Organizational Behavior Concepts - Case Study Example

Case Study [Name] [Course] [Lecturer] [Unit Code] [Date of Submission] Organizational Behaviour Concepts Organizational behaviour broadly describes the study of individuals plus different group dynamics within an organizational setting. People intermingle from time to time; there are a lot of things that come to play. Organizational studies attempt to recognize as well model all the aspects surrounding such interactions. In general, organizational behaviour seeks to underline superior comprehension of behaviours in different organizations so as to build up capability to predict the likelihood of how people will conduct themselves. The understanding of organizational behaviour assists in managing behaviours that are not proper and in tandem with the objectives of that particular organization. Each employee’s character comes into centre play in gauging their occupational behaviour. It is among the key criterion in employee selection, promotion and numerous other developmental features. Generally organizations can apply combinations of various techniques in order to weigh up a number of character traits that are most fitting to work requirements (Cole, 2000; Fred, 1995). The problems George encountered at ABC consulting are associated with work motivation. Nearly all problems he faced happened little by little owing to the loss of push that would be physiological and/or mental. George was short of the impetus that would trigger his behaviour and drive aimed at achieving a target. Also George did not have several needs which were probably the vents that would channel and also control his flow of the required energy pool. George was not adequately developed in his job as his job was not finely redesigned by the HR. He was not presented with the occasions that would boost credit in achievement, accountability and growth. George was not wholly offered the job filling that would augment his broad deployment of skills and a view for maturity with a complete component of work plus increased authority. In addition, George lacked flexi time; the arrangement of the company did not permit the employees to have power over their work based on their to-do list. In essence for the duration of the ‘’core time”, the employees ought to be compulsorily accessible whereas during the “flexi time” individuals are at liberty to decide and do their own things at their own suitable time (Fred, 1995). Another big setback that is experienced in ABC Consulting is the inadequately laid framework of the Employee Stock Ownership. A good quality outline of Employee Stock Ownership is one of the most excellent tools that used to keep hold of and inspire employees in various business organizations. Employee Stock Ownership is a benefit plan for employees whereby they are offered the company’s stock as a piece of their individual benefit package. In view of the fact that George was deprived of this additional benefit after being assured of the same three months earlier; this greatly slowed down the provision of his services to the ABC Consulting. Poor leadership is another major problem manifested to George at ABC Consulting Limited. Leadership is basically a process of management. It is generally viewed as either being potential or actual. In ABC Consulting, company leadership by the top administration was not proficient as much as necessary to for the employees as viewed by the manner in which they handled George (Cole, 2000). Furthermore, at ABC Consulting the managers went to a level of denying the considered necessary rewards to employees as in the case of George. They as an alternative governed using punitive punishments as a control to the employees. This was tantamount to use of coercive power. Also, the managers of ABC Consulting failed to meet the terms and play the game according to the harmonized directions of the authority (French, 2011) Theories of Motivation There are different forms of views as to what motivates and inspires workers. There are scores of universally held theories and views that have been extended and developed in more than the past 100 years ago. The theory of Scientific Management Fredrick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) came up with the idea that pay motivates workers. In his theory of Scientific Management he argues that workers in nature do not take pleasure in working and for that reason they have to be strictly supervised and controlled. ‘Taylorism’ entailed breaking down the apparatus of labour-intensive tasks as well as timing each one progress for there to be an established most excellent approach to act upon all tasks. Accordingly, employees possibly will be taught to be excellent in their job. Taylor argued that workers must be accorded the essential training and skills for them to work efficiently on the task at hand. As a result of this, workers would be remunerated in accord to the number of tasks performed. This would encourage workers to put in more effort so as to maximize their productivity (French, 2011). Based on this theory, George certainly did not enjoy working and so he constantly needed to be supervised and controlled by his HR Director. George certainly manifested the negative criticism attached to this theory. The theory has been heavily criticised as it lowers the worker's position to mere firm observance to methods and procedures over which they have no judgment. It is associated with greater division of work than before because it stresses division of labour. The theory developed an efficiently based move towards the motivation of employees by connecting compensation to actual output. It is evident that George was denied bonus benefits because of his poor performance of the assigned task. Moreover, planning and control of place of work activities is entirely in the hands of the managers. George was not engaged in planning and control activities at ABC Consulting (Robbins, & Mary, 2002). Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’ Theory Abraham Maslow introduced the hierarchy of needs in 1943 through an article titled “A Theory of Human Motivation”. According to Maslow, individuals will make every effort to attain higher needs particularly when the lower needs are successively fulfilled. That is, when needs at a lower level are fulfilled, it will not serve up as a basis of motivation and therefore a person will move to a higher level. He said that needs act as motivators simply when they are not satisfied. Just with the same manner George acted at ABC Consulting, he strived to fulfil the lower needs ahead of activating the higher needs. George struggled so much on the lower need to fulfilling the task bestowed to him by the company, with believe that other favours would come later (Accel-team.com). There is principally a common sense phrase that states, ‘It does not make sense for somebody to be troubled by colour looks, whereas on the other hand he or she is dying as a result of hunger, or that their life is endangered’. This means that there are things which in essence take precedence over others. This theory therefore tries to establish some form of consistency; that when one is starving and does not have sufficient shelter; he or she would not rather go to church but rather look for the shelter (Judith, 1993). The first level of the hierarchy of needs, that is, physiological needs entails basic wants for human continued existence such as water, food and air. George was striving to fulfil these needs by working in the company so as be paid. The second level, safety needs, includes such needs as health, safety as well as personal security. The third level, belonging needs, is whereby people endeavour to have a sense of recognition and belonging. It includes families, friendships as well as relationships. The ABC Consulting company failed to fulfil this need to George and to its employees. The fourth level, self-esteem needs, is the point where people try to find self-respect and be valued. George struggled in the company so as he could be acknowledged and be respected; his managers acted contrary to his aspirations. He struggled to achieve his aspirations and target but instead he was pinned down. The uppermost level, self-actualization needs, pertain peoples full realization of their potential. George was never given a chance and a lee way to realize this need (Accel-team.com). In a nutshell, organizations have to offer various inducements to their employees in order to ensure that every need is fulfilled and in turn and move up the hierarchy of needs. Employers should also be acquainted with the fact that not all workers are motivated in the approach and that they all cannot move up the hierarchy at the same pace. Thus, they are supposed to offer a little different incentive from one worker to another (Sharma, 2000). Strategies the ABC Consulting should implement to avert turnover amongst the fresh consultants There exists an assortment of strategies that ABC Company can take up so as to keep hold of its employees and to minimize the turnover as much as possible. Nearly every employee withdraws from working in an organization due to many reasons; often, these reasons are unknown to the employers. Employers ought to take note of their employees’ demands and needs so as to implement strategies to preserve them by making them feel valued and in use in order to keep them. Various methods of retention have noteworthy and positive impact on the turnover rate of an organization (Stephen, 1997). According to Leigh Branham, a strategic consultant, 88 percent of organization’s employees run off their jobs for so many reasons other than just pay; however 70 percent of the managers accept as true that employees essentially leave their jobs owing to pay-related reasons. Just as George wanted to leave ABC Consulting, there are numerous reasons as to why he wanted relinquish his position in the company. Like George, employees feel that the workplace or the job is not precisely what they expected (Wertheim, 2000). Methods of retention Going by the case of ABC Consulting, the dilemma most organizations encounter is whether they should invest more money and time in recruiting or paying extra attention to keep the talent and the competence they already have. In essence, the whole process of recruiting new staff employees is nerve-racking, expensive and time consuming. Therefore, when an organization secures good staff, it is worth to making sure that they stay and provide quality services for a longer period of time (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2002). There are various methods that are very helpful when utilized to keep and maintain the employees. These methods, if well implemented, make the employees happy and feel as part of the organization instead of continually looking for better employment openings in other places. Training: when organizations train their employees, they strengthen their own sense of value. The employers, through training, help out the employees to achieve the goals of the organization and also cultivate a better understanding in their particular job obligations (Wageman, 2001). Mentoring: ABC Consulting, just like any other organization is obliged provide an integrated mentoring program backed with feedback system that is goal-oriented. This structured mechanism will enhance the development of strong relationships in the organization as well as lay a foundation for growth and retention for the employees. A well established mentoring program in an organization will ensure that they pair those people who are more experienced and discipline with those who are less experienced in the same areas of work. In this way, the goal to build up specific competencies will be enhanced and an individualized plan for career development is designed (March & Simon, 1958). Making the employees feel a sense of value: in most of the times, employees will work extra hard if they feel accountable and responsible and liable for the outcome of their tasks and work, having a sense of merit in their work, and that they believe they can produce the best out of their skills and finally be recognized for their massive contributions. Once employees are rewarded, they are being motivated to produce and deliver good performance. An organization can decide to use cash payouts for instant recognition. These kinds of rewards have excellent power of motivation, especially when it is given immediately after the achievement. Furthermore, it is worth for the employers to listen to their employees and even ask and consult them on the kind of rewards that can work best in the organization. Conducting surveys and meetings will enable the workers to share their contribution and effort. In most cases, employees who work as team will work extra hard to execute a decision they have assisted to influence (Gregor & Griffin, 1994). Lowering employees’ stress of being overworked and creating a work/life balance: it is very crucial and important that organizations such as the ABC Consulting to try and equate work/life remuneration and benefits to the aspirations and the needs of their employees. This could be done in the form of offering work schedules and, or holidays. Organizations will definitely experience increased productivity in the place of work since employees would feel less stressed and healthier, thus more productivity is realized (Chhabra & Suri, 2000). Fostering confidence and trust in the senior leaders; developing a strong relationship with the employee right from the beginning will enhance building of trust (Chhabra & Suri, 2000). Consequently, employees should inculcate believe that the top management is very competent and that, at the end of it all the organization is destined to succeed. On the other hand, an employer must be able to foster and inspire confidence and is capable of making decisions that will reinforce it. A good employer will stick to his words that should not conflict with his words. For instance, a good employer should not insist on quality and on the other hand pushing employees to do extra work in a very short period of time. In addition, the employers should engage vigorously and inspire their employees by coming up with policies that will uphold trust to them- for instance trying to get rid of authoritarian way of management (March & Simon, 1958). References Accel-team.com, Frederick Winslow Taylor: Founder of modern scientific management principles, viewed 3 September 2013,  Chhabra, T.N, and Suri, R.K., 2000, Management Process and Perspectives, I ed. Kitab Mahal Cole, G.A., 2000, Organizational Behaviour: Theory and Practice, Cengage Learning, EMEA Fred, L., 1995, Organisational Behaviour, McGraw Hill Book Co French, R., 2011, Organizational Behaviour, John Wiley & Sons Gregory M. and Griffin, R.S., 1994, Organisational Behaviours: Managing People and Organisations, Jaico Judith, R.G., 1993, A Diagnostic Approach to Organisational Behaviour, Allyn & Bacon Keith. D., 1991, Human Behaviour at Work, M.cGraw Hill Book Co Robbins, S.P. and Mary, C., 2002, Management, Prentice Hall of India Sharma, R.A., 2000, Organizational Theory and Behaviour, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi Stephen, P. B., 1997, Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall March, J.G. and Simon, H.A., 1958, Organizations, New York, Wiley Wageman, R., 2001, How leaders foster self-managing team effectiveness: design choices versus hands on coaching, Journal of Organizational Science, 12, 559–577 Wertheim, E.G, 2000, Historical Background of Organizational Behavior, accessed 3 September 2013, Zaccaro, S. J. and Klimoski, R., 2002, The interface of leadership and team processes, Journal of Group and Organization Management, 27, 4–13 Read More