Organizational Behavior free essay sample

Company’s performance plummet (Assignment) Summary XYZ Company’s profits are solely based on its sales volumes. In the recent past the sales reports recorded a slump in the figures. Market conditions are favorable for the products and it has been identified the reason for sales drop is the low motivation and morale of the employees. Superiors are facing difficulty to manage day today work as employees have developed a habit to go on unplanned unapproved leave. Some of them notify their superiors or a colleague on the day of the leave and some never. Sabotage acts have created mistrust. Integrity in the organization has become a thing in the past. The latest developments were the clashes between superiors and subordinates reported by the human resources to the CEO showcasing the infested relationships within the organization. This report evaluates the on going crisis of the XYZ Company, the reasons for such behavior from organizations and individual point of view based on the theories in organizational behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Recommendations to overcome this challenging situation will be suggested using the results proven concepts and theories in the field. Literature Review MARS Model McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008) uses the MARS model to explain the drivers of individual behavior and results. The authors have used this to highlight the factors influence the individual’s behavior which results in the performance. The four factors are Motivation, Ability, Role Perception and Situational Factors. The model explains the combined effect of these factors for the performance of an individual. Big Five Personality Traits Costa McCrae, (1992) explained the five traits of personality which have been scientifically discovered to define human personality. This model explains the positive relationship of the five characteristics and performance, motivation and job satisfaction. Schwartz’s  Values  Model Shalom Schwartz (1992, 1994) used his Schwartz Value Inventory (SVI) with a wide survey of over 60,000 people to identify common values that acted as guiding principles for ones life. He identified ten value types that gather multiple values into a single category. The values namely are Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-direction, Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Conformity, Security, Super-grouping. They can also be collated into larger super-groups namely Openness to change ( Stimulation, self-direction and some hedonism) , Self-enhancement(Achievement, power and some hedonism) ,Conservation (Security, tradition and conformity) and Self-transcendence( Universalism and benevolence) Employee Engagement McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008) defines employee engagement as â€Å"Employees’ emotional and cognitive (rational) motivation, their ability to perform their jobs, their possessing a clear understanding of the organization’s vision and their specific roles in that vision and a belief that they have been given the resources to get their jobs done†. What is happening? If XYZ company challenges were to analyze many years ago, according to Theory X assumptions, by the scholar Douglas McGregor, a pay revise, ensure security of the job or a favorable working conditions (Luthens, Fred, 2008) would have been recommended to boost up the morale and increase the productivity of employees. Many research has identified people are extremely complex, and theoretical understanding empirical research is needed to, implement solutions in order to manage people effectively. As Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, says â€Å"Engaged employees create loyal customers who in turn create bigger profits†. From the description given on the characteristics of the employees at XYZ, it is obvious employee engagement does not exist in the slightest way resulting sales drops caused by poor performance. Employee engagement is described in the book Organizational Behavior by McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008) that the concept refers to, â€Å"Employees’ emotional and cognitive (rational) motivation, their ability to perform their jobs, their possessing a clear understanding of the organization’s vision and their specific roles in that vision and a belief that they have been given the resources to get their jobs done†. As stated in the literature review reasons or drivers for different individual behaviors have been in the focus of organizational behavior experts. Experts have identified the main factors influencing the individual behavior as Motivation, Ability, Role Perception and Situational Factors defined in the MARS model. The model says the four factors have a combined effect on individual’s good or poor performance. These four factors are influenced by individuals’ variables such as values, personality, perception, emotions and attitudes and stress. The most stable important variables in the model are the personality and values (McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008)). Then the importance comes as perception, emotions attitude and stress respectively. The main challenge XYZ company is facing at present is the low morale and low motivation of the employees which has been affected the individual performance and thereby the company’s performance resulting sales drops. Motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. The intrinsic motivation is an incentive to do something that arises from factors within the individual, such as a need to feel useful or to seek  self-actualization. These factors can vary from individual to individual. Then the extrinsic motivation is an incentive to do something that arises from factors outside the individual, such as rewards or punishments. The promise of a bonus if one meets agreed performance targets is an obvious example of such motivation. In this case, with the given context, the employees’ motivation has become low. Therefore it can be assumed that XYZ Company’s employees’ intrinsic or extrinsic drive or both have diminished at present. First factor adversely influencing the individual behavior and results of XYZ company in MARS model is Motivation. According to the context of the XYZ Company it is assumed that its cadre is skilled and competent to do each of their roles. This can be made under the assumption of XYZ’s sales figures had been superior in the past. As a result, the factor ‘ability’ in the MARS model is present in XYZ Company. Further employees’ morale or the dictionary definition, self-confidence or self-esteem or spirit(s) or team spirit or enthusiasm is low. In management subject point of view employee morale is how employees actually feel about themselves as workers, their work, their managers, their work environment, and their overall work life. It incorporates all the mental and emotional feelings, beliefs, and attitudes that individuals and groups hold regarding their job. It could be seen that employees’ perception on what they how they do and to whom they do is distorted and unfavorable. This can be seen in MARS model point of view that another factor namely the individual’s role perception is weak or in danger in XYZ Company. XYZ employees at different levels experience difficulties to carry out their jobs. Assume the company still posses an engaged supervisor, and he / she does not get the support from the subordinates to perform his/she job. On the other hand assume an engaged sales officer does his job and he is unable to complete is job if his / her supervisor is absent. Therefore the situational factors are not in favor of the XYZ Company individuals. In summary, XYZ Company’s employee behavior displays that there are issues in areas of motivation, role perception and situational factors. MARS model says, the four factors (Motivation, ability, role perception, Situational factors) have a combined effect on individual performance. (McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008)) Further it says if any factor weakens there will be an impact to employee performance in a negative manner. Figure 1 depicts what has happened to XYZ Company in the purview of the MARS model. Values Personality Perceptions Emotions Attitudes Stress Individual Characteristics Motivation Ability Role Perception Situational Factors Individual Behavior Results Decreased Performance Figure 1. MARS model of individual behavior and results for XYZ Company Reasons for weakened motivation, role perception, situational factors It is of great importance to evaluate the reasons for issues in the areas of motivation, role perception and situational factors. MARS model indicates the individual characteristics which influence the four factors as values, personality, perception, emotions, attitudes and stress. Out of these factors the two deeply held characteristics of people that influence their attitudes, motivation and behavior and therefore it is vital to study XYZ companies values and perceptions in detail as a measurement to understand why these things happen at the organization. Personality A person’s personality is like all other people’s, like some other people’s, and like no other people’s. ’ This statement was made by kluckhohn and Murray and it explains how complex and diverse a personality is. The experts say heredity, the brain, environment, maturation and learning contribute to the formation of human personality. These complex characteristics are simplified in Th e ‘Big Five’ personality traits. Research shows a positive relationship between the ‘Big Five’ and performance motivation and job satisfaction. Figure 2 analyzes the XYZ employee personalities as specified in ‘Big Five’ core personality traits. Core Trait| Characteristics of High Scorers| XYZ individuals Score| Conscientiousness| Dependable, Hardworking, organized, self-disciplined, persistent, responsible| LowNeeds attention| Emotional Stability| Calm, Secure, Happy, unworried| LowNeed attention| Agreeableness| Cooperative, warm, caring, good-nurtured, courteous, trusting| LowNeeds attention| Extraversion| Sociable, outgoing, talkative, assertive, gregarious| OK| Openness to Experience| Curious, intellectual, creative, cultured, artistically sensitive, flexible, imaginative| OK| Figure 2. The ‘Big Five’ personality traits and XYZ Company’s standing Experts have proved that the most important trait of the five, which has a strong positive relation to performance, is conscientiousness. The background of XYZ Company shows the negative set of characteristics from individuals for the most vital trait, the conscientiousness for high performance. Values â€Å"Employ the whole person, the mind and the soul† (McShane, S. L. , Glinow, M. A. V. , Sharma, R. R. (2008)) Tom Chapell, the co-founder of Tom’s of Maine, speaks about importance of values of an individual to an organization. Values are the stable evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences for outcomes or courses of action in a variety of situations. XYZ’s individual behavior actions at different circumstances are evidence for adverse set of personal values among individuals. Although it is necessary to conduct a survey among employees to come in to a accurate picture of the individual value distribution for the different values identified by S. H. Schwartz, with the individual actions at XYZ company it can be identified the majority of the individual values fall in to the colored area (Blue Lines) of the Schwartz’s  Values  Model depicted in Figure 3. Self-transcendence Openness to Change Conservation Self-enhancement Figure 3. Schwartz’s  Values  Model and XYZ Company’s behavioral study Ethics Ethics is defined by the dictionary as a branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct with respect to the rightness or wrongness of certain actions. As mentioned earlier humans are complex and ethics is based on their values, perception and attitudes making the problem of ethics too complex. People perceive things in different ways, but most people agree that ethics involves a lot of common sense. Peoples ethical standards are often based on values instilled in them in their youth, and in their environmental background. As the definition says ethics deals with individual values, XYZ Company’s ethics can be assessed based on the Schwartz’s  Values  Model distribution (Figure 3. ). Among XYZ individuals it is often observed disturbing actions for the daily activities of the company. So me of the ethically deficient behaviors are unplanned leave without notifying, conflicts, loss of integrity and acts of sabotage. Therefore, since these actions are hindering the company performance this behavior can be seen as unethical self conduct, among groups of people in the organization. As Figure 4. depicts when observed the XYZ’s individuals, considering the three principles of ethics it can be derived that the interest is towards ‘My interests’ and ‘Our interest’, but not ‘Everybody’s interest’, in other words not Company interest. Utilitarianism Individual Rights Distributive Justice (Group) Figure 4. Ethical Principles standing at XYZ Company Revisit To the Outcome of Applied Theory To XYZ Company In Summary, from the MARS model it, it says in the given context of XYZ Company, it has issues in Motivation, Role Perception and Situational Factors. It was considered that the most important factors to affecting performance are Values and Personality. When analyzed the personality in detail, the Big Five personality trait showed that the employees has low score characteristics for the core traits namely Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Agreeableness. In the area of values XYZ company employee displayed strength in openness to change qualities defined as Stimulation, Self-Direction and Hedonism. In the same way they had the strength in self-enhancement defined as Achievement and Power. The ethical principles analysis showed that the employees are only interested in themselves and the group they are in but not the company. Recommendations Therefore XYZ company has a talented set of employees who has a high ego and talent who’s values are not aligned with the company values. Value motivated workforce is more long lasting than a incentive motivated workforce. They are proven to be more engaged. Starting from the company values ethics should be considered as a vital component for success. The ethical values of the company should be shared with the employees and those should be implanted in them. As David M. Taylor is a professional engineer, says companies having shared values that are consistently modeled within the organization results in: Employees focused on what is important to the organization Less stress on individuals ,Less tension between individuals and departments Enthusiasm in the workplace , Pride in work , Direction in the workplace Less bureaucracy , Positive attitudes , Positive momentum Examples of companies that did not have proper alignment around a value system and paid the price in the marketplace; WorldCom , Enron , Bre-X Examples of companies that have built themselves around their values; Disney , Home Depot , Walmart , Starbucks Some suggested morale-boosters for the high talented employees suggested by Morale  Encyclopedia of Management Practicing of fairness and consistency ,Bestowing praise in public while leveling criticism in private , Encouraging humor and fun in the workplace, Communication ,Listening and remaining receptive to new ideas , Getting to know something about employees personal lives and treating them as individuals, Creating opportunities for employees to learn and grow, Sharing decision making and offering employees choices, Promoting from within, and most importantly Leading by example. Organizational Behavior free essay sample Managers and employees alike should have a set standard of ethics to abide by. While it is impossible to not have any cases of unethical behavior, all organizations should strive to have the least amount of unethical cases as possible. 5. Which of the seven moral principles in Table 1–4 appear to be in force at Whole Foods? Explain. There are a few moral principles that appear to be in force at Whole Foods. Humaneness is defined as having actions that â€Å"ought to accomplish good† (Kreitner Kinicki, 2013, p. 24).Whole Foods appears to be committed to doing â€Å"good† by changing and improving the world. They sell products that are natural and healthy for all. They believe that they are a heroic company because of this. This also ties into the seventh principle of â€Å"the common good†. The company truly does look out for the common good of all. The company encourages consumers to buy their healthy, organic products as opposed to consuming â€Å"junk† food that over time deteriorates the human body. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Finally, Whole Foods appears to be loyal to consumers, employees, and stakeholders.They constantly keep the public trust and abide by all laws. They sell quality products and are proud of their work. While Whole Foods appears to be successful in three of the seven moral principles, they need to strive to achieve all seven. Each moral principle is important and all companies need to strive to be consistent in each of the seven principles. 6. What appeals to you (or does not appeal to you) about working at Whole Foods? Explain. I believe that Whole Foods is a good company to work for.I believe that they do hire managers that will motivate, train, and help their employees achieve success. They appear to be committed to serving the public and try to help the environment. However, I believe that Whole Foods has room to grow. They need to create programs to improve their employees and help them gain even more knowledge. Employees want to feel like they can grow within a company and I am not sure if they are at that point. With the right leadership, direction, and ideas, Whole Foods can become even more successful then they already are. Organizational Behavior free essay sample Is OB Mod a form of manipulation and if it is. Is it unethical for managers to manipulate the behavior of employees? Need to support the argument. Behavioral Modification is used as a technique in both schools and therapy to modify behavior of students and clients, respectively. Likewise, it is used in organizations and referred to Organizational Behavior Modification (OB-Mod), and is used to meet the productivity challenges associated with employee’s behavior. With its roots in modern behaviorist psychology, OB- Mod is a human resources management technique aimed at improving job-related behaviors that are observable and measurable, such as absenteeism or tardiness, or toward behavior products, such as quality or quantity of work. OB Mod calls for intervention to encourage desirable performance behavior and discourage undesirable behavior. The major intervention strategy involves: 1. Feedback on the critical performance-related behavior and 2. Positive reinforcement for progress and attainment Although some argue that OB-Mod it is a form of managerial manipulation and unethical, behavior modification aimed at increasing productivity is aimed at meeting the organizational goals and mission. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, it could be argues that it is not unethical, but just good business practice. For example, this approach to motivation and dealing with problem behaviors is based on the application of learning theory to people in the workplace. This hardly seems unethical since it is used in schools and therapy regularly to change problem behaviors. However, it does limited the freedom of choice for the employees, so in this sense, it can be considered some form of managerial modification. Whether a person accepts reinforcement theory or not, will determine if you consider it a form of manipulation. Reinforcement theory holds that a desirable behavior can be increased by linking that behavior with positive outcomes, while undesirable behaviors can be decreased by linking them with negative consequences or by eliminating reinforces. Although it is sometimes eferred to as manipulation (and therefore unethical), the advantage of this approach is that it focuses on specific behaviors in the workplace and is thus performance based. It also, at least to some degree, avoids sensitive personal counseling issues in a persons personal life, by focusing on what needs to be done to improve performance. Finally, it provides a clear structure and consequences to employees that encourage them to change in an observable way in a structured time frame (http://faculty. ss. edu/dswenson/web/OB/obmod. html). There has been some reported effectiveness of OB-Mod. For example, B. F. Goodrich has used OB-Mod to increase productivity by more than 300%, and Weyerhauser increased productivity in three different groups by 8%. However, a program initiated by Standard Oil of Ohio was discontinued due to failure to meet objectives, and A Michigan Bell program was considered only modestly successful. However, it is not always successful, because managers cannot find enough reinforcers at times. Perhaps there is a better way to influence and motivate employee behavior in a more open manner. Selling the vision, inclusion, open communication to name a few, have also shown to be highly effective in motivating employees. Organizational Behavior free essay sample The job had met his personal goals and expectations perfectly, and Tony believed he had grown greatly as a person. His work was appreciated and recognized; he had received three promotions and many more pay increases. Tony had also liked the company itself. The firm was decentralized, allowing its managers considerable autonomy and freedom. The corporate Culture was easygoing. Communication was open. The people had been another plus. Tony and three other managers went to lunch often and played golf every Saturday. Their boss had been very supportive, giving them the help they needed but also staying out of the way and letting them work. After the final closing was announced, he spent only a few weeks looking around before he found a comparable position at Reece Enterprises. Well, comparable probably was the wrong word. Indeed, Reece and O’Grady were about as different as you could get. Top managers at Reece apparently didn’t worry too much about who did a good job and who didn’t. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They seemed to promote and reward people based on how long they had been there. Reece was a bigger organization than O’Grady and was structured much more bureaucratically. No one was allowed to make any sort of decision without getting three signatures from higher up. Those signatures, though, were hard to get. All the top managers usually were too busy to see anyone, and interoffice memos apparently had very low priority. Tony also had had some problems fitting in. His peers treated him with polite indifference. He sensed that a couple of them resented that he, an outsider, had been brought right in at their level after they had had to work themselves up the ladder. Tony wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake in accepting the Reece offer without finding out more about what he was getting into. What advice can you give Tony? How would this advice be supported or tempered by behavioral concepts and processes? Is it possible to find an ideal place to worh? Explain. Organizational Behavior free essay sample Organizational Behavior Instructor: Rachana Misraraj December 10, 2012 Organizational Behavior Analysis Organizational Behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. â€Å"Organizational behavior is a misnomer. It is not the study of how organizations behave, but rather the study of individual behavior in an organizational setting. This includes the study of how individuals behave alone, as well as how individuals behave in groups(Werthiem, 2004). † The purpose of organizational behavior is to gain a greater understanding of those factors that influence individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting so that individuals and the groups and organizations to which they belong may become more efficient and effective. The field also includes the analysis of organizational factors that may have an influence upon individual and group behavior. Much of organizational behavior research is ultimately aimed at providing human resource management professionals with the information and tools they need to select, train, and retain employees in a fashion that yields maximum benefit for the individual employee as well as for the organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The purpose of the paper below is to analyze the organizational behavior of my current or former employer (current: Street, Water, and Sewer Department for my town), by describing how each of the components listed below influences the behavior of the organization in a negative or positive manner, and they include, the Type of culture (Pluralism, Dualism or Salad bowl? ); Modes of communication (Describe the dominant communication form used, e. g. written or verbal); Nature of authority (recognized social rank); Motivational techniques (Describe the motivational driving forces e. g. Intrinsic or extrinsic used to influence productivity and performance? ); Areas of EQ incorporated (Describe how the organization embraces the theory of emotional intelligence); and How are the components of a virtual organization embraced? (Explain how the organization embraces new paradigms such as teleworking and virtual offices? ). Grasping a complex and knowledgeable understanding on why, when, where and how, organizational behavior functions and operates, can provide great tools and skills to an individual or organization to better manage behavior and productivity within a company. I currently work for as a laborer for the Water/Sewer department for my county/town. As a member of the STREET department which is responsible for the maintenance and repair of City roads and right-of-ways; maintenance and repair of drainage located on City property; installation and maintenance of signs and roadway markings; and removal of snow and ice. The Employee’s operates, maintains and repairs various machinery, tools, and equipment. As for the water department, this position is responsible for maintenance and repair of Citys WATERLINE system. Installs any and all new additions to the existing distribution system as well as performs necessary maintenance and or repairs to any part of the water distribution system. Performs miscellaneous duties such as operating and repairing equipment, general clean up, concrete finishing, painting, etc. Uses various hand tools, power tools, heavy equipment and machinery. As a member of the WASTEWATER(Sewer)Department which is responsible for maintenance and repair of the Citys sewer line system. Employee performs necessary maintenance, repairs, and/or replacement of sewer system components. Employee uses various hand tools, power tools, heavy equipment, trucks, and machinery. Employee performs miscellaneous duties such as operating and repairing equipment, general clean up, concrete finishing, painting, etc. Good communications skills are required as this position frequently deals directly with the public. The primary hours of this position are Monday through Friday during the day; however, extended shifts and overtime on weekends, evenings, and holidays may be required. Therefore organizational behavior skills are a must. Type of culture (Pluralism, Dualism or Salad bowl? ) Culture can be defined as the cultivated behavior that is socially transmitted. It involves the accumulation of knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, experiences, religion, relations, concepts of the universe, values, meanings, roles, notions of time, relations, material possessions and objects acquired and a way of life of a group of people throughout the generations. When it comes to the type of culture on my job I would have to describe it as a pluralism type of culture. This refers to the type of culture whereby smaller groups of people within a large society tend to maintain their unique culture identities and their values, behaviors and identities are well accepted by the wider society or culture. The minor groups of people participate fully within the dominant society while still maintaining their cultural differences. It involves coexistent of different cultures in a location without the domineering of one particular culture. The human differences that exist are accepted by the majority and hence it eliminates discrimination in the form of racialism or sexism. It can also be refereed to as multiculturalism (Henry, 2011). † Within the three departments that I participate and work in, there are 5 different nationalities of workers who coincide within the organization, and they include African American, Mexican, Caucasian, Latino, and American Indian. Each and every one of these individuals, have their own way of living, eating, etc.. But when everyone clocks in in the morning, we are all one cohesive group, who knows that the main goal is to come to work, be safe, respect your fellow co-worker, get the job done in a professional manner, and most importantly be in the best interest of the tax payers and the town in general, while at the same time excepting who each individual is a person, where they come from, and their cultural differences. This influences the company in a positive manner because, it incorporates good behavior on the job, respect for the job, positive progress for the people participating at the job, and goal completion. Modes of communication (Describe the dominant communication form used, e. g. written or verbal) â€Å"Communication consists of transmitting, receiving, and processing information. In organizations, communications flow between individuals, between levels in the organizational hierarchy, between departments, and between the company and outside publics. Effective communication has often been linked to interpersonal and company success (Baak, 2012). † Communication is of high importance on any job, especially the one that I work for, due to the risks that are associated with the work and projects that we take on. Even though we may use written communication from time to time, describing what our daily goals and tasks are, verbal communication is the dominant mode of communication throughout the organization. Whether it be verbal or non verbal, both revolve around the importance of everyone, working in sync with one another and most importantly working safely around your fellow co-worker. One example is, when we are replacing larger water lines (12 inches in diameter) within a trench, which may be at a depth of 2ft to 14ft. Therefore, when a worker is in the trench digging around and locating the pipe, there must to be a competent person at the top of the trench looking for cracks or imperfections in the walls, where a potential cave in could happen, injuring or killing the person in the hole. So, verbal communication is regularly used when there is no machinery running, and you have to alarm the workers of a dangerous situation. And non-verbal communication is used, when a gas powered saw is in operation to cut a pipe, in which, the worker cannot hear you verbally, thus non verbal actions and communication are used to alarm the worker of potential danger and they are pulled out of the trench before anything catastrophic occurs. On that note, this influences the company on a postive level, because, both verbal and non-verbal communication is the dominant and vital mode of communication, that provides protection for a safe work environment. Nature of authority (recognized social rank) The nature of authority is also very important on my job because, each individual respects the fact that one should not go over the next persons head of authority, or having curiosity about a co-workers way of life without discussing it with them first. Because, there are individuals on the job who have been there 20 years, 10 years, 5 years, etc, therefore when you join a team or a group of people, you become part of that organizations social system, and you must adjust and relate to that world of work. â€Å"The variables in an organizational system operate in a working balance called social equilibrium. Individuals make a psychological contract that defines their personal relationship with the system. â€Å"When they contribute to the organizations success, we call their behavior functional. The broad environment that people live in is their social culture, and a major change in it can lead to cultural shock. People need to accept and appreciate the value that cultural differences can contribute to the success of an organization (www. angel fire. com). † â€Å"Other important cultural factors include the work ethic and corporate attitudes toward social responsibility. Role is the pattern of action expected of a person in activities involving others. Related ideas are role perceptions mentors, role conflict, and role ambiguity. Status is the social rank of a person in a group, and it leads to status systems and possibly status anxiety. Organizational cultures reflect the assumptions and values that guide a firm. They are intangible but powerful influences on employee behavior. Participants learn about their organizations culture through the process of socialization and influence it through individualization (www. angel fire. com). On that note, the nature of authority can be both positive and negative, because, from a negative standpoint it can be used for growth in power in domination. But from a positive standpoint, it can be sued for uplifting other coworkers, by improvising their skills, capabilities and more importantly, their motivational drive on the job. Motivational techniques (Describe the motivational driving forces e. g. Intrinsic or ex trinsic used to influence productivity and performance? ) Due to the constant and unpredictable adjustments that my organization goes through, behavior can change in a instant, with each and every individual on the job. Therefore, motivational techniques are a concurrent thing, on a day to day basis. â€Å"There is no doubt that motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the actions required to achieve a goal, without relying on external rewards or pressures (Amin, 2011). † In my organization the motivational driving force is intrinsic, because pride is everything to a man more than anything, therefore everyone on the job feels a sense of obligation to achieve the goals presented to them to their best ability. Productivity and performance stays at an all time high and positive level, thus, whatever daily goal is presented to us, is handled with confidence and integrity. Our motivation consist of reminding ourselves that what we do, is what we enjoy to do, what we do is appreciated by the tax payers family and most importantly we enjoy knowing that our skills and capabilities are worth the time and effort that we put forth to learn and achieve the skills and tools to complete present and future organizational objectives. Areas of EQ incorporated (Describe how the organization embraces the theory of emotional intelligence) Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. And it consists of four branches that include perceiving emotions, reasoning with emotions, understanding emotions and managing emotions (Cherr y, 2012). † Based on the high demands of my job, my co-workers and myself included, may at times have high emotions about whether something on the job is not going right, and show some form of frustration without even knowing it sometimes. Therefore my our organization constantly issues EQ (emotional intelligence ), reminder courses, that helps the crews keep a stable mind set when working in dangerous areas, and if something goes wrong, we use the EQ tools to control and manage our emotions for the sake/safety of our well being the others that are around. EQ classes have been very positive for the organization over the past 5 years, and every since the integration there have been no altercations, accidents, or incidents on the job at all. A 100% success rate. How are the components of a virtual organization embraced? (Explain how the organization embraces new paradigms such as teleworking and virtual offices? ) â€Å"Traditional brick and mortar businesses may become a thing of the past. Today’s modern workplace has embraced the virtual environment. The ultimate goal of the virtual organization is to provide innovative, high-quality products or services instantaneously in response to customer demands (Hamilton, 2012). On that note, my organization has embraced the components of a virtual organization on a very positive and useful level. For example, in the Water/sewer department, we are responsible for the distribution of bills/and cut-off notices for the water use throughout the city. For decades, this task was done by hand; by hand I mean driving to each and every house in the city, knocking on the door, and handing the customer their water/sewer bill for that month. Ever since the company embraced the compo nents of a virtual organization, these tasks are now obsolete. Now we contact the customers, through email, text messaging, and voicemails. When the customer has a question about their bill, they are able to contact the office and have a videoconference with the workers in the water/sewer department, to discuss whatever problem they are having with their water/sewer bill, or their water/sewer in general. My organization has also embrace the concept of a virtual organization in the street department. When there is a down power line, streetlight, street sign, blocked up drain pipes, etc. my organization has integrated a beacon system that alerts us when any of these incidents have occurred and in what area. All we have to do is acknowledge the beacon alert, log on to our computers, locate the problem, and proceed to fix the issue at hand. Integrating the components of a virtual organization has been immensely helpful and positive to our over all daily tasks and duties. In conclusion, Organizational Behavior is the study and application of knowledg e about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. The purpose of organizational behavior is to gain a greater understanding of those factors that influence individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting so that individuals and the groups and organizations to which they belong may become more efficient and effective. Culture can be defined as the cultivated behavior that is socially transmitted. It involves the accumulation of knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, experiences, religion, relations, concepts of the universe, values, meanings, roles, notions of time, relations, material possessions and objects acquired and a way of life of a group of people throughout the generations. When it comes to the type of culture on my job I would have to describe it as a pluralism type of culture. Communication consists of transmitting, receiving, and processing information. In organizations, communications flow between individuals, between levels in the organizational hierarchy, between departments, and between the company and outside publics. Effective communication has often been linked to interpersonal and company success. The nature of authority is also very important on my job because, each individual respects the fact hat one should not go over the next persons head of authority, or having curiosity about a co-workers way of life without discussing it with them first. Due to the constant and unpredictable adjustments that my organization goes through, behavior can change in a instant, with each and every individual on the job. Therefore, motivational techniques are a concurrent thing, on a day to day basis. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perce ive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. And it consists of four branches that include perceiving emotions, reasoning with emotions, understanding emotions and managing emotions. Traditional brick and mortar businesses may become a thing of the past. Today’s modern workplace has embraced the virtual environment. The ultimate goal of the virtual organization is to provide innovative, high-quality products or services instantaneously in response to customer demands. All in all the purpose of the paper above, was to analyze the organizational behavior of my current or former employer (current: Street, Water, and Sewer Department for my town), by describing how each of the components listed below influences the behavior of the organization in a negative or positive manner, and they include, the Type of culture (Pluralism, Dualism or Salad bowl? ); Modes of communication (Describe the dominant communication form used, e. g. written or verbal); Nature of authority (recognized social rank); Motivational techniques (Describe the motivational driving forces e. . Intrinsic or extrinsic used to influence productivity and performance? ); Areas of EQ incorporated (Describe how the organization embraces the theory of emotional intelligence); and How are the components of a virtual organization embraced? (Explain how the organization embraces new paradigms such as teleworking and virtual offices? ). Grasping a complex and knowledgeable understanding on why, when, where and how, organizational behavior functions and operates, can provide great tools and skills to an individual or organization to better manage behavior and productivity within a company. References Amin,. (July 21, 2011). Motivate your team intrinsically or extrinsically? Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://blog. 7geese. com/2011/07/21/intrinsic-vs-extrinsic-motivation/ Baack, D. (2012). Organizational behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc Cherry, K. (2012). What Is Emotional Intelligence? Definitions, History, and Measures of Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://psychology. about. com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/emotionalintell. htm Hamilton, D. Dr. (April 23, 2012). Today’s Organizations Embracing Virtual Business. Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://drdianehamilton. wordpress. com/2012/04/23/todays-organizations-embracing-virtual-business/ Henry,. (April 4, 2004). Culture Definitions and Types. Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://language. ezinemark. com/culture-definitions-and-types-17b25a011fd. html Wertheim, E. G. (February 22, 2004). Historical Background of Organizational Behavior. Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://ehcweb. ehc. edu/faculty/ljcumbo/downfiles/historyofOB. pdf http://www. angelfire. com/blues/cannonsessays/org_behavior/ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAV