The first critical organizational behavior
The first critical organizational behavior (OB) issue illustrated in the case study is the work ethic of the employees working in an office situated in Peru that is reflected in their perceived lack of responsibility, which is a man-management problem. The understanding of work ethic and organizational goals that the manager of the company Frank Knight and his employees have differed, since from his perspective, this branch is not performing well.
Additionally, the issue of understanding diversity and difference between business practices in the United States and South America exist, since Frank is unsatisfied with his employees being late for work, leaving early, and having a two-hour break. Hence, man-management and diversity of business cultures are the primary issues displayed in this case study.
The mentioned issues
The mentioned issues are connected to the key concepts of OB management since man-management in the globalized world has become complex. The contemporary globalized society means that executives should be ready to operate in different parts of the world and understand the specifics of different cultures, which is reflected in how people in a specific area approach work. Diversity management, which refers to the differences in cultures and engagement of people with different backgrounds, becomes crucial in this context (Griffin, Phillips, & Gully, 2016). One can argue that if Frank Knight was familiar with the culture and work ethic of the people in South America, he would be able to use adequate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation systems and rewards to reach his sales plan, which is the specific instance defining the OB issue. The paradigm shift that occurred due to the globalization requires managers similar to Frank to understand the ethics of people in a different country.
OB issue
The main character of the case should use the following recommendation for the first OB issue – explaining Frank Knight the importance of a global perspective. According to Griffin, Phillips, and Gully (2016), this notion defines one’s desire to be open and learn from different systems. The merit of this recommendation is in the fact that Knight will be able to approach any subsequent issue with the global perspective, meaning that he will understand the context of events better by improving his managerial skills.
This approach will address the issue by enhancing Knight’s understanding regarding the reasons why his employees adhere to specific behavior standards. The second issue can be addressed by replacing Frank Knight with either a local manager or with a manager, familiar with the South American culture. The main benefit of this approach is the fact that Frank, as a successful executive, will return to the North American office of the company and will continue working there instead of resigning, because his primary demand will be satisfied.
An executive or corporate level intervention
An executive or corporate level intervention is to implement a training program for executives to address the diversity management issue. This program should focus on diversity and management of people in global environments, and incorporate the information about the distinct differences in the work ethic of different cultures. In general, evidence such as research by Knippenberg and Mell (2016) and Gullaume et al. (2017) suggest that encouraging diversity in organizations is beneficial since it promotes creativity and enhances innovation development.
The justification for this recommendation is the fact that this company will have to continue operating in a global environment, and this approach will help address issues similar to those in the case study beforehand since significant cultural differences exist. According to the Canadian Global Affairs Department, in Peru, elements such as arriving at work on time, which are considered a norm in North America, are not as essential (“Peru,” n.d.). However, they adhere to plans and are willing to work hard if appropriate incentives are used.
References
Griffin, R. W., Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2016). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations (12th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. ( 2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38, 276– 303. Web.
Knippenberg, D., & Mell, J. (2016). Past, present, and potential future of team diversity research: From compositional diversity to emergent diversity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 135-145.
Peru. (n.d.). Web.