Category Archives: Organizational Behaviour

Organizational Behaviour, People Management

The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Work Behavior

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Locus control is a crucial variable when explaining human behavior in an organization. The measurement of the concept, the nature and the general evidence for the validity of the concept are discussed in this article.

People have presented several hypotheses that involved the locus of control in the context of an organization. Evidence from applied studies has been reviewed as well. The evidence suggested that that the locus of control has a relationship with the effort, motivation, satisfaction, performance, compliance, the perception of the job, supervisory style and the compliance with authority. Locus of control may also moderate the relationship between motivation and incentives.

Organizational Behavior as a Function of the Locus of Control

Individual personality has received little attention in the research of job satisfaction and motivation. The major theories in organizational psychology believe that the same process accounts for behavior across different individuals and that characteristics of situations cause behavior that is predictable across different people.

The theory of locus of control came from research and observation in clinical psychology. Both the theory and the measurement have been refined to the extent that the concept is heuristically important. Numerous studies of the locus of control have been related to motivational, attitudinal and behavioral variables in the setting of organizations.

The Locus of Control Concept

People attribute the control of events or the cause of events either to the external environment or themselves. People who ascribe the control of events to themselves possess an internal locus of control. Such peoples are referred to as internals. On the other hand, individuals who attribute the control of events to outside causes possess an external locus of control. Such people are known as externals.

Measuring Locus of Control

The Rotter’s internal-external scale is the most widely used instrument to measure the locus of control. The instrument consists of twenty-three locus of control. It also consists of six filler items in a format that is forced-choice. You add up the total number of responses that are externally oriented for each pair to get the scores.

The Impact of Locus of Control

A locus of control is a belief about whether the results or outcomes of our actions are related to what we do or things that other people do. If you possess an external locus of control then you believe that fate, deities, karma, randomness or other external forces determine your success and what is going to happen in your life. If your locus of control is internal then you believe that your fate is dependent on your actions. In short, people who possess an internal locus of control are go-getters. This orientation has numerous benefits.

Internal Locus of Control

People with an internal locus of control perform well in school, are less vulnerable to depression; they deal better with stress, are more satisfied with their jobs and actively find solutions to their problems. People with an internal locus of control are more determined towards achieving their goals. This doesn’t mean that an internal locus of control is only associated with a nice time. When it is taken to the extreme, it can become problematic.

Extreme internal locus of control can be psychologically unstable and unhealthy. It is always important to match the internal locus of control with self-efficacy, competence and opportunity. This will make it possible for you to experience a sense of personal responsibility and control. People who are overly internal but lack competence, opportunity and efficacy can become anxious, neurotic and depressed. In short, internals should have a realistic sense of influence in order to be successful.

The main concern comes in when people start questioning as to whether the locus of control orientation in people is natural or nurtured. The orientation of locus of control is not as stable as other traits like extroversion or introversionand it can change based on your personal experiences. However, the good news is that it is possible for you to learn that you have agency in your life.

The Impact on Employee Performance

External or internal locus of control plays a very important role for people to sustain usefulness and learning performance. The experiences and knowledge gained by an individual through organizational learning are crucial in increasing the performance of that individual. It is, therefore, necessary for businesses to fulfill learning in an arrangement and use it to improve employee performance.

There is very little in an individual’s life that your locus of control does not impact. According to numerous studies, internal locus of control is associated with success in sports, school, business and psychological and physical health. An internal locus of control is associated with achievement and success because of the tendency to attribute both your successes and failures to your actions. It gives employees a reason to study their actions and find out where they went wrong and take the necessary actions to improve. Locus of control has effects on a lot of areas of life and this makes it a subject of discussion and debate outside the realms of psychology.

What Effects does the Locus of Control have on your Health?

Locus of control affects our health either directly or indirectly. The feeling of control over what we do can help us to reduce stress. It also affects our physical health. People with an internal locus of control relate their actions to their health. This makes them more likely to get involved in activities that are likely to keep them healthy such as doing exercises, eating a balanced diet and making appointments with their doctor on regular occasions.

However, according to research, it is not just the locus of control in individuals that determines how well people take care of themselves. You can have a locus of control that is very strong but if you don’t value your health, you will not be able to take good care of your health.  

Organizational Behaviour, People Management

The Best Employee Traits for an Organization

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When talking about human resources management, it is highly likely to talk about personality. Whenever we talk about cultural fit, job fit, conflict resolution, and team productivity in an organization, personality is often a key talking point. Personality is therefore very important in an organization.

It makes sense that certain personalities make people more suitable for the company, certain jobs, and certain teams. So, what is so informative about personality? There are certain things you should look at when evaluating someone’s personality.

Learning Mode

The first thing to consider about the personality of your employees is how they learn.

  • Do your employees assimilate information quickly or they are good with concrete data?
  • Are your employees more methodical or analytical?

It is crucial for employers to know the learning mode of their employees because this helps them to know if the employees have what it takes to be the most effective people in certain positions. It will also tell managers the best approach to training, onboarding and development plans.

The Strength of Character

The strength of character is not the ability of a person to walk all over others. It is the tendency of a person to stick to things that they know. Are the people traditional in things that they do or are they adaptable? Do the employees do well in ambiguous situations or they prefer familiar situations with directives that are clearly defined.

There are numerous positions that require people to be adaptable, ones who love trying things out and thrives in environments that are not familiar to them. However, you would not want such people to be your accountants.

Behavior

Behavior involves people as being either organized or spontaneous. This dimension of personality is one of the easiest to understand. Employees are either more organized or spontaneous.

Organized employees plan things ahead of time and have well-structured action plans. Spontaneous employees don’t mind interruptions or are comfortable at improvising or not as detail-oriented as the organized employees.

There are, however, those who land in between the two as with other dimensions. Individuals typically have a tendency to be either organized or spontaneous regardless of the strength of the traits. It would be important for people to know when they want to plan for important meetings.

Competitiveness

Sometimes, we meet people who seem to be unmotivated and lazy at first but become a fiery ball of accomplishments when they are pitted against other people. On the other hand, there are people who seem to be motivated but end up failing when you ask them to compete against others.

We are all different, and managers should understand this. Some people are less competitive than others while others get their satisfaction when they are serving others and find themselves in work environments that are harmonious.

Motivation

It would be awesome to know what motivates your staff. It would be great if you know that your best workers want more stability and security and not the big corner workspace.

There are some people who move across the world for a prettier paycheck or a better title. There are also those employees who have everything they need in their benefits plan. There are different things that motivate different employees. It is, therefore, crucial to know where your staff lies and what motivates them.

Assurance

Assertive people are very assured of themselves, and they like to lead, to argue and are opinionated. They can also be very persuasive. On the other hand, conciliate individuals tend to appear more composed, avoid confrontations and find it hard to express their opinion.

We also have those who are in between, but the main point is to recognize the importance of distinguishing between the two. This is more important if your business requires too much teamwork. It is crucial to ensure that the team is complementary and compatible.

Level of Trust

When we talk about the level of trust we are not referring to the level of trust one has in other people when they are given information. We need to know whether they question everything or when they accept the things that are at face value. Managers or business owners should consider having a great employee who would be a great manager.

However, after a few months in the new role, you will notice that the projects of the employee are not going smoothly as you expected. Investigations also show that new managers are a little too trusting for their role and are not doing the control required to be a manager or following up. Employees and situations are different, and life would be easier and better if you know the things you are dealing with.

Sociability

I am sure you have heard a lot about employee sociability. If you have ever done a test about personality, then there are high chances that you have looked at your results on this scale and thought of the things you are and the things you are not as far as sociability is concerned.

It is crucial to understand that different things get measured when evaluating sociability. A lot of people don’t see the benefit of the scale as far as business is concerned. It is crucial to know which of your employees are willing to initiate contact with strangers.

You need to know employees that are best listeners and those that prefer being alone. This will help you know the employees to put at the front desk, and the employees to assign marketing tasks that involve talking to strangers.

Nervous tension

It is essential to know how your employees will react when they are under pressure or when they are under strict supervision. Are they cool, calm and collected? Are they affected by the pressure or are they anxious? This information should be used by managers to know the employees who can work under pressure, supervised and unsupervised. It is the best way to know who can lead and who cannot lead.

Leadership, Management, Organizational Behaviour, People Management

Why Managers Need To Understand Organizational Behavior

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As managers begin to study organizational behavior, they will be struck by the fact that they can apply what they have learned immediately to the problems they encounter at work. Managers will be gaining a broad view of organizational behavior disciplines, and they will also find different ways they can alter their management philosophy to reflect the knowledge newly found in the study of organizational behavior. The more the knowledge about organizational behavior grows; the more managers will become skilled in understanding and analyzing the behavioral implications of the problems facing their organization. Before we look at the necessity of managers studying organizational behavior, let’s first look at the organizational behavior theories.

Human Relations Behavioral Theory

This theory states that organizations function well when the staff feels empowered and valued. The theory is based on studying the productivity of the employees under different circumstances of work. Human relations behavioral theory also states that the staff in an organization are likely to increase efficiency and productivity if they feel validated and satisfied at work.

For example, things such as free lunch could help employees feel content and secure because their company meets their needs. When the staff believes that management cares about their needs and wants, they feel a sense of loyalty, and this boosts their productivity in return.

Decision-making Behavioral Theory

This is the most applied theory to supervisors and managers because they can make more of their decisions that affect their company. Decision making behavioral theory states that people within an organization can only make decisions based on the available information. However, the information must be complete and accurate for the decision to achieve a specific goal.

The person making the decision should have the ability to sort through the process and information correctly. Inadequate or insufficient information leads to bad decision making. Also, managers who are not strong in information synthesis are likely to make bad decisions.

Servant Leadership Behavioral T

The servant leadership theory has gained a lot of influence over the past few decades. The theory states that the leaders in an organization will achieve success only if they become servants of their employees. Leaders wield influence in an organization, unlike servants. They are therefore able to create the principles and vision that drives the company forward. The servant leadership theory allows executives to view all work protocols and processes from the point of view of their employees. If you own a company, then your primary job is to view the needs and the wants of your employees as more important as your needs and wants.

This simply means that you provide employees with all the necessary resources for them to achieve performance standards that you have established for your company. Servant leadership behavior can help you create a stronger bond with your employees, but it is important to remember that your main focus should remain on the wants and needs of your employees and not on their feelings. Managers who focus too much on the feelings of their workers may be restricted from making hard decisions and from providing honest critiques of their work.

Benefits of Organizational Behavior to Managers

There are many benefits of knowing organizational behavior for leaders and managers in any organization. We have listed the three main benefits for you to understand.

Employee Training

Organizational behavior is very important in the process of training employees. Employees with the right backgrounds get hired to do relevant jobs in an organization. However, often the background is not enough to ensure that there is effective performance over time.

Organizational behavior affects the training provided to employees internally through resources. Employee training is focused on strengthening and improving the existing skills, regulatory requirements or learning about new technology that can impact how work is done in an organization and staying updated on changes in the environment that can change how employees do work.

Engagement

Managers and employers are concerned about developing a conducive environment where employees can feel connected to their work and to the mission of the company. Managers are also concerned about their ability to offer ideas and insights to help improve the production and the work environment. The work rules in an organization affect the engagement as well as the culture.

Conclusion

Organizational behavior is an important subject. It helps leaders and managers to understand, and plan for an individual’s actions. Organizational behavior is the study of perception, attitude, and moral ethics of individuals in an organization.

Education, Education and Training, Management, Organizational Behaviour, People Management

An Introduction to Organizational Behaviour

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I’ve spoken earlier about OB and how it is used within businesses, but I thought that it might be useful to be a lot more detailed. So, over the course of this year expect regular posts on this topic which you can use in your own learnings.

Organizational behaviour can be defined as the study of how people interact within groups. This study is generally applied in an attempt to come up with more efficient business organizations. The main idea of the study of organizational is that organizations can apply a scientific approach to manage their workers. Generally, the theories of organizational are used for human resources to maximize the individual output of people from group members.

A Breakdown of Organizational Behaviour

There are different philosophies and models of organizational behaviour. The focus on these different areas of study is:

  • Increasing job satisfaction,
  • Improving job performance,
  • Encouraging leadership and promoting innovation.

Managers may adopt different management tactics to achieve the desired results. These tactics may include modifying compensation structures, reorganizing groups and changing the evaluation of performance.

Brief History of OB

The field of organizational behaviour dates back to the late 20s when a company called Hawthorne electric company set up experiments. The experiments were designed to discern how environmental change changed employees productivity.

Between 1924 and 1933, various studies were conducted by Hawthorne electric company. The studies included the study of the effects of different types of breaks on the productivity of employees. The most famous finding from the studies is what is known as the Hawthorne Effect, the change in people’s behavior when they know they are being observed.

Some people have argued that the focus on the finding is to ignore a wider set of different studies that would be credited for the development of organizational behaviour as the human resources professional and as a field of study. The idea of looking at behaviour and productivity in an organization scientifically with the aim of increasing the quality and amount of work an employee can do was backed up with the idea that employees were not resources to be used interchangeably. Instead, workers are unique regarding their potential fit with the company and their psychology.

Organizational behavior has focused on different topics. During the 1940s, organizational behavior focused on management science and logistics. The emphasis was mainly on statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to find the best answers for problems that were deemed complex.

In the 70s, theories of institutions and contingency, as well as resource dependence, organizational ecology, and bounded rationality, came to lead the study as the field concentrated more on quantitative research. These sets of theories and findings helped organizations to understand how they can improve decision making and business structure.

Since the 70s, a good amount of work being done in the field of organizational behaviour has based on cultural components of organizations, and this includes gender roles, class, cultural relativism and gender roles and their unique roles on productivity and group building. The studies take into account the ways in which background and identity can inform decision making.

Focusing On The Academic

You can find academic programs that focus on organizational behavior in business schools. You can also find them in the schools of psychology and social work. They draw from the field of leadership studies, anthropology, computer models and ethnography and use qualitative, computer models and quantitative as methods of exploring and testing ideas. One can study different topics within the field of organizational behavior depending on the program.

Organizational Behaviour in Practice

Human relations professionals and executives can use organizational behavior to understand better the culture of the business and how the culture can hinder or facilitate employee retention and productivity. Executives and human resource managers can also use organizational behavior to evaluate the skills of candidates and the candidate’s personality during the hiring process.

The knowledge or theory application from the field of organizational behaviour can be narrowed down to the following sections:

  • job satisfaction,
  • personality,
  • leadership,
  • reward management,
  • power,
  • authority, and
  • politics.

There is no single way of assessing the suitable way of managing any of these things, but researching organizational can be used to provide topics and guidelines to follow.

  • Job satisfaction theories are different, but some people dispute that a satisfying job is composed of compelling work, concrete reward system, satisfactory working conditions, and good supervisors.
  • Personality plays a significant role in the way people interact with groups and do work. You can know the personality of a person through a conversation or a series of tests. Knowing the personality of a person can give you an idea of whether they are the perfect fit for the particular environment you want to hire them into. You will also know how best you can motivate the employees.
  • Authority, power, and politics depend on each other in an organization. It is therefore essential to understand the appropriate ways and adhere to the rules at the workplace, and the general ethical guidelines in which the elements are used and exhibited are the main components of running a cohesive business.

Why Managers Should Study Organizational Behaviour

The pressures on firms continue to mount, and companies around the world need to utilize their resources in the best way possible.

The success of every organization depends on the effectiveness of the management of the employees. The people’s behaviour in an organization is governed by feelings, ideas, and activities. For businesses to effectively manage people, it is vital to perceive their needs. However, the behaviour of people can differ from one individual to another. This makes it impossible to come up with standard solutions to the problems in an organization.

For this reason, it is crucial to consider the social and psychological aspects when designing solutions to solve different issues in an organization, and that is why managers should study organizational behaviour.

OB, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Behaviour, Problem Solving

Management & Problem Solving

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As someone that has been involved in Technical Support and Operations for the majority of my career, problem-solving is something that I’m very interested in! Now many believe that this is a skill that only applies to the actual support resource but in reality, it is something that applies throughout the chain from the customer all the way to the SLT.



Managers & supervisors are generally the first ones to get the ax when it comes time to trim budgets as it’s considered that they do not directly produce any specific goods or services. Their responsibility is to manage those who actually “do the work”. However, if you look at operational effectiveness it’s very much the manager’s job to look at the best and most effective way to optimize and complete a task. The phrase that most aptly applies here is that you can – 

“have it cheap, have it quick or have it good … pick two”. 

Managers are the “choosers” where they can work to build products and services faster using fewer resources or they can strive for an improvement in quality. They generally are not able to accomplish all three goals unless a radical shift in technology completely moves the overall paradigm.

When it comes to Operational Effectiveness, you can look at three primary areas where Managers work:

Technical

The focus here is the efficient use of resources and tools using technology to best achieve the goals of the organization.

Human

The focus is on the resources (people) doing the actual work. How are they best used and utilized? Another aspect of this is the care and wellbeing of those resources.

Process

The third leg of the triangle is the development of new processes, systems, and methods of operation. This can be through the utilization of technology or otherwise.

As managers progress up the “ladder” the amount of work they do at each level changes. Junior managers, for example, spend a lot more time with the technical and resource areas while more senior leaders are focused more on the process side. 

Regardless of the level that you are at, you should always expect your role to have some component of one of the three areas.

OB, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Behaviour

Organizational Behaviour vs Organizational Theory

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Organizational Behaviour (OB) is a study of people. While this could be likened to the famous Pavlov and his experiments with dogs, in this case, the study is specifically around the attitudes and performance of people in organizations.


OB tries to analyze how the work performed contributes to the effectiveness of a business and it specifically looks at it in three different ways. From the point of view of the individual, the group or team and then the larger organization itself. At the individual level, OB focuses on what makes an employee tick and looks at things like motivation, leadership and employee attitudes to work. This analysis is very specific and focused on the employee level. From the point of view of the larger organization, organizational theory (OT) becomes the tool of choice and its focus is targeted more towards structure and design at the organizational level.

Both disciplines are heavily guided by psychology (how people interact and work together), anthropology (the culture of different people) and economics (why and how people are incentivized with respect to motivation). 

Management & OB

Management is generally defined as the process of planning, organizing and leading the people and processes within an organization. Traditionally managers were responsible for supervising and motivating subordinates, but newer styles of management focus more on allowing a manager to be someone that enables and coaches an employee to succeed. The old-fashioned style of repetitive, activity-based management is changing to a more proactive method. Management and its definition is something that changes from organization to organization – there is no “one guiding principle” that all managers follow as it evolves naturally from the environment.

There is a strong relationship between OB and management where OB tries to explain how and why people act in certain ways due to current prevailing theories. These theories are often focused on many of the day-to-day responsibilities that managers face. OB in this context is the theory that managers use to put practical applications into effect to benefit the organization that they work for.



MBA, OB, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Behaviour

Why Managers Need To Understand Organizational Behavior

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Regardless of if you spell it Behavior or Behaviour, Managers need to understand what makes their teams “tick”. With the internet continually forcing businesses globally to become ever more innovative with little to no increase in resources or budgets, it’s essential that companies embrace this challenge if they want to survive.


Over the course of the coming months, I shall be covering a key discipline of management – namely Organizational Behavior & How it Impacts Team Management. For some of you, this might seem a departure from a blog focused on customer service and operations, but I believe that if you want to have a successful team, you need to understand how to lead and grow that resource.

 With the growth of the “gig economy” and freelancing taking an ever-larger proportion of the employment pie, understanding how to manage and lead teams is even more important. Now, the simple 9-5 office worker drone is frequently replaced by remote staff either working from home or performing a job in another country. Leading teams separated not only by geography but possibly time zone and culture has challenges that are quite distinct and finding a happy medium is key. 

 However, Organizational Behaviour (OB) is not only about the teams and management. Key criteria that I’ve spoken about often is the requirement of understanding the importance of Quality within the organization. This could be through the use of tools like Six Sigma and ITIL, but those also are just a “symptom”. It is important within the organization to realize that Quality matters and that it’s only by continually striving to improve can true success be achieved.

Goal Setting, Goals, MBA, Organizational Behaviour, SMART Goals

GOAL SETTING AND MANAGEMENT

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Goals are useful tools for channeling behavior and helping to target objectives that businesses’ are interested in, however to be effective – goals need to be clearly stated and well defined.  

When explained properly and tracked appropriately, goals help to increase motivation and performance and help to define job expectations.  SMART goals are excellent tools for building an effective Performance Appraisal System and for defining measurements for your employees.

Clearly stated – difficult goals – have a much greater impact than simply and easy goals that are not well explained and some of the best goals are SMART.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART goals are:
  • Specific


  • Measureable


  • Actionable/Achievable


  • Realistic


  • Time Based
Goals defined using the SMART mindset allow employees to have a better idea of what they are being measured on and what the expectations of management are for them in terms of performance.  Employees are better able to align their work to their rewards which increases motivation.

Now many organizations define these goals from a top down perspective but it is actually a better idea to involve the employee in the process.  This improves employee buy-in and and also ensures that the goals are actually realistic to the work being performed.  This is called MBO (Management By Objective) and is both a strategy and a tactic to help drive performance.  MBO needs to remain flexible, because the MBO process will require adjustment over time.

When goals are SMART and the rewards for successful achievement specified there is generally a higher level of commitment and acceptance with a correspondingly higher success rate.

Goal Feedback

One of the worst things that managers can do is not communicate with their staff and a critical area of communication is their goals.  Managers should have regular (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) meetings with all of their direct reports and a discussion about goals should occur at least once a quarter. Measuring someone on their performance only at through a performance appraisal is criminal and completely unfair as if you only discuss goals annually there is no opportunity to improve.
To ensure that goals are on-track, it is good to provide feedback to the employee.  Companies should ensure that they incorporate feedback into all of their processes and well timed formal and informal feedback on goals helps both parties determine their progress.
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Theory Y principles discuss empowering the employee and one key way is through this MBO feedback.  Completed rigorously and often it allows employees to grow and exceed their goals while ensuring that company objectives are met and surpassed.