Organizational Behavior Essay Sample

Case one - Difficult Transitions

Concepts and Characteristics from the field of Organizational behavior are illustrated in the Difficult Transitions case.

First, there are individual differences in concept, which states that each and every person is distinct from the other in many ways. In this case of Difficult Transitions, Tony Stark has worked for two companies, O'Grady and Reece Enterprises. In these two companies, Tony has had the opportunity to work with managers and employees who have portrayed their individual differences outright. At O'Grady, there was free communication and interaction, unlike at Reece Enterprises where the managers and employees are hard to interact with. In fact, when Tony requests his colleague managers to play golf with him, the managers are unwilling to accept his company. On the other hand, the top management at Reece Enterprises is very rigid and does not give room for individual decision making which was the case at O'Grady.

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Second, there is perception concept which states that employees will tend to see work differently based on their past experiences, needs, personalities and the social surroundings. Managers working at Reece Enterprises have a different perception of Tony Stark. When Tony joins Reece Enterprises at the management level, some managers are worried about this as they had to wait and move up the hierarchy. That is why they decline to have Tony accompany them for a golf game.

Third, there is motivated behavior concept which states that each employee in an organization has something that motivates him or her to work for that organization. At O'Grady, Tony was motivated by the decentralized nature where managers could make decisions without involving the top management. Tony could also go for lunch quite often with his other three managers at O'Grady. They could also play golf together. This is not the case at Reece Enterprises. At Reece, one needs the approval of three managers to have his or her decision approved.

Fourth is the desire for involvement concept. This concept requires all employees to be actively involved in sharing their ideas on the best way to run an organization. At O'Grady, Tony and his colleagues were involved both at a personal and professional level in running the company. At Reece Enterprises, there is little effort in consultation and an idea must be passed by three top management executives for approval.

The advice to give Tony

Tony is newly employed at Reece Enterprises and therefore needs time to understand how Reece Enterprises employees behave and work. Everyorganization has its own unique culture which makes that organization perform differently from others. I would advise Tony to take time and learn the organizational culture, the values, and norms as well as the work ethics and procedures at Reece Enterprises. With time, Tony will be able to fit in and the employees at Reece will stop seeing him as an outsider but treat him as one of them.

This advice is well supported by behavioral concepts and processes. To start with, there is the concept of perception. The employees at Reece Enterprises view and perceive Tony as an outsider who has come to take over their positions. With time, Tony should be able to assert himself and fit in the company not as an outsider but as one of them. Tony also needs to understand individual differences among the employees at Reece Enterprises.

Is it possible to find an ideal place to work?

It is not possible to find an ideal place to work. Different organizations will offer different conditions, environments and organizational culture that will be totally different and unique from the other. There are individuals who like or prefer working as teams while others prefer working alone. There are those that value teamwork and individual decision making while others value top management decision making. It is the employee who should fit in the organization that he or she secures a job from.

Case 2 - Managing people and Organizations.

How successful do you think Helen Bower's new plan will be?

Helen Bower who is currently the owner of Bowers Machine Parts is disturbed on how to achieve maximum productivity from her employees. The strategy she has adopted is quite different from what her father, who is the founder of this lucrative business used to do four decades ago. Helen has cut salaries significantly and the usual increments are no more. There is a high staff turnover which has increased staff training costs. Helen has succeeded in reducing employee salaries significantly. She has done away with profit sharing plan. In this regard, she believes that employees should be satisfied with their salaries and profits should be directed to the owner of the business. Helen expects higher output and profits to grow more with reduced costs. This is not the case for Helen.

Helen has developed an idea which requires all employees to increase their productivity by a 10% level; failure to which the employee would be penalized by having his or her salary deducted by a similar 10% rate. According to Helen, this is a brilliant idea which will work in her favor. This plan by Helen will work negatively on the business. The first motivation for an employee is the salary that he or she receives for work done. Rewarding employees negatively by deducting a certain percentage of their salary if the employee fails to achieve set targets is demoralizing and demotivating. This will kill the employee morale and many employees will be compelled to leave the organization in search of better terms of employment.

What challenges does Helen confront?

Helen will be faced with many challenges in her efforts to run Bower's Machine Parts. First, there will be a high rate of staff turnover. Employees who will not be satisfied or contented with her decision to take a 10% pay cut if they fail to increase productivity by a 10% margin. There will also be the challenge of increased staff training costs. New employees who join the business will need to be trained and this will increase costs. Also, those employees who leave the business will have to be paid a good package. Competition is another challenge that Helen will have to face. This will be from other firms selling similar products especially Chinese firms. Employees who are not contented with Helen's decision to take a 10% deduction on salaries if they fail to increase productivity may also take legal action against Helen.

If you were Helen's consultant, what would you advise her to do?

First, as Helen's consultant, I would advise her to reward her employees fairly and handsomely. This should be followed by annual salary increment based on employee performance. The most productive employee receives more while the one with the least productivity receives less. This would help in creating completion among the employees. Second, I would advise Helen to involve her employees in decision making. This would make employees develop a sense of belonging as they would see their views and ideas valued. I would also advise Helen to have a sense of taking time to listen to her employees and assist them in times of need. I would make Helen understand that her employees are her extended family and should be treated with maximum respect and dignity.

PART ONE: The Children's and Young People Trust Southampton

This agency was established and started operations in 2008 and was mandated to reconfigure a number of services which dealt with the needs of the youth and children. It comprises of more than 20 partners. The trust is administered by a Trust and is required to report directly to a Local Area Agreement Delivery Board. This trust is guided by the need to change that address the issues that resulted in several deaths involving children and young adults. The agency works to reduce service failures and is already in the statutes of the children's trusts of 2004.

The need for change was a political move that saw the local authorities and all agencies offering their services to children and young people adhere to the statutory changes and requirements. This was followed by a publication in the green paper that put across the message that every child matters. Several consultative meetings took place aimed at consolidating, sharing and developing a common vision.

The agents of change were supposed to be the children's cabinet representative and the children's director of services. Within the local authority was also a director to represent and spearhead the change required for children and the young people.

The vision was not properly passed on to all the change agents at the initial stages. In fact, many representatives and members of the partnership were unaware of the vision. Use of meetings and conferences to communicate the vision seemed ineffective. The staff felt that there was the need to make the vision more clear so that all the staff members could understand and embrace it.

The culture change in the children and young people's Trust is evident across the collaborating partners. The role of the trust is clear, the purpose and responsibilities entrusted to the trust are clear and well outlined.

This brings about the concept of Organizational Behavior where the vision and the goals of an organization need to be communicated to all players. When well communicated, all participants will work towards achieving a common goal. Improper communication of the vision makes the partners work blindly.