Summary of Simulation Phases
Phase One
This simulation was applied to examine and address problems facing Airdevils Inc. The company is based in Salt Lake City and deals with the aerial stunt. Celsey Evans, together with her four associates founded it in 1996. It has since expanded to have 115 employees. However, between 2005 and 2008 the company faced a crisis after a poor performance in numerous national events. Moreover, some key employees left.
This caused management to hire Dream Teamworks, an organizational psychology-consulting firm. As an organizational psychologist with Dream Teamworks, I was given the task of identifying and suggesting corrective measures for Airdevils Inc. Phase one of the simulations provided examples of Fortune’s best 100 companies that utilized employee motivation. These were aimed at emphasizing the need for organizational psychology. I, therefore, went through four main phases to identify and suggest corrective measures for different issues at Airdevils Inc.
Phase two
The second phase involved identifying the main cause of the poor performance of team members. Company founders had imagined that extensive recruitment might have been the cause due to unfamiliarity issues. However, after a close examination of the JDI survey report, blogs, and suggestions as well as profiles of each stunt performer, I chose the second option. I believed that there was poor job satisfaction among employees. This was mainly because they were not given room to exploit their talent. They saw their tasks as a routine rather than a challenge. Moreover, a number of them felt that the company did not take heed of their suggestions.
In essence, they were not excited by their tasks and this continued to affect their performance. My performance was quite encouraging since it focused on psychological causes for poor performance. I, therefore, recommended training in other stunts as this would allow flexibility. I also proposed ways of improving career schemes, rotating as well as permitting competitions. These were aimed at identifying the best person for the aerial stunt as well as improving flexibility. The results were good since job satisfaction levels were raised and the company budget optimized (Apollo Group, Inc., 2005, p. 1-5).
Phase three
After the first signs of improvement, Celsey wanted to sustain it by creating an informal group of three who would prepare innovating stunt plans for regular customers. Consequently, she hoped to form a stunt consultancy in case of success. I was therefore required to help her in identifying the three best individuals based on psychological factors that affect groups. This required me to explore considerations for high performing sets of individuals, suggestions, graph icon, and comments, among others. I, therefore, looked at all possible parameters and opted for Alverta VaLoy, Cari Hanslow, and Lee Shaming.
I believed that the team needed a highly-skilled performer, another with high emotional stability, and an additional one with both skills in a balanced manner. However, it was observed from the results that my choices were highly incompatible since they had different attitudes and personalities. On the other hand, they had a low interpersonal conflict with varied skill mix. Instead, the simulation suggested Alverta, Cari, and Charlie as they had a similar mindset. Also, they had a good mix of skills and experience that would enable them to complement one another. In essence, this was quite involving as it drew more of a psychological approach than the physical attributes. Besides, compatibility was highly emphasized.
Phase four
The fourth phase involved issues with 20 percent of crewmembers. This was mainly because they had been missing on assignments, which worked badly for the company. Moreover, customers were complaining and this piled more pressure on management. Consequently, they summoned the crew manager who prepared a report for analysis. I was therefore presented with the opportunity to analyze as well as suggest measures that could be undertaken to curb crewmembers’ issues.
In line with this, I referred to the crew manager’s report and suggestions, among others to arrive at a decision. This included the following: offering software, relaxation, biofeedback, and stress inoculation training. Also, I proposed modifying team structure, establishing a code of conduct, and allowing for a flexible work schedule. This training was aimed at improving the work environment due to the changes that had come with employee turnover.
Furthermore, according to the report those who cited illness had proofs of wear and tear due to increased responsibilities. Therefore, modifying team structure and allowing for a flexible work schedule worked to improve their working environment. The result was good since it improved employee relationships and increased job satisfaction (Apollo Group, Inc., 2005, p. 1-5).
Theories of employee motivation along with how it can be used to increase productivity
Several theories have been brought forward on employee motivation. Based on the simulation, increasing employee job satisfaction is a key element of success. This involves identifying issues affecting them and addressing them in the best possible manner. Employee motivation can therefore be done through improving group dynamics, teamwork, compatibility, and motivation. Organizational psychology also plays a big role in employee motivation. This ensures that stress levels are controlled to keep their performance levels high. To achieve this, it is quite important to study their psychological needs. Moreover, it is important to conduct various training that improves their working conditions as well as improve their skills.
How knowledge of human behavior, cognition, and effect can be used to enhance relationships in workplaces100
Studying human behavior is very instrumental in providing the details of his or her ability to perform under certain conditions. It enables us to note their emotional stability, attitude, and behavior. This can help in merging the most compatible people for a particular job. For instance, Alverta, Cari, and Charlie have similar mindsets. This can only be ascertained through knowledge of their behavior. In essence, knowledge of their cognition and effect is very important in determining their abilities to perform certain tasks. This is important in helping managers to allocate the best task for an individual and hence improve efficiency.
How organizations can reduce workplace stressors for employees
There are several ways of reducing workplace stressors. This is thanks to developments brought by organizational psychology studies. This can be done by modifying team structure, performing stress inoculation training, and allowing a flexible work schedule. Furthermore, it is important to note that conducting biofeedback, relaxation, and software training is very essential in reducing employee stress. However, in the workplace environment, it is also important to modify work structures. This would make it easy for employees to perform their duties. Besides, reducing workplace stressors for employees can reduce work-related issues such as absenteeism, emotional issues, stress-related illnesses, and attitude, among others.
Impact of organizational socialization on job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is an important element of an employee. In fact, without job satisfaction in any organization, productivity is highly deterred. Employees come into organizations with many expectations. These range from payment package to work environment, among others. Organizational socialization on the other hand means learning and adapt to organizational culture. This is quite vital for an organization as it enables the smooth running of activities.
It involves assimilation into the organization and therefore takes time and resources. Every organization is obligated to ensure that organizational socialization is carried out. This is mainly because it affects productivity as well as employee job satisfaction. Of great importance are its effects on job satisfaction as this ensures efficacy due to high performance. However, it is quite important to note that anticipatory socialization usually affects job satisfaction. For instance, potential employees are known to over fantasize job openings, however, after they are employed, they are more often disappointed and hence affect job satisfaction.
Otherwise, organization socialization improves job satisfaction. This is mainly because it enables a proper understanding of the activities of an organization (organizational structure). This helps to ease the performance of work as well as decrease irrelevant behaviors. In both cases, the performance of organizational activities increases. Assimilation into an organization’s system may have negative effects in case boredom encroaches.
This is mostly possible in situations where an employee performs a similar task daily without facing new challenges. In essence, most employees like dynamism, and therefore restrictions on that may sometimes attribute to poor job satisfaction. In general, organizational socialization is vital for any organization as it ensures compliance with organizational structure and hence job satisfaction.
Reference
Apollo Group, Inc. (2005). Organizational psychology: Leveraging Psychology to improve performance. ecampus.phoenix.edu. Web.