Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

Aaryn Morris

October 8, 2005

MGT 331

Ronnie Conway

Organizational behavior is defined as the study of individuals and groups in organizations. (Schermerhorn et al, 2005) It is all the behavior that occurs in any organizational setting. From how teams are formed or work together to individuals and their communication with their superiors. It includes the behavior towards their work as well as toward each other. Organizational behavior can be witnessed any where you are. In my business, there are many parts to this behavior. The reporting relationship definitely sets the tone for the behavior in my stores. This relationship is responsible for the diversity in my organization. The other types of organizational behavior are the use of equipment and technology throughout the company and the human resources dept. Both of these are imperative to job satisfaction and turnover. If we are not on the cutting edge of both then we would feel the effects much like other companies that have not made it in today's eve changing climate. Our behavior at Target is analyzed every day. There is much energy and resources spent on making sure that in all aspects, the behavior of the company is headed in the right direction.

Organizational culture is defined as the organizational direction and the way in which it is pursued or the shared beliefs and values that influence the behavior of an organizations members. (Schermerhorn et al, 2005) This can be seen in vision or mission statements. This is how the organization would like all of its members to act and the standard by which they are held. Having this culture usually implies teamwork, encourages risk taking, and keeps a focus on innovation. Our culture at Target is to bring trend right merchandise to our guests at a great value. All of our departments are geared toward this goal from the buyers looking for the deals to the stores who make the merchandising happen and the distribution centers that get the product there on time. This culture is what drives us to be better than where we are today because our guests continue to evolve and have different focuses.

Diversity is the presence of individual differences based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, able-bodied ness, and sexual orientation. (Schermerhorn et al, 2005) To have diversity in your company makes good sense on different levels. First, different backgrounds will bring different ideas to the table. This will increase your context when looking for new solutions to ever changing problems. Second, it's the law. By not having a diverse workforce, you are opening your company up to lawsuits and poor public relations. At Target, diversity is a major focus all the time. When we open new stores every year a lot of planning goes into what team of managers should go into a store. Their backgrounds are compared not just looking for compatibility but also looking for people that will challenge and grow others. When recruiting from colleges, we also focus on diversity. Our numbers as far as percentage of diverse candidates are tracked on many levels to tell us how we rate. We monitor our current diversity level as well as potential hires and promotions.

Communication is possibly the most important words available. Actually effective communication is what we are going for in business. If the communication is not effective, then it is wasted and will usually cause more damage than good. Communication can be verbal, non verbal, written, or electronic. Being able to tailor your communication style to different audiences will allow your message to be received with a higher rate of success. Effective communication can solve problems, increase sales, decrease turnover, and help the overall organizational culture. The opposite of this is of course also true if the communication is not effective. At Target, in any one store,