Question
Week 1-organizational behavior
OB at Work
Now that you’ve read Chapter 1 and the Trader Joe’s case, how can you grow your OB skills in the workplace? Let’s explore this as you respond to the following:
- How will OB enhance your skills for managing individuals and teams in dynamic organizations?
- Provide an example of a time when you used OB, or when you witnessed the application of OB at work.
Note: Use information from your readings and any relevant outside research to support your response.
Case 1 A -Trader Joe’s Keep Things Fresh will follow as an email attachment. Please confirm that you have received it.
Sample paper
Organizational Behavior-Trader Joe’s case
Organizational behavior (OB) can enhance one’s skills for managing individuals and teams in dynamic organizations. OB is a field of study that investigates individual or group behavior in organizational settings (Robbins & Judge, T2007). The major goal is to understand human interactions in organizational settings. OB can enhance skills for managing individuals and teams since it enables the learners to understand individual and/or group behavior in organizational settings (Robbins & Judge, 2007). OB enables the learner to understand how an individual and the organization interact, and how this interaction shapes the overall organizational culture. The organization comprises of individual workers each with unique personalities. Nonetheless, the individuals are constantly interacting within the organization. This leads to behavioral changes among individuals within the organization. The organizational culture (defined as shared beliefs, values, and assumptions) is critical in determining how the employees conduct themselves and how they perform their duties (Altman, 2013). OB enables leaders to develop skills for directing behavior within organizations in order to improve productivity.
OB will enhance my skills for managing individuals and teams in dynamic organizations in that it equips learners with knowledge on managing a diverse workforce. Diversity in the workforce is mainly due to differences in culture, demographics, attitudes, behaviors, and personalities (Robbins & Judge, 2007). OB equips organizational leaders with skills and knowledge to handle the various differences among the workforce. For instance, it is critical for organizational leaders in multinational corporations to learn how they can manage cultural differences among the workforce. OB informs organizational leaders of how they can motivate the workforce in order to improve productivity (Robbins & Judge, 2007). OB informs about the various motivational theories, their strengths, and shortcomings. OB can enhance skills since it informs learners about conflict management. Teams are likely to experience conflicts. It is the role of the leader to resolve conflicts through various conflict resolution styles.
OB can enhance my skills by increasing my knowledge on decision-making. Organizational leaders often face scenarios where they have to make complex decisions. OB provides valuable information for how organizational leaders can minimize the risk of making the wrong decisions (Altman, 2013). Another way OB can enhance my skills for managing individuals and groups is providing knowledge on leadership. OB provides a valuable attribute of the role played by leaders in organizations and the general expectations for organizational leaders. OB also equips learners with knowledge on organizational change. In today’s organizations, leaders are likely to experience events that fundamentally changes the way organizations operate.
I have witnessed the application of OB at work. The application of OB involved managing a diverse workforce and in particular inclusion of women. For a long time, the organization had developed a male-dominated culture whereby women felt that they were bypassed for advancement opportunities in favor of men. In addition, there were concerns for limited training opportunities for women. The top leadership established a program that would ensure equal opportunities for both men and women. Senior-level employees in the organization led this program. The major goal was to ensure that both men and women felt they had equal opportunities for growth or advancement of their careers.
References
Altman, S. (2013). Organizational Behavior. Elsevier Science.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2007). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
