Individual Behavior and Processes Essay Example

Individual Behavior and Processes Essay Example Individual Behavior and Processes Essay Individual Behavior and Processes Essay Introduction Mgt provided us with a good basis for understanding organizational behavior by exploring the most essential elements of organizations and how they function. In Week Two our exploration of organizations will become more specific by examining the most basic working elements of the workplace: people. This course will eventually ask us to contemplate the complexities of people working together in groups and teams but, in order to get our studies off to the best start we will begin by considering how individuals function within the workplace. Most students can easily describe themselves however their descriptions are often based upon their internal view of how they see themselves or how they hope others view them. In order for a person to improve their relationships they must gain an accurate understanding of how others see them. Week Two will examine the diversity among individuals and how our differences affect the way we interact with others in the workplace. Most of todays employees want to be involved and expect to have some level of responsibility in helping to meet organizational goals. They want more autonomy to make their own decisions and to accomplish their own goals. Still, employees want to have a personal life and place a very high value on their personal freedoms. More and more employers report that today’s workers often turn down overtime wages in order to spend more time doing what they enjoy! This fact demonstrates how important individual freedoms are. Each worker is different in the way they view the workplace and each has a unique set of expectations for what makes them feel happy and successful in their work. Success in the new workplace requires a set of skills for working successfully with a broad mix of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, different ages and genders, and different domestic and national cultures. When people think of diversity they primarily think of differences in age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, and sexual orientation – but diversity is much broader than that. Diversity also includes things like religious beliefs, education, experience, socio-economic class, family values, and more. Consider your own workplace: think about where people grew up, where they went to school, and how many other ways they are different. How many differences can you count among the five people with whom you work most closely? How well do you know these people and how many unknown differences might there be? These differences make people act and think in very different ways. Diversity is everywhere and organizations have two clear choices: to manage and utilize diversity or to suffer from it. Valuing diversity is extremely important for today’s organizations. Truly valuing diversity is characterized by managing and working with others while fully respecting their individual differences. Many organizations are providing training designed to help people understand and respect differences. Heres the key: instead of fearing or dreading the differences in our workforces, lets try to take advantage of them. A diverse workforce offers a rich pool of talents, ideas, and viewpoints for solving complex problems. Diversity, if managed properly, can provide a competitive advantage for an organization. Good managers understand that diversity, like conflict, can be looked upon as a barrier to success or as an opportunity for success. If an employer lets differences interfere with hiring and developing someones ability, it becomes some other companys gain. Leading employers and managers are aware that this can be used to their gain. They make an effort to understand and tap into those differences and prevent erroneous perceptions or stereotyping. In the end, their ability to understand and motivate a diverse workforce results in increased organization success. Respecting diversity is really quite simple. If an individual feels respected and understood then they are most likely to be happy in their work. Similarly, if they feel that they can effectively communicate with others then they feel important. By respecting the differences among people and enabling a positive environment for communication, effectiveness in the workplace may be significantly increased. Effective communication begins with a willingness to listen and think critically about what another person has said. People often misinterpret the messages sent by others and respond in ways that are inappropriate – we’ve all seen examples of misunderstandings in our lives. Effective communication depends on the ability of two people to send and receive messages in a way that allows their intentions to be accurately interpreted. Communication is a very dynamic process that is continually challenged by factors called â€Å"noise. † Noise is defined as anything that can interfere with effective communication (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2005, p. 295). Communicative noise is not necessarily audible; for example, noise can include a person’s mood or attitude. A lack of contextual basis can also act as a barrier to effective communication. This type of noise commonly occurs in the workplace when workers communicate via email. The mode we choose to send a message is called a channel. Email is a relatively new channel to people, so miscommunication frequently occurs because the people receiving our messages are not able to judge our intended meaning as clearly as they can in person. Practical Application and Questions for Thought How many times have you hit the â€Å"send† button on your email only to have someone call you to ask why your response was so negative? Consider what your boss would think if you sent the following email message on a payday: â€Å"Gee boss, I’m so happy with my paycheck that I feel like I’m cheating the company! † If you gave me a raise, I don’t know what I would do! † Would the response from your boss be positive or negative? What future implications might this message have for you? The answers to those questions depend on several factors like how well the boss knows you, what type of mood the boss is in, and how much money you earn compared to others in the company. That is exactly the point – you cannot know how the message will be perceived because you are not able to convey it in a way that lets the boss know you are joking. If you were to see your boss in the hallway and if you knew that he/she was in a good mood, you might smile and whisper the statement. Under those conditions, the boss is much more likely to understand that you are kidding. Youll recall that in Week One we discussed a workplace scenario in which a new director was faced with the task of fixing a supply department that was riddled with problems. Of course the director’s tasks include researching, identifying, and planning solutions for a number of procedural problems. Because the central problem was defined as a cultural deficiency, it is certain that one of the director’s first actions was to gather the middle managers and institute a culture change. This has a profound effect on the workplace, beginning with the way the employees viewed their place in the organization. Instead of being afraid of taking action for fear of making things worse or being reprimanded, they will soon take an active part in process improvement. They will also realize that they are the keys to success and that they are expected to be proactive in all areas of their jobs. Because management is openly communicating with them they understand what the standards are and how departmental success will be defined. The employees are active participants in discussions about where we need to go and how were going to get there. Most importantly they are told that above all else they are all in this situation together and that they will all succeed or fail together. The increase in motivation caused by this new culture will be instantly noticeable. When dramatic cultural change like this occurs you see the positive changes in the employees’ expressions and you can actually feel it as you walk through the department.