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Emerging Aspects of OB

This document discusses organizational behavior and factors that affect behavior at work. It explains that organizational behavior studies how people work in organizations and aims to understand positive work behaviors to improve resource use. It then discusses internal and external factors that influence work behavior, such as technology, marketing, social changes, political/legal factors, conflicts, demographics, abilities/skills, perceptions, and the nature of the workforce. Changes in these factors necessitate changes in organizations.

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lerry santos
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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
3K views72 pages

Emerging Aspects of OB

This document discusses organizational behavior and factors that affect behavior at work. It explains that organizational behavior studies how people work in organizations and aims to understand positive work behaviors to improve resource use. It then discusses internal and external factors that influence work behavior, such as technology, marketing, social changes, political/legal factors, conflicts, demographics, abilities/skills, perceptions, and the nature of the workforce. Changes in these factors necessitate changes in organizations.

Uploaded by

lerry santos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Organisational behaviour is a chief component of any business school core curriculum

because it sets out to help students comprehend how human beings deal with being
part of organisations, large or small, working in teams and so forth. It is, fundamentally,
the study of the ‘soft’ end of business. The theories derive from a diversity of disciplines
including sociology and psychology. It disquiets itself with the problematical patterns of
individual and group working. Thus the apparent aim of the study of organisational
behaviour is to understand why people work in positive ways and then working out how
to use this knowledge to improve the use of resources.
Factors Effecting behaviour at work:
The role of work has changed throughout the world due to economic conditions and
social demands. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival. Throughout the
years, the role of “work” has evolved and the composition of the workforce has changed.
Today, work still is a necessity but it should be a source of personal satisfaction as well.
One of the vehicles to help provide attainment of personal and professional goals is
work-life benefits and programs which also helps to assess the behaviour of an
individual and the factors affecting the behaviour at work.

When it comes to behaviour at work, most people with the right attitude tend to think
that pushing their all, is the way to go. It is important to push and give your best but it is
equally important to rest and know how to recharge your batteries. One may have very
good behaviour at work and strive hard to increase your efficiency but if you do not
know when to say stop, you will soon see your productivity drop. But there are many
factors which affect the behaviour at work which eventually affects the performance.

In December 2006 the British petroleum conducted a work life balance workshop which
highlighted the factors effecting people’s behaviour at work. Following are the key
factors which affect the behaviour and which are also interrelated to each other.

Change is inevitable in the life of an organisation. In today’s business world, most of the
organisations are facing a dynamic and changing business environment. They should
either change or die, there is no third alternative. Organizations that learn and cope with
change will thrive and flourish and others who fail to do so will be wiped out. The major
forces which make the changes not only desirable but inevitable are technological,
economic, political, social, legal, international and labour market environments.

In very simple words, we can say that change means the alteration of status quo or
making things different. “The term change refers to any alterations which occurs in the
overall work environment of an organisation.”

“When an organizational system is disturbed by some internal or external force, change


frequently occurs. Change, as a process, is simply modification of the structure or
process of a system. It may be good or bad, the concept is descriptive only.”

There are a number of factors both internal and external which affect organizational
functioning. Any change in these factors necessitates changes in an organisation. The
more important factors are as follows:
External Forces
Every organization exists in some context; no organization is an island in itself. Each
must continually interact with other organizations and individuals- the consumers,
suppliers, unions, shareholders, government and many more. Each organization has
goals and responsibilities related to each other in the environment. The present day
environment is dynamic and will continue to be dynamic. Changes in social, political,
economic, technology, and legal environment force organizations to change themselves.
Such changes may result in organizational changes like major functions production
process, labour-management relations, nature of competitions, economic constraints,
organizational methods etc. In order to survive in the changing environment,
organization must change. How the change in various environmental, organizations,
must change. How the changes in various environmental factors necessitate change in
the organization may be seen in following context:-

Technology:
When there is a change in technology in the organizational environment and other
organizations adopt the new technology, the organizations under focus become less
cost effective and its competitive position weakens. Therefore, it has to adopt new
technology, its work structure is affected and a new equilibrium has to be established.

Marketing conditions:
Since every organization exports its outputs to the environment, an organization has to
face competition in the market. There may be two types of forces which may affect the
competitive position of an organization -other organizations supplying the same
products and, buyers who are not buying the product. Any changes in these forces may
require suitable changes in the in the organization. For example, when Indian economy
was liberalized, there were many foreign organizations that entered the Indian market.
This forced many Indian organizations to realign themselves with the new situations.
The result in that there have been many cases of divesting the business and
concentrating on the core business, acquiring core business, and developing
competitive competence to face competitive threats. Similarly, there may be changes in
buyers in terms of their needs, liking -disliking and income disposal for a product. These
changes are from the organizations to bring those products which meet buyer’s
requirement.

.Social changes:
Social changes reflect in terms of people’s aspirations, the needs, and their ways of
working. Social changes have taken place because of the several forces like level of
education, urbanization, feeling of autonomy, and international impact due to new
information sources. These social changes affect the behavior of people in the
organization. There, it is required to make adjustment in its working so that it matches
with people.

Political and legal changes:


Political and legal factors broadly define the activities which an oganisation can
undertake and the methods which will be followed by it in accomplishing those
activities. Any changes in these political and legal factors may affect the organization
operation.

2.0. Internal Forces


It is not only the changes in external factors, which may necessitate organizational
changes; any change in organization’s internal factors may also necessitate changes.
Such a change is required because of two reasons: changes in managerial personnel and
deficiency in existing organizational practices.

2.1. Conflict:
Conflict exists in every organization and to a certain extent indicates a healthy exchange
of ideas and creativity. However, counter-productive conflict can result in employee
dissatisfaction, reduced productivity, poor service to clients, absenteeism and increased
employee turnover, increased work-related stress or, worse case scenario, litigation
based on claims of harassment or a hostile work environment.

2.2. Demographic Factors:


The demographic factors are socio-economic background, education, nationality, race,
age, sex, etc. Organizations prefer persons that belong to good socio-economic
background, well educated, young etc as they are believed to be performing better than
the others. The young and dynamic professionals that have good academic background
and effective communication skills are always in great demand.

2.3. Abilities and Skills:


The physical capacity of an individual to do something can be termed as ability. Skill can
be defined as the ability to act in a way that allows a person to perform well. The
individual behavior and performance is highly influenced by ability and skills. A person
can perform well in the organisation if his abilities and skills are matched with the job
requirement.

2.4. Perception:
The cognitive process meant for interpreting the environmental stimuli in a meaningful
way is referred to as perception. Every individual on the basis of his/he reference can
organize and interpret environmental stimuli. There are many factors that influence the
perception of an individual. The study of perception plays important role for the
managers.

2.5. Changes in the managerial personnel:


Besides environmental changes there is a change in managerial personnel. Old
managers are replaced by new mangers, which necessitated because of retirement,
promotion, transfer or dismissal. Each new manager brings his own ideas and way of
working in the organization. The relationships more in the organization, the
relationships more particularly informal ones, changes because of changes in managerial
personnel. Moreover, attitude of the personnel change even though there is no changes
in them. The result in that an organization has to change accordingly.

2.6. Deficiency in Existing organization:


Sometimes, changes are necessary because of deficiency in the present organizational
arrangement ad process. These deficiencies may be in the form of unmanageable span
of management, large number of managerial levels, lack in co-ordination between
various departments, obstacles in communication, multiplicity of committees, lack of
uniformity in policy decisions, lack of cooperation between the line and staff, and so on.
Beside these internal factors, there are two more internal factors that give rise to
organizational changes.

2.7. Nature of the work force:


The nature of work force has changed over a passage of time. Different work values
have been expressed by different generations. Workers who are in the age group of 50
plus value loyalty to their employers. Workers in their mid thirties to forties are loyal to
themselves only. The youngest generation of workers is loyal to their career. The profile
of the workforce is also changing fast. The new generation of workers has better
educational; they place greater emphasis on human values and questions authority of
managers. Their behaviour has also become very complex and leading them towards
organizational goals is a challenge for the managers. The employee turnover is also very
high which again put strain on the management.

2.8. To avoid developing inertia:


In many cases, organizational changes take place just to avoid developing inertia or
inflexibility. Conscious manager take into account this view of organization that
organization should be dynamic because any single method is not the best tool of
management every time. Thus, changes are incorporated so that the personnel develop
liking for change and there is no unnecessary resistance when major change in the
organization are brought about.

Psychological Contract:
3.0 Psychological Contract:
The term ‘psychological contract’ was first used in the early 1960s but became more
popular following the economic downturn in the early 1990s. It has been defined as
‘…the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual
obligations are towards each other’1. These obligations will often be informal and
imprecise: they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as
well as from statements made by the employer, for example during the recruitment
process or in performance appraisals. Some obligations may be seen as ‘promises’ and
others as ‘expectations’. The important thing is that they are believed by the employee
to be part of the relationship with the employer.

The psychological contract lies at the heart of your relationship with the organisation
you work for. It is the deal you make with your employer and colleagues at work; it is
about your mutual expectations and their fulfilment.

Too often this contract is implicit and left to chance, resulting in misunderstanding,
stress, lower commitment and performance. The author demonstrates how to use the
psychological contract to raise the business game and increase personal fulfilment.

The author’s ideas are based on his own research and consultancy experience as well as
the latest business school research. The book has a number of case studies showing
how different organisations use the psychological contract.
Managing the Psychological Contract is an important and extremely readable book for
all those concerned with the improved performance of people and organisations.

The theory of psychological contracts in organizational employment – and wider


‘psychological contracting’ in relationships, communications and societies ‘The
Psychological Contract’ is an increasingly relevant aspect of workplace relationships and
wider human behaviour. Descriptions and definitions of the Psychological Contract first
emerged in the 1960s, notably in the work of organizational and behavioural theorists
Chris Argyris and Edgar Schein. Many other experts have contributed ideas to the
subject since then, and continue to do so, either specifically focusing on the
Psychological Contract, or approaching it from a particular perspective, of which there
are many. The Psychological Contract is a deep and varied concept and is open to a
wide range of interpretations and theoretical studies.

Primarily, the Psychological Contract refers to the relationship between an employer and
its employees, and specifically concerns mutual expectations of inputs and outcomes.
The Psychological Contract is usually seen from the standpoint or feelings of employees,
although a full appreciation requires it to be understood from both sides. Simply, in an
employment context, the Psychological Contract is the fairness or balance (typically as
perceived by the employee) between: how the employee is treated by the employer, and
what the employee puts into the job.

The words ’employees’ or ‘staff’ or ‘workforce’ are equally appropriate in the above
description. At a deeper level the concept becomes increasingly complex and significant
in work and management – especially in change management and in large
organizations. Interestingly the theory and principles of the Psychological Contract can
also be applied beyond the employment situation to human relationships and wider
society.

Unlike many traditional theories of management and behaviour, the Psychological


Contract and its surrounding ideas are still quite fluid; they are yet to be fully defined
and understood, and are far from widely recognized and used in organizations. The
concept of ‘psychological contracting’ is even less well understood in other parts of
society where people and organizations connect, despite its significance and potential
usefulness. Hopefully what follows will encourage you to advance the appreciation and
application of its important principles, in whatever way makes sense to you. It is a
hugely fertile and potentially beneficial area of study. At the heart of the Psychological
Contract is a philosophy – not a process or a tool or a formula. This reflects its deeply
significant, changing and dynamic nature.
Changes to psychological:
Changes to psychological contract of hurricane are arising as a result of business
pressure. Dramatically changes in the global economy including the development of low
cost, high quality and now also services in China and India are accompanied by ever-fast
changes in technology, liberalisation of market and changing consumer expectations. As
organisation is pushed to innovate, increase markets and customers responsiveness and
reduce cost, they are being forced to bring about equally dramatic changes in work
practices and in turn employee behaviour.

The impact and the nature of changes are described well by Hamel when he says

“We now stand on the threshold of new age- the age revolution. In our mind we now
the new age have already arrived; in our bellies we’re not sure we like it… for change has
changed. No longer it is additive. No longer does it move in straight lines. In the twenty
first century change is discontinuous, abrupt, seditious ….Today we live in world that is
all punctuation and no equilibrium.”

Recent research by the UK chartered Institute of Personal Development add weight to


the conclusion that broad change are taking place in the psychological contract
operated across different organisation in the UK. At a headline level the research
suggest that organisations are now more successful in delivering against the board
expectation they encourage employees to believe: they are fulfilling their sides of
psychological contract more than before. CIPD conclude that employees today seek one
of three types of psychological contract with their employees:

Traditional: those who seek long term tenure and work long hours.

Disengaged: those for whom work is not a central life interest and seek no emotional tie
to their employer.

Independent: those who are well qualified, and seek short tenure and high rewards.

When the psychological contract was relatively straightforward and stable, as in


bureaucratic organisations, it was less important to understand others’ expectation as
these become apparent over time and day misunderstanding could be dealt with
gradually.

Is your company going through a period of change right now? If you’re managing that
change, one of the key things to consider is how this will impact on the unwritten rules.
When you’re in the driving seat it’s difficult to see beyond the logistics of making the
decision a reality; you have myriad strategic deliberations, struggles with theoretical
alternatives and challenges to overcome complex problems. When you finally
communicate the vision for the future, you may not fully anticipate the strength of
resistance to what is, after all, the best way forward for the company.

Some of the causes for resistance are obvious, in fundamental change this could be job
loss, increased work load, change of location etc while others are less tangible like fear
of damage to prestige, working relationships or job satisfaction. The impact of this
resistance is very real causing disengagement, reduced performance, increased turnover
and sometimes even wilful sabotage of the new way of working.

A major step you can take in reducing resistance is unearthing those hidden reasons
that could cause problems. Try this little exercise: think about the main 5 things you
value in your job (e.g. being empowered to make decisions, the challenge and variety of
your role) and then consider how you would feel if your company removed these; it
could be that a new level of management is brought in above you meaning decisions
have to be authorised or perhaps some of your more enjoyable duties are delegated
elsewhere.

These 5 things are likely to be clauses in your psychological contract; they may not
comprise your actual employment contract but are the unwritten expectations you have
of your employer – the ‘real deal’ [Although you need to be careful here, for instance,
significant changes to status could be a legitimate reason for an aggrieved employee to
leave and claim constructive dismissal]. In exchange, you provide your employer with
unwritten benefits such as being very loyal and committed. If your employer proposes a
new way of working which breaks these unwritten clauses, you are unlikely to welcome
such a change.

Have a think about the transformation you are undergoing or planning and how they
might affect the values your staff hold dear. Psychological contracts are highly
subjective and differ from individual to individual; managers are more likely to know
their teams’ underlying beliefs and can help to manage the process by taking them into
account. Of course, you can’t avoid violating the psychological contract in every or even
most cases, but what you can do is demonstrate understanding of what the implications
are going to mean, clarify what the psychological contract involves and engage people
in shaping or implementing the change wherever possible.
DEFINITION

T transformation

Posted by: Margaret Rouse


WhatIs.com

Contributor(s): Brian Holak and Rachel Lebeaux

IT transformation is a complete reassessment and overhaul of an


organization's information technology (IT) systems in order to improve the
efficiency and delivery in a digital economy. IT transformation forms the
foundation of an organization's larger digital transformation strategy and is led
by business leaders, such as the CIO. Chief information officer
Chief information officer (CIO) is an executive job title commonly given to the person
at an enterprise in charge of information technology (IT) strategy and the computer
systems required to support the organization's unique objectives and goals.
It can involve changes to -- and modernization of -- network architecture,
hardware, software, IT service management, and how data is stored and
accessed. Informally, IT transformation may be referred to as "rip and
replace." Rip and replace is exactly what the name implies – replacing an old, complex,
unreliable system with one that is modern, fully functional, flexible, and responsive to changing
business needs. ... This is a business process and efficiency strategy first and foremost. Business is
the driver.

Purpose of IT transformation

Organizations must take steps to keep pace with an increasingly digital and
competitive market by not only optimizing existing systems, but also creating and
acquiring new applications and services that generate deeper insights into their
business, industry and customers. Many times, IT transformation aims to change the
IT department from being a reactive, inflexible organization to being a proactive,
flexible part of the business that can respond quickly to changing digital business
requirements and make more informed decisions.

According to Deloitte, the ultimate goal of these efforts is to "reimagine IT


development, delivery, and operating models, and to enhance IT's ability to
collaborate effectively within the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries."

Expected benefits

Successful IT transformation builds a solid foundational infrastructure on which to


deliver automated services, cloud computing and new operating models. It also
automates and accelerates the deployment of IT services and reduces risk during
deployments. IT transformation clears the path to delivering IT as a service that is
more cost-effective, agile and helps foster innovation.
By optimizing traditional IT cost models, organizations free up IT budget from
operational expenses and can designate more funds for digital transformation. IT
transformation also ensures better business-IT alignment.

Key steps

Any IT transformation needs an effective strategy. It starts with developing a clear,


coherent vision of the future state of IT and the business case for transforming IT.
That vision must be developed with the input and sponsorship of senior management.
Business and IT leaders also must define the foundational needs, scope and scale of
the IT transformation project, including having a clear project timeline.

A CIO's role in IT transformation

Matt Griffiths, vice president and CIO at Stanley Black & Decker Industrial, breaks down how CIOs should help

drive a company's digital IT transformation journey.

It's also important for organizations to define their approach to partnering and vendor
management and have a person or team responsible for analyzing vendor and partner
performance and suitability. Implementation methods are equally important, including
proof-of-concept exercises, pilots and methods for quickly testing new technologies
and their influence on business process.

Regardless of industry and IT maturity of the organization, an IT transformation


strategy must include three important steps, according to Dell EMC:

 Modernize existing, critical IT infrastructure to improve efficiency in terms of


both operational expense and management overhead.

 Automate IT processes to reduce risk and accelerate the provisioning and


deployment of applications. This includes automating the delivery and
consumption of IT services.
 Transform IT processes and operations in order to increase agility and align IT
goals, staff and roles as much as possible.
IT transformation challenges

Many organizations were not born in the digital age, which means they're not afforded
as much freedom to swiftly and completely rip and replace all existing IT systems.
These organizations must grapple with legacy applications, systems and business
models that constrain their ability to transform while strategizing ways to incorporate
modern technologies and approaches. This includes shifting budget and resources
away from traditional IT and toward new digital transformation initiatives.

Margaret Rouse asks:

How far along is your organization in its


IT transformation process?
Join the Discussion

As with any large-scale organizational change, IT transformation influences


workflow, business rules and, perhaps most importantly, the corporate culture.
Research firm Gartner recently identified culture as one of the top barriers CIOs must
overcome to successfully transform an organization into a digital business. A unified
vision of the organization's future state is essential, as is organizationwide
communication and training around new IT processes and technologies.
Acting in ways consistent with what society and individuals typically think are good
values. Ethical behavior tends to be good for business and involves demonstrating respect for
key moral principles that include honesty, fairness, equality, dignity, diversity and individual
rights.
Definitions and Concepts:
Ethics are moral principles (about what is good, defensible, and right).
It is often treated as an afterthought. Ethics and ethical reflection need
to be integrated through all OB. A common philosophical definition of
ethics is the science of conduct or values of management.

Moral values such as respect, honesty, fairness, and responsibility are


important constructs of ethics. Application of such ethics is ensured by
organizations by adopting some code of ethics. Thus, ethics include
the fundamental ground rules and organizations give an informed
choice to the employees to understand whether something is right or
wrong and then take decisions making the right choice.

Ethics therefore, is the framework of values for moral behaviour. It is a


social glue to ensure that an organized society prospers and
everybody’s interest is served. The Ten Commandments of the
Christians or the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita for the Hindus are
sources of directions for ethical behaviour in life.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Today, we are concerned with the issue of ethics in two aspects of life,
namely business and profession. Business represents the
entrepreneurs and profession represents those who are employed in
an organization or who work for an employer. In other words, ethics
are equally applicable for the employers and the employees. In India
we find reference to ethics in the Bhagwad Gita.
Our traditional guild systems laid down the ethics of business or
profession. This sacred text emphasizes the need for internalization of
the ethical codes by the individuals, so that they can reflect the same
through their behaviour. Organizations can benefit in the best way,
when they make their people internalize the ethical codes and values.

However, now external forces also compel organizations to comply


with ethical issues. External forces always need not be the regulatory
authorities alone, they could be even stakeholders, whose changing
expectations require organizations to step up their ethical standards
and conducts.

In the case of a profession, it could be the professional association or


the guild and in the case of a society where there is a government, it is
the government agency, which ensures that the laws are obeyed. In
fact, in a secular society, it is the law that lays down what is acceptable
conduct and what is not. Acceptable conduct would be encouraged and
unexpected conduct would be considered illegal and punishment
meted out.

ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS

Introduction

Organizational Ethics is the ethics of an organization and it is how an


organization ethically responds to an internal or external stimulus.
Organizational ethics is interdependent with the organizational culture. Although,
it is akin to both organizational behavior (OB) and business ethics on the micro
and macro levels, organizational ethics is neither OB, nor is it solely business
ethics (which includes corporate governance and corporate ethics).
Organizational ethics express the values of an organization to its employees
and/or other entities irrespective of governmental and/or regulatory laws.

Workplace Spirituality

It refers to the recognition that people have an inner life that nourishes and is
nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of the community.

Overview of the Field

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) restricts U.S. firms from engaging in
bribery and other illegal practices internationally. There are laws that have the
same type of prohibition for European companies. These laws create a
disadvantage competitively for both European and U.S. firms. Such laws are not a
restricting element to organizations that have highly elevated ethical behavior as
part of their values. Organizations that do not have an outlook for positive ethical
practices as part of their cultures, usually lead to their own demise, such as,
Enron and WorldCom by their questionable accounting practices. The converse is
generally true, organizations that have integrity and encouraging ethical
practices as part of their culture are viewed with respect by their employees,
community and corresponding industries. Thereby, the positive ethical outlook of
an organization results in a solid financial bottom-line, because of greater sales
along with their ability to retain and attract new and talented personnel. More
importantly, an ethical organization will have the ability to retain employees that
are experienced and knowledgeable (generally referred to as human capital).
This human capital results in less employee turnover and less time to train new
employees, which in turn allows for greater output of services (or production of
goods).

Basic Elements of An Ethical Organization

There are at least four elements which exist in organizations that make ethical
behavior conducive within an organization. The four elements necessary to
quantify an organization's ethics are: (1) written code of ethics and standards;
(2) ethics training to executives, managers and employees; (3) availability

for advice on ethical situations (i.e, advice lines or offices); and (4) systems for
confidential reporting. Good leaders strive to create a better and more ethical
organization. Restoring an ethical climate in organization is critical, as it is a key
component in solving the many other organizational development and ethical
behavior issues facing the organization.
Managing Diversity – pamamahala ng pagkakaiba-iba

Managing diversity aims at providing employees with backgrounds, needs, and skill sets that
may vary widely with the opportunity to engage with the company and their co-workers in a
manner that produces an optimal work environment and the best possible business results for
the company.

1. 12. MANAGING DIVERSITY “Planning and implementing organizational systems


and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are
maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized." - Taylor Cox
2. 13. MANAGING DIVERSITY  Golden rule: “Treat others as you want to be
treated.” It is assumption that how you want to be treated is how others want to
be treated.  Respect for individual and cultural differences.  a legal system that
values equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the workplace.  realize that
flexibility is a competitive issue and management tool. flexible work
arrangements (part time), parental leaves(maternity), dependent care services
(day care), work family stress management(private counseling).  measure
performance based on value added, not hours worked.  meet business
objectives by helping employees meet personal needs.
3. 14. CONCLUSION Each employee in a diverse workplace possesses unique
strengths and weaknesses derived from their culture in addition to their
individuality. When managed properly, diversity in the workplace can influence
the strengths and complement the weaknesses of each worker to make the
impact of the workforce greater than the sum of its parts.
Recommended

Managing Diversity at the Workplace


The previous articles in this module discussed the ways and means of attracting diversity and how to
recruit diverse teams. This article discusses how to manage diverse teams and to ensure that diversity is
actualized in practice as opposed to merely paying lip service to the concept. Many organizations
proclaim that they are committed to diversity while in reality; the work culture in those organizations is
parochial, gender insensitive, and racist.

Hence, it is imperative that organizations not only preach diversity but also practice it. The best way to
start would be to sensitize the middle management and the layers below them to gender, racial, and
alternative lifestyles. This can be done by a concerted action in the form of training sessions and
workshops where the message of diversity is percolated down to the lower most levels. The point here is
that unless diversity as a term is understood and practiced by the middle and lower level employees, the
efforts of the top management would go down the drain.

In many organizations, it is common for the managers to discriminate against particular racial and ethnic
employees because they would be playing favorites with those employees of their own kind. These needs
to be avoided at all costs and the senior leadership should send an unambiguous message that
discrimination and harassment would not be tolerated at any cost. Further, in Asian countries, it is
often the habit that employees lapse into their own language without considering the implications that it
would have on the employees who do not speak their language. These needs to be avoided at all costs
as well and strict enforcement of the language of communication (whether it is local or global) must be
done. The point here is that in many industries, the managers need to communicate in the language that
the workers are comfortable with. Therefore, there are no issues in this case since the language of
communication can vary. However, in corporate settings and in services sector companies, there are
employees from diverse backgrounds who feel lost when the manager and the employees communicate
in languages other than the official language of communication.

The next aspect is that the workplace must be gender sensitive, which means that managers and
employees must not comment on matters that are sensitive to women. For instance, it is common in
many organizations to pass overt and covert comments against women and to speak in demeaning ways.
This must be avoided at all costs and we cannot emphasize more the importance of being gender
sensitive at the workplace. The point here is that unless the work environment is free from gender
stereotyping and racial and ethnic biases, the output from the organizations suffers.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, the senior leadership has to start with the middle management since they
are the ones who deal with the boots on the ground and hence, they are in the best position to actualize
gender and racial sensitivity. Unless the middle management is brought on board to actualize diversity,
the workplace would remain insensitive and racist which definitely affects productivity.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS OR WORKFORCE

The global ageing population and the new generation of young


professionals entering the market are changing the shape of the
workplace. Companies need to look forward and prepare for the
workforce of the future and understand the organizational changes
this will bring.

While new ways of organizing will be increasingly important for firms to


succeed in the future, it will also be important to take into account the deep
demographic changes occurring in the workplace. Indeed, firms are already
facing the challenge of transforming their structures and ways of organizing
to incorporate the new generation.

Never before have organizations seen three and even four generations
working together. These overlapping generations have great implications;
not only for the way work is performed, but also for the way firms need to
think about their future talent management strategies and the HR practices
required to support their human capital. Heterogeneity and diversity have
replaced the homogeneous workforce that pervaded before.

The generations working together today that are relevant for the purpose of
our study are: Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y, or the so-
called Millennials. Baby Boomers refers to the post-war generation, born
between 1946 and 1964; Generation X (Gen X) refers to individuals born
between 1965 and 1980; and Generation Y (Gen Y) refers to persons born
between 1981 and 1997. Although no longer in the workplace, I refer also to
the Traditionalists, born between 1922 and 1945.
Not only has the type of work people do changed dramatically over the past century, but
also what people want from their job. The labour force today is well educated, and
employees increasingly want more challenging and interesting work. Many feel driven to
build their career through a succession of jobs in a range of different businesses. They want
to be more involved in the decision-making process they want to make decisions for
themselves. Employees want greater responsibilities and want to initiate into greater tasks
giving them more experience in all areas work. According to jobsearch.com, the average
person changes jobs ten to fifteen times, this means employees have to learn different
workplace rules and initiating into more tasks. This is implying that employees in the 21st
century, would have greater responsibilities. Some expectations of employee expectations
in the 21st century are as follows:

1. Report to work as scheduled and seek approval from their supervisors in advance for any
changes to the established work schedule, including the use of leave and late or early
arrival and departures.
2. Perform assigned duties and responsibilities with the highest work etiquette.
3. Devote full effort to job responsibilities during work hours.
4. Maintain the qualifications, certification, licensure, and/or training requirements identified
for their positions.
5. Demonstrate respect for fellow employees and toward coworkers, supervisors,
managers, subordinates, students, and customers.
6. Use state equipment, time, and resources judiciously and as authorised.
7. Support efforts that ensure a safe and healthy work environment.
8. Utilise leave and related employee benefits in the manner for which they were intended.
9. Resolve work-related issues and disputes in a professional manner and through
established business procedures.
10. Meet or exceed established job performance expectations.
11. Make work-related decisions and/or take actions that are in the best interest of the
workplace.
12. Report circumstances or concerns that may affect satisfactory work performance to
management, including any inappropriate (fraudulent, illegal, unethical) activities of other
employees.

Employees want greater responsibility for their own actions and want to initiate tasks
without being ordered to — a far cry from the working conditions at a Dalgety’s office in the
early 1850s. Some examples of the employee expectations in the Dalgety's office were:

1. Godliness, cleanliness and punctuality are the necessities of a good business.


2. On the recommendation of the Governor of this Colony, this firm has reduced the hours
of work and Clerical Staff will now only have to be present between the hours of 7 am and 6
pm on weekdays. The Sabbath is for Worship, but should any Man-of-War or other vessel
require victualling, the Clerical Staff will work on the Sabbath.
3. Daily prayers will be held each morning in the Main Office. The Clerical Staff will be
present.
4. Overshoes and top-coats may not be worn in the Office but neck scarves and headwear
may be worn in inclement weather.
5. No talk is allowed during business hours.
6. Now that the hours of business have been drastically reduced, the partaking of food is
allowed between 11.30 am and noon, but work will not, on any account, cease.

It is clear to see, that when the expectations from the Dalgety's office (1850) is compared to
the 21st century expectations, the rules and regulations have drastically changed. They
have evolved into flexible expectations, which suit the changing work force of the 21st
century.
and clearly,the employee expectations nowadays have changed.
changing employee expectations. Not only has the type of work people do changeddramatically
over the past century, but also what people want from their job.

You know what you expect from your employees, but do you know
what your employees expect from you?

Your people have their own expectations for how your


organization and your leaders should act; if their expectations
aren't met, they’ll eventually look elsewhere for work. The cost of
turnover runs anywhere from 16 to 213% of an employee’s annual
salary, so now is the time to consider your company’s current
practices and whether you’re living up to your employees’
expectations.
Meeting employee expectations in modern
business
In order to improve employee engagement and retention at your
organization, you'll need to develop a deeper understanding of
your employees’ expectations and the modern business best
practices that can address them. Your individual employees may
not always be vocal about their expectations, but several studies
have honed in on what employees really want in the modern
business world.

So, let’s start with what we know for sure:

In the modern business landscape, employees expect to be


treated with respect, to be paid equitably, to trust and be trusted
by the people they work with, to feel job secure, and to have
opportunities to use their skills and abilities in their work. Not only
do they expect to be treated respectfully, but they expect that all
employees at all levels will be treated respectfully, as well, per
SHRM's 2017 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement
Report.

According to SHRM, the top five contributors to job satisfaction in


2017 were:

 Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels

 Compensation/pay, overall

 Trust between employees and senior management

 Job security
 Opportunity to use your skills and abilities in your work

What's notable about this list is that most employees


valued respect and trust over benefits, pay, or job security. In the
report, SHRM notes that this has been the case every year since
2014, with 72% of female employees and 57% of male

employees indicating that “respectful treatment of all employees


at all levels” is a very important contributor to job satisfaction.

Since giving your employees the opportunity to use their skills and
abilities in their work is a top contributor to their job satisfaction,
what if you offered them chances to develop their skill sets and
grow within your organization?

TINYpulse surveyed over 25,000 employees at more than 1,000


organizations across 20 industries for its 2019 Employee
Engagement Report and found that 44% of all respondents don’t
see an opportunity for professional growth in their current
positions.

If you don’t work to meet their expectations, odds are your


employees will start

to look elsewhere, especially if your company culture leaves


something to be desired: less than one third of all TINYpulse
survey respondents believe they have a strong company culture,
and 43% of them would be willing to leave their companies for a
10% salary increase.

If that last turnover stat surprises you, check out the full list of
surprising employee retention statistics we’ve gathered here.
What else do your employees expect?
Modern employees value meaningful work and look for companies
that value a healthy work-life balance. Positive company cultures
and mentorship are also high on modern employees’ list of
expectations. Let’s dive into each to see what they’re all about.

Purpose

Modern employees are driven by a sense of purpose, and they


demand more from a company than just a salary. A poll concluded
that 57% of younger Americans said that they wanted to be part
of something that was enjoyable or made a difference in society,
demonstrating that fulfillment is a key driver of

Conclusion
The world is changing, and so is the workplace! It’s important to
stay dynamic and evolve in order to attract and retain the best
employees. With a better understanding of what modern
employees expect of their employers, from growth opportunities
to purpose-driven work, you can create an environment that your
people will love. If you can provide an experience that exceeds
your employees’ expectations, chances are good that you’ll grow
with them, too.
GLOBALIZATION

Emerging trends in organisational behaviour Organizations have witnessed a great development from
the olden times particularly in respect of structure, operations and people. There is a considerable
change in the crossculture environment, influence of MNCs, growth in the technical know-how and
quality management which has provided different environment in the modern organizations. Some of
the important trends observed are mentioned below:  Globalisation  Emerging employment
relationships  changing workforce  Knowledge Management  Information technology and OB
Globalization Organisation in recent days has changed the style of working and tries to spread
worldwide. Trapping new market place, new technology or reducing cost through specialization or cheap
labour are few of the different reasons that motivates organizations to become global Moreover the way
companies integrate their business practices with other countries has also changed. Instead of
controlling the whole supply chain countries outsource some part of it to gain advantage of
specialization. Thomas Friedman highlights this phenomenon in his book “The world is flat” There are
several types of organizational changes that has occurred to help business adopt to globalisation, as the
old principles no longer work in the age of globalisation Strategic changes, technological change, change
in organizational cultural including organizational structural change and a redesign of work tasks are
some of the important one. In line with these changes, there is strong expectation of employee to
improve their knowledge and become an integral part of successful business formula in order to respond
to the challenges brought by the global economy. In other words it leads to formation of a learning
organisation, which is characterized by creating, gaining and transferring the knowledge, and thus
constantly modifying the organizational behaviour. Emerging employment relationship: Changing trends
in organisations in recent years have made it utmost important to consider some of the emerging
employee relations issues which can affect employers in the coming decade. Understanding these issues
will help management to better plan and respond to changes in the workplace. Employer employee
relationship is also showing change in the modern era. Employers are no more autocrats and
participative style of leadership is welcomed. Flexible working hours and increased authority motivates
employees to perform to their best. Management now welcomes upward communication and
participation of lower level employees in the decision making process. Changing workforce The
demographic of the workforce has changed in the recent years.. This is due to a number of factors such
as an aging population, labour shortages and immigration. Another significant factor that has changed
the workforce is the changes in the attitudes of workers. Employers need to adapt their recruitment,
training and management processes to adapt to changing workforce. An example of this is that where
employers may have previously looked to younger people as a source of recruits, they may now have to
broaden their view as there are currently a large number of older people either currently employed or
seeking employment. These people may need extra training to bring their skills up to date. New parents
now want to work closer to home or from home, employers may find that they need to make this a
possible option in order to retain or find new staff. Allowing people to work from home will also make
the employer and job more attractive to a wider range of people. Recent days is also witnessing a
shortage of skilled labour in many sectors. Hence employers may have to take on less skilled workers
initially and develop them, rather than simply hiring experienced people. Hiring employees from
overseas also serves the purpose. Knowledge Management: Knowledge management is a structured
activity that improves an organization’s capacity to acquire, share, and utilize knowledge for its survival
and success. Knowledge management is around us from a very long period of time in one form or the
other. The decisions we make and the action we take both are enabled by knowledge of some type.
Hence to improve quality of these actions and decisions it is important to understand the process of
knowledge management. Studies in knowledge management has proved an inseparable relationship
between knowledge management and organizational culture (Davenport and Prusak,2000; Von Krogh,
2000; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) Research has also proved that organizational culture is a major barrier
to leveraging intellectual assets. They focus on four ways in which culture influences organizational
behaviours central to knowledge creation, sharing, and use. The first is the shared assumptions about
what knowledge is and which knowledge is worth managing. Second is the relationship between
individual and organizational knowledge. Third is the context for social interaction that determines how
knowledge will be used in particular situations. Fourth is the processes by which knowledge is created,
legitimated, and distributed in organizations. There are three basic elements of knowledge management
1. Knowledge acquisition:- It is method of learning through experiences, sensation or perception. 2.
Knowledge sharing:- Knowledge sharing is a process through which knowledge is shared among family,
friends or any community. 3. Knowledge dissemination: It is conceptual and instrumental use of new
knowledge. Increased awareness and ability to make informed choice among available alternatives are
the outcomes of knowledge dissemination. Knowledge maps:- Knowledge maps guide employees to
understand what knowledge is needed to increase their efficiency and productivity and where these
knowledge are located. Information Technology and OB Technological change and advancement is one of
the most salient factors impacting organizations and employees today. In particular, the prominence of
information technology (IT) has grown many folds in recent years. This innovation in IT has opened new
ways for conducting business that are different from the past. Technology has changed the nature of
work as well as the roles of employees. Managerial decision making, stress handling, and attitude
towards work have changed as an impact of technology.It is also seen from decades that there is a
normal tendency of human being to resist to changes, making adoption of new technologies a little
difficult. It has become important for the business and management to understand and take these issues
into consideration while introducing or implementing any new technology. Frequent sessions on change
management can help employees understand, use and adopt new technologies easily.

Impact of globalization on organizational behavior


1. 1. K.PREETHI 09011U0107
2. 2.  Organizational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behaviour within an
organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards
improving an organization's effectiveness.  It is an interdisciplinary field
that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management
3. 3.  Globalization is the free movement of goods, services and people
across the world in a seamless and integrated manner.  Globalization
means to increase their base of operations, expand their workforce with
minimal investments, and provide new services to a broad range of
consumers
4. 4.  Thirty years ago, national borders acted to insulate most firms from
foreign competitive pressures.  Capitalism is replacing the government
control and now organizations are no longer constrained by national
borders.
5. 5. The world today has became a GLOBAL VILLAGE
6. 6.  Multi national corporations developed operations world wide and
companies developed joint ventures with foreign partners.  Workers
increasingly chased job opportunities across national borders.
7. 7.  As organizations have become more global , their work force has
become culturally diverse.  Globalization has created a large shift in
organizational behavior as increasing diversity has brought together
people of different backgrounds with different values, cultures and beliefs
all working together for common objective.
8. 8.  Globalization affects a manager’s skill in two ways: 1.In a foreign
country and 2.In your own country.
9. 9.  Work force diversity  Unsupportive and hostile work environment 
Fears of discrimination  Resistance to change
10. 10.  Organizations are becoming more and more heterogeneous.  one of
the most important and broad based challenges currently facing
organization is adapting people who are different.
11. 11.  Melting pot assumption  The melting pot assumption is replaced by
one that recognizes and values differences.  Diversity, if positively
managed, can increase creativity and innovation in the organization.
The importance of organizational behaviour (OB) has accentuated
subsequent to globalization and the consequent changes in business
practices. Since the term globalization has many ramifications, we
need to first understand its different dimensions and then try to
attempt a compact definition.

In the economic context, globalization is interpreted as a worldwide


phenomenon or process. Some economic and monetary policies
together facilitate the process of globalization. Some of the economic
dimensions of globalization are expansion of international trade,
cross-border labour migration, cross- border flow of investments, etc.
From the OB point of view, the biggest concern for globalization is the
impact and influence of multinational and transnational companies.
Participation of these companies in trade, investment, and production,
expanded the international communication and imported various
cross-cultural issues. Nowadays, even to operate locally, Indian
organizations need to track these issues and regularly renew their
business practices, changing the mind-sets of their people.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Globalization has many dimensions. The most general is the economic


globalization. OB studies are now increasingly becoming complex due
to the effect of globalization. Some of the important areas of concern
are changing technology with a sharp increase in cross-border
technology transfers, the mobility of organizations and people in the
global world, the competition for markets and customers on a global
scale, etc.

Globalization can be taken to mean the increasing trend to interact


beyond physical boundaries. The causes of globalization include
deregulation and privatization of public sectors in certain countries,
technological convergence, and increased competition. Furthermore,
globalization has taken many forms such as foreign investment and
international partnerships.

From the perspective of business organizations, there are three


different types of globalizations—multinationals, global, and
international companies. The cascading effect of globalization even
transcends to the tasks or the operational environments of business
organizations.

Changes in the operational environment not only require focus on new


products or service developments, but also on the skills and
competency sets, attitudes, values, and cultures of the people. Such
changes are primarily attributable to the shift in the expectations of
customers and the behaviour of competitors.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The consequential effect of globalization on organizations is an


increase in alliances and partnerships rather than on authority and
control. This is characterized by the breakdown of tall hierarchies,
increase in use of teams, reorganization of functional departments into
cross-functional groups, reduction in centralized control, and allowing
more local autonomy.

Another key aspect, from the perspective of a business organization, is


the harvesting of the knowledge of the people. This is facilitated by
knowledge management practices, using various tools, techniques,
and values. Through knowledge management, organizations can
acquire, develop measure, distribute, and provide a return on their
intellectual assets.

Globalization has also changed the nature of managerial work,


requiring managers, in the globalized era, to increase their judgmental
power, use of persuasion and influence, shaping of the behaviour of
the people, etc.
Changing employee behavior

By Professor Shlomo Ben-Hur and Karine Avagyan


with Lindsay McTeague
Contributor: Nik Kinley

More than 40 participants from around 20 companies attended a


Discovery Event to learn about new ideas and frameworks on talent
management, specifically those related to changing employee
behavior. In a stimulating and open environment, they exchanged
ideas, as well as sharing challenges and insights.
As anyone who has enthusiastically resolved to do more sport or stop
smoking knows, it is hard to change one’s behavior in a sustained
way. So, imagine how much more difficult it is to motivate others to
embrace change.
Yet this is one of the main managerial roles: To help employees
change their behavior, for both the employees’ and the company’s
benefit. Managers can do so by building essential skills or
encouraging direct reports to stop doing something or to do it better or
differently.
According to an IMD global study of 500 executives, managers believe
that only one in two attempts to change employee behavior is
successful. Around a third know the techniques and are sure they can
motivate their employees to change, but only one in ten managers
knows how to do so in a sustained way. These results are not
surprising, since managers tend to use limited tools to
identify what needs to change and apply conventional tactics, such as
advice, feedback or training, to resolve the issue. Rarely do they
explore how to change. They also mostly underestimate the influence
of the context – the environment and conditions in which behavioral
change happen – on changing employee behavior and sustaining it.
How context influences behavior
It is well known that context and life circumstances – such as support
from family and friends, the number and quality of social connections,
external rules and culture – are vital for sustaining changed behavior.
This has been proved in various settings. For example, more than half
of prisoners relapse into criminal behavior if they are released into the
old unchanged context. Similarly, brainwashed US veterans from the
Korean war reverted to their old habits and behaviors once back
home.
In a business setting, managers’ perceptions and attitudes are another
important element of context. These are set within the first month,
during which most managers instinctively divide their employees into
those they can rely on and the rest, thus creating long-lasting
psychological stereotypes of strong and weak performers (Table 1).
Table 1: Context managers create for their subordinates

Strong performers Weak performers

Manager’ More defensive, parochial, critical of


s More motivated, proactive, innovative, big
innovation, prone to hoard information
picture thinkers, better leaders, positive, agile
perceptio and open-minded and disrespect authority, unlikely to go
n beyond the call of duty

Manager’ Explains “what and why,” open to their ideas, Tells “how,” pushes own ideas, monitors
s act as sparring partners, available, shares more,
actions and results, focuses on KPIs, less
assigns more challenging tasks, more personal
behavior interest, invests in them patient, more directive, less delegation

This psychological stereotyping causes different approaches and


attitudes when dealing with strong vs. weak performers, thus
reinforcing their behavior. When leaders have higher expectations, this
increases direct reports’ motivation and effort and improves
performance. In psychology, this is known as the Pygmalion effect.
Conversely, managers’ negative expectations set their employees up
to fail: Bosses assign routine tasks with little scope for employees to
take charge; they monitor more closely and micro-manage, thus
conveying lack of trust. Employees lose confidence and feel less
inclined to take risks or come up with ideas; a downward spiral
begins.1 The single most influential factor in a person’s working context
is their relationship with their manager, so changing the context means
managers doing something differently.
Change levers
In order to achieve sustained change in employees’ behavior and help
them perform and develop effectively, it is not enough for managers to
change their own attitude towards their subordinates. They should
also use the key levers summarized in the MAPS
model2: motivation, ability, psychological capital and supporting
environment (Figure 1).
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Intrinsic motivation: The missing piece in changing employee behavior


Figure 1: MAPS model of key behavior change levers

Most managers tend to focus on ability, underestimating the


importance of the other three. We will therefore concentrate on the
three undervalued levers.
Instilling motivation
Motivation gets people inspired, proactive and involved. When people
are motivated to achieve and sustain a specific change, they are far
more likely to succeed, as higher motivation means higher effort.
There are two types of motivation. Most managers are aware of the
importance of intrinsic motivation, but mostly they focus on extrinsic
motivation, such as awarding bonuses and merit increases. The latter
are effective in boosting performance on those tasks that use
mechanical skills. For cognitive skills, intrinsic motivation is far more
effective.
The latter are effective in boosting performance on tasks that use
mechanical skills. For cognitive skills, intrinsic motivation is far more
effective.
Intrinsic motivation is fueled by internal feelings – the fact we find
something fulfilling or enjoyable. According to self-determination
theory, intrinsic motivation includes the following three factors:

 Autonomy: the sense of being in control and having a choice.


When given more autonomy, people are more likely to put in
sustained effort, perform better, fulfill goals, achieve even
assigned changes and experience enjoyment and satisfaction.
To increase a sense of autonomy, managers should involve
people, get the tone right and offer choices.

 Mastery: the sense of being competent and relishing challenge.


People are more motivated if they feel competent, especially for
complex and broad goals. Besides, challenging and difficult
goals lead to higher job satisfaction and feelings of success.
Reminding an employee of their strengths is a good way to
increase a sense of mastery. Positioning things as a challenge,
rather than change, and appealing to their pride is also effective.

 Connection: the sense of being meaningfully connected to other


people and what you are doing. Having a sense of purpose leads
to higher performance, enjoyment and satisfaction, and
sustained dedication. Managers can boost connection by
involving people – asking why it matters and what the benefits of
change will be; explaining the reasons for change; and making it
personal and practical.

Remember: One size does not fit all – people’s intrinsic motivation, as
well as advice on increasing it, depends heavily on gender, culture,
age and career concept.3 The latter categorizes how people see their
own career path: Are they experts, or following a linear, spiral or
transitory track? Managers cannot apply the same challenges and
goals to everyone to achieve optimum motivation.
Developing psychological capital
Psychological capital refers to the crucial inner resources a person
needs to thrive and succeed at almost everything. In other words,
success in changing employees’ behavior depends on their own self-
belief, as well as the willpower and resilience to see things through
and sustain change.
Employees’ psychological capital affects a wide range of work-related
outcomes, such as job performance, work satisfaction, citizenship,
absenteeism and stress. Personality and self-esteem are crucial parts
of psychological capital, which managers can significantly strengthen
through support and creating the right work environment.
The four elements of psychological capital are self-
confidence, optimism, willpower and resilience (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The four elements of psychological capital


Self-confidence refers to one’s belief and level of trust in oneself and
one’s abilities. Confident people are more likely to work hard and keep
going; achieve behavior change; react positively to training; and learn
practical and complex interpersonal skills.

Self-confidence is directly related to internal locus of control – when


something goes well, a person believes it is because they have done
well, rather than attributing their success to pure luck or to others, as
those with an external locus of control tend to do. Building self-
confidence means increasing internal locus of control, which makes
behavior change last longer.
Managers can help their subordinates build confidence in several
ways, through:

 Guided mastery, helping them achieve success by, for example,


ensuring they understand what they need to do, by planning with
them how they will practice a new behavior, and highlighting
progress and praising them for it.

 Wisely identifying a role model, not to showcase perfection but


to illustrate that progress is achievable. The role model should
be reliable and easy to relate to (e.g. same gender, ethnicity,
age).

 Persuasion using the Pygmalion effect, i.e. expressing


confidence in their abilities, reminding them of their strengths,
publicizing achievements.

 Physiology. It is possible to reduce anxiety and stress via deep


breathing, mindfulness or high-power poses.

Optimism is a mindset that focuses on positive thinking, taking credit


for good events and viewing bad events as temporary. Pessimists
tend to over-generalize, personalize and have an “all or nothing”
attitude. Optimists cope better with setbacks and are more likely to
sustain change, yet there is a danger that they might underestimate
risks and not prepare enough for setbacks.
The best way a manager can help increase employees’ optimism is by
reinforcing their true self-concept, helping them frame things positively
– “I messed up that presentation” rather than “I’m useless, I never
present well.”
Willpower is the capacity to exercise self-control, to start, continue or
stop doing something. Willpower can be built by encouraging people
to look after themselves (enough sleep, healthy eating, less stress), to
practice simple self-discipline (keeping a diary, good posture,
developing the non-dominant hand) and to stop distractions and build
focus (via positive, motivational or instructional self-talk
and mindfulness).
Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity and grow stronger, to
develop alternative ways of doing things when faced with difficulties
and failures. Resilience in the workplace can be built in three ways by:

 Promoting a growth mindset by praising people for hard work


and improvement; asking what they learned; and pointing out
fixed-mind tendencies.

 Cultivating self-compassion by comforting people, helping


them depersonalize the issue and be more objective about
themselves, rather than being totally driven by perfectionism.
Resilience without self-compassion is much more fragile.

 Planning for setbacks by identifying problems that might arise


with the desired behavior change, and how to respond to each
one – what are the options, how effective is each likely to be?

Together, willpower and resilience provide the inner steel, or grit, to


see things through.
Building a supportive environment for behavioral change
The final element in the MAPS model for sustaining changed
employee behavior is creating a supportive environment at work in
terms of physical environment, team dynamics and organizational
culture. A supportive environment can be built with three levers
– social support, habit structure and choice architecture. The first
two are not largely influenced by managers, whereas the last one is
easily controllable and more efficient in terms of helping employees
change their behavior.
The art and science of choice architecture is based on nudges – a
term that comes from behavioral economics, referring to a feature of
the environment that influences the choices people unconsciously
make, without coercing them. Managers can influence employees’
behavior by paying attention to the following five nudges:

 Information framing. The same fact can be presented in ways


that will lead to different reactions (“1 in 10 people die five years
after surgery” vs. “9 in 10 people are alive five years after
surgery”). Experts, more confident people and those who are
close to achieving their goal respond best to criticism, whereas
beginners and unconfident people react better to praise and
positive comments.

 Priming is widely used in different areas and settings. Priming


commitment can be achieved by having employees sign their
development plans. Priming openness can be achieved by using
more comfortable chairs, whereas harder chairs lead to tougher
positions in negotiations. Priming confidence can easily be
achieved by using more positive words in conversation or written
feedback.

 Loss avoidance. People are more motivated by the thought of


losing something than of receiving a reward. Losses are
perceived as around 2.5 times more powerful than gains, so
instead of promising gains set the goal to avoid losses. For
example, give a prize upfront and say the person can keep it if
certain conditions are fulfilled.

 Decision economics is simple: In order for change to happen,


the costs and benefits of the change should add up and be
clearly communicated.
 Social influence. Making people aware of social norms (desired
or actual) changes their behavior (especially telling them in as
personal and meaningful a way as possible, for instance “most of
your colleagues do…”). As people care about their reputation,
peer pressure and accountability can also help to influence – for
example, by making a development goal public or creating
visibility on performance levels.
Key learnings for managers

 The right context is one of the most important yet undervalued


factors in sustaining behavior change. Managers can bring out
the best in people by paying more attention to the recruitment
process and making relationship a priority during onboarding.

 Be careful with labels, including inherited labels, as they can


create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Managers should solidify their
own opinion about their direct reports and be careful about
intuitively deciding on high vs. low performers.

 Hold positive expectations about employee performance, since


in most cases this helps them deliver more.

 The MAPS model – motivation, abilities, psychological capital


and social environment – provides a systematic approach to
changing employee behavior sustainably.

 Appealing to individual preferences for autonomy, mastery or


connection can increase intrinsic motivation, which is vital for
sustaining behavior change.

 Managers can strengthen employees’ psychological capital –


self-belief and grit – by support and the type of work environment
they create, which includes physical environment, team
dynamics and organizational culture.

 Tackle problems as they emerge, by asking not telling – “How


do you think the presentation went?”
 Actively nudging employees to manage their choices is gaining
traction.

Demographic Changes in the


Workplace
The global ageing population and the new generation of young
professionals entering the market are changing the shape of the
workplace. Companies need to look forward and prepare for the
workforce of the future and understand the organizational changes
this will bring.
While new ways of organizing will be increasingly important for firms to
succeed in the future, it will also be important to take into account the deep
demographic changes occurring in the workplace. Indeed, firms are already
facing the challenge of transforming their structures and ways of organizing
to incorporate the new generation.

Never before have organizations seen three and even four generations
working together. These overlapping generations have great implications;
not only for the way work is performed, but also for the way firms need to
think about their future talent management strategies and the HR practices
required to support their human capital. Heterogeneity and diversity have
replaced the homogeneous workforce that pervaded before.

The generations working together today that are relevant for the purpose of
our study are: Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y, or the so-
called Millennials. Baby Boomers refers to the post-war generation, born
between 1946 and 1964; Generation X (Gen X) refers to individuals born
between 1965 and 1980; and Generation Y (Gen Y) refers to persons born
between 1981 and 1997. Although no longer in the workplace, I refer also to
the Traditionalists, born between 1922 and 1945.

Challenges of Diversity

If managing diversity effectively has the potential to increase company performance,


increase creativity, and create a more satisfied workforce, why aren’t all companies
doing a better job of encouraging diversity? Despite all the potential advantages, there
are also a number of challenges associated with increased levels of diversity in the
workforce.

Managing Workforce Diversity


This refers to employing different categories of employees who are
heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, relation, community,
physically disadvantaged, elderly people etc.
The primary reason to employ heterogeneous category of employees is to tap
the talents and potentialities, harnessing the innovativeness, obtaining
synergetic effect among the divorce workforce.
In general, employees wanted to retain their individual and cultural identity,
values and life styles even though they are working in the same organization
with common rules and regulations.
The major challenge for organizations is to become more accommodating to
diverse groups of people by addressing their different life styles, family needs,
and work styles.
Responding to Globalization

Today’s business is mostly market driven; wherever the demands exist


irrespective of distance, locations, climatic Conditions, the business
operations are expanded to gain their market share and to remain in the top
rank etc. Business operations are no longer restricted to a particular locality or
region.
Company’s products or services are spreading across the nations using mass
communication, the internet, faster transportation etc.
More than 95% of Nokia (Now Microsoft) hand phones are being sold outside
of their home country Finland.
Japanese cars are being sold in different parts of the globe. Sri Lankan tea is
exported to many cities around the globe.
Garment products of Bangladesh are exporting in USA and EU countries.
Executives of Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one
subsidiary to another more frequently.
Empowering People
The main issue is delegating more power and responsibility to the lower level
cadre of employees and assigning more freedom to make choices about their
schedules, operations, procedures and the method of solving their work-
related problems.
Encouraging the employees to participate in work related decision will sizable
enhance their commitment to work.
Empowerment is defined as putting employees in charge of what they do by
eliciting some sort of ownership in them.
Managers are doing considerably further by allowing employees full control of
their work.
ovement implies constant changeAn increasing number of organizations are
using self-managed teams, where workers operate largely without a boss.
Due to the implementation of empowerment concepts across all the levels, the
relationship between managers and the employees is reshaped.
Managers will act as coaches, advisors, sponsors, facilitators and help their
subordinates to do their task with minimal guidance.

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