Com Temporary Organizational Behaviour and Its Application

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Comtemporary Organizational Behaviour and its application

Prelude

Certainly large numbers of people have been doing lots of organizational activities, work and

tasks for a long time. Pyramids and many other huge monuments and structures were built,

armies and governments were organized, and Civilizations spread over vast territories. This took

organization and management. There are some writings from antiquity that suggest that

systematic approaches to management and organization did evolve and were transmitted to

others.

But the primary influences in organizations and management today stem from more recent

events.

Some would claim that to begin to understand our organizations today we need to look at the

Protestant Ethic. A new ethic began to evolve, an ethic that shifted the orientation of one\s life

from the next world to this world. This ethic is best embodied in quotes from Luther (All men

possess a calling in the world and the fulfillment of its obligation is a divinely imposed duty)and Calvin (Disciplined work raises a person above the calling into which he was born and is

the only sign of his election by God to salvation The soul is naked before God without Church

or communion-religion is a personal matter; worldly success and prosperity are construed as

signs of God\s approval).

Over time, the Protestant Reformation provided an ideological foundation for the modern

industrial society by suggesting that work is now a profound moral obligation, a path to eternal

salvation.

The focus is this world and materialism, not next world. The individual\s obligation is self-

discipline and systematic work. It should be clear that the factory system which began to evolve

late in the 18th Century could never have flourished without the ideological underpinnings of

this profound shift in philosophy as exemplified by the Protestant Ethic.

As a Professor of Organizational Behaviour I wish to continue to proclaim that organizational

behavior is all about Organizational studies encompasses the study of organizations from

multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis

Organizational behavior is about common themes that describe the modern workplace such as

ethical behavior, globalization, and technology, diversity, performance and work-life balance.

Organizations today are challenged by the modern business environment. Many trends

significantly persuade an organizations behavioral blueprint and values. Employees are

recognized as a companys most important resource; therefore organizational behavior has

increasingly become a more important topic.

To be able to understand organizational behavior it is essential to identify and acknowledge

trends in OB and how these trends influence workers. How ethics influence decision-making and

the impact of technology on work-related stress are trends in OB that are present within an

organization. What does it mean to be ethical and how has work-related stress been impacted

by technology? Exploring the worth and impact of these two trends will illustrate how greatly

they can have an effect on organizational behavior and be successful as an employee of the

organization of any nature.

Ethics in Decision-Making

Applying principles or standards to moral dilemmas and asking what is right or wrong, good or

bad in business transactions are a basic business ethic. Individuals within an


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organizations are expected to act in union with high moral principles. (Ethical practice depends

not just on awareness but on consequences and the use of personal and social values (Brownell,

2003).

According to Loviscky, Trevino, and Jacobs, recent allegations of unethical decision-making by

leaders in prominent business organizations have jeopardized the worlds confidence in

American business and have rekindled interest in the moral judgment of leaders in theworkplace. Moral judgment is a psychological construct that characterizes the process by which

people determine that one course of action in a particular situation is morally right and another

course of action is wrong (2007).

To have an organization founded on ethical beliefs, a company must employ a workforce that is

aware of the consequences of the decisions that are made and look to hire those individuals who

are concerned with the effects on each person connected with the organization including

clientele, and employees.

An individual should first be able to recognize the ethical issue; evaluate the issue based on

personal ethics, and resolve to comply with this ethical judgment and finally carry out an ethical

action (Fang, 2006). We always tend to believe that if integrity is held by leaders from top to

bottom in an organization, followers will learn to trust and commit to act in ways that are in

accordance with the leaders expectations and the corporate mission statement (2005, p. 38).

The practice of supplying ethical guidelines or codes of conduct for employees to use when

challenged with a situation that is not covered by standard policies and procedures is a positive

move for the entire company (DeJanasz, Dowd, and Schneider, 2001, p. 372).

Stress

Stress, according to OB scientist and Psychologists is anxiety from extraordinary demands,

constraints, or opportunities and they also state that the effects of organizational stress include

job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, employee turnover, accidents, low morale, poor interpersonal

relations, low productivity, and poor customer service (2001, p. 66).

Air traffic controllers, dentists, and coal miners are examples of highly stressful jobs thatcontain factors that cause stress that often is difficult to manage as it is seldom under a

persons control (DeJanasz, et al., 2001, p. 66).

Information technology has multiplied job demands and is leaving employees with frequent

change in the working environment; supplying progressively more information which is found to

be difficult to handle. Due to these factors, stress levels are increased and if not regulated the

effects of technology are seen in the shape of work related stress.

Stress and personal well-being are connected; therefore managing stress is very important.

The principal cause of job stress is a workers ability versus working conditions and another

major position is an individuals characteristic such as personality and coping technique (Stress

Management, 2007). People are experiencing technology overload in the workplace today.

Having to adjust to email, voice mail, faxes, pagers, and cell phones that make individuals alltoo easy to reach is creating stressful demands on workers. Information arrives too fast and

some cannot keep up (Work Related Stress, 2005).

Stress called destructive stress can impair both an individual and the organization in the form of

job burnout that arrives and presents itself as loss of interest in and satisfaction with a job due

to hectic working conditions.

When an individual is burned out, there is a feeling of exhaustion, both emotionally and

physically, making it impossible to deal optimistically with work responsibilities and

opportunities (Schermerhorn et al, 2005, p. 373).

Allowing employees access to rewards and benefits such as flexible work schedules,

telecommuting options, or compensation time is advantageous to the company and the

employee as stress-related troubles have huge financial implications for an employer (DeJanasz,


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et al., 2001, p. 70).

Not all stress is bad for instance; the excitement of winning a race or completing a challenge

can be exciting.

This form of stress is called eustress; the positive stress. It allows an individual to get energized

about life and provides a feeling of satisfaction (Stress Management, 2007).

In conclusion, the practice of decision-making is set off by the confirmation of a moral issue thatis the understanding that an ethical dilemma exists and ethical decision making is affected by

both individual and organizational issues.

Ethical conflicts are unavoidable today as human exchanges become gradually more numerous

and complicated. Learning how to deal with conflict and how to decide on a solution that will not

show prejudice against any party involved are just two examples of ethical issues that take

place regularly in the workplace. Workplace stress is on the rise and everyone faces stress at

work one time or another.

It is almost impossible to remove situations that cause stress, but it may be possible to

managed stress more effectively (Workplace Trends, 1999).

Centre for Work and Organization well being

The Centre for Work, Organization and Wellbeing aims to develop and support research

programmes in key areas of strength so that these areas become internationally recognized. In

addition, the Centre aims to contribute to the Universitys Strategic Research Programme on

Social Change and Human Wellbeing.

The Centre is an interdisciplinary research group incorporating sociologists, industrial relations

and other scholars interested in the field of work. The aim of the Centre is to facilitate the

development of world-class research that is distinctive and highly relevant to the future of work.

We seek to understand the changing world of work in an era of significant social, economic and

technological change via theoretically informed research and to bridge the gap between

research, practice and policy.

The major research problem that the Centre is seeking to address is how the imperatives for

efficiency, quality and high performance can be configured so that good pay, dignity, well-being

and social justice are also achieved.

The Centre has four research programmes that each addresses different aspects of this problem

drawing on interdisciplinary research.

The four key areas are

o Better organizational behaviour

o Regulatory provisions for commonly accepted behaviour

o Smart work places with conduciveness

o Work/ Leisure interfaces

References

1. Brownell, E., (2003, January 24). Just what does it mean to be ethical in American business?

& the Business Review.

2. DeJanasz, S. C., Dowd, K. O., & Schneider, B. Z., (2001) Interpersonal Skills in Organizations

&he McGraw?Hill Companies

3. Fang, Miao-Ling, (2006). Evaluating Ethical Decision-Making of Individual Employees in

Organizations-An Integration Framework


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4. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 8(2), 105-112. Retrieved August 6,

2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

(5. Loviscky, G. E., Trevio, L. K., Jacobs, R. R., (2007) Assessing Managers\ Ethical Decision-

making: An Objective Measure of Managerial Moral Judgment. Journal of Business Ethics, 73(3),

263-285. Retrieved August 5, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID:

1275891241).

6. Schermerhorn, J. R., Hunt, J, G., & Osborn, R, N. (2005). Organizational Behavior, (9th ed.).

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

7. Stress Management, (2007). Impact of Technology on Work Related Stress. Retrieved August

7, 2007, from stress/management/impact-of-technology-on-work-related-stress Workplace

trends: Technology increases workplace stress. Office World News. Oct 1999. FindArticles.com.

07 Aug. 2007.

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Com Temporary Organizational Behaviour and Its Application