MGT3002 Week 1 Discussion

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Organizational Behavior

2 The Study and Foundations of Organizational Behavior

MGT3002 W1 L1

In past years in Europe and North America, organizations were only believed to be structures built for the production of goods and services, as well as for creating surplus and resources. As demand grew sharply from the mid-nineteenth century onward, more and larger organizations came into being and so did competition.

With this increasing demand and competition companies started to look at means of increasing productivity and output in order to survive. During the early part of the twentieth century, scientific management methods were developed to increase the efficiency of production. While these methods were quite successful in significantly increasing output, employee dissatisfaction also increased. It became clear to some that this dissatisfaction stemmed from the growing perception that employees were merely being used as objects and instruments of production for the profit of others.

However, in the 1920s some researchers stumbled upon a completely new direction in their studies. While researching scientific management methods to improve productivity in the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company near Chicago, they noticed that even with poor working conditions, the output of a group of employees that they selected for experimental purposes continued to increase.

Surprised by this discovery the researchers inquired further and found that simply having been selected for an experiment that was considered very important to management seemed to raise morale among the employees; they were now happy to work harder, even under difficult conditions.

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Organizational Behavior

3 The Study and Foundations of Organizational Behavior

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The now-famous Hawthorne Experiments led both management and researchers to realize the importance of the feelings and attitudes of employees in organizations, rather than just seeing them as instruments of output and relating with them only on this basis.

This led to the development of the field of study that we know today as organizational behavior. Management and researchers started looking at employees' feelings and attitudes, their motivations and perceptions, the effect of working in groups and teams, and of organizational communications and conflicts, and the importance of effective leadership behavior—the key elements of organizational behavior.

Today the importance of understanding organizational behavior cannot be ignored by supervisors and managers. This is because the challenges to the economy as a whole are leading to general uncertainty and a wide range of subsequent problems for both management and employees. The fact that unemployment levels have gone up and that outsourcing of jobs has increased has not helped this situation.

Bankruptcies and downsizing have become common, while at the same time companies are giving greater priority to keeping more qualified employees. With the increase in the immigrant population more companies are experiencing diversity in the strengths of their employee populations. At the same time competition for jobs is perceived to be greater. Issues of ethics and legality have become more pronounced in people's minds, and many companies are facing greater scrutiny and criticism from various quarters, including their own employees.

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Organizational Behavior

4 The Study and Foundations of Organizational Behavior

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Managers of today have to have skills and knowledge that enable them to respond effectively to the consequences of these challenges within their organizations. They need to understand characteristics of individual behavior to be able to deal with not only the feelings and experiences of employees, peers, and superiors, but also themselves.

To begin with, we need to look at some of the characteristics of individual behavior that can be most easily assessed: biographical characteristics, ability, and learning.

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Organizational Behavior

5 The Study and Foundations of Organizational Behavior

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Biographical characteristics—age, gender, marital status, and intellectual and physical abilities—all have a significant effect on individual behavior.

Age: The effect of age on job performance is gaining attention. Some people believe that performance declines with age. Critical decisions may be made based on this belief—for example, the decision of whether to promote an older, more experienced person or a less experienced but more enthusiastic young person. However, research evidence suggests that job performance and age are not related.

It is believed and research evidence also supports that older employees are more likely to possess positive qualities, such as wisdom based on experience, a strong work ethic, and a stronger work commitment. Studies have also shown that older employees are less likely to quit a job—possibly because of better compensation and benefits, fewer alternative job opportunities, and the bonds that may have developed over a period of time. In addition, studies have shown that absenteeism among older employees is generally lower, except when health factors intervene.

Based on these factors how should today's managers deal with the issue of employee age? Should they increase health benefits for older employees in order to retain them? Perhaps they should promote healthy living and work practices among their younger people with an eye to the future. Some companies do.

Gender: Research has consistently shown that there is no link between gender and job performance or satisfaction. However, a lot of people believe otherwise. Over the last two decades there has been a very significant rise in female participation levels in organizations, both at lower levels and at higher managerial levels.

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Organizational Behavior

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The issue of inequalities in compensation and benefits among males and females is also beginning to receive more attention.

Marital status: A common belief is that married people make better employees. Research does support this belief with married employees showing less absenteeism, lower turnover, and higher job satisfaction. However, significantly more research is needed in this area. The definition of marital status is undergoing major changes with the issue of gay and lesbian relationships gaining more prominence and with changing social traditions related to home and family.

Intellectual and physical abilities: Abilities differ among people and the assessment of intellectual as well as physical abilities is an important responsibility for a manager. Some jobs require intellectual abilities, while for others, physical abilities are preferred. Most jobs require different combinations of intellectual and physical abilities. There are even some jobs for which high intellectual abilities can be a detriment.

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Organizational Behavior

7 The Study and Foundations of Organizational Behavior

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