Reflective Journal # 2
The reflective journal highlights my learning of the group behavior and norms of behavior in organizations and importance of organizational culture in creating the value of organizations. These are key topics that we have covered in the course and are important to understand the employees behavior (Pfister, 2009). I have understood that employees behavior is directly associated with their performance. If they have positive behavior they are more likely to contribute positively to the outcome of business decisions an activities. In my view this is a valid argument because individuals behave in a particular way depending upon their behavior, views, feelings, and understanding of the situation (Nelson & James, 2013).
Another important learning through the course is regarding teamwork. I have learned that it is not always possible to perform tasks individually and employees have to work together in teams to achieve the business objectives and goals (Levi, 2010). I understand that working in a team can be challenging as there are people from different backgrounds who are put in a group to complete the tasks. Synchronization between team members is crucial that play a vital role in improving the organizational behavior (Nelson & James, 2014). I also learned that the success of organizations and positive culture within organizations depend significantly on the role of leadership that can set behavioral norms that provide benchmarks by which group members evaluate one another, and codes, and ethical standards and other norms that they should follow while working for the organization (Rod, 2015).
I have gone through different examples of organizations that rely on their teams to achieve corporate goals. These practical examples clearly suggest that it is not always possible to achieve success in groups. However, those companies that are led by good leadership and have a positive culture with organization perform better. I am interested in learning about mega projects in which multiple teams work together as separate units performing different tasks. It must be challenging for the companies’ management to ensure that teams are working effectively and their efforts are adding value to each other’s work (Halverson & Tirmizi, 2008). Although they are different models and theory that explain the basis for team development and their success, I am sure that in reality companies have to use a combination of approaches to remove barriers between team members and allocate them resources that could help them achieve their targets.
Another important learning that I have made through this course is that every organization is different as they have different values to create spectable, honest, transparent, and innovative culture at the workplace. Today organizations are too complex, and it is difficult to change the organizational culture. Companies are relying on complex systems to track their employees’ performance and contribution to the business and it is becoming very challenging to seek loyalty from employees (Hill et al., 2016). I am of the view that over the years organizations and people working for them have changed. The employees were more committed and loyal to their employers before. Presently, it is about extrinsic factors that are given my organizations and organizational behavior easily changes by the people. Therefore, the responsibility of the upper management has amplified to keep different units and individuals together and make them work for the success of the business (Pfister, 2009).
List of References
Halverson, C.B. & Tirmizi, S.A., 2008. Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice. U.K: Springer Science & Business Media.
Hill, C.W.L., Schilling, M.A. & Jones, G.R., 2016. Strategic Management: Theory: An Integrated Approach. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Levi, D., 2010. Group Dynamics for Teams. U.K: SAGE.
Nelson, D.L. & James, C.Q., 2013. Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World, and You. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Nelson, D.L. & James, C.Q., 2014. ORGB4. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Pfister, J.A., 2009. Managing Organizational Culture for Effective Internal Control: From Practice to Theory. Springer Science & Business Media.
Rod, B., 2015. Operational Excellence Handbook: A Must Have for Those Embarking On a Journey of Transformation and Continuous Improvement. Florida: Value generation partners.
Wimmers, P.F. & Marcia, M., 2016. Assessing Competence in Professional Performance across Disciplines and Professions. Springer.
