Week 3 Discussion Responses - Org Behavior

Respond with no more that one page, cite as required with this weeks reference to support thoughts, Recognize their work and opinion, challenge ideas respectfully, and offer a recommendation as needed to their ideas.

Discussion 1

by R,R

You have been told the associates in the business are de-motivated under the current administration. Using what you have learned from Chapters 5 and 6 what would you examine to determine the drivers behind the current performance?

     The first item I would assess is employee engagement in this organization.  Engagement essentially describes the motivation of colleagues towards achieving industry goals.  Employees who are engaged and motivated positively impact organizational performance.  It can be assumed that employee engagement has decreased under the current administration due to the reduction in sales and market share. 

     I would utilize Maslow's Needs Hierarchy to determine drivers affecting current performance.  This theory implies that individuals must completely satisfy the lower level needs before they can progress to higher level needs.  A thorough assessment and survey of colleagues is essential to determine if they are stagnating in one stage: Physiological needs, Safety, Belongingness, Esteem and Self-Actualization (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015).  By determining colleague placement in this hierarchy, an action plan can be formulated to address concerns at current and subsequent levels. 

How could you quantify? 

     The key drivers impeding employee performance could be identified and quantified by two approaches: SMART goal setting and the use of the balanced score card.   Goals would be set to address key performance drivers ensuring that the outcomes are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and in a specific time frame.  These goals should also be inspiring for employees. 

     The use of a balanced scorecard is another option to quantify performance.  The balanced score card is an analysis of organizational goals based on specific and measurable key performance indicators.  This score card is an excellent visual to indicate progress and can provide necessary feedback on organizational status to all colleagues.

What would you recommend to your management team?

     After assessing current engagement and identifying drivers that are deficient, administration needs to establish effective goal setting and plan to provide feedback to colleagues.  High achievement motivation should be acknowledged. Administration has to inspire employees to be motivated, committed while working to obtain a common goal.    The social cognitive theory approach, which describes that learning and motivation occur by modeling others while anticipating consequences for behaviors, could easily be modeled.  Adminstration needs to lead be example, offer frequent and transparent feedback, provide positive reinforcement and rewards for excellence.  Lastly, the management team needs to provide strength building evaluation instead of review of weaknesses in colleagues.  All staff want to feel valued, included and led by example.  This creates an engaged environment with more efficient, high performers. 

Would any of these factors change if the firm was located in Brazil?

Brazil experiences similar employee engagement challenges when compared to organizations in the United States.  Their organizational success is reliant on employee motivation and committment as well.  They could assess and address key drivers in a consistent process to that of American organizations.  Brazilian organizations, too, must utilize transparency in feedback, meeting the needs of employees and providing motivational rewards to colleagues.  Employee engagement in all nations affects organizational success.

McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2015). Organizational Behavior (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Discussion 2:

H,M

What would you examine to determine the drivers behind the current performance?

The current detailed performance of the firm in sales and marketing in this example is described as dwindling due motivation.  While there may be other factors to research, we have tools to look to in discovering and analyzing this firm’s organizational behavior, exploring the feedback as employees in the example being noted to be demotivated under current administration.

To examine drivers of the performance of the firm, I would first examine the employee needs, engagement, goal setting, recognition, human capital investment, organizational justice, and sufficient resources to perform tasks, and be motivationally driven.

Given the history of the CEO being tenured in manufactured products, perhaps leadership is more assembly-line, and perhaps Motivated Hygiene Theory needs looked at closely.  If motivation and engaged employee behavior is implemented, which the example suggests it is not, then in turn, the desired goal of increased sales and marketing would be impacted by motivation the techniques in Chapters 5 and 6 of our text of McShane, S.L. & Von Gilnow, M. (2015).  In analyzing to acquire this company I would closely examine the factors of the feedback presented to determine if it is possible to capitalize on what current administration is ‘missing’, to produce corporate gains if I was employed by the company whom is looking to acquire the example firm.

How could you quantify?

Quantification is often hard to produce.  However, studies, philosophers, and all theories in Chapter 5 draw the same evolving conclusion:  implementing motivation and satisfying employee needs creates success!

Some specific quantification methods include the Balanced Scorecard (BSC).  Per McShane, S.L. & Von Gilnow, M. (2015), the BSC attempts to represent objectives across stakeholders and the firm’s processes.  A BSC can translate an organization’s vision and mission into specific, measurable key performance indicators related to financial, customer, internal, learning/growth, and human capital processes (which includes motivation- the feedback complaint to examine in particular).

What would you recommend to your management team?

I would suggest the proven effects to a corporation’s bottom line of Organizational Behavior Modification, which affects employees’s direction, drives, self-enhancement, motivation, job design strategies for motivating employees; especially due to the current CEO’s background and dwindling sales noted since becoming CEO.  In job design strategy, a combination of engineering controls would be examined so that work is performed efficiently but where-in the employees are engaged (motivated).  Suggestions include job rotation, employee empowerment, and goal setting.

Would any of these factors change if the firm was located in Brazil?

The above suggestions noted analyze foremost concerns of the example firm. Therefore, when consulting a management team, nothing of my initial consult would change if the firm was located in Brazil regarding acquisition management flaws to capitalize on. Compensation of employees would be stated as of importance.  Compensation is a primary concern of employee satisfaction. In this initial consult I am addressing alarming concerns due to feedback only.  After analyzing these factors, I would seek to examine employee compensation forms, further compensation feedback, and examine the culture of Brazil.

References:

McShane, S. L. & Von Glinow, M. (2015). Organizational Behavior (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.