Free Essay

Organizational Performace

In:

Submitted By pwmiddleton
Words 1226
Pages 5
Improving Organizational Performance

Paul W. Middleton

PSY 428 Organizational Psychology

University of Phoenix

Professor Carol House

March 31, 2008

Introduction

Organizational psychology allows the consultant to look at different facets of the company and understand employee concerns. These concerns can then be given to management allowing them to have options to improve the vitality of their company and address issues that are making the company lose profits, awards, and cause customer dissatisfaction. The process of improving organizational performance is very crucial to the overall growth of an organization. However, when an organizations discover that their performance level is below the standards that they have set, they should then at that time try to develop an assessments in order to identify and correct the potential problems that the organizations is experiencing. During this consultancy many different ideas were used to understand the scope of the company and its problems, including surveys, blogs, and interviews with employees. By using these methods and intervention techniques changes can be made to make the company more flexible and take the company to the top of the field again.

Company Improvement Suggestions Organizational psychology within an organization helps to identify and correct various problems and issues in an organization. By conducting surveys the company can gain an understanding the employees perception of the company. Analyzing these different survey results helped determine the underlying causes of the company’s problems. By understanding the motivating factors of the employees it is easier to help the employees deal with problems they may face. (Jex, 2002)

Another problem some company’s face is not being flexible enough or taking a hierarchal approach to management, which leaves many employees feeling left out. By allowing the employees to compete in other areas the organization gives exposure to the employees and can assist in satisfying their needs for recognition out side of the company. When employees believe there is a significant space between what they want and what they have then dissatisfaction can come very quickly. By helping understand the employees needs and taking steps to address these problems the organization can take vital steps forward to improve company morale. (Jex, 2002)

Employee Perceptions and Concerns An employee’s perception in a transformed organization may view organization realities as problems if the underlying problem is not addressed. A few underlying organizational realities are lack of communication, high or frequent employment turnover, and customer dissatisfaction. Employee perceptions are more relevant because they are the first to encounter a client, customer, or patient. Employees are the first to see what the problems are within an organization because they are the first to hear the complaints of coworkers and customers. When these concerns are brought to management attention they should take the necessary steps toward improving the overall work environment for the employees and their customers. Certain other realities may exist as well such as managers who favor certain employees over other or the inability of the company to deal with personnel issues. Changes affect everyone in different ways, some will embrace the change and some will opposite and push it away. When employees perceive that they have been slighted or left out on certain projects or ideas they tend to become bitter and do not want perform the best work for the company. By dealing with these perceptions in a positive and understanding way the employer and the employee can reach a middle ground where the needs of both are met.

Working in and with Groups The ability to work in groups has a great deal to do with the individual. This is something that is acquired over time with experience. Working in groups provides individuals with social interaction. Being a part of a group often provides comfort and support and sometimes gives an individual an opportunity to achieve goals that they would probably not achieve if they were working along. (Eikenberry, 1997) All individuals are not team players, some are not able to work in groups because of their strong point of views, and there those that just do better working along. When a person is able to work in a group effectively many other opportunities that come with this skill. It is hard at times to work with people when personalities collide, but in the end, personal issues need to be put aside and work professionally. Working in a group is a skill that employees can learn over time. Although some employees have more difficulty developing this skill than others to be effective in modern business this skill must be acquired. Over time employees will transition from a perceived idea of how the company is run to understanding the total focus of the organization. This will allow the employee to begin to integrate into a work group that they feel comfortable in. Work groups are a diverse and necessary part of the flexible organization that allows the employer to have many sets of eyes looking at the problem that the company may face.
Stress in the Workplace Stress in the workplace is often accepted and needed to help motivate some employees to do work; however, a stress free workplace is not possible. Stress allows employees to feel needed and some stress is good for the employees giving them a chance to exercise their minds and think of new ideas to make the workplace more defined.

However, some stress is unnecessary and does not need to be involved in the working environment. When managers place too much emphasis on how the job should be performed and not what is being done to improve the product or workplace then stress becomes overbearing and can affect employee performance. (Goodworth, 1986) This type of stress is unneeded and should be avoided if all necessary. Stress will always be a part of the workforce and workplace, but if dealt with properly it can be a factor that can contribute to the overall success of the company. Many people perform more than one duty at work. Role stressors are a set of behaviors that are expected of an individual. Therefore, if an individual is not aware his or her roles, duties, or responsibilities, this can breed role conflict, which is inconsistent information or conflicting demands provided by different members of an employee’s role set. The way stress is coped with and handled in certain situations at work can have a great on the workplace environment.

Conclusion These different ideas can improve performance, improve employee satisfaction, reduce stress, and make the company more flexible. The underlying problem in an organization can only be eliminated if the psychological roots are addressed. An organization that is inflexible will lose employees; an organization that is flexible benefits through an increase of organizational productivity. Although many options exist for problems that employees face, not all options are good for the employee’s job satisfaction. By helping employees enjoy their job and feel appreciated the employees will be more willing to help the company increase profits, customer service, and the overall health of the company.

References:

Eikenberry, K. (1997) Seven Key Dimensions of High-Performance Teams. Retrieved on

March 30, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Key-Dimensions-of-High-Performance-

Teams& id=2315

Goodworth, C.T. (1986). Taking the Strain: Managing Stress at Work. Random House Business

Books.

Jex, S. M. (2002) Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach.

New jersey: John Wiley and Sons

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Syllabus

...RH41003E-1-RN Département académique : People & Organisations Responsable : J.HARRISON HARRISON Jennifer SUBRAMANIAN Dilip BABALOLA Mayowa Chargés de cours : Langue d'enseignement : Anglais Crédits ECTS : 4 Nombre d'heure de cours : 30 Charge de travail globale : 90 Positionnement dans l'architecture programme (Bloc) : Assurance of learning : Référentiel de compétence : Connaissances requises Présentation du cours et finalités générales The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the role of people in facilitating organizational objectives. It will stress the importance of understanding human behaviour in the organizational setting. This course is required of all business majors in order to provide support to graduates' management capability, career advancement and personal development. Over a 10 week period you will explore topics related to organizational concepts and theory, such as behaviours (OB) and human resource management (HRM) systems. The list of subjects that are covered in this course are not exhaustive of all the specific areas in organization theory, OB and HRM. Rather, this course is designed to provide a snapshot of people management challenges that are important and difficult in organizations today. Coverage of these topics are designed to facilitate both knowledge and skill acquisition. Objectifs d'apprentissage ̲À l'issue de ce cours, l'étudiant/le participant sera capable de : - increase their...

Words: 1719 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Organisational Behavior

...and organizational design- that relate to different aspects of behavior in organizations. Examining these topics has involved incorporating perspectives and insights from a number of disciplines including psychology, economics, sociology and politics.’ (Knights and Willmott, 2007:p.3) Numerous disciplines that explore the complexity and diversity of collective human activity have contributed to the formation and development of OB. Something of this complexity is apparent in the sometimes conflicting purposes and objective embraced by, or attributed to, management and organizations. Given the demanding nature of organizing and managing people, it is not surprising that OB is widely regarded as the foundation of management studies. (Knights and Willmott, 2007:p.3)Within the notion of behavior, including thinking and feeling as well as acting. OB aspires to have relevance for understanding the behavior of people working at all hierarchical levels- from the workers employed part-time or on a casual basis on the shop floor or in the office to the most senior executive. Each is involved in processes of organizing and being organized and managing and being managed. OB should be better to understand how and why people are organized; to identify and assess the likely consequences of making changes; and to introduce changes in ways that anticipate and minimize counter-productive effects.’(Knights and Willmott, 2007:p.3-4) This report will discuss several aspects of organizational behavior...

Words: 8145 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Etisalat

...IB 2-4 Tasks 1-2 Week 1 Jones: Chapter 2 – Basic Challenges of Organizational Design Differentiation - differentiation = process by which an organization allocates people and resources to organizational tasks and establishes the task and authority relationships that allow the organization to achieve its goals à process of establishing and controlling the division of labor/the degree of specialization o necessary because of increased complexity with growth Organizational roles - - organizational role = set of task-related behaviors required of a person by his or her position in an organization à identifiable tasks and responsibilities allow for accountability o organization structure is based on interlocking roles authority = power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources à results from differentiation into individual organizational roles control = ability to coordinate and motivate people to work in the organization’s interests Subunits: Functions and Divisions - - function = subunit composed of a group of people, working together, who possess similar skills or use the same kind of knowledge, tools or techniques to perform their jobs à as organizations grow, they differentiate into 5 different kinds of functions: o support functions – facilitate control of relations with environment and stakeholders (purchasing, sales & marketing, public relations, legal affairs) ...

Words: 20567 - Pages: 83

Premium Essay

Organizational Culture Profile - Ann, Inc.

...Organizational Culture of Ann, Inc. An Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) can be used as a tool to measure the culture of an organization through seven distinct values. Those values include detail-oriented, team-oriented, people-oriented, outcome-oriented, stable, aggressive and innovative. The sum of these values characterizes an organization’s culture. By identifying values that make up a company’s culture, managers can steer the principles, values and beliefs of the company more effectively. At Ann, Inc., the parent corporation of Ann Taylor and Loft stores, the culture of the corporation is described as follows, “our high-performance culture offers rewarding possibilities that fit perfectly into your own version of success.” (Ann, Inc., 2013). More specifically, the culture of Ann, Inc. can be discovered by delving into some of the specific dimensional values of the OCP framework. According to Carpenter, Bauer and Erdogan (2013, p. 210), “companies that have innovative cultures are flexible, adaptable and experiment with new ideas.” Customers that shop at Ann Taylor and Loft stores on a frequent basis notice that new clothing is introduced when the seasons change and when trends change. As further evidence of this cultural value, Ann Inc.’s website mentions “innovation is constant” (Ann, Inc., 2013). In fact, in 2010, Ann, Inc. launched a move to replace its outdated large Ann Taylor stores with smaller stores that make women feel like they are at home, walking...

Words: 818 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Hlth400: Unit 2 Discussion Board

...Grade Received, "A" Beliefs and values, norms, folkways, and mores, and subcultures are the basic elements of an organizational culture (Fottler, Ford, & Heaton, 2010). I feel that an employee should be fired if they do not meet the organization’s organizational culture. We all know that every individual has his/her own beliefs; however, if the person does not match the beliefs and values of the organization, problems can arise. If an organization says that they are focused on their consumers and when the employees interact with consumers they are rude and inconsiderate, the consumer may not return. I worked in a nursing home as a CNA for almost two years. Our patients all were elderly and had Down’s syndrome. Our organizational culture was to treat each patient with dignity and respect, as well as giving each patient their right to privacy. We were all trained on these beliefs, as well as all of the HIPAA rules. Our facility hired a young girl to work the floor as a CNA as well. I caught her making fun of one of our consumers with one of her friends. I turned her in, and she was fired on the spot, no questions asked. Like I stated before, I do believe that an employee should be terminated if they do not meet the organization’s culture. I also believe, however, that if the employee is trained properly, they should have a chance to get their attitudes in check. Once given that second chance, if they still do not meet the organization’s culture, then they should...

Words: 316 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Organization Seeks Control

...CONTENT Abstract 2 Introduction 2 Mechanistic Role Formalization & Functional Specialization Increases Performance 3 Excess control often stifles innovation. 4 Employee motivation: The crisis of bureaucratic control 5 Summary 8 Reference 10 Abstract In this paper I will critically evaluate the statement “Organizations seek to control” from both mechanistic and culture perspective, using my own placement experience in Great Eastern Life Assurance (Singapore) as an example to examine the extent of compatibility and conflict between these two perspectives in the sense of control. Introduction Control is a set of activities to determine an actual state of affairs, compare it to appropriate models, and then formulate conclusions which should contribute to assure efficient and effective functioning of an organization. A mechanistic view of organizations assumes that organizations operate in a consistent machine-like manner. Control in mechanisms perspective, primarily aimed at detecting irregularities. A culture view of organizations treats organizations as mini societies which have a system of strongly-held shared value among members. Control by corporate culture views people as emotional, symbol-loving, and needing to...

Words: 2207 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Management

...other people in the organization and to get them to do what they otherwise would not have done. Although the terms power, authority and influence are often used synonymously, there is a difference between them. Power is the ability to effect a change in an individual or a group in some way. Power may or may not be legitimate. That is, power need not correspond with a person's organizational position. Authority, on the other hand, is legitimate. It is the power which is sanctioned by the organization and is often the 'source' of power. Influence is a much broader concept than both power and authority. French and Raven, social psychologists, identified five sources of power - coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent. Coercive power is based on fear and is the ability to influence another person through threats or fear of punishment. Reward power is a positive power which refers to the ability to get things done through others on the basis of one's power to grant rewards. Legitimate power depends on organizational position and authority. It refers to the power conferred by a person's organizational position. Expert power is derived from a person's expertise or specialized knowledge of a certain subject that is perceived as important to the organization. And referent power is based on people's identification with a certain individual and their attempt to emulate his behavior. The person who acts as a model for reference has power over the person who emulates his...

Words: 552 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Telecomunication

...Creating a Plan for Positive Influence Daniel E Fulgencio Mota University of Phoenix LDR/531 Organizational Leadership March 28, 2013 Prof. Miguel A Rodriguez, PhD Creating a Plan for Positive Influence Business model has change dramatically lately. These days are more common for the organizations to use team work or small subunits, also known as department or section formed specifically to perform specific task for achieving different goals in the company. This document proposes will cover several topics concerning to the design of an effective plan to increase team motivation, satisfaction and performance. How the different attitudes, emotions and, personalities may affect the good performance of group and the tools managers can use to alleviate this situations. Designing and effective Team Before defining a strategy to form and effective team it is important to know fundamentals aspects about team or groups. There are two types of groups formal and informal. This document focused on formal groups. Formal groups are those defined by organizations with the purpose of assigning task to the members of the team for achieving specifics goals. Other important aspect on forming and managing effective teams is the role a leader has for ensuring success of the team. Leaders may improve team performance by influencing and motivating each member of the group. Team performance is strongly related to the level of commitment and motivation members have to achieve...

Words: 1151 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Strategic Quality Mgt & Customer Satisfaction

...Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts MGT-307 September 12, 2011 Farid Dalili Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts I will be discussing in this paper how the organizational culture, organizational behavior, diversity and communication is analyzed at Kaiser Permanente. I will define and explain how Kaiser Permanente uses the terminology and concepts in our hospital. Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the shared beliefs and values that make a difference in the behavior of organizational members. Culture plays an important role in stability and safety in an organization. Organization culture defines an organization's leadership and in order to understand its leadership, it is a must to first understand its culture. “Although it is relatively easy to conclude that what works well in one culture may not work as well in another, it is far harder to specify exactly how cultural differences affect things like motivation, job satisfaction, and ethical behavior.” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). The organizational culture at Kaiser Permanente has started a program called “Live Well Be Well” for their employees. This program has really made a big difference at our facility. The employees have better understanding of their health, motivated to come to work everyday and work ethics have improved as well. . Employees rely on culture for the ability to respond to any circumstances, culture becomes hard core in many organizations...

Words: 733 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Organizational Psychology Paper

...Organizational Psychology Fred Sanford PSY428 July 13, 2011 Dr. Love Less Organizational Psychology Modern businesses must stay on the cutting edge in order to ensure success in the ever changing and highly competitive corporate environment. Paramount to this success is the application of organizational psychology which focuses on the human factor of business. Close examination of the root definition, roles of research and statistics, and utilization of organizational psychology within organizations will provide insight into just how the human factor contributes to the failure or success of an organization. The finely tuned sports team, that just achieved greatness, or the corporation that collapsed due to corruption contained one thing, people who had either a positive or negative impact on an organization. “Organizational psychology is field that utilizes scientific methodology to better understand the behavior of individuals working in organizational settings” (Jex & Britt, 2008, p.1). The simple explanation is to understand what makes people tick in an organizational environment such as a business. Once understood, the challenge to organizational psychology is to capitalize on dynamics of individual behaviors and build upon the success of the organization. The role of research and statistics in organizational psychology is crucial to understanding how an organization functions. Research is accomplished in numerous ways; archival data studies, survey studies...

Words: 776 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Conflict

...Discuss the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital. A conflict is to come into a collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition or to clash. Conflicts can be good as well as bad. A conflict not only depends upon perspectives but also upon how concerned parties react to certain situations. There are four primary levels of conflict: intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2011, p. 385). The conflict that is occurring throughout General Hospital pertains to finances. General Hospital is having problems in revenue and a decline in patients with better health care plans that generate better revenue. Mike Hammer, Hospital CEO, is now dealing with the problem of cutting cost to prevent the hospital from going into a financial dilemma. Hammer also faces the problem of facilitating staff that agree with his previous decisions and perception on how to solve the problem. Physicians are focusing on personal benefits from representatives of pharmaceutical companies that distributes to the hospital. Each physician and clinician employed are paid a very high salary and the pharmaceutical companies are aware that the physicians are interested in favors if they use products at the hospital. This makes representatives of pharmaceutical companies to easily get their products in the General Hospital. This practice has started a serious problem. Some pharmaceutical companies increased the prices of their products...

Words: 414 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Effective Communications

...Effective Communications Paper Your Name Course # Date Instructor: Today’s growing businesses are often requiring employees to work in teams to meet project deadlines. Working in teams comes with many benefits, such as building employee relationships and knowledge sharing. Unfortunately, teamwork has its negative aspects, such as tension or anxiety, which almost always derives from poor communication. Effective communication within an organization often determines an organizations fate. This article gives an overview of effective communication through knowledge sharing, effective and ineffective techniques, using effective techniques in a health care environment, and technological impacts. Effective Knowledge Sharing Techniques Knowledge is often seen as a rich form of information. This differentiation, however, is not terribly helpful. A more useful definition of knowledge is that it is about know-how and know-why. A metaphor is that of a cake. An analysis of its molecular constituents is data – for most purposes not very useful – one may not even be able to tell it were a cake. A list of ingredients is information – more useful – an experienced cook could probably make the cake – the data has been given context. The recipe though would be knowledge – written knowledge - explicit knowledge – it tells how to make the cake. An inexperienced cook however, even with the recipe might not make a good cake. A person, though, with relevant knowledge, experience...

Words: 1102 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Sensitive Projects

...Sensitive Project (Problem Resolution Process for AfriOne Limited) Executive Summary Established in 1994, AfriOne Limited is headquartered in Jos, Nigeria. The company is mainly engaged in R&D, marketing of telecommunications equipment, providing Internet Protocol (IP) domain related services spanning through IT consultancy, wireless internet delivery, and Voice over IP range of services. AfriOne is now a renowned company in Nigeria’s telecommunication market and is quickly evolving into a key participant in the West African market. AfriOne has 385 employees located at 36 branch offices and six regional offices. Already one of the most successful private companies in Nigeria, AfriOne has a vision of becoming a globally competitive enterprise. To enable expansion and support its fast-growing business so that issues could be escalated, assigned, tracked and resolved in a timely manner, AfriOne decided to implement a “Problem Resolution Process (PRP)” in line with the Lean Enterprise - A business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, suppliers, and customer relations. Problem Resolution Process (PRP) – a process with the intent of providing a mechanism for organising, maintaining, and tracking the resolution of problems that cannot be resolved at the “individual” level in an organisation is being considered as the sensitive project discussed in this report. It is supposed that the project manager inherited the existing PRP project...

Words: 3837 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Best Buy Culture

...Assignment #5 – “ROWE Program at Best Buy” BUS – 520 – Organizational Behavior Name – Vyas Ankit Instructor’s name – Dr. Yin Date – 06/12/2011 Question – 1 Describe the culture of Best Buy Answer – 1 Best Buy culture has changed tremendously. The company’s culture was once to embrace long hours and sacrifice, now the culture is more relaxed. The employees are now really able to run their own schedule as well as their own work progress. Before the ROWE program was introduces to the Best Buy employees would have to work until they found a solution. That means staying at work all night and day if the job or situation requires it.   For example the book talks about one employee that was given a plaque for staying up and at work for three days to right a report that was due.   He made a sacrifice for his job that made him end up in the hospital. The ROWE program which stands for Results-Only Work Environment program is a way that employees can still work whether in the office, at home, or coffee shop as long as they finish the job. This program has changed the culture of Best Buy as well as the performance. Question – 2 discuss the approach to Organizational change that the ROWE program illustrate Answer – 2 Instead of launching a work-life balance program, Best Buy rethought the very concept of work. Under the Results-Only Work Environment program or ROWE, employees can work when and where they like, as long as they get the job done. The ROWE program is based on...

Words: 1060 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Organisation Cultures

...Discuss organizational culture and its implications for performance Organizational culture is defined by the value systems, behaviors and policies of an organization. It in turn defines the corporate identity, distinguishes the exclusive services/products and is the positive force within the organization that drives successful results. For a company to be successful it needs a strong organization culture and leadership. Well defined internal process and strong organization culture provide a strong organization structure. Companies who are not able to develop and maintain strong cultures that align with the mission see little or no success in the long term. A few companies in the United States known for their strong corporate culture include Microsoft, GE, IBM, General Motors, and Boeing. Strong corporate cultures drive commitment, job satisfaction and a sense of belonging. These organizations have over the years developed repeatable processes and well defined training systems to help employees assimilate into their organizational culture and become informed of the value system quickly and easily in order to become fully committed and performing team members within defined timeframes. To ensure employees are reminded consistently of their corporate responsibilities some companies have defined mandatory certifications to be completed by employees as part of the performance review process. Studies show that organizational cultures have a definite and measurable effect...

Words: 827 - Pages: 4