Organization Behavior
Though an organization is structured according to the goals
and objectives to be achieved, the actual performance is at variance for various
reasons. There are some factors,
beyond the control of the management, which affect the performance of the
organization. However there are some factors, which
relate to the organization (independent of the type of structure). The performance is affected due to
organizational behavior. The behavior of the organization is a result of the
following factors:
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Organization Culture
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Organizational Power
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Organizational Change
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Organizational Learning
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Organizational Motivation
The culture is a set of attitudes, beliefs, values, norms and
understandings, the people have in the organization. The culture is a collective
behavioral result of the people who man the organization. Depending upon the
person, whether he is a manager, an officer of a worker, the cultural pattern
emerges and it is known as a managerial culture and a work culture, etc.
Long-term performance and managerial actions depend on the managerial culture
and the achievement of the targets depends on the work culture.
The culture may be reflected in the philosophy, policy,
strategy, goals and managerial style of the organization. If the organization
culture is generating a behavior which affects the performance adversely, it can
be changed by management actions such as training, education, creating
awareness, transferring people, encouraging young recruitments and talent in the
organization.
The organization power is the ability of the organization
structure to use human and material resources to achieve the stated goals and
objectives of the organization. The power of the organization is not distributed
uniformly all over the organization but it may be concentrated in small groups
representing a function, a department or a section. It might be localized with
the individuals.
Some individuals by virtue of their position, responsibility
and seniority, enjoy more power than others. Some individuals by virtue of their
nearness to the management and a strong personality derive power in the
organization structure.
Even though the organization is structured properly, over the
period of time it starts failing slowly due to the changes in the environment,
the people and the business.
Like a living organism, an organization undergoes a process of birth and
death. The process of organization outlives the purpose for which it is
established moves much faster, if proper corrective action is not taken. The
organization structure in its life cycle, starting from the introduction,
growth, maturity and decline should change suitably in the respective phases.
The behavioral change through the organizational change is achieved by creating
a climate for change, deciding, designing and implementing the change, watching
and institutionalizing the change.
The organizational behavior improves with the experience it
gathers from all business fronts.
With experience, people are in position to identify the cause and effect
relationship. It is possible to
predict the errors and probable mistakes in the business operations. The rules, systems and procedures are
streamlined over a period of time. With this learning experience, some changes
in the organization structure are inevitable and they should be carried out.
The individuals in the organization are able to assess the
strength and weaknesses within them and are able to take steps to improve. As
organizational learning increases, the organization's behavior shows maturity. With increased learning, the organization
moves towards high degree of formalization, affecting the structure itself. The
organizational learning is faster, if people and the management are dynamic and
progressive.
There are two leadership styles, autocratic and supportive.
In an autocratic style, the leader determines everything and dictates decisions. The decisions are enforced by the power
of authority.
The supportive leadership style calls for participation,
consultation and respects the opinion of the subordinates. The process evokes
initiative amongst the subordinates and gives them a feeling of importance and
satisfaction.
A system is an assembly of elements arranged in a logical
order to achieve certain objectives. The organization is also a system – of
people. The individuals in the
organization are selected in terms of number, quality and ability and are placed
in hierarchical order to plan and execute the business activities to achieve
certain goals and objectives. This
is the simplest justification for calling the organization a system.
The arrangement of task in terms of process and work design
is dependent on the people. The choice of technology of handling the task is
dependent on the people. You may
choose the best technology and well designed tasks, but they have to be suited
for the people. Over and above, these are to be arranged in proper structure.
Further, fourth element has been added as culture. According to Leavitt an
organization should be viewed as a socio-technical system consisting of people,
tasks, technology, culture and structure.
In view of the nature of the task, the organization is
supposed to carry out; it has to be designed as an open system capable of
adjusting itself to changing environment. The organization continuously
exchanges the information with the environment and is influenced by the changes
in it. The organization, therefore, has to be built in such a fashion that it
adjusts with the changes in the environment and that the goals and objectives
are achieved.
The system and their goals are not stable. The goals change
in response to the changes in the business focus, the environment and is
influenced by the changes in it. The organization, therefore, has to be built in
such a fashion that it adjusts with the changes in the environment and that the
goals and objectives are achieved.
The systems and their goals are not stable. The goals change
in response to the changes in the business focus, the environment and in the
people in the organization. A significant change calls for change in the
organization structure. A goal
displacement is said to have occurred when the system goals replace the
organization system goals. When a goal displacement occurs, it affects the
organization's goals significantly. Another reason for goals change is due to
the natural process of growth and decline.
All organizations and their business go through the different
phase of growth cycle in stages as, Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline.
Each phase generates new goals to be served. If the changed or displaced goals
are not reflected in the organization as a system, the organization is bound to
suffer from decay.
