Organisational behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and people act in organisations, and the way in which this knowledge can be utilised (McKenna 2001, p. 26). The intention is to come up with enhanced associations by attaining the aims of the establishment, its workforce and the world.
It also studies the influence that groups, individuals and structures have on the behaviour in a particular organisation (Richards 2008, p. 470). The study majorly deals with the personality and activities of the people in an organisation as well as those in its surroundings (Miner 2002, p. 3). Organisational behaviour focuses on organisational culture, organisational misconduct, and organisational change.
Organisational culture involves the general structure of the organisation majorly in terms of communication and motivation. Motivation and communication play a vital role in the management of human resources at any given company or organisation. They are deemed indivisible in the administration of individual resource actions or skills concerning organisational activities.
They are important in bringing out the best of the employees as well as the organisation. For an efficient organisational conduct, constant contact and stimulation are the most vital aspects; they take place in both the official and unofficial stages of the company’s administration (Freeman 1999, p. 280).
In organisational behaviour, motivation is valued as one of the most intricate issues in any company and economic sector or sub-sector. It is the procedure responsible for stirring up and sustaining target oriented manners in an organisation.
The driving force can be whims, wants, purposes, longings and wishes that can be utilized to rejuvenate and thrust the labourers’ performance, which ultimately influences the organisation’s feat (Stroth & Northcracft 2002, p. 64). Conversely, every individual has a unique motive that makes him or her alter his or her wishes, wants, intentions and ambitions.
These continuous changes are beneficial to the organisation as they create a structure that assists managers to identify with the intentions of the workforce (Stroth & Northcracft 2002, p. 64). For instance, Tricia, who was the boss at the Personal Reflections Company, ought to have understood Tammy’s motive, her junior, behind reporting her to the general manager.
When Tricia was hired, she adopted different strategies like targeting the highest sales for the day, having the most creative product display, and being the most helpful associate, which helped to motivate the workers (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007, p. 487).
Within a few months, the sales of the outlet doubled and they were now able to reach the set targets in several months. The company as a whole also had motivations for its workers such as offering flights to different cities, computers, and vouchers, although these targets were too high to be achieved by the smaller stores.
There are three theories that explain motivation: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg’s two factor theory and McClelland’s need theory. Of the three, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory happens to be the most popular and significant. This theory changed the economic theories’ beliefs about the motivation of workers in the 1940s (Stroth & Northcracft 2002, p. 64).
He divided the human needs into five categories: physiological, safety, affiliation, esteem, and self-actualisation needs (Maslow 1962, p. 3). Any organisation seeking to motivate its workers must struggle to satisfy all these needs. For instance, a worker who feels insecure at his or her place of work may not be in a position to deliver optimally or stretch his or her limits.
The Herzberg’s two factor theory was the most significant motivation theory during the mid-twentieth century. It focuses mainly on the different factors that result into employee dissatisfaction or satisfaction at the place of work (Robert, Charles & Patricia, 1966, p. 549).
The theory delineates that the chief type of contentment that employees experience relates to factors that are inherent to their job; one of them is the accomplishment they get from the chances or positions they are given. On the contrary, the external factors, which include the corporation’s rules and regulations, are the core causes of employee discontent (Ebrahim 1991, p. 450).
This is evident in the Personal Reflections Company where the salary was a secret between the individual and the organisation. Tricia realised that the difference between her salary and that of Tammy is only $2000 and that she earned more than the other assistants who are at the same level as her.
She wondered why it is like that given that she is the boss and has more responsibilities than her, such as taking money to the bank and stock orders; above all, Tammy is the poorest of all the assistants (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007, p. 487). The theory classifies the factors that affect motivation into two: motivational and sanitation factors, which serve as the satisfaction determinants and inhibitors respectively (Anderson et al. 2001, p. 92).
McClelland’s supposition primarily dwells on the scholarly and individual needs of the workforce (Conger & Kanungo 1988, p. 472). It was suggested by David Mclelland after being encouraged by Henry Murray’s patent requirements and the different ambitions that result from character studies (Nelson & Quick 2006, p. 156).
The presumption argues that workers become skilled at their wants faster than they grasp other things; this happens by heritage, direct rehearsal or shared customs. For instance, the labourers who comprehend their aptitude to make bigger their proficiency and competence in their tasks lay hands on success or accomplishment faster than their slow counterparts (Grandori 2001, p. 49).
Apart from motivation, communication is the other key element that requires implementation, development and maintenance in any organisation for harmony to exist among workers at the place of work. Communication is imperative because it serves as a means for stimulating assistance and collaboration (eds Jablin & Putnam 2001, p. 212).
Good teamwork and effective communication are the main reasons everything went on smoothly when Tricia was appointed as the head of Personal Reflections. However, when this communication channel broke down, Lori could not speak to her unless when necessary (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007, p. 485).
This affected the relations at the place of work, which initially had seemed to be seamless; most notably, an expected crisis transpired as the peak season of the holiday got under way.
Organisational misbehaviour or misconduct is the act of an employee or employees having a deviation from the expected code of conduct (Ackroyd & Thompson 1999, p. 1). This is the case noticed at Personal Reflections Company when Tammy went ahead to communicate directly with the manager bypassing Tricia who is her immediate boss.
At one point, Tricia had spent two days preparing a work schedule but Lori changed this and did not bother to communicate to her (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007, p. 488). This really worked up Tricia since the rescheduled employee was supposed to work at a very vital front greeter desk; the change was done contrary to her decision and without any communication.
Organisational change is the other area that organisation behaviour deals with and pays specific attention to. This is because an organisation and the people in it are not static but dynamic, meaning employees are bound to leave while others come in to replace them.
This causes conflicts by altering the status quo of an organisation; the change is appreciated by the individuals who feel the present human resources do not run the company accordingly.
This is the case at Personal Reflections where Tricia, being a new employee, tried to change the face of the store but instead she was reprimanded by her boss; in just about a month, Tricia was ready to resign (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007, p. 486). However, when the boss left and Tricia took the mantle, things began to blossom because of the changes she brought in.
Conclusively, the three areas of organisational behaviour that include organisational culture, organisational misbehaviour, and organisational change are vital in the smooth running of the company. For effective management, the manager must be aware of these three key areas and should strive to implement each one of them accordingly.
The main reason for the acrimonious relationship between the boss and her two assistants was due to the naivety of the former. This is because she was hardly three months old into the job as an assistant before she was promoted to head the store; sure enough, she was a novice.
To resolve the conflicts and bring things back to normalcy, she needed an in course training of the above behaviours and some guidance from the experienced bosses.
References
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