Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior involves studying how employees act and perform in organizations. Understanding organizational behavior can help employees and managers create a more enriching work environment. This understanding can also help employees develop a better understanding of how they relate to the work environment and expand their career potential. Organizational behavior focuses on practices that can make a difference in the way employees perform and adjusts to fit the situation. Organizational behavior changes the focus of management towards job satisfaction and involvement, commitment to the organization, and actual task performance measures.

Organizational Culture and Diversity

Organizational culture and diversity go hand-in-hand. Organizational culture is the values and beliefs that influence employee behavior. Diversity is the individual differences in those employees based on external factors such as gender, race, age, able-bodiedness, and sexual orientation. A company with a strong organizational culture has respect for people and their diversity. A company must operate with a vision of the future that is supported by the organizational culture. The function of organizational culture is to respond to both external and internal issues. The external functions refer to how the organization reaches its goals and interacts with external organizations. The internal functions refer to how the organization members grow and develop the ability to work together.

Today's organizations are developing into multicultural organizations by taking diversity and subcultures into consideration. Large organizations develop subcultures within the overall corporate culture. Smaller groups that work together have their own culture that coincides with the mission of the organization. To make diversity work in an organization, management must put the focus of the organization on diversity in everything it does. Diversity must become part of the organizational strategy and management must become accountable. Management must focus on the talents of employees and develop career plans that cover all employees. "Greater acceptance of diversity is achieved by using multiple efforts, constant reinforcement, and broad-scale change initiatives (Gilbert and Ivancevich, 2002, p93)".

Communication

Communication is the most important tool of organizational behavior. Communication within an organization must always be open and honest in order to create a strong organizational culture. The communication channel chosen impacts the communication process. The formal channels of communication are face-to-face meetings and written correspondence. The informal channels of communication are e-mail, online discussions and by phone. The communication channel chosen varies by the people involved and the situation. Organizational communication can be downward, upward, or lateral. Downward communication is used to achieve influence and follows the chain of command within an organization. Upper management uses downward communication to provide feedback and direction to lower-level employees. Upward communication is used to inform. Lower-level employees communicate with upper management to inform management about their needs, ideas, or suggestions. Lateral communication is used to coordinate information across the organization. This communication is used to respond to internal and external customers.

Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency

Organizational effectiveness and efficiency is measured by how well the organization performs in accomplishing its goals and mission. Performance can be measured from several perspectives and takes into account long- and short-term considerations. A systems resource approach looks at the organizations resources and measures how effective the organization