INTRODUCTION
The success of any organization is entirely dependent
on the nature and the psychological preparedness of its employers.
Success in any organization is greatly
affected by all its employees being able to work and function as a single unit
but today’s organizations are faced with numerous problems that affect their
efficiency and in the long run and even affect their existence.
Problems that range from low productivity to
high levels of absenteeism hurt today’s organizations a great deal but with a
manager with knowledge in organizational behavior, all these issues can be
corrected or even reversed to the rescue of the organization.
Organizational
behavior
Is a field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within an
organization. It’s an inter disciplinary field that includes sociology,
psychology, communication and management.
The understanding of individual or group behavior
and the patterns of structure helps improve organizational performance and
effectiveness.
Some of the key problems facing organizations
today include;
·
Low morale
This is defined as the state of the
spirits of a person or group as exhibited by low confidence, low cheerfulness,
poor discipline, and unwillingness to perform assigned tasks.
·
Low productivity
This is a measure of the in efficiency of production
and an organization with low production is in a state where by its output is
less than its input.
·
High labor
turnover
Labor turnover is the process of
people getting hired and leaving the company over and over.
If a company has a high turnover rate, that
means that people leave quite often and they have to hire new people to take
their places. If a company has a low turnover rate, that means that people
typically stay with the company for a long time. As a job seeker, companies
that have low turnover rates are the most attractive companies, because you
might have some job security.
·
Absenteeism
This is defined as the practice of regularly
staying away from work without good reason.
·
Job
dissatisfaction
Is the feeling of being displeased and
discontented with ones work in an organization.
Employee dissatisfaction is usually caused by
poor pay, working conditions, supervision and/or company policy and
administration.
Below are the causes of the problems mentioned;
·
Lack of
motivation
If the organization cannot motivate it’s
employees both directly and indirectly for example by setting up END OF YEAR parties, giving bonuses and
incentives to highly performing employees, then there would be no willingness
to perform efficiently.
·
Over working of
employees
A normal human being is supposed to work eight
hours a day, therefore if employees work restlessly and are not compensated or
are assigned a lot of work to accomplish in a short period of time for example
giving employees unrealistic deadlines for heavy workloads, assigning work to
employees that is out of their job description or scope.
·
Low salary
In this case a manager recommends payments to
employees that are not relative to their productivity and this leads to job dissatisfaction.
·
Inappropriate job
assignment
This entails people being placed in positions
that are not of their area of expertise and qualifications for example a nurse
being assigned accounting duties and this leads to low productivity.
·
Inadequate skills
If employee skills are not up to par then the
organizations’ productivity levels are bound to decrease tremendously, lack of
training of employees for example absence of seminars which would improve on
the employees skills can lead to low productivity.
·
Strict
supervision
This deprives a worker of his or her
empowerment as he or she can’t do anything on his or her own which leads to low
morale.
·
Too much
bureaucracy
Bureaucratic organizational structures have
numerous layers of management, cascading down from senior executives to
regional managers to departmental managers, all the way down to shift
supervisors who work alongside frontline employees. Due to the many layers of
management, decision-making authority has to pass through a larger number of
layers than with flatter organizations. Refund decisions, for example, may have
to pass from frontline employees, through shift supervisors, to store managers
for a retail outlet in a bureaucratic company.
This leads to delayed decision making which
can lead to delayed implementation of operational activities.
·
Attitude of
individuals
A person’s perception as a result of
background ,education among others can cause dysfunctional conflicts which
harms and hinders organizational performance thus leading to low productivity
and absenteeism for example a heated argument between employees in an
organization leads to absenteeism, high labor turnover, low morale to mention
but a few.
·
Company policy
and administration
Some company policies for example retirement
packages, employee health insurance policies, unfair termination of employees,
employee leave allotment among others can affect the morale and productivity of
employees in an organization and also bring about job dissatisfaction.
·
Poor
communication system
In an organization where there is no clear or
proper flow of communication, there will be delay in decision making which will
hinder the productivity of the organization.
·
Goal ambiguity or
unclear job specifications
Unclear job description or specialization puts
employees in a state where by none of them knows what task they are supposed to
accomplish and this brings about conflicting within an organization which
delays work ,reduces their morale ,promotes absenteeism as they feel others can
best perform the task at hand to mention but a few.
For a manager with knowledge in organizational
behavior, the following should be put in place in order to counteract the
problems mentioned because if not properly handled and remedies not implemented,
there is potential of collapse of an organization.
Appreciation of
outstanding employees
This can be done through promotions, awarding
bonuses and also assigning a pay to employees who work overtime. This will
promote love for ones work thus easy accomplishment of organizational goals
Motivation of
employees
This can be well achieved by creating a conducive
working environment of employees, clear lay out of the organizational structure
to minimize unnecessary or even disturbing employee supervision thus creating factors
like a sense of maturity, trust to mention and so many others that will help
empower the employees and also create social relation between manager and the subordinates
which will impact a sense of responsibility, belonging and the urge to play
ones role efficiently.
Recruitment of
skilled personnel
People with relevant skills and techniques
will help in the smooth running of organizational activities since their
expertise knowledge of specific fields will help reduce the risk of uncertainties.
Put in place
organized work schedules
This can be achieved by building team work and
delegating or distributing work amongst workers which helps in getting the work
done in a short period of time, making available all the required resources to
enable employees play their roles efficiently and effectively.
Clear layout of
each employee’s job specifications
Clearly state each employees job specification
to reduce on job collusion that causes conflicts in the organization and in the
case of absenteeism employees should communicate in time and a clear reason be presented
so as to give a manager time to prepare how to schedule work in the absence of
the employee which will enable smooth flow of activities in their absence and a
penalty be given to the employee who misuses the favor.
Genuine salary
increment
A manager should see through increasing of
salaries of the hard working employees which will boost other employees’ morale
thus effectiveness towards the attainment of organizational goals and its
success.
Ongoing job
training
Carrying out ongoing training will help
employees a acquire more skills that will enable them keep their work standards
up to date for example, sending them to seminars or workshops to mention but a
few will help them learn the techniques they never had thus creating morale within
them and also improving on the productivity of the organization.
Use of a proper
communication system
For there to be efficiency in an organization,
the most important aspect to be implemented is communication. A good
communication system saves time, reduces on distortion of information and also creates
understanding amongst workers and their managers. This will enable the smooth
flow of information thus easy accomplishment of set goals.
Set up a clear
organizational structure
As a manager with knowledge of organizational behavior,
you should be able to put up a structure that will bring up easy coordination
of activities, easy flow of communication, quick decision making and easy
evaluation of employee performance.
But despite the above solutions to the
problems facing organizations, below are other skills a manager can use to
solve the hazards and also attain organizational success.
1. Communication
As a manager you have to communicate with each of your employees “sideways” with your co-workers and customers. And you have to communicate upwards with your own manager or executive.
As a manager you have to communicate with each of your employees “sideways” with your co-workers and customers. And you have to communicate upwards with your own manager or executive.
You need some substance in the communication; of course you need
to have something
worthy of being communicated. A good manager must have the ability to
communicate effectively.
2. Listening skills
This is a part of communication, but I want to single it out because it’s so important. Some managers get so impressed with themselves that they spend much more of their time telling people things than they spend listening. But no matter how high you go in the management hierarchy, you need to be able to listen. It’s the only way you’re really going to find out what’s going on in your organization, and it’s well stated that a good manager must be a good listener.
This is a part of communication, but I want to single it out because it’s so important. Some managers get so impressed with themselves that they spend much more of their time telling people things than they spend listening. But no matter how high you go in the management hierarchy, you need to be able to listen. It’s the only way you’re really going to find out what’s going on in your organization, and it’s well stated that a good manager must be a good listener.
3. A Commitment to the Truth
The higher you are in the management hierarchy, the less likely you are to be in touch with reality. Managers get a lot of brown-nosing, and people tend to sugar-coat the news and tell managers what they want to hear. The only way you’ll get the truth is if you insist on it. Listen to what people tell you, and ask questions to probe for the truth. Develop information sources outside of the chain of command and regularly listen to those sources as well. Make sure you know the truth even if it’s not good news.
The higher you are in the management hierarchy, the less likely you are to be in touch with reality. Managers get a lot of brown-nosing, and people tend to sugar-coat the news and tell managers what they want to hear. The only way you’ll get the truth is if you insist on it. Listen to what people tell you, and ask questions to probe for the truth. Develop information sources outside of the chain of command and regularly listen to those sources as well. Make sure you know the truth even if it’s not good news.
4.
Empathy
This is the softer side of listening and truth.
A manager should be able to understand how people feel, why they feel that way, and what he
can do to make them feel differently. Empathy is especially important when
you’re dealing with your customers. And whether you think so or not, you’ll
always have customers. Customers are the people who derive benefit from
the work you do. If no one derives benefit from your work, then what’s the
point of keeping the organization around?
5.Persuasion
Put all four of the preceding skills together, because you’ll need them when you try to persuade someone to do something you want done. You could describe this as “selling” but it’s more general. Whether you’re trying to convince your employees to give you a better effort, your boss to give you a bigger budget, or your customers to agree to something you want to do for them, your persuasion skills will be strained to their limits.
Put all four of the preceding skills together, because you’ll need them when you try to persuade someone to do something you want done. You could describe this as “selling” but it’s more general. Whether you’re trying to convince your employees to give you a better effort, your boss to give you a bigger budget, or your customers to agree to something you want to do for them, your persuasion skills will be strained to their limits.
6.Leadership
Leadership is a specialized form of persuasion focused on getting other people to follow you in the direction you want to go. It’s assumed that the leader will march into battle at the head of the army, so be prepared to make the same sacrifices you’re asking your employees to make.
Leadership is a specialized form of persuasion focused on getting other people to follow you in the direction you want to go. It’s assumed that the leader will march into battle at the head of the army, so be prepared to make the same sacrifices you’re asking your employees to make.
7.Focus
The key to successful leadership is focus. You can’t lead in a hundred different directions at once, so setting an effective leadership direction depends on your decision not to lead in the other directions. Focusing light rays means concentrating the light energy on one spot. Focusing effort means picking the most important thing to do and then concentrating your team’s effort on doing it.
The key to successful leadership is focus. You can’t lead in a hundred different directions at once, so setting an effective leadership direction depends on your decision not to lead in the other directions. Focusing light rays means concentrating the light energy on one spot. Focusing effort means picking the most important thing to do and then concentrating your team’s effort on doing it.
8.Division of Work
This is the ability to break down large tasks into sub-tasks that can be assigned to individual employees. It’s a tricky skill — maybe more an art than a science, almost like cutting a diamond.
This is the ability to break down large tasks into sub-tasks that can be assigned to individual employees. It’s a tricky skill — maybe more an art than a science, almost like cutting a diamond.
Ideally you want to figure out how to accomplish a large objective
by dividing the work up into manageable chunks. The people working on each
chunk should be as autonomous as possible so that the tasks don’t get bogged
down in endless discussion and debate. You have to pay careful attention to the
interdependencies among the chunks. And you have to carefully assess each
employee’s strengths, weaknesses and interests so that you can assign the best
set of sub-tasks to each employee.
9. Obstacle Removal
inevitably, problems will occur. Your ability to solve them is critical to the ongoing success of your organization. Part of your job is to remove the obstacles that are preventing your employees from doing their best.
inevitably, problems will occur. Your ability to solve them is critical to the ongoing success of your organization. Part of your job is to remove the obstacles that are preventing your employees from doing their best.
10. Heat Absorption
Not all problems can be solved. When upper management complains about certain things that can’t be avoided (e.g., an unavoidable delay in a project deliverable), it’s your job to take the heat. But what’s more important, it’s your job to absorb the heat to keep it from reaching your employees. It’s the manager’s responsibility to meet objectives. If the objectives aren’t being met, then it’s the manager’s responsibility to:
Not all problems can be solved. When upper management complains about certain things that can’t be avoided (e.g., an unavoidable delay in a project deliverable), it’s your job to take the heat. But what’s more important, it’s your job to absorb the heat to keep it from reaching your employees. It’s the manager’s responsibility to meet objectives. If the objectives aren’t being met, then it’s the manager’s responsibility to:
·
Make sure that upper management knows
about the problem as early as possible.
·
Take all possible steps to solve the
problem with the resources you’ve been given.
·
Suggest alternatives to management
that will either solve the problem or minimize it. These other alternatives may
propose the use of additional resources beyond the current budget, or they may
propose a change in the objective that’s more achievable.
·
Keep the problem from affecting the
performance or morale of your employees.
11. Controlling
Is one of the managerial functions like planning,
organizing, staffing and directing. It is an important
function because it helps to check the errors and to take the corrective action
so that deviation from standards are minimized and stated goals of the
organization are achieved in a desired manner., measuring actual performance
and taking corrective action. Thus, control comprises these three main
activities and a good manager must have the ability to control the organizational
activities listed below;
A. Planning
A manager must have the ability of determining
the organization's goals and defining the means for achieving them. Planning
allows managers the opportunity to adjust to the environment instead of merely
reacting to it. Planning increases the possibility of survival in business by
actively anticipating and managing the risks that may occur in the future.
B.
Organizing
The
organizing function of management is the process of defining and grouping of
activities and creating authority relationship among them.
C.
Staffing
Planning the organization with suitable
personnel constitutes the staffing function. It involves selection, training
and development, compensation, and appraisal of subordinates by the manager.
Manpower planning and manpower management looks after these activities and try
to ensure suitable methods of remuneration and performance appraisal of the
employees
D.
Directing
Involves managing people and the work through
the means of motivation, proper leadership, effective communication and
coordination. A manager must develop ability to command. He should issue orders
and instructions without arousing any resentment among the subordinates. He
must be able to secure willing obedience from his subordinates without
destroying their initiative and creativity. Moreover, it requires a sound
communication system to enable exchange of ideas and information for common
understanding.
Conclusion
One can probably become a manager without having all of the above skills, but one would need all of them to be really successful and to get promoted to higher levels of management.
One can probably become a manager without having all of the above skills, but one would need all of them to be really successful and to get promoted to higher levels of management.
For every one of these skills, there are
various levels of performance. No one expects a new manager to be superior at
every one of these skills, but one should be aware of all of them, and one
should do everything to learn more about each skill and with these done, most
organizational problems will be easily solved or reversed.
