Organizational Behavior: a discipline for discovery Essay

Ask a manager of 35, 25 or even 15 years ago what their Organizations behavioral patterns were or how their employees felt ab show up certain issues and you would probably be met with uninfected st atomic number 18s. organisational Behavior (OB) was not a part of the business introduction in those days. The idea that a manager take on only view with the technical skills of its employees while disregarding their experience listening skills, confabulation skills and interaction skills was the common mode of thought. A recent study on employee burnout by Northwestern National Life Insurance shows that at to the lowest degree integrity out of every four employees views their pipeline as the biggest stressor in their lives (Work, stress and health conference, 1999).Clearly it is judgment of conviction to reevaluate our imagineing on the business concepts of the past and focus our attention on our organization with a more humanistic approach. What worked in the past is not ne cessarily waiver to work today. As the world changes so too does our environment change. We deprivation to change with it or be remaining behind. Organizational Behavior is one of those vehicles cosmos used for change. The past 10-15 years has shown an increase in Organizational Behavior studies. OB has become an important tool for businesses striving to image the needs of its employees while understanding the impact of the individual on an organizations behavior.HistoryThe generational gap between people is app bent. The value, thoughts and dreams of our parents are probably much different than ours of today just like their values were differed from your grandparents. The attitudes and beliefs of a generation are a big part of the square off of a persons personality and work value orientation. Stephen P. Robbins notes in his text that the previous 3 generations, while similar in some respects, held clear differences in their values (p.130-2). Organizational behavior is a byproduct of the times. The workers vary to their organization and grew with it (1940s and 50s). As time went on a shift towards quality of life, non-conforming, autonomy and loyalty to ones own values became prevalent (1960s and 70s). Another shift occurred in the mid 70s.The value systemmoved towards ambition, loyalty to career, hardworking, and the zest for success and achievement. This period lasted till about the mid 80s when another shift moved us towards the value system normally held today of flexibility, value to relationships, desire for leisure time and overall job satisfaction. Robbins classified these four stages as follows Protestant work ethic, Existential, Pragmatic, and Generation X (p.131). We can see that what worked in the 50s in name of how an organization operated is probably not going to be as strong in todays organizations. Whether its the Protestant work ethic of the 1940s and 50s or its Generation X of today, the picture should be clear. We need to know what our workers value, how they feel and change with them so as to keep our organization on the cutting edge of productivity and profitability.ResearchIn order to highlight the need for OB studies we need to know what OB gives us, how it relates to our employees and what that overall impact is on the organization. OB is a field of study that investigates the impacts that individuals, groups, and structure sw allot on behavior deep down organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organizations force (Robbins, 2001, p.16). Simply put, OB allows us the chance to set what individuals are thinking, how their though processes work, what motivates them to do certain things, and how their choices relate to an organization. What do workers want? What are their concerns? The answers are not al agencys the same and the methods of discovery are varied as well but some key responses that seem to be always mentioned are job security, a balanced work and f amily life, and a agonistical salary (Cohen, 2002, para.5).Another survey, from Watson Wyatt Worldwide, showed that employees listed the desire for trust in their senior leaders as their number one want when considering what would make them connected to their employers (Johnson, 2001, para.10). more or less half (45%) of the 7500 people in that survey verbalise they were not committed to their employers. Another interesting note from one professional is that managers too frequently try to manage the stress in employees lives rather than trying to annul it (Johnson, 2001, para.11). Why should we be concerned with these surveys and studies? Quite simply,because other companies are development this information and if we dont we will eventually be left behind.Scott Gellar, a psychologist, noted a list of companies/organizations that are investing immense time, money and manpower into addressing the broad cultural issues of their organizations. Fortunes snow Best Companies to wo rk for in America topped the list of those being proactive (Johnson, 2001, para.19). In 1984 only one of the top 100 companies offered onsite daycare. In 2000, 24 offered it. More than 50 offered onsite university courses and more than 90 offered tuition reimbursement (Johnson, 2001, para.21). The signs are there. We just need to be watching for them and always keeping abreast(predicate) of the situation.DiscussionSo now that we have some ideas about what OB studies can provide for us the next question is why do we NEED to investigate it further? Is it of that vital importance that we should alter the way we have been doing things for so long? Procedures have worked in the past why wont they work in the future? I think it is important to say that just because something has worked in the past does not fasten you success in the future. As the research above shows, the top companies are adapting and doing what it takes to gain an edge. It is working for them. You may stay in business doing what you have always done, you may even have a modicum of success, but wouldnt it be nice to be fit to get the most out of your business? Let your business maximize its potential.ConclusionIt was once said that a good company researches what it is selling and is always learning. Why should we plough our employees any differently than we do our product or our target consumers? Employees state us what we need to know. We just need to listen and be able to interpret the results. We need to become proactive and not reactive in the future. The study of OB is vehicle we can use to interpret what we learn from individuals. The method is there. Why not use it to instigate change in our organizations? The results of our studies will become more and more useful as time goes on. Weare always changing, learning and adapting to different situations. OB will allow our organizations to change right along with the people that make it up.Works CitedCohen, A. (2002). hatful says workers wan t balance. Sales and Marketing Management, 154(9), 13. Retrieved December 9, 2002 from EBSC Ohost database.Johnson, D. (2001). Climate control. Industrial pencil eraser and Hygiene News, 35(9), 1-4. Retrieved December 9, 2002 from EBSC Ohost database.Robbins, S.P. (2001). Organizational behavior ( springer electronic text, University of Phoenix). Boston Pearson Custom Publishing.