrinsic stimulus is achieved by encouraging individuals by
recognition, empowerment, delegation of authority, better inter-personal
relations and cognitive BEHAVIOR in general. Extrinsic stimuli refer to
economic incentives in the form of reward for the job done. It is monetary in
nature and are exercised for influencing organism of employees. The aim of
these incentives are to stimuli the employees in the desired direction so that
productivity and growth is achieved. Organizations should identify best social,
cultural, physical and technological stimuli so that positive consequences in
the form of BEHAVIOR is achieved. It must be understood that people work in the
organization for achieving psychological satisfaction. They want to belong to a
social group so that they are mentally at peace and that would lead to desired BEHAVIOR
in the organization. Enviornment of the organization therefore must be
condusive to work and quality of work life should be very rich.
CONTINGENCY MODEL:
Contingency model of organizational BEHAVIOR
refers to complex variables that influence individual, group and Organizational structures. Contingency model is
designed to meet the contingent situations like management of conflict,
handling of stress, achieving growth and managining the complexities caused due
to changes in organization structures. In the contingency model relations
between manager and employees are based on co-operation, trust and desire of
well-being. Promotion to employees is assured. No distinction is made between
specialist and non-specialist. It is also known as the hybrid model where long
term employment is assured to the employees.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Environment has impact on individual’s BEHAVIOR.
When a child is born, he is raised in a particular culture that establishes
values, norms and attitude. These are passed on to subsequent generations.
Early conditions have permanent impact on the child. Family norms and social
group influences an individual to a great extent. First born child and later
born child may display different attitude and approach to life. Environmental
factors that have impact on individual BEHAVIOR are
1) General economic situation of the organization
one is serving. An individual serving in government/ public sector undertaking has
a job security. Those serving in private organization may be worried about
retrenchment.
2) Wages is another issue. It will
determine the social norms an individual is able to practice.
3) An individual who has employability
is able to secure job in organization of own choosing. In the recent past
software professionals shifted their jobs very frequently. Technical
qualification is therefore an important factor that has impact on human behavior.
Monetary and psychological aspects play a decisive role in human behavior.
4) Political, social, legal and technological
environment should be sound and condusive to work culture. Owners should analyze
the situation and be vigilant about employee attitude, behavior
and pre-empt any dangerous behavioral situation.
UNIT II
PERSONALITY
Personality is a very complex and
multidimensional construct of a human being. No common definition of
personality has so far been arrived at. Every individual defines personality in
different way which includes trait factors and physical appearance.” Personality
is a dynamic organization within an individual of those psychological systems
that determines his unique
adjustment with the environment. It is
a sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.”
As far as physical aspect is concerned it relates to individual charm, attitude
while dealing with others and smiling face can also be included into
personality
TYPES OF PERSONALITY
Type A: People having Type A
personality are always moving, walking and eating rapidly. They feel impatient
with the speed the events take place. They always strive to do two or three
thing at any one time and cannot cope with leisure. They are generally obsessed
with work involved with numbers.
Type B: People possessing Type B
personality never suffer from sense of urgency and take thing as it comes
coolly. They do not discuss achievement and leave it to the superiors to identify
it. People having B type of personality play for fun and relaxation rather than
to show off. These people have the tendency to relax without guilt.
Studies indicating personality traits of Indian
Managers
.
Findings indicate that managers give high importance
to the following traits:
• Cooperation.
• Intelligence.
• Energy.
• Sociability.
Low importance was assigned to the following
personality traits:
• Aggressive.
• Confronting.
• Independent.
Flexibility, preserving and self-monitoring has been
accorded moderate importanceThe co-relation co-efficient between managers of
public sector and private sector accounted for as high as 90.
FACTORS INFLUENCING PERSONALITY –
Personality is determined by heredity, environment (culture)
and situation under which an individual works.
HEREDITY
Heredity is transmitted through genes,
which determine hormone balance, which later determine physique and
subsequently the personality. Heredity refers to acquiring from parents certain
biological, physical and psychological commonalities, which are further reflected
in physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition
and even reflect. They often decide energy level. These factors have a deciding
influence on how a person in an organization would display his reactions in a
particular situation.
Nature of health and psychological make
up that an individual enjoys can be traced from the traits his parents
possessed. Parents prominently pass on shyness, fear and distress to the next
generation. In good organizations and particularly in defence services a
detailed screening is carried out of the candidates based on the background of
the parents as it relates to physique, psychological make up, disability and
transferable disease as it has far
reaching impact on the general health
of the organization.
ENVIRONMENT
Every individual is born and brought up
in a particular environment. Environment leaves an imprint on the personality
of an individual. It is commonly seen that a doctors son preferring his
father’s profession and a child of a soldier entering into Defence Services. More
advanced the socio-economic conditions of the society more would the children
be forward thinking. Environment should be viewed from the point of view of
norms, ethics
and value that are observed and the
attitude displayed by the social group. These factors actually formulate the
culture of the society from which the organizations draw their human resource
requirements. The cultural background is important to evaluate personality. In
childhood, parents, uncles, aunts and even neighbour’s BEHAVIOR is copied by a
child. It is therefore necessary to display an ideal BEHAVIOR on the part of
all the adults who come in direct contact with the children. Family moulds
character of children through role models re-enforcements, rewards and
punishments. Other influences like first born andlater born child will have
different personality traits. First-born child would generally be commanding.
Female child would be more responsive and pass on sobering effect on younger
brothers/sisters. It is therefore
important to study early conditions under which the child has been brought up,
norms followed in the family and the existence of cultural value system in the
society. All these factors have a marked influence on the personality of an individual.
SITUATION
Individual has to interact with
number of problems in a given situation, which does not remain constant. It is
subject to change and hence fluid in nature. There is therefore a need to
recognise the person-situation interaction. It can be social learning activity
of personality. Thus personality is situational, the uniqueness of each
situation and anyothers, how they understand and view themselves, pattern of
personality traits and personsituation interaction. For example individual
modifies his BEHAVIOR based on situation. When an individual goes to temple he
would be sober, generally put on plain clothes and bow. When the same
individual goes for interview he would be armed with knowledge of the
organization while in the club he would be merry making having a drink in his
hand and meet friends and generally be in gay mood.
PERSONALITY TRAITS
Personality traits are the
characteristics of an individual when exhibited in large number of situations.
More predominant the traits in an individual are, more consistence the individual
is and more frequent occurrences in diverse situations. There are thousands of traits
that have been identified. Cattell1 isolated 171 traits but concluded that they
were superficial and lacking in descriptive power. What he sought was a reduced
set of traits that would identify underlying pattern. The result was the
identification of 16 personality
factors, which he called the
source, or primary traits. These and their opposites are given below :-
1 Reserved vs Outgoing
2 Less intelligent vs More intelligent
3 Affected by feelings vs. Emotionally stable
4 Submissive vs. Dominant
5 Serious vs. Happy go lucky
6 Timid vs. Venturesome
7 Expedient vs. Conscientious
8 Tough minded vs. Sensitive
9 Trusting vs. Suspicious
10 Practical vs. Imaginative
11 Forthright vs. Shrewd
12 Self assured vs. Apprehensive
13 Conservative vs. Experimenting
14 Group dependent vs. Self-sufficient
15 Uncontrolled vs. Controlled
16 Relaxed vs. Tense
Organizational BEHAVIOR modification-
The
typical OB Modification program follows a five-step problem-solving model:
Identifying critical behaviors
Developing baseline data
Identifying behavior consequences
Developing and implementing an
intervention strategy
Evaluating performance improvement
Critical behaviors make a significant
impact on the employee‘s job performance;
Developing baseline data determines
the number of times the identified behavior is occurring under present
conditions.
Identifying behavioral consequences
tells the manager the antecedent cues that emit the behavior and the
consequences that are currently maintaining it.
Developing and implementing an
intervention strategy will entail changing some elements of the performance-reward
linkage-structure, processes, technology, groups, or the task—with the goal of
making high-level performance more rewarding.
Evaluating performance improvement is
important to demonstrate that a change took place as a result of the
intervention strategy.
OB
Modification has been used by a number of organizations to improve employee
productivity and to reduce errors, absenteeism, tardiness, accident rates, and
improve friendliness toward customers.
MISBEHAVIOR –
1. Introduction
Organizational misbehaviour is
defined as “any intentional action by members of organizations that violates
core organizational and/or societal norms.Inappropriate or illegal employee conduct
can create a wealth of problems for any employer. It can result in a decrease
of productivity, damage to the organization business or reputation, injuries to
employees and customers, and exposure to costly legal liability. Employee
misbehaviour can take many different forms-from substance abuse that can create
workplace hazards, to workplace violence that threatens individual safety, to
improper e-mail and internet usage that can result in exposure to lawsuits and
security violations. Now more than ever before, employers need to be vigilant
and knowledgeable as to the warning signs of inappropriate or illegal conduct ,
the preventive measures to take, and what to do when employees engage in
behaviour that is likely to put the company or others at risk. In this paper we
present some forms of inappropriate behaviour of the employees, the causes that
determine these and how managers should handle with them.
Types of misbehaviour
2.1. Violence in the
workplace
No employer wants to think that
there is a potential for violence in its work-place, but workplace violence is
a disturbing fact of life. Not all incidents of employee violence can be
predicted or prevented, but companies today are expected to take reasonable
measures to keep informed of potential threats to the health and safety of
employees and customers. Some of the warning signs of workplace violence are: explicit
threats and verbal abuse; inappropriate displays of anger, such as screaming
and slamming doors; continually disgruntled attitude; paranoid behaviour;
exhibition of wide mood swings, or other erratic behaviour
2.2. Inappropriate e-mail
and Internet usage
E-mail is a powerful communication
tool that lets individuals transmit information both within and outside of the
organization inexpensively and with lightning speed. However, an inadequate
usage of e-mail and the Internet by the employee can be a serious problem for
an employer. E-mail transmissions are considered “documents” and can be used
against an employer in a lawsuit in the same way as any written letter. In
recent court cases in U.S.A., employee e-mail messages have been presented as
evidence in claim of discrimination, sexual harassment, and other illegal
activities.
Similar issues arise with general
computer use. Employees commonly create and store personal documents on employer-supplied
hardware. Furthermore, excessive non-business-related Web surfing can impede
business productivity. Managers should develop and communicate a policy
regarding online issues, which should apply to all employees with access to
these tools.
2.3. Substance abuse in
the workplace
The issue of substance abuse in the
workplace is an unpleasant one to face. It is estimated that approximately 65
percent of on-the-job accidents are attributable to drug and alcohol use. A great
deal of work has been conducted on the effects of alcohol on judgement and on
the performance of skilled work. In general the experimental work has shown
that alcohol has a deleterious effect on performance because of its effect on
vision, perceptual motor functions, judgement, reasoning and memory. Many of
the studies in this area have concerned driving tasks. For example, Bjever and
Goldberg used a special truck designed to measure the drivers` ability to
operate a car within close limits. Such manoeuvres as parallel parking, driving
out of a garage, and turning around in a narrow roadway were required. Their
results showed that the time taken by skilled drivers to perform test correctly
was significantly lengthened when the subjects were at a blood-alcohol level of
about 40mg/100 ml of blood. For this reason, it is important that all employers
understand the consequences of substance abuse in the workplace and take proper
steps to prevent and eliminate the problem.
2.4. Accidents as
Withdrawal Behaviour
In 1950 Hill and Trist advanced the
theory that people may be motivated to have an accident so that they can take
time off work. Their withdrawal hypothesis was supported by comparing the uncertified
absence rates of 200 men who had remained free from accidents with those of 89 men
who had sustained one or more accidents. Their results indicated that those
sustaining accidents had had significantly more other absences than those who
had remained free of accidents. Unfortunately, since the authors only reported
the number of accidents, it is not possible to determine whether the people who
had high accident rates had more accidents or merely reported more. Only the
former would directly tend to support the theory. There is very little evidence
to support the hypothesis that workers either consciously or unconsciously
cause an accident in order to escape from work.
2.5. Other workplace
dishonesty
A company can experiences other acts
of employee dishonesty, such as theft of company property or the property of
other employees, or fraud. In order to root out or prevent such incidents,
managers may use some techniques - such as search of employee property, or employees
themselves, video surveillance and telephone monitoring. However, managers should
take into account whether the actions they want to take are reasonable for
proper business purposes and if these actions come against the privacy
expectations of the employees. In businesses where there is a high incidence of
employee theft, such as retail or manufacturing industries, random searches are
common. For other types of businesses, random searches may create more problems
than they solve, especially in the areas of employee morale and productivity.
For this reason, it is best for the companies in lower risk businesses to limit
searches to situations where there is probable reason to believe that they will
find what they want.
Management Intervention-
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT –
What Is Impression Management?
Impression management is the effort to control or influence the perceptions
of other people. This could be their perception of a certain person (this
includes you!), a material possession, or an event. The theory goes on to
explain that we try to make the perception consistent with our goals.
For example, a girl who only shares good things about her boyfriend to her
parents may be trying to present him as a good catch so they can stay together.
If a woman spends hours thinking about the right outfit to wear to a party, she
may be trying to present herself as beautiful and stylish while looking for a
date. Of course, many of us can identify with the desire (and resulting
actions) to be seen a certain way or cause someone or something we care about
to be seen a certain way. Sometimes it's conscious and sometimes it isn't, but
when we pay attention, we may find several perceptions we are striving to get
from others.
The most common types of impression
management have to do with self presentation, and in the business
world, the presentation of merchandise. How often have you wondered
what someone will think of you if you do this or that? Or if you don't do it?
We strive to have others view us positively, because we tend to put
emphasis on other views in ways that impact our self esteem. As far as
marketing goes, businessmen are going to present a product in the best light
possible. Their job relies on managing the impressions of the audience in
specific ways that boosts revenues. Also, in their understanding of human
behavior, they might even imply that if you own this product you may be more
liked by others.
Why We Do It
There are two main motives we have
for trying to manage the impressions of others:
Instrumental
This motive includes what we have
already mentioned: the desire for increased self esteem. The fundamental meaning
of instrumental motivation is the gaining of rewards. So, when we
try to manage perceptions to get something back from another person, we are
motivated by instrumental purposes. For example, if a sales representative
shares with her customer that she uses this particular bar of soap, and goes on
to explain how it has helped her skin, her reason for encouraging this sale
might be her desire for a raise. Maybe that is why she has been trying many
products lately and praising them to customers. Besides seeking a raise, a
person could be looking for acceptance, respect, more friends, etc.
Expressive
Have you ever felt like you wanted
to redefine yourself, or how you think you have been seen by others? Maybe when
you were growing up, your parents wanted you to dress, speak or act a certain
way and you wanted to show them they couldn't define you. Whether or not we
have felt this way, many people become aware of how they are viewed, and want
to change that view of them. An expressive motive comes down to wanting
to be in charge of one's personal behavior and identity. It can come from a
response to social norms, expectations or restrictions, and it seeks to show
others something different
MOTIVATION –
Definition: Motivation is defined as “inner burning passion caused by
need, wants and desire which propels an individual to exert his physical and
mental energy to achieve desired objectives”.
Importance of Motivation
(a) High level of performance:
It is the duty of every manager
to ensure that the employees have a high degree of motivation. He should offer
monetary and non-monetary incentives. Highly motivated workers would be regular
for work, and have a sense of belonging for the organization. Quality of
product will be improved, wastage will be minimum and there will be increase in
productivity, and performance level will be high.
(b) Low employee turn over and absenteeism.
Employee turnover and absenteeism is caused due to low
level of motivation on the part of managers. When dissatisfaction is increased
employees do not enjoy the work assigned to them. Therefore there is a tendency
of absenteeism. The workers hunt for an alternative job and leave the organization whenever they get an opportunity.
High level of absenteeism causes low level of production, wastages, poor
quality and disruption in production schedules. Increased turnover is
disastrous for any organization as it puts strain on financial position of the organization
due to additional recruitment, selection, training and development. Motivation
is therefore a very important management tool to achieve organizational excellence.
(c) Acceptance of organization change.
Management must continuously
scan the external and the internal environment. There has been a great impact
of. Social change and technology evolution on the motivation level of
employees. Social change increases aspirations of workers and put an additional
demand on the organization, which must be considered positively so that
conducing working environment is created. Technical innovation, better working
conditions, better R & D facilities, encouragement to employees and
existence of better personal policies should be part of any organization.
This will facilitate retention
of employees. Management must ensure that the changes are introduced in the
organization and its benefits explained to the employees so that there is no
resistance to change and organizational growth is achieved. Re-engineering,
empowerment, job enrichment, job rotation, introduction of new technology and processes
will go a long way to boost employee morale and achieve high degree of motivation.
(d) Organizational image:
Employees are the mirrors of
any organization. Managers must lay down high performance standards coupled
with high monetary and nonmonetary rewards. Training & development
programmes should be regularly organized
and employee skill improved. It
will have a positive impact on the employees and the image of the organization
will be improved. It will also reduce employee turnover and better employee
will look forward to join the organization. High organizational image will
contribute towards brand image of the product and services the organization is
marketing.
Types –
Motivation theories can be classified
on a number of basis.
·
Natural vs. Rational based on whether the
underlying theory of human cognition is based on natural forces (drives, needs,
desires) or some kind of rationality (instrumentality, meaningfulness,
self-identity).
·
Content
vs. Process based on
whether the focus is on the content ("what") motivates vs process
("how") motivation takes place.
Effects on work behavior.
UNIT III
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE –
Introduction
A
group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one
another regularly to achieve common goals. In a group, members are mutually
dependent on one another to achieve common goals, and they interact with one
another regularly to pursue those goals. Effective groups help organizations
accomplish important tasks. In particular, they offer the potential for
synergy—the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When
synergy occurs, groups accomplish more than the total of their members‘
individual capabilities.
Classification
Of Groups
Groups
can be of two types:
Formal
Informal
Formal groups
Formal
groups come into existence for serving a specific organizational purpose.
Individuals‘ behaviors in this type of group are aimed at achieving
organizational goals. The organization creates such a group to perform a
specific task, which typically involves the use of resources to create a
product such as a report, decision, service, or commodity (Likert, 1961).
Though all members contribute to achieve group goals a leader does exist in
this type of group to oversee and direct group members.
Formal
groups may be permanent or temporary in nature. They may be full fledged
departments divisions or specific work teams created for particular projects of
fairly long duration. .
Permanent work groups are officially created to
perform a specific function on a regular basis. They continue to exist until a
decision is made to change or reconfigure the organization for some reason.
Temporary
work groups are task groups are specifically created to solve a problem or
perform a defined task. They may be dismantled after the assigned task has been
accomplished. Examples are the temporary committees and task forces that exist
in an
organization. Indeed, in today‘s organizations the use
of cross-functional teams or task forces for special
problem-solving efforts has goner up significantly.
Informal
group
An
informal group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.
Group of employees snacking together can be an example of such groups. Informal
groups may be sub-categorized as : Command, task, interest, or friendship
groups.
1.
Command groups are
dictated by the formal organization. The organization hierarchy determines a
command group. It comprises of direct reports to a given manager.
2.
Task groups—represent
those working together to complete a job task. A task group‘s boundaries are
not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can cross command
relationships where the same member may be reporting to two or more authorities
at the same time. All command groups are also task groups, but the reverse may
not be true.
3. An interest group consists of people who affiliate to attain a specific
objective with which each is concerned.
Formation –
STEPS IN FORMATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
1. Determination of organizational goals and
identification of related activities:
Organizational goals must be
well defined and clearly spelt out. Based on the
goals all activities that are
required should be identified and broken down into smallest possible sub
activities that may be assigned as a task or a job to the worker. This is applicable
to both managerial as well as operational functions in the organization.
2. Grouping of activities:
All identical activities should
be grouped keeping in mind formation of various departments or divisions. Set
of activities could further be sub-divided and assigned to a particular section
of a department. For example, in an automobile industry, activities relating to
manufacturing of body of a vehicle could be grouped and assigned to a
department responsible for it. Activities relating to manufacturing of chassis
could be sub-divided and allotted to chassis manufacturing section and the
like. This process will lead to formation of department and sections. It will
also indicate the workload, human resource requirement, skills that may be
necessary, the composition and layout of various facilities. Hence the progression
in forming an ideal organizational structure.
3. Delegation of authority:
A person can not perform his
duties unless he has been given adequate authority to accomplish the assigned
task. He can not be made responsible and accountable if requisite authority has
not been given. Authority,
responsibility and
accountability are tied together. An individual employee can not be held responsible
without authority. Production manager can not be held responsible for shortfall
in production if he has not been authorised to hire additional workers if
required to meet the production targets. It is therefore necessary to adopt the
following process:
(a) Determination of course of
action to meet the organizational objectives.
(b) Division of various
activities into appropriate segments to be handled by individuals appropriate
to their skills.
(c) Assignment of tasks to
individuals delegating necessary powers and resources.
(d) Coordination to ensure that
resources are adequately utilized and that there is no overlap or gap in task
accomplishment.
When jobs, activities are
classified, divided and grouped under executives at various levels, it would give
birth to a rough skeleton on which an organizational structure is established.
Formulating an organizational structure on the basis of the content of the job and
subsequently making placements of various people is generally carried out.
However first assigning a job and later shaping an organizational structure can
also happen. Some
thinkers are of the opinion
that beginning to allot the task should be made at the top level coming down to
the bottom level. The others feel that the bottom level tasks should be allotted
at the beginning and gradually moving up the ladder and making allocations. It is
not important as to which approach is taken in making an organizational
structure, what is important is grouping of jobs and activities, delegation of
authority and utilization
of resources to its full
capacity. It is also important to keep in mind that each job is confined to
single person and adequate care is taken for narrow specialization within the structure
of the organization.
Groups in organizations –
Influence –
Group dynamics –
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and
psychological processes occurring within a social group (intragroup dynamics), or between social groups (intergroup
dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding
decision-making behavior, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating
effective therapy techniques, and following the emergence and popularity of new
ideas and technologies.[1] Group dynamics are at the core of understanding racism, sexism, and
other forms of social prejudice and discrimination. These applications of the
field are studied in psychology, sociology, anthropology, political
science, epidemiology,
education, social work,
business, andcommunication studies.
Emergence of informal leaders and working norms –
Group decision making techniques –
Assembling employees into decision-making groups is one method of
tackling an issue or problem in the workplace. The more minds working on a
single problem the more potential solutions are created. However, making a final
decision in a group may be difficult in certain circumstances. Group
decision-making techniques help businesses turn ideas into action plans.
Nominal Group Technique
The nominal group technique aims
to eliminate "group think" among members when ideas are presented.
Under the nominal group technique, a group moderator is selected to write on a
display board in the front. The group moderator states the problem that the
group must solve. Group members individually write their solution ideas on
paper or notecards and do not converse with one another. The group moderator
takes the notecards, lists the solutions on the board and invites each group
member to field questions about her solution and make clarifications. After
that, each group member individually ranks each solution on a notecard using a
scale, say from 1 to 5. The moderator takes up the notecards, assigns scores to
each solution on the list and picks the most popular solution.
Electronic
Decisions
The electronic decision method works similarly to
the nominal group technique, except that it uses special computer programs for
anonymity so group members can address their concerns about a proposed solution
without the effects of group think. The electronic method usually uses an
online forum where group members sign in, write their proposed solutions and
vote on them using an anonymous voting system. For instance, a group member
could rank solutions to a problem in order from best to worst, then the
computer assigns point values to each solution until all votes are tallied.
Value
Analysis
The value analysis technique assigns a scale of
points to each goal that a group wants to meet. The solution with the most
points is selected to be best. For instance, if stronger profits merits a value
equal to 5 points, cleaner emissions 4 points and employee satisfaction 3
points, the max points a solution could garner is 12 points. If a possible
solution leads to stronger profits and nothing else, it receives only 5 points.
Manage
your interventions easily
The
intervention management module allows users to place all their intervention
requests easily and fast. These requests are analysed and sent straight to the
people concerned. The estate
managers benefit from an overall view and reports on the interventions.
Layouts,
workstations, occupants, and facilities can be updated in real time by those
concerned: Estate agents, technicians, general
services or outside contractors.
Goals
·
Reduce the
number of breakdowns
·
Cut maintenance
costs
·
Improve
productivity
Manage
·
Data sheet for
each piece of equipment
·
Identify needs
precisely
·
Get a clear
view of all the equipment and its status
Control
·
Permanent
control of evolving expenses
·
Cost visibility
·
Anticipate
future expenses and requirements
Intervene
·
A workflow
system to validate intervention requests (of varying complexity depending on
the equipment)
·
Real-time
follow-up of intervention requests, work performed and any possible delays
·
History of
interventions
Steer
·
Scoreboards: Visibility of equipment
and its status
·
Have pertinent indicators and analyses
·
Responsiveness: take the necessary action fast
Teambuilding - Interpersonal relations –
Why
team building?
The
team is the centre of productivity in a workplace. Teams that function well
ensure the wellbeing of an organisation. Members of the best teams accept the
need for difference and diversity, are mutually supportive of each other’s
strengths and can make up for people’s vulnerabilities in times of personal or
professional challenge.
Where
a team member experiences any sort of disability or health condition, including
mental illness, the best teams are mutually supportive, flexible around roles
and provide backup as required.
It
is worthwhile investing in strategies that enable a team to develop the above
qualities.
What
is team building?
Team
building is a combination of strategies designed to:
o build strong interpersonal relationships
o develop understanding of, and commitment to, team goals.
Common
characteristics of team building experiences include team members working
together on tasks that:
o are unfamiliar
o need a high level of cooperation to complete
o need team to members rely on each other in ways that are not
normally required in the everyday working environment, generating mutual
respect, rapport and support beyond what is commonly found in the workplace.
Do I have to spend
large amounts of money to build my team?
No, while
there are commercial options available that can provide benefits, there are
many ways to foster team building without spending any money.
Supportive
team environments are created by:
o structuring
regular team meetings that enable active communication
o encouraging
home/life balance
o pairing
workers or using buddy programs, where two people work together or know what is
going on in relation to a particular job/issue/topic. See our guide on
mentoring:
o encouraging
out of hours opportunities to celebrate achievements and strengthen
interpersonal relations, but only where all team members are comfortable
participating
o making
sure that you are inclusive of people who have taken advantage of flexible work
arrangements to work part time or from home, e.g. regular teleconferences,
email contact etc. See our fact sheet on flexible work arrangements:
o challenging
myths about physical health conditions, cultural diversity and mental illness
and deterring the use of stigmatising language or behaviours
o providing
information to all staff about valuing diversity, and being aware of physical
and mental health. This can be achieved through disability awareness
training and providing staff with Mental Health First Aid training:
Our
Related Links contain no or low cost activities that could be used for team
building in the workplace.
How will my
workplace benefit from team building?
All team
members will benefit from team building experiences. Employees who are less
confident in the workplace or less certain of their place in the team, benefit
significantly from structured team building strategies.
Increases
in personal well being, job satisfaction and productivity are all positive
outcomes of team building.
Communication –
Control.
UNIT IV
LEADERSHIP
Leadership can be defined as
influence, that is, the area or process of influencing people so that they will
strive willingly and enthusiastically towards achievement of group goals
IMPORTANCE –
Leadership is one of the most
important aspects of studies of human BEHAVIOR in organization. It is the
leader who creates working environment. The success of an organization depends
upon the efficiency of the leader. It is the attributes, positive approach and
the ability to solve problems that make a person leader. Leader should be able
to turn the hopeless situation in favour. In the environment of tough
competition in the market where it is undergoing financial recession, lay offs
is the order of the day, market is facing
poor demand for product because
every body has enough and poor or no growth situation persists. In this
situation leader should not loose his balance but turn the situation in his favour.
He should be able to evolve techniques and lead the organization to win-win
strategy. Leader should be able to motivate employees. All leaders are not
managers as they have to work in non-organized sectors while the managers work
in the organized sectors. All
managers should be leaders so
that they are able to work efficiently
Leadership styles and BEHAVIOR.
1. Leadership based on authority
2. Likert’s four system of management
3. Managerial grid
4. Leadership styles based on power and influence
5. Contingency or situational leadership
6. Path-goal theory of leadership
7. Charismatic Leadership
8. Transformational leadership.
LEADERSHIP STYLES BASED ON AUTHORITY
AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP:
This type of leadership is practiced by the managers
concentrat- ing on power and authority within themselves. Leader expects high
degree of compliance by subordinates. he is dogmatic and positive in his
approach. Manager exhibiting this type of style has the ability and enforces
decision by use of rewards and fear of punishment. Communication tends to be
primarily in one direction from manager to follower. Some autocratic leaders
are seen as “benevolent autocrat.” Though they listen considerably to their
followers’ opinion before making any decision, the decision remains to be their
own.
They seemingly consider their
subordinate’s ideas but when it comes to decision making they are more
autocratic than benevolent. An advantage of autocratic leadership is the speed
of decision-making, as the leader does not have to obtain group members
approval. However there appears to be a low morale syndrome on the group
members because their
views are not given due consideration and may resent
the decision and support the same as little as possible. The pattern of
communication with subordinates and influence exercised over them in various
leadership styles is given in Figure
DEMOCRATIC OR PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
In contrast to autocratic
leadership, democratic or participative leader consults subordinates, encourages
participation in decision-making. In the process of interaction with subordinates,
democratic leader suggest actions or decisions and obtains views of those under
him. He has respect for subordinates views and does not act without their
concurrence. The leader is supportive. This style of leadership has various
advantages, which include high morale and support of subordinates, smooth
implementation due to subordinates being party to decision making. Because of
the participation of subordinates, the quality of decisions is better as
compared to the autocratic leader.
Disadvantages include slower decision, lack of
accountability for decisions per se and possible compromise in the process of
trying to please majority of the people involved in decision-making.
Laissez-faire Leadership
A leader who practices
laissez-faire leadership is also called “free rein” leader who uses his power
very little giving subordinates full freedom of action and independence for
setting their goals and means of achieving them. This type of leaders depends
heavily on subordinates and see their role as one of aiding the operation of
followers by furnishing required information when asked for and acts only as
contact between various departments and outside agencies (external
environment). Here the leader attempts to exercise very little
control or influence over the
group members. Such type of leadership style promotes individual growth and
freedom of action for goal setting. However, the loose control by the leader
over the group may lead to lack of group cohesiveness and unity of purposes
toward organizational objective. This may ultimately lead to inefficiency and
even worse to chaos.
BENEVOLENT AUTOCRACY
1. Most top managers have hard
driving, autocratic personalities. Therefore they find participative management
difficult to accept.
2. Significant decisions
affecting firm must be made by top management because of the potential damage
that could result from a poor decision.
3. Many members of large
bureaucracies are in reality security seekers who do not wish to share in the
decision-making process.
4. Participation may be
interpreted by employees as their right to veto managerial decisions and to
generally become lax in their work BEHAVIOR.
The use of any style will
depend on the situation. Managers may be highly autocratic in emergency or when
they are custodian of a particular solution. The same leader may be participative
when he wishes to find alternative solutions to the problem. Model discussions are
carried out in the Defense Services to arrive at a solution to operational
problems by involving as many subordinates as possible. In Research and
Development organization the leadership style may even be of free-rein where
problem has been defined and subordinates are left to themselves to arrive at a
solution and minimum involvement of a manager is expected.
LEADERS VS. MANAGERS –
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Manager characteristics-
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Leader characteristics
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Administers -
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Innovates
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Copy -
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An original
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Maintains –
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Develops
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Focuses on systems and
structure -
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Focuses on people
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Short-range view -
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Long-range view
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Relies on controls -
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Inspires trust
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Asks how and when -
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Asks what and why
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Eyes on the bottom line -
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Eye on the horizon
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Imitates –
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Originates
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Accepts the status quo -
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Challenges
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Classic -
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Own person
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Does a thing right -
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Does right things
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SOURCES OF POWER –
Organizational Based
1. Knowledge as power:
Information Technology has taken a big leap in the
last two decades. Information is necessary for top management to take
decisions. Information is vital to carry out various operations in the business
environment. Thus a person or a group holding information becomes more powerful
than their counter part. Flow of information is necessary for continuous
production or service operations. Persons who are in position to control the
flow of information wield enormous power to influence the BEHAVIOR of others.
2. Resource as power:
Resources are necessary for any
organization. While material or tangible resources can be procured easily, it
is the availability of these resources, at right time, at right place in a
required quality and at a competitive price. Any person having monopoly over
scares resources wield power. When project is required to be started, it is
government agencies which delays the project for want of various resources, like
power, water, etc. Human Resources are critical. Any person having direct or
indirect control over making skilled persons available holds power.
Organization cannot survive without adequate availability of various resources.
3. Decision Making as power:
Decision making as power in
organization rests with the head of the organization. Decision making is
delegated to departmental heads depending upon the nature of work, ability of
the departmental heads and the trust
enjoyed by them. Decision
making is one of the most important processes of management. Decisions are
influenced, may be by subordinates, peers, friends or even family members who
are psychologically close to decision maker. Therefore, both a person having
decision making authority and a person who can influence decision making have
power in the organization. Hiring a close relative, purchases in the
organization, client selection etc. are day to day events in the organization
which, indicate the power centers.
4. Power Centers:
There exist people in the
organization who desire to be more strong. They also want people dependent on
them. Specialists, people with special powers deliberately delay decisions or
hold resources so that they become more demanding. Power centers exist in
various departments. It may in form of reservoir of power.
5. Dependency:
Strength of power depends upon
degree of dependency. Greater the dependency on the power holder greater
influence will the power holder exercised over his subordinates. Dependency is
directly related between power holder and those do not have it. Power holder
holds power of retention to be able to increase dependency. All managers have
two dimensional power base. One is the power generated by the organizational
authority and the second, the personal power by virtue of personality as proposed
by Whetten and Cameron4.
POWER CENTERS –
POWER AND POLITICS.
UNIT V
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE –
Organizational
culture is a set of shared values, the unwritten rules which are often taken
for granted, that guide the employees towards acceptable and rewarding
behavior.
The
organizational culture exists at two distinct levels, visible and hidden. The visible
aspect of the organization is reflected in artifacts, symbols and visible
behavior of employees. The hidden aspect is related to underlying values and
assumptions that employees make regarding the acceptable and unacceptable
behaviors.
Artifacts: These are visible
components of culture, they are easy to formulate, have some physical shape,
yet its perception varies from one individual to another.
Rituals and ceremonies: New hire trainings, new
hire welcome lunches, annual corporate conferences, awards, offsite meetings
and trainings are few examples of most common rituals and ceremonies.
Symbols
& Slogans:
These are high level abstraction of the culture; they effectively summarize
organization‘s intrinsic behavior. Symbols are rituals, awards or incentives
that symbolize preferred behavior; ―employee of the month‖ is one such example
of a symbol. Slogans are linguistic phrases that are intended for the same
reason, ―customer first‖ is an example of corporate slogan.
Stories: These are narratives based on true
events, but often exaggerated as it told from old to new employees. The stories
of the organization‘s founders or other dominant leaders are the most common
ones, the challenges they had faced and how they dealt with those hurdles etc.
In some form, these are stories of the organization‘s heroes, employees relate
the current system due to events that had happened in the past and stories are
the medium that carries the legacies.
Values: These are conscious and
affective desires of the organization, the kind of behavior it wants to promote
and reward. Usually every organization sells its cultural values through some
artifacts like written symbols or slogans and publishes them in various
mediums. However, the true values can only be tested within the
organization, through the employees, based on their collective opinion about
the experience of the values.
Ethics: It is the code of moral
principals and values that distinguishes the right behavior from wrong. Ethical
values are different from rule of law which is dictated by the legal system of
the country and have to be followed anyway. However, the laws themselves are
based on some moral principles and thus there is some natural overlap between
ethics and the laws. The geographic location of the organization and the
culture of the place also influence the ethics, this is particularly important
for multi-national organization. Irrespective how an organization depicts its
ethical values, they can be tested by the two criteria.
Commitment: Whether the organization
views its employees as resources required for business activities or it intends
to invest in long term relationship with its employees; reflects the
organization‘s commitment to its employees. Commitment can be in various forms,
maternity leave, life-work balance, unpaid leaves, it‘s strategies for
downsizing or globalization; are some examples.
Career: The ethical values are
also echoed in organization‘s interest and investment in the career development
of its employees. Whether it values specialization and narrow career paths that
runs the risk of being outdated along with technology or it values broad skill
development and offers training in new technologies at its own cost.
Empowerment: The social culture and
the structure of the organization influences the underlying values related to
the amount of employee empowerment.
Control/Decision: Management by nature is
about control, the difference is how it enforces it. Well defined guidance, job
description and authority of taking decisions are formal methods of control,
while team or collective decision making is a social or cultural method of
control. The functional or divisional structure encourages formal control while
process or network structures promote a culture of employee empowerment.
Responsibility: The authority of
decision making is closely related to issue of responsibilities. The culture of
responsibility is measured by observing whether the individuals are expected to
take responsibility of their decisions or there is a collective responsibility
in case of team decisions.
Assumptions: Both the artifacts and
the values give rise to assumptions the employees make about the organization's
culture. Finally, it‘s the assumptions that govern how an employee determines
the right behavior and feels about his job and career, how the culture actually
operates within the organizational system.
Failures: The implication of
failure is the most influential assumption that every employee derives from all
the artifacts, stories, myths and values. The fear of failure and how it would
be perceived determines the actual empowerment felt by the employee; the stated
values vs. practiced factuality.
Types
of Organizational Cultures
In
case of organizational design, while the contextual dimensions define the
structure; the culture should aim at providing adequate reinforcement to the
structure. The organizational culture can be accessed by evaluating the
contextual factors and the structural dimensions. In some way, one can argue
that the study of organization‘s structural design itself is indicative of type
of culture it has, after all the culture is a consequence of how the
organization is controlled and what influences its operations. It should also
be noted that in large organizations, different functional units might have or
require different type of cultures.
There are four most common and identifiable types of
organizational cultures
FACTORS AFFECTING
ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE –
What Is Organizational Climate?
Jack Brunson is a
jack-of-all-trades. Whenever someone has a special job they need done, they
call Jack. Because he can do just about anything, Jack has had some very
interesting jobs over the years. Last year, for example, Jack worked in
Yosemite National Park all summer as a park ranger and learned a lot about the
wildlife there. Jack then spent that fall on a ranch in California picking
kumquats out of kumquat trees. After that, Jack was hired by the FBI to test stun
guns.
Because he can do just about
anything, Jack has worked for many different types of businesses and has
experienced firsthand the variety of cultures and climates that are part of
these organizations. Before we can explore organizational climate, let's define
organizational culture. Organizational culture is a system of
shared assumptions, values and beliefs that governs how people behave in
organizations. The culture of an organization provides boundaries and
guidelines that help members of the organization know the correct way to
perform their jobs.
The culture of an organization is
ingrained in the behavior of the members of an organization and is very
difficult to change. For this reason, culture can be thought of as the
'personality' of the organization. The unique culture of an organization
creates a distinct atmosphere that is felt by the people who are part of the
group, and this atmosphere is known as the climate of an organization. We
define organizational climate as how members of an organization
experience the culture of an organization.
The climate of an organization is
subject to change frequently and can be shaped by the upper management of an
organization. If culture represents the personality of the organization, climate is the organization's mood. Organizational climate is much easier to experience and
measure than organizational culture and also much easier to change.
Types Of Organizational Climate
There are many different types of
climates that can be produced by the culture of an organization and they can be
grouped in many different ways. One way to categorize the different types of
organizational climates is climates that are people-oriented, rule-oriented,
innovation-oriented and goal-oriented.
Examples Of Organizational Climate
It is known by people everywhere
that Jack can do just about anything, so when a cactus farm in Arizona needed
some help, they called Jack. The culture of the cactus farm consisted of a core
value that emphasized care and concern for the people of that organization.
This culture produced a people-oriented climate that was
obvious to Jack. He felt an immediate sense of belonging to the organization
and could tell they genuinely cared about his well-being. The owner of the
cactus farm spent two days training Jack on the best way to care for cacti, and
a supervisor was always nearby to make sure that none of the farm workers ever
got too hot or thirsty in the scorching Arizona desert.
Importance –
JOB SATISFACTION –
The study of Job satisfaction
is one of most important factors in the study of human BEHAVIOR in the
organization. Job satisfaction focuses on employee attitude towards his job. It
has three important dimensions:
(a) Job satisfaction can be
measured by the emotional response to a job situation, hence it cannot be seen,
and it can only be inferred.
(b) Job satisfaction is related
to what you actually get as reward and what you expect to get. If the
difference between the actual reward and expectation is minimum or negligible
them a person will display a positive attitude and if there is wide difference between
the two, a person will display a negative attitude towards his job and therefore
the satisfaction level will be low.
(c) Job satisfaction is related
to job dimensions. These can be expressed in terms of job content,
remuneration, attitude of co-workers, and opportunity of growth that job is
able to provide in terms of promotion and last but not the least the expert
loyal and experienced leadership is available in terms of supervision
DETERMINANTS –
some of the important factors
that determine job satisfaction of the employees in the organization is as
under: -
1. Work Content:
Content of the work itself is a
major source of satisfaction. The work must be challenging. It should lend
itself opportunities to use employee skills, ability and experience. The
content of the work should be encouraging and interesting and have variety
inbuilt in it so that it is not boring. Positive feedback from the job and
autonomy has been considered to be important for motivation of employees. Too
tough or job having two little challenge brings frustration and feeling of
failure hence the job should be moderately tough so that the individual has to
stretch his ability, imagination and skills. Once such job is completed successfully,
the workers get a great sense of satisfaction.
2. Pay and promotion policy:
Salary and wages play decisive
part in the study of job satisfaction. Equitable rewards is multidimental in
nature. The benefits are of varied nature namely pay, perks and rewards are
associated with motivation of employees. Pay system and promotion policy of the
organization must be just, unambiguous and in line with the prevalent industry
norms and employee expectations. Employee wages and salary must ensure him the
social status and should be able to fulfill the expectations. Individual must
perceive salary administration and promotion policy as being fair. Organization
should ensure that their polices are growth oriented and incremental in nature
so that employees
take on an additional
responsibility voluntarily. Apart from financial benefits,
organization must provide
adequate perks and non-financial benefits so that they are motivated and
display high level of satisfaction.
3. Supportive working condition:
Working conditions have a
modest but lasting effect on job satisfaction. Due to fast development of
technology, it is necessary that the organizations are operating on upgraded
technology, latest systems and procedures. The layout of work place must be
ideally suited from operational point of view and the employees should display
great degree of satisfaction. The place should be neat and clean with necessary
facilities as per Factories Act. Light, ventilation, cleanliness, enough space
for work, immediate availability of supervision, adequate latest tools and
generally good surrounding will definitely add to job satisfaction. If the work
place were closer to home, it would add to
employee retention.
4. Work group:
The concept of work group and
work teams is more prevalent to day.
Work group of multi skilled
persons with one goal will be able to function effectively if they are friendly
and co-operative. The work group serves as a source of support, comfort, advice
and assistance to individual worker. A good work group makes the job more
enjoyable. The factor of work group support is essential for job satisfaction. If
the reverse conditions prevail, the people may not be able to get along with
each other and the level of job satisfaction will be reduced.
5. Supervision:
Supervision is one of the
moderate factors, which affect job satisfaction. Qualified supervisors should
be available for advice, guidance and problem solving. Supervisors should be
placed close to the place of work and should
be available. They should take
personal interest in the affairs of employees both onpersonal and official
level. Supervision is related to leadership. In Defence Services the leadership
is so proactive that the leader carry on him details of each soldier under his
command. The details include dependants of soldier’s family, their economic
position, details of children, the class they study, home address and other demographic
details, soldier take his boss as guide and philosopher who is always available
to him for advice. Such supervision improves the morale and job satisfaction of
employees. The concept of supervision has changed. What is in vogue and in practice
to day is self-serviced teams and work group. The group prefer more freedom of
work in relation to work hours, time management, frequent breaksbetween work
hours and autonomy as long as job is completed in time. Flater organizational
structure therefore has come into practice. Steps in command
structure has reduced. There is
a participative management and work has to meet the established standards in
terms of quality and quantity. The levels might have been reduced but not the
value of supervision as a factor of job satisfaction.
6. Personality job fit:
Individuals should be assigned
the job, that suit their interest. Recently it has been seen that MBA graduates
are satisfied with their job if they get the job related to the
“specialisation” they have chosen during the MBA degree.
Persons having analytical
approach should be assigned job in R&D department so that their level of job
satisfaction increases
MEASUREMENTS –
STRESS –
Introduction
Stress
has been defined as a physical, mental or emotional response to events which
cause mental or bodily tension. In the modern day life stress is a part and
parcel of our lives. At the same time, it should not exceed the capacity of an
individual to handle it. If it exceeds in proportion to a person‘s abilities to
cope with it, it would cause mental and physical imbalance in the person.
Therefore, a major challenge for every one today is to make stress work for you
as a productive force rather than as a deterrent which can cause imbalance in
an individual.
While handling a stressful situation, the
brain signals the release of stress hormones. These chemical substances in turn
trigger a set of responses that provides the body with extra energy: blood-sugar
levels rise, the heartbeat speeds up and blood pressure increases. The muscles
tense for action. The blood supply is diverted away from the gut to the
extremities to help the body deal with the situation at hand..
Types Of Stress
Stress can
manifest itself in a number of ways depending upon the suddenness of an even to
be dealt with and types of stressors to be handled by an individual. It may
manifest itself either physically, emotionally and / mentally, as certain
symptoms.
Physical –
This happens when the body as a whole suffers due to stressful situation. There
are many symptoms like, headaches, tension in the neck, forehead, and shoulder
muscles. Long periods of stress can cause other serious symptoms like digestive
problems, ulcers, insomnia (sleeplessness), fatigue, high blood pressure,
nervousness, excessive sweating, heart ailments, strokes and hair loss as well.
Emotional – These responses are due
to stress affecting the mind and include, anxiety, anger, depression,
irritability, frustration, over-reaction to everyday problems, memory loss and
a lack of concentration for any task.
Anxiety
is exhibited as a response to loss, failure, danger or a fear of the unknown.
Anger is a response to frustration or social stress and can become a danger to
other individuals, if not kept in check. Depression is frequently seen as an
emotional response to upsetting situations, such as, the death of a loved one,
illness and failure.
Psychological –
Long-term stress can cause psychological problems in some individuals. Symptoms
may include social isolation, phobias, compulsive behaviors, eating disorders
and night terrors.
Stress
may be classified into two types: positive stress (Eustress) and negative
stress (Distress). Moderate and manageable levels of stress for a reasonable
period of time can be handled by the body through mobilization of resources and
is accompanied by positive emotions, such as, enjoyment, satisfaction,
excitement and so on. This beneficial element in stress has been defined by
Selye (1974) as Eustress (EU- meaning – good). However, an overload of stress
resulting from a situation of either over arousal or under arousal for long
periods of time causes the following: first an unpleasant feeling, followed by
physical damage, fatigue and in extreme cases, even death of an individual.
This has been termed by Selye as distress (dys- meaning – bad).
Potential
Sources Of Stress
While environmental factors are forces outside the
organization, which may act as potential sources of stress due to uncertainties
and threats that they create for any organization and its members, factors
within organization can also act as potential source of stress. Together or
singly they may create a tense and volatile working environment which can cause
stress for organizational members because the inability of individuals to
handle the pressures arising out of these sources.
WORK STRESSORS –
Stressors Intrinsic to Job
The nature of the job will
determine the level of stress it carry with it. A railway engine dreiver’s job
is more stressful as it does not have control over the time and attached with it
is a high degree of responsibility due to number of passenger travelling in the
train. The driver does not have control over the safety of passengers hence it
is more stressful. High stress jobs are those in which the employees have
little or no control over the operations, work under time constraints and have
major responsibilities for human beings and other
resources. There are high
stress jobs like defence services, police, foreman, mangers, inspector, etc. On
the contrary there are low stress jobs like teachers, craft worker, farm labour.
Studies carried out by Karasek9 has indicated higher risk of coronary diseases
to those who work under high stress jobs. He identified two job factors that
affect the level of such risk. These factors are firstly “level of
psychological demand” and the “level of decision control” over the work.
According to this study jobs are categorized in the following manner:
(a) Low psychological demand/ Low decision control.
Eg. Watchman, truck driver.
(b) Low psychological demand/ High decision control.
Eg. Mechanic, sales clerk.
(c) High psychological demand/ High decision control.
Eg. Sales manger, bank officer.
(d) High psychological demand/ Low decision control.
Eg. waitress, telephone operator,
cook etc.
Role Ambiguity
Role of every individual must
be clearly defined. According to Kahn* role is a set of activities associated
with certain position in the organization or in the society. If these work
activities are ill defined, then the person will not perform his duties as
others expect him to do so. When there is ambiguity about role expectation.
Then people in the organization experience certain amount of stress. Generally,
role of a person is associated with the appointment he
holds and duties of various
appointments are well laid down and time tested. If a person is holding station
masters job, his duties are clear and there is a little scope for ambiguity. This
is only possible in bureaucratic or traditional organizations. Role ambiguity
is more pronounced with the organizations which are fluid in nature and subject
to change withenvironment factors. Role ambiguity is also noticed in managerial
cadre where job specifications and roles are not clearly defined because of the
general nature of the job.
Principle of unity of command
is not followed strictly and therefore there is always a conflict about
reporting channels. French and Caplan10 in their studies concluded that role ambiguity
causes
(1) Psychological strain and dissatisfaction.
(2) Leads to under utilization of human resources, and
(3) Leads to feeling of futility on how to cope with
the organizational environment
Role Conflict
Role conflict occurs when
individuals have a variety of expectation from another individual who is not
able to meet their demands placed on him. A person may not be capable of handling
two or more pressures at any one time. Employees may be demanding rise in salary,
which a manger feels as genuine but he cannot recommend to the management due to
latter’s pressure. Role conflict occurs when contradictory demands are
simultaneously
placed upon an employee. Role
conflict also occur when an individual has to play more than one role
simultaneously. A manager can not permit his wife (an employee) to go home before
time or he may not accept lower quality of work on one hand, but may neglect quantity
on the other. There is stress due to inter – role conflict. Robert Kahn11 and
his colleagues at University of Michigan concluded that contradictory role
expectations give rise to opposing role pressures (role conflict) which
generally have the following effects on
the emotional experience of the
focal person : Intensified internal conflicts, increased tension associated
with various aspect of the job, reduced satisfaction with the job and
itsvarious components, and decreased confidence in superiors and in the
organization as awhole. The strain experienced by those in conflict situations
lead to various coping responsesas social and psychological withdrawal among
them. “Finally the presence of conflict in
one’s role tends to undermine
his relations with his role senders to produce weaker bonds of trust, respect
and attraction. It is quite clear that role conflicts are costly for the person
in emotional and interpersonal terms. They may be costly to the organization,
which depends on effective coordination and collaboration, within and among its
parts”.
BURNOUT
Burnout is a type of
existential crisis in which work is no longer a meaningful function. Workers
who experience burnout may no longer view their job as meaningful. They feel work
as tedious, redundant, and insignificant. They experience total fatigue which
may show itself in the form of boredom, depression and a powerful sense of
alienation. Work related BEHAVIOR of executives indicate very little concern
for quality, creativity, enthusiasm
and contribution to
organizational goals.
PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF STRESS
Managing
Stress
High
or low levels of stress sustained over long periods of time, can lead to
reduced employee performance and, thus, require action by management.
Individual approaches:
Effective individual strategies
include implementing time management techniques, increasing physical exercise,
relaxation training, and expanding the social support network.
Practicing
time management principles also leaves as an important element in managing
stress, such as:
a.
making daily lists of activities to be accomplished.
b.
prioritizing activities by importance and urgency.
c. scheduling activities according to the priorities
set.
d.
knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts of your job
during the high part of your cycle when you are most alert and productive.
Non-competitive physical exercise has
long been recommended as a way to deal with excessive stress levels.
Individuals can teach themselves to
reduce tension through relaxation techniques, such as, meditation, hypnosis,
and biofeedback.
Having friends, family, or work
colleagues to talk to provides an outlet for excessive stress.
Organizational
approaches
o Strategies
that management might want to consider include:
a.
Improved personnel selection and job placement leading to right person-job-fit
thereby reducing chances of non-performance and stress level.
b.
Use of realistic goal setting, redesigning of jobs can help in aligning the
individuals and job effectively and reduce stress.
c. Training in stress management techniques can be
helpful
d.
Increased employee involvement improves motivation, morale, commitment, and
leads to better role integration and reduction in stress.
e.
Improved organizational communication helps in creating transparency in
organizations and reduces confusion, thereby decreasing stress level at work.
f.
Establishment of corporate wellness programs is an important component in
managing stress among organizational members by rejuvenating and refreshing
them from time to time leading to increased productivity with renewed energy.
Framework
For Stress Management
As there is a positive side to stress and provides,
drive, excitement and motivation for individuals to push themselves to achieve
more in their lives in the fulfillment of their set goals, there is no
requirement to eliminate stress form one‘s life. Managing stress should be
given importance rather than elimination. The goal should be to find the
optimal level of stress that can be handled effectively by an individual which
will motivate the person and not overwhelm and distress an individual
How
can one find out what is optimal stress for an individual?
There
is no single level of stress that is optimal for all people. We are all
motivated or distressed by different levels of stimulations in a given
situation. Age, mental strength, upbringing and cultural factors can be
important elements that my influence our abilities to handle stress. How much
resilience a person can exhibit while handling stressful situations would vary
across individuals as they are likely to differ in their physiological
responses to it. Researches have shown the following regarding our capabilities
to handle stress:
1. The person who enjoys arbitrating
disputes and moves from job site to job site would be stressed in a job which
was stable and routine, whereas the person who thrives under stable conditions
would very likely be stressed on a job where duties were highly varied.
2. Our personal stress requirements
and the amount which we can handle before we succumb to stress changes with
age.
3.
It has also been found that many illnesses are related to unrelieved stress. If
one is experiencing stress symptoms, one has gone beyond the optimal stress
level; then it is necessary to reduce the stress in the individual‘s life
and/or improve the ability to manage it.
How
Can One Manage Stress Better?
Identifying
unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on an individual‘s life is
insufficient for reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources
of stress, there are many possibilities for its management. There are two
choices in this regard- either change the source of stress and / change your
reaction to it.
What
is the path for doing so?
1.
Become aware of the stressors and the emotional and physical reactions.
Notice what causes distress. Ignoring them is not a
solution. Listing out all the events that cause distress is important. What
does an individual tell himself/ herself about the meaning of these events?
Determining how the body responds to the stress. Does the individual become
nervous or physically upset? If so, in what specific ways?
2.
Recognizing what can be changed.
Is it possible to change the stressors by avoiding or
eliminating them completely? Can their intensity be reduced? Is it possible to
shorten an individual‘s exposure to stress? Can one devote the time and energy
necessary to make a change (for example, goal setting, time management
techniques may be used)?
3.Reduce
the intensity of the emotional reactions to stress.
The
stress reaction is triggered by our perception of danger: physical danger
and/or emotional danger. Are we viewing your stressors in exaggerated terms
and/or taking a difficult situation and making it a disaster? Are we trying to
please everyone? Are we overreacting and viewing things as absolutely critical
and urgent? Do we feel you must always prevail in every situation? Work at
adopting more moderate views; try to see the stress as something you can cope
with rather than something that overpowers us is a solution for reducing
stress, internally.
4.
Learning to moderate our physical reactions to stress.
Slow, deep breathing will bring your heart rate and
respiration back to normal. Relaxation techniques can reduce muscle tension.
Electronic biofeedback can help you gain voluntary control over such things as
muscle tension; heart rate, and blood pressure. Medications, when needed and
prescribed by a doctor can help in moderating the physical reactions. However,
these alone cannot do the job. Learning to moderate these reactions on our own
is a desirable solution in the long run.
5.
Build our physical reserves.
Exercising
for cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week (moderate, prolonged
rhythmic exercise is best, such as walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging).
Eating well-balanced and nutritious meals are a must. Maintaining the ideal
weight is essential. Avoiding nicotine, excessive caffeine, and other
stimulants can be a great help in reducing stress. Mixing leisure with work and
taking breaks from routine work can relax and reduce stress in a person.
Getting adequate sleep is of utmost importance. Being consistent with the sleep
schedule helps in reducing stress to a large extent.
6.Maintaining
our emotional reserves.
Developing some mutually supportive friendships and
stable relationships help in sharing bottled-up emotions and reduce stress.
Pursuing realistic goals which are meaningful to, rather than goals others have
for set for us which we do not identify with can help in reducing stress.
Expecting some frustrations, failures, and sorrows as apart of life can make us
gear up mentally in handling stressful situations rather than succumb to them.
ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL STRATEGIES
Organization play a decisive
role in ensuring peaceful environment free of stress. Basically stress relates
to two categories of events. First the organizational structure and policy and second
relating to personal development and growth that the job can provide. Following
aspects must be carefully examined and evaluated for its effectiveness and
implementation.
(a) Organizational goals must
be in realms of achievement. Too much high goals not only put the employees
under undue stress but also creates unhealthy work environment.
(b) Organizational polices
should be clearly defined with particular reference to training and
development, promotion, leave, wages and salary administration, discipline, incentives,
etc.
(c) Authority and
responsibility must be clearly defined by setting up reporting channels.
Principle of unity of command should be adhared to.
(d) Organizational structure,
redesigning of jobs and improved communication reduces tress.
(e) Corporate policies,
physical work environment should be suitable for higher productivity.
(f) An updated systems and
processes increases efficiency.
(g) Management must create an
healthy working environment.
(h) Career plan for mangers
must be developed and implemented in letter and spirit. Nothing discourages
employees as bad developmental programmes.
(i) Employees must be
empowered. They should be provided with suitable time to time counselling by
way of advice, reassurance, good communication, release of emotional tension
and clarified thinking. Re-orientation is important to keep employees free of
stress for increased productivity.
FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANIZATIONAL
CLIMATE
It is a set of
characteristics that describes an organisation and that differentiate one
organisation to another organisation. And it influences the behaviour of people
in the organisation.
OR
It is a relatively
enduring quality of the internal environment that is experienced by its
members, influence their behaviour .
Just every individual
has a personality that makes him unique , each organisation has an
organisational climate that clearly differentiate its personality from other
organisation. It is a An organisation tends to attract and keep people who fit
its climate, so that its patterns are perpetuated at least to some extent.
.1 INTRODUCTION
Organisational
climate is the summary perception which people have about an organization. It
is a global expression of what the organisation is. Organisation climate is the
manifestation of the attitudes of organisational members toward the
organisation itself. An organisation tends to attract and keep people who fit
its climate so, that is patterns are perpetuated at least to some extent.
Forehand and Gilmer have defined organisational climate as “a set of
characteristics that describe an organisation and that: (a) distinguish one
organisation from another, (b) are relatively enduring over a period of time,
and (c) influence the behaviour of people in the organisation.
# Features of
organisational climate
Organisational
climate is an abstract and intangible concept. But it exercises a significant
impact on the behaviour and performance of organisational members.
It is the perceived
aspect of organisational internal environment.
It refers to the
relatively enduring characteristics which remain stable over a period of time.
It gives a distinct
identity to organisation and do difference from one to other organisations.
Total expression of
what the organisation is all about.
It provide the view
of people behaviour about the organisation.
It’s a multi-
dimensional concept .
.
# Elements of
organisational climate
Individual autonomy
It implies the degree
to which employees are free to manage themselves, have considerable decision-
making power and are not continuously accountable to higher management.
Position structure
The degree to which
objectives of jobs and methods for accomplishing it are established and
communicated to the employees.
Reward orientation
It means the degree
to which an organisation rewards individuals for hard work or achievement. It
is high when an organisation orients people to perform better and rewards them
for do the work.
Task orientation
If the management is
task oriented , the leadership style will be automatic do the work.
Relations orientation
or consideration
The organisational
climate will be considerate and supportive if the managers are
Relation- oriented
while dealing with employees. Employee needs are very important in any
organisations. This will give motivation to employees.
Job satisfaction
Employee satisfaction
are very important for any organisation, and it is very important in
organisational climate. It gives motivation to employees to work more and more.
Morale
It gives attitudes
and sentiments of organisational members towards the organisation members. If
it is high , there will be an atmosphere of cooperation in the organisation.
But if the morale is
low, there will be conflicts between employees.
Control
Having full control
over the workers. Control is either two types either flexible or flexible.
Factors Affecting
Organizational Climate and Retention
Organisational change
Change refers to new
reporting relationships, responsibilities, procedures, policies, equipment,
tools, and/or software used on the job. Think about how an organization or work
unit responds to change as a whole, rather than how individuals respond.
Communication
Communication
addresses how information flows in an organization.
Service
Service is defined as
meeting the needs and expectations of the persons (children, youth and
families) for whom you are performing your work. This does not refer to the
management, but the persons who benefit from the work.
Compensation
Monetary compensation
is an employee’s gross payroll pay rate and benefits programs funded by an
organization or agency. Flextime and benefits like agency-based childcare are
closely related to compensation.
Organizational Culture
Culture describes how
things are done in an organization or agency.
Decision-making
Decision-making is
the process used in selecting a solution to a problem, deciding how to allocate
funds or resources and how to reorganize work.
Individual
Competencies
Competencies refer to
work related skills and knowledge.
Morale
Morale is how an
employee feels about him or herself. How good or bad do they feel about their
self-image in relationship to what they do where they work and how they are doing
at their place of employment.
Performance Evaluation
Performance
evaluations are formal, written appraisals of an employee's work as well as
informal verbal feedback given to employees about work by supervisors or by
team members in self-directed work teams.
Quality
Quality refers to
doing things right the first time. Quality services means meeting the needs,
standards, and expectations of clients being served.
Supervision
Relate to the
employee's relationship with the person to whom they report in an organization.
Training and
Development
Training and
development refers to work related educational experiences offered by the
organization to its employees to increase their skills and knowledge.
Mission
The organization’s
mission is its purpose for providing services to its clients (children, youth
and families)
# Problems of low
productivity
In our work with
individuals and organizations, we have found that most people want to perform
well, but internal and external factors detract from their working at their
potential. Here are the most common reasons f low performance and productivity:
1. Wrong person in
the job.
2. Right person in
the wrong job.
3. Right person in
the right job being wrongly managed.
4. Lack of focus,
vision, priorities, or direction.
5. Lack of ownership
or participation by staff or team.
6. Inadequate
communication between staff or departments.
7. Conflict that has
not been dealt with.
8. Inadequate
training or coaching to do the job.
9. Inadequate
resources or tools to the job.
10. Personal problems
interfering with people's ability to work at their best.
The first step in
improving performance is identifying what factors are interfering and how. The
best tool for finding the root causes in companies is the organizational audit.
The audit uses in-depth interviews, surveys, feedback, and analysis to reveal
why there are blockages and what to do about them. For individuals we use a
combination of assessment tools, in-depth interviews, and feedback methods.
people think they
"know what the problem is" and start immediately to focus on
solutions. We have very effective and powerful tools for enhancing performance,
but we know that using the best Many tools on the wrong problem will not solve
anything.
"Diagnosis is
half the cure," someone has said. We would be happy to talk with you about
how you or your organization can enhance performance. We can help you
accurately identify problems and opportunities as well as achieve the
performance needed to reach and exceed your goals.
The Effects of Low
Productivity in the Workplace
By Anna Assad, eHow
Contributor
Low productivity in
the workplace can severely hinder a business operation. The decrease in
employee work and results clogs the entire system, harming relationships with
customers and delaying the delivery of goods and services. A decline in work
production can be caused by stress, conflict, unclear goals or a poor
management structure.
# Disorganization
Low productivity in
the workplace leads to general disorganization among the staff, as the workers
fail to complete routine tasks. Meetings can start late, run over the scheduled
time or fail to address the true purpose for the discussion. Communication
between the employees is delayed, and deadlines or requests for assistance end
up lost.
# Employee Conflict
Employees in an
unproductive workplace typically start to fight among themselves, especially
those employees who are "picking up the slack" for the lagging staff
members by performing duties outside of their normal jobs. Tempers flare as
work is not being completed correctly or on time, and interpersonal work
relationships can deteriorate as a result. Management might have a difficult
time solving interpersonal problems among the staff, because the frustration
the situation causes can hamper reconciliation efforts.
# Decline of Business
Employees who are not
working to the level needed to complete the common goal cause the overall
business output to suffer. Services are not rendered on time, causing the loss
of customers, and goods are not developed or produced as needed. A workplace
with chronic low productivity can devastate a business, especially in a market
where supply must be made quickly to meet customer demands.
# Stress
Low productivity and
stress are commonly linked in a work environment. The lack of successful
production and the resulting chaos from falling behind in work can make the
employees feel stressed and pressured. The feelings can lead to an even further
drop in productivity, because the situation becomes more tense and the
employees feel like the work can never be caught up.
# Productivity on job
helps the employer to know the performance of their workers. It assumes that
high morale and productivity go together.
High productivity
results shows that workers who have high morale, they do not skip their duty.
They are more dedicated towards their work shows good team spirit, motivate
their co-workers, and always ready to achieve their objectives.
But poor morale and
productivity are also go together. People with low morale shows absenteeism ,
turnover, casual interest in work place. Such as ignorance, tension.
Somewhere it is found
that morale was positively correlated with productivity. But somewhere else, no
correlation was found between high productivity and high morale. It shows that
employees , who perform very well in their work are not a well –satisfied
people.
There are four
possible combinations of morale and productivity:
(a) high morale and
low productivity
(b) low morale and
low productivity
© high morale and low
productivity
(d) low morale and
high productivity
The organisation
should measure the morale of employees by using following methods:
Observation method
Morale survey
Study of morale
indicators
Organisational
climate should represent goals of those who have created and who run the
organisation.
It is very difficult
to maintain coordination between work groups.
The organisation
should maintain high morale at workplace :
Incentive system
Welfare measure
Effective
communication system
Social activities
Workers participation
# The management
should improve the organisational climate by taking several measures. Every
organisation requires a organisational climate for a good working condition to
achieve its goals. The climate of a organisation is very important for taking
decisions such as communication, cooperation, creativity, satisfaction, morale.
All these elements are nessesary for the organisation. It would become more
effective by a two way communication process between the boss and employees, to
have better working environment in the organisation.
Such employees have
higher job satisfaction and feel committed to the organisation. Their
productivity will also be higher is instrumental to higher employee
satisfaction, better relation and higher productivity. The importance of
organisational climate in employees satisfaction and organisational
effectiveness can shown with a hypothetical modal that specifies that relation
between them.
The climate represent
the climate represents the arena which is influenced by managerial policies ,
organisational structure, technology and external environment. When climate is
conducive to the need of individuals, the management should expect results
should be as per their expectation and the behaviour should be high. The
feedback should also be as per the level of expectations , not only to the
climate of a particular work environment, but also a possible changes in
managerial policies and practices.
the climate has an
important influence on performance and satisfaction of the employees. If the
climate is favourable, there would be greater organisational effectiveness.
There is a
relationship between employee performance and organisational climate.
There are three types
of organisational climate :
Authoritarian structured
Democratic friendly
Achieving business
In authoritarian
structured climate produced high quality goods due to rigid supervision and
control.
In democratic
friendly climate expressed maximum job satisfaction.
In achieving business
climate produced the most common in terms of money, no. of new products.
# organisational
climate influence satisfaction and performance through change in behaviour
There are four ways
by which shows change in behaviour:
It shows the
behaviour of an employee by its various elements.
It gives individual a
choice of selection and decision – making.
Behaviour attracts
different awards and punishments to varying patterns of behaviour.
It influence
behaviour through self- evaluation , based on different physiological
variables.
Job satisfaction,
clarity of jobs, responsibility, supervisory support, safety, good working
conditions, past experience.
According to L. james
and allen jones have classified the factors that influence organisational
climate into five major components are as follows:
Organisational
context : Mission, goals, objectives, functions
Organisation
structure : size, degree of centralisation, procedures
Leadership :
leadership style, quality, communication, decision making .
Physical environment
: worker safety, physical space charecteristics
Values and norms of
the organisation : loyalty, impersonality
The only solution to
changing the course of low productivity is by encouraging employees to do
better and motivate them to achieve their organisational goals. Giving them
higher incentives and wages, so that they can achieve their organisational
goals.
How Managers and
Employees in Influence Climate?
Management plays an
important role in shaping the climate the organization. It does so by
determining organisational goals, laying down organisational structure and
pattern of communication and decision-making processes and also shaping
of organisational norms and values. Besides, management also has direct
control over the physical environment under which the employees work. In fact,
management’s control over these comments means that management has the ability
to affect changes in climate through adjustments in any of the components.
Given the nature of the make-up of an organisation’s climate, the real effect
of any action by management can never be accurately predicted. Nonetheless,
management must take the initiative in improving the subordinate-manager
relationship and the organisational climate The role of mangers in establishing
a favourable climate is primarily action-oriented while the employees’ role is
one of reaction. The employees also exert their influence on organisational
environment. They do so by trying to control their environment and bring about
changes that will make their lot more endurable.
4.6 TECHNIQUES FOR
IMPROVING ORGANISATIONALCLIMATE
The following
techniques may be helpful in improving the organisational climate:
(i) Open Communication
: There should be
two-way communication in the organization so that the employees know what is
going on and react to it.
76The
management can modify its decisions on the basis of employees ’reactions.
(ii) Concern for People
: The management
should show concern for the workers. It should work for their welfare and
improvement of working conditions. It should also be interested in human
resource development.
(iii) Participative Decision-making
: The employees
should be involved in goal setting and taking decisions influencing their lot.
They will feel committed to the organisation and show cooperative attitude.
(iv) Change in Policies
: The management can
influence organization climate by changing policies, procedures and rules.
(v) Technological Changes
: It is often said
that workers resist changes. But where technological changes will improve the
working conditions of the employees, the change is easily accepted. There will
be a better climate if
.
(ii) Concern for People
: The management
should show concern for the workers. It should work for their welfare and
improvement of working conditions. It should also be interested in human
resource development.
(iii) Participative Decision-making
: The employees
should be involved in goal setting and taking decisions influencing their lot.
They will feel committed to the organisation and show cooperative attitude.
(iv) Change in Policies
: The management can
influence organization climate by changing policies, procedures and rules. This
may take time, but the change is long lasting if the workers see the change in
policies procedure sand rules as favourable to them.
(v) Technological Changes
: It is often said
that workers resist changes. But where technological changes will improve the
working conditions of the employees, the change is easily accepted. There will
be a better climate if the management adopts improved methods of work in
consultation with the employees.
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