Organizational Behavior Over the Last

Organizational Behavior

Over the last several decades, the views of management and executives would have a dramatic impact on many corporations. Where, everyone will watch a particular manager's influence and actions to determine if they should go the extra mile for the company. Part of the reason for this, is the competitive forces of globalization have cause many businesses to place less of emphasis on the actions of various managers. This is problematic, because once a manager / supervisor begins to engage in activities that are serving their own self-interest is when they are introducing a lack of confidence and trust to an organization. Where, everyone sees this as management doing whatever they have to do to be successful (even if it means belittling or humiliating the staff). Once this takes place, it can cause the productivity to decline as the employees will often feel cheated and depressed. At which point, they will no longer go the extra mile because managers will take credit for ideas that are not their own. The long-term effects of the manager's influence on an organization can cause talented employees to go elsewhere. As they want to not only receive better compensation, but they also need to feel as if their ideas are respected. In my case I faced a similar kind of situation, where a supervisor's influence would be akin to a cancer inside the organization. As their actions would have ripple effects on the way team members would interact with each other and how everyone viewed management / the company. To fully understand this situation requires looking at: the causes of the problem / how I contributed to the situation and a suggested course of action for rectifying the problem. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to how employees and managers can influence each other based upon the relationship that exists.

What caused the problem and how did you contribute?

The basic problem that was facing the organization was that management created an adversarial atmosphere. Where, they expected all employees to respond favorably to the ideas of supervisors (as they were seen as doing no wrong). Yet, when employees would come up with good ideas they were often laughed at and humiliated. To make matters worse, many managers would then present these ideas to upper management as their own (claiming credit for everything). This created a heated atmosphere in the workplace, as everyone would see managers out for their self-interest at all costs. Their levels of influence would affect the different team members with most people becoming: withdrawn, depressed and negative. This would lead to various individuals either being fired from the company or they would find better opportunities elsewhere. A good example of the heated atmosphere can be seen when my supervisor would call me stupid (for a perceived mistake that I made). Then, two days later after they discovered I was right, they refused to acknowledge the oversight. This is important because it shows how the adversarial relationship would spread to team members and the way we would interact with one another (as many would have a sense of helplessness).

The way that I contributed to this problem is by falling into the same kind of attitude as other team members. Where, I needed the job and did not want to make waves. Yet, I could not tolerate this kind of behavior. This would make my communication less effective, as I would try to work with management from a point of weakness. At which point, they would become less responsive to what I would have to say. The fact that I did not try to utilize other ways, to exert influence over this manager (i.e. taking to their superiors about the situation) would cause them to engage in this kind of behavior with everyone. Over the course of time, this would influence the relationship that team members would have with: management and among each other. As they felt that a manager's authority in an organization was so controlling that it would overwhelm employees.

Suggest a course of action. What could have been done better? and/or if relevant, what could be done now? Remember, implementation is the hard part. Are your recommendations specific and feasible?

Looking back, the overall amounts of communication could have been improved dramatically. Where, I should have communicated with this manager that: their actions were not acceptable behavior. To do this, I would have to have a face-to-face meeting (with open communication). During the meeting, I would approach the manager in a non-confrontational way. As I would listen, to why they engaged in various actions and what challenges they are facing. This could be used as an effective tool for building a bridge of: open communication with the manager. At which point, you can begin to discuss some of the difficult issues of the relationship. This is important, because it is establishing a sense of trust by having the manager express their concerns with you in an open and honest way. You can then, be upfront with the manager about various issues that you could be dealing with. Where, you would want them to be able to step back from the situation and view what is occurring (from your vantage point). Once this takes place, it means that you can begin to positively influence the manager (by helping them) to see on their own how their actions are contributing to the underlying problem. Since the incident happened a while ago nothing can be done to rectify the situation. (Owens, 2010)

If the circumstances do not improve, you should begin to compile evidence and facts to show that this manager's actions are hurting the company. Where, you would present this information to their superiors and possibly the highest levels of the organization. The idea is to inform upper management about what situations could be taking place that is hurting their profitability (as they could be unaware of what is occurring). At the same time, you would want to have all of the different team members working together to highlight the various issues that could be affecting productivity. This will help the top executives to understand the problems and how a particular manager could be making them to become worse. (Owens, 2010)

These recommendations are feasible to a certain extent because they can provide an approach to: improve communication and address issues (which some managers may choose to ignore). At which point, the underlying problems can be discussed from the team aspect with everyone questioning the way the manger is handling various situations. This will help them, to understand how they could be contributing to the problem and what needs to be done to rectify the situation. In this aspect, the recommendations are feasible because they can provide a general approach for resolving various conflicts of this nature. (Owens, 2010)