Introduction
With the unprecedented revolutionaries undergone by organizations in the 21st century, there is need to rethink on the issues of organizational behavior in order to enhance efficiency within the organization. Organizational behavior is a poly-disciplined subject, which encompasses domains such as psychology, sociology, and economics of the organization that contribute to effectiveness and efficiency.
In order to examine the organizational deportment of any business, it is extremely significant to comprehend theories of organizational behavior. Understanding these theories forms the first and the very important step to implementation of principles of the organizational behavior. Theorists in management have developed several organizational theories over the years, which the modern managers find useful in tackling of various organizational behavior issues.
Despite a large pool of theories, experience prove that specific theories apply to specific issues with some partially obsolete in the modern organizations. In fact, managers have established that some of these theories inapplicable in this globalization era. This paper identifies leadership, conflict, and motivation as the three significant issues of organizational behavior. Then based on work experience, the paper further marks these issues against theories to which they successfully apply.
Leadership
Organizational behavior involves the application of knowledge of how the human resources within an organization act and relate. The way people act and relate within an organization has a casual relationship with the productivity of the company. The frameworks or leadership that organization operates influences the organizational behavior of the company (Cunningham & Eberle 1990, p. 205). Within an autocratic leadership, the people are oriented towards obedience and adherence to set rules of behavior.
Experience has established that this model results into minimal performance. In a supportive leadership on the hand, the people are oriented towards participation and job performance. This model results into maximum performance of the employee. With this fact, therefore it important to evaluate theories of organizational behavior, which can effectively tackle leadership, issues for productivity of the company.
With the growing complexity of organizational structures, Weber’s bureaucratic theory of organizational behavior is widely becoming applicable. Organizations need to encourage specialization and division of labor in order to improve performance and quality of production. Industries require specialized personnel in operation of their systems and machines.
According to Gozdz (1992, p. 14), organizations should embrace leadership that spells out the procedures and rules for employee execution of their duties. Weber’s theory emphasizes on clear defined roles of each employee, control, and authority. Although most theorists oppose this theory, it is still partially applicable in industrial leadership to enhance production.
Second organizational theories practically applicable in leadership are those developed by Douglas McGregor, theory X and Y. Theory X advocates for directive leadership in which the leader closely monitors the behavior of the employee. The theory assumes that employees are immature and irresponsible and therefore require close supervision in order to perform.
In sales organizations for example, directive leadership prove successful especially for the inexperienced employees. In such organizations, theory X encourages aggressiveness within the salespersons as it advocates for reward as a source of motivation. As Drunker (1974, p. 123) notes, “…reward-based leadership results into a learning organization, which in turn leads to an effective performance of the organization”.
Therefore, application of theory X in such organizations successfully tackles leadership issues for positive influence of the behavior within the organization. The theory Y that advocates for associative leadership finds application in technical organizations in which the employees passionately know their responsibilities.
In such organizations, the theory assumes maturity and self-motivation among the employees. As a result, the leaders expect their employees to carry out their duties with responsibility and care. This theory provides the employee with self-esteem, freedom from direct leadership, interference, and control.
Motivation
Managers should adopt organizational theories that motivate their workers to perform and produce the desired results. According to Davis (1967, p. 234), “motivation is the internal mental state of a person which relates to the initiation, direction, persistence, intensity, and termination of behavior.” It involves satisfaction of both the job (management) and customer (performance). Systems theory is one of the organizational behavior theories that enhance motivation among the employees.
This theory motivates through what theorists define as ‘learning organization’. In such organizations, the management gives the employees challenging duties to encourage them to research and successfully undertake them. Rewarding which characterizes a learning organization encourages the employees to perform.
This theory enables the employees to understand how their behaviors shape the destiny of the company. Since psychology has proved that human beings like being associated with good results, the employees as such, feel motivated and hence work for good results.
Neoclassical theory of organizational behavior has proved motivating to employees since 1920’s. Handling employees in a friendly manner gives them a sense of recognition. As such, the management appreciates the individual efforts of each employee. This encourages individual growth, motivation, and creativity.
Within IT organizations, the individual effort of each employee significantly counts and therefore as per this theory, the management should handle the employees in nonthreatening way in order to boost their morale and encourage their creativity. Organizations deploying this theory focus on altering the behavior of the defiant employees in friendly ways such as reinforcing learning culture and provision of personal attention to such people.
Douglas’ Theory X, which emphasizes on reward as a motivator to workers is partially applicable in manufacturing in which the production depends on the individual effort. Rewards to highly performing employees in terms quantity and quality in production motivates such employees and challenges the under-performing. This increases the overall output of manufacturing. Theory Y encourages job enrichment (Cunningham & Eberle 1990, p. 200) that acts as a motivator to employees.
Empirically, job enrichment has wide benefits to the employee: job satisfaction, self-actualization, individual capacity growth, among others, which are ingredients of motivation. Generally, theory Y adds depth to the job and hence encourages discretion, more responsibility, and control of the job by the employee. Therefore, this theory is practically successful in most organizations as a tool of motivation of the employees.
Conflict
Group work is an inevitable strategy of operation within an organization. Since people within these groups have different views, conflict is “an integral part of operation within an organization” (Slabbert 2003, p. 87). While most theorists in neoclassical and classical theories view conflict as an interruption that organizations should avoid, the truth is that conflict is an inescapable fact as viewed by the contingency theory. According to contingency theory of organizational behavior, conflict is inevitable but manageable.
The theory advocates for flexible leadership, which can resolve conflicts. Contingency theory presents leaders with two strategies of conflict resolution; separation of the conflicting parties or termination of mission through which the conflict occurred. Conflicts occur when parties perceive each other as barriers to execution of their mandate.
In widely used case of Apollo 13 mission, Jim perceives his seniors as barrier to his decision-making in this mission. Consequently, based on this theory, Jim resolves the conflict just before the launch and the mission successfully goes on. Most companies resolve the conflicts through separation of the conflicting parties. Conflict management ensures minimum disruption of the production.
Although classical theories did not encompass conflict during their formulation, organizations deploy them to reduce conflicts within their environment. These theories outline the duties and roles of different employees within the organization (Robbins, Judge & Campbell 2010, p. 85).
Emphasize on hierarchy of power within the organization ensure separation of roles and hence avoids conflicts. Taylor’s management theory applied by most industries ensures close supervision of employees such that moments which might lead to conflicts, are rare. Weber’s bureaucratic theory of organizational behavior prevents conflicts through setting rules and procedures, which employees should strictly observe. By clearly defining the roles for each employee, classical theories therefore reduce conflicts within the organizations.
Conclusion
Organizational behavior theories variably apply to issues of behavior within an organization. Experience has proved that Douglas Theories X and Y of organizational behavior widely apply to these issues. Although, modern theorists such as Senge strongly oppose classical theories to modern application, this report has shown that some of these theories such Taylor and Weber’s theories find application in and not limited to issues such as leadership and conflict within an organization.
However, it is worth noting that an organization cannot substantially resolve these issues through application of one theory. Incorporation of possible applicable features from all or several of these theories can result into efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
Reference List
Cunningham, J., & Eberle, T., 1990. A Guide to Job Enrichment and Redesign. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Davis, K., 1993. Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw- Hill.
Drucker, P., 1974. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, and Practices. New York: Harper & Row.
Gozdz, K., 1992. Building Community as a Leadership Discipline. The New Paradigm in Business: Emerging Strategies for Leadership and Organizational Change, 19(3), pp. 107-119.
Robbins, P., Judge, T., & Campbell, T., 2010. Organizational Behavior. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Slabbert, R., 2004. Conflict management styles in traditional organizations. The Social Science Journal, 41, pp. 83-92.