Answer 1 - Why study Organizational Behavior?
As mentioned by Vecchio in his book, that, Organizational Behavior primarily derives its roots from social and behavioral science including psychology. In organizational behavior, we learn the relationship between an organization and an individual especially at the following levels -
Individual level - which is related to the personal growth of individuals
Interpersonal level – which is related to the social competences
Organization level – which is related to the organization’s overall culture, structure, and performance (Vecchio 34).
As explained in the book by Judge and Robbins, only by studying all these dynamics within the organization, one can know if there are any gaps or differences between culture, values, goals, and visions of individuals and the organization. Without knowing, there is no possible action and results are mostly unpredictable and non-controllable. If there is no conscious effort in understanding and removing this difference, it can be devastating for the growth of individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. Thus, a study of organizational behavior has more impact than merely on a few individuals. More so, in today’s business world when the businesses and organizations are global in true sense, working between cross cultural teams and behaviors makes this study even more crucial and mandatory (Judge and Robbins 74).
First of all, we try to understand and acknowledge the behavior of people in an organization. This is important because people are not simply a resource to the organization but there is an emotional and personal aspect to it.
We try to predict the behavior of these people in the organization so that a proper environment can be created and appropriate measures can be taken to make a positive impact on everybody’s growth.
And finally, this can be managed in a controlled environment by controlling the behavior of people in the organization to make a positive impact.
Answer 2 – How can organizational change be managed to prevent its failure?
As clearly mentioned by Trusko et al. in their book, my answer to this question is that there are eight primary focus areas to take care of in order to make an organizational change effective and successful:
A complacency of culture or its resistance – Change is never easy. There will always be a lot of resistance throughout the organization against a change. While the top management or the advisors might see a clear need for change, however, there might be many employees who are satisfied with the current state. Some might even think and feel that the change is a risk for them and threatens their role and authority. There might be instances where a similar change in some other organization was not completed or was not successful and thus based on this experience, some employees can be skeptical about the change. With all these negative sentiments, it is important to demonstrate to the individuals how and why this change is important for their growth as an individual and the organization’s growth.
Lack of communication – Communication is one of the most important factors in a success of a business. Before a change can take place, it is immensely important to have a proper communication plan in place which is open and very effective. This will help in eliminating any communication gaps, misunderstandings and incomplete information to anybody. This will start with making and sharing proper vision and goals.
Misalignment and non-accountability – Another major pitfall to avoid and worked upon is any kind of misalignment and no accountability for each specific action in the overall plan. This will be a key to the long term success as well. When the employees are aligned with the vision of the organization and there are people who are owners of each actionable item, the change will be very effective and successful.
Inactive leadership support - There can’t be more emphasis on the fact that leadership and the engagement of leaders are crucial for organizational and individual success. Without a proper support from leadership, the teams will be in chaos and will not move into the same direction. This will introduce major challenges in the process of the organizational change and will make even other things difficult. The CEO of the organization should lead this from front with the help of all his executives and supporting teams.
Micromanagement – This is also related to the leadership style and involvement. While the leaders must provide the support and direction to the teams however there has to be a space given to the employees to try and learn on their own while they move in the right direction. Micromanagement causes doubts and especially when there is a change being implemented, it shows lack of confidence towards the employees. There should be a fine balance between the authoritative and supportive attributes of the leader towards the teams and individuals.
Overloaded workforce – If the employee headcount is lower than required and there is very heavy workload, a change is often seen as another attribute increasing the workload rather than a benefit. The staff will feel that they already have to manage a lot of work and this is now being added to their plate as well. Thus it is very important to manage the other ongoing projects well and add a few more employees, even on contractual basis if needed, to make sure everybody is in synch and feel this as a part of change and not just another project.
Inefficient systems and structures – Apart from the human resources and employees, there has to be a proper systems and structures in place to make the organizational change effective and successful. This includes, but not limited to, any proper configurations of computers, software, process maintenance, performance management, hierarchies, and best leadership practices. Once the systems and structures are in place, it is very easy to proceed with the change.
Lack of measurement and control plans – No matter how much we plan in advance as an organization, there will always be some unforeseen challenges. It is very important to have a control system in place which can effectively measure the intermittent and final results. Once it is observed that the course of action is derailing, quick control measures have to be in place (Trusco et al. 272).
In conclusion, I would like to say that, by following these eight principles, an organizational change can be effective, efficient and successful. Ranging from a robust plan, a solid communication practice, keeping everybody abreast, sharing the ownership, upgrading the systems and providing enough support to the employees passed through thought leadership, an organization changes is bound to be successful.
Answer 3 - How can an organization be effective if its leadership is not very good?
In my opinion, an organization cannot be effective if the leadership is not very good or effective. I firmly believe that leaders drive an organization. With a clear mission and leadership qualities, they can make a positive impact and move the state of organization from status quo towards its goals and long term vision. A good leader is invaluable for any organization and for its success. At the same time, bad leaders will destroy the organization.
Mills further explains that when leadership is not complacent, this also can be seen throughout the organization in a negative way. There is no meaning of corporate culture for employees under bad leadership. The leaders will always claim that the culture exists however the employees will only be in disagreement. At the same time, there will be lack of any proper communication and there will be only one way communication which is forced and unclear. This will make the employees feel out of the place as their opinions are never asked and they are simply forced to follow the instructions without knowing the overall goals or the impact of their actions. The hard-work is also not valued in such organizations. The promotions will be non-transparent with those employees getting benefit who can do a big talk without necessarily putting any hard work or possessing the right skills. Employees never like working in such an environment because there is no collaboration between leaders and the employees or within the employees. Thus politics become part of such organizations and the first step in the failure. The overall results are bad morale of employees, very high attrition, low involvement of the employees, and no sustainable organizational success (Mills 142).
Thus, I can conclude by saying that there is a direct positive correlation between the organization’s success and its leadership. Leadership is the backbone of any organization because an organization functions on this engine. Everything that happens to and by the organization is done through the leadership.
Works Cited
Freedman, M. “The Genius is in the Implementation.” Oct. 2003. Journal of Business Strategy.
Mills, D. Q. “Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live.” June. 2005. MindEdge Press.
Judge, T. and Robbins, S. “Organizational Behavior Student Value Edition (15th edition)”. 2013. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Trusko, B., Pexton, C., Harrington, J. and Gupta, P. “Improving Healthcare Quality and Cost with Six Sigma.” Apr. 2010. FT Press.
Vecchio, R.P. “Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts, 6th edition” June. 2006. Dryen Press.
