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15 June 2008

Organizational behavior_3


Managing People and Organizations


Managerial Perspectives on Organizational Behavior



*Organizational behavior is not a designated function or area. Rather, it is a perspective or set of tools that all managers can use to carry out their jobs more effectively.
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A knowledge of organizational behavior helps
managers to better:
Recognize why others in the organization behave as they do.
Interact with colleagues, peers, and coworkers.
Understand individual needs, motives, behaviors, and feelings.
Interact with suppliers, customers, and competitors.



Figure 2.1
Basic Managerial Functions




*Planning
The process of determining the organization’s desired future position and the best means to get there.
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*Organizing
The process of designing jobs, grouping jobs into units, and establishing patterns of authority between jobs and units.

*Leading
The process of getting the organization’s members to work together toward the organization’s goals.
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*
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Controlling
The process of monitoring and correcting the actions of the organization and its members to keep them directed toward their goals.




Basic Managerial Roles


*Interpersonal Roles
Are primarily social in nature in which the manager’s main task is to relate to other people in certain ways.
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Informational Roles
Involve some aspect of information processing.
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Decision-Making Roles
Involve some aspect of decision-making.



Table 2.1 Important Managerial Roles






Critical Managerial Skills

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Technical Skills
Those skills necessary to accomplish specific tasks within the organization.
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Interpersonal Skills
Equip a manager with the ability to communicate with, understand, and motivate individuals and groups.


*Conceptual Skills
Involve a manager’s ability to think in the abstract. A manager with strong conceptual skills is able to see the “big picture.”
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Diagnostic Skills
Allow managers to better understand cause-and-effect relationships and recognize the optimal solution to problems.


Figure 2.2 Managerial Skills at Different Organizational Levels





Organizational Challenges



*1) Workforce Expansion and Reduction

a) Downsizing
Is the process of purposely becoming smaller by reducing the
size of the workforce or by shedding entire
divisions or businesses.

b) Expansion
Is the process of growing an organization by expanding the workforce.
During boom periods like the late 1990s, downsizing gave way in many sectors of the economy to growth and expansion.

*2) The New Workplace

a) Workforce Diversity
The term “diversity” refers to differences among people.
Diversity may be reflected along numerous dimensions, but most managers tend to focus on age, gender, ethnicity, and physical abilities and disabilities.

b) Characteristics of the New Workforce
In coping with the new workforce, managers face three main challenges:
Create an environment attractive to today’s worker.
Providing new and different incentives to keep people motivated and interested in their work.
Build enough flexibility into the organization to accommodate an ever-changing set of lifestyles and preferences.
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3) Organizational Change
Simply put, an organization that fails to monitor its environment and to change to keep pace with that environment is doomed to failure.

*4) Information Technology (IT)
a) Specific forms of hardware such as cellular phones and fax machines have made it easier than ever for managers to communicate with each other.
b) At the same time, these innovations have increased the work pace for managers, cut into their time for thoughtful contemplation of decisions, and increased the amount of information they must process.

*5) New Ways of Organizing

a) Many organizations are seeking greater flexibility and the ability to respond more quickly to their environment by adopting flat structures.

b) The increased use of work teams also goes hand-in-hand
with this new approach to organizing.



Environmental Challenges

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1) Competitive Strategy
a) A firm’s competitive strategy explains how it intends to compete with other firms in the same industry.
b) Most firms adopt one of three competitive strategies:
(i) Differentiation
Firm makes its products and services “different” from others in the marketplace.
(ii) Cost Leadership
Firm works aggressively to push its costs as low as possible.
(iii) Focus
Firm targets products or services to meet the unique needs of a specific customer group.


*2) Globalization
a) The globalization trend started soon after World War II.
b) Managing in a global economy poses many different challenges and opportunities.
c) An important consideration is how behavioral processes vary widely across cultural and national boundaries.
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3) Ethics and Social Responsibility
a) Individual ethics are that individual’s beliefs about what is right or wrong or good or bad.
b) An organization’s social responsibility is its obligation to protect and contribute to the social environment in which it functions.

*4) Quality and Productivity
a) More and more organizations are using quality as a basis for competition.
b) Improving quality tends to increase productivity because making higher-quality products generally results in less waste and rework.
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5) Manufacturing and Service Technology
a) Managing manufacturing and service operations requires managers to keep abreast of new forms of technology and to make appropriate investments in new equipment.
b) The service sector has become much more important.



Managing for Effectiveness


*1) Three Basic Levels of Outcomes That Determine Organizational Effectiveness
a) Individual Behaviors
Result from a person’s participation in an organization.
b) Individual Attitudes
Involve levels of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational involvement.
c) Stress
Stress is becoming an increasingly more important topic in organizational studies.


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