Free Essay: Organizational Behavior Post Test

Understanding organizational behavior is an essential element to consider when making critical decisions. For example, operational managers should understand the possible response of employees towards a change (Griffin, Phillips & Gully, 2016). Knowledge gained would help put in place measures that would ensure the successful implementation of the planned change. Also, competent managers must understand the reasons why employees behave the way they and recommend critical strategies that would improve their commitment and performance to achieve long-term goals and objectives. The essay answers prompts about organizational behavior post-test.

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An Organization and the Role of a Manager

An organization is an entity carrying out commercial activities to meet the needs and requirements of its customers. It must have a formal structure, must develop strategies to achieve its long and short-term goals and objectives and should utilize internal and external resources to carry out its operations. Different forms of organizations exist and they include sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations, and companies. Every entity has different types of stakeholders, including primary and secondary (Craig & Campbell, 2012). They have different interests and expectations. The organizational manager plays a crucial role in the success of the entity. Among the functions include planning, staffing, directing, organizing and controlling the entity's operations. The overall function of the manager is to oversee the progress of the entity and ensure it achieves its goals and objectives, as well as meeting the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. Also, the manager plans the expansion of the entity by mobilizing resources to realize the vision.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy is the application of personal standards and expectations that influence individual expectations at the workplace. It is a tool an employee uses to manage themselves and those they have influence. Some employees in the workplace set high standards so that they work hard towards achieving the targets. In this context, Carl's performance has entered a realm where the individual sets personal standards to follow and they exceed organizational expectations. By setting self-expectations, the individual has no option but to work towards meeting the targets and learn from the mistakes to improve future performance (Griffin et al., 2016). A self-fulfilling prophecy influences individual behavior and attitude towards others. Since it involves anticipation of a certain behavior from other people, an individual must behave according to the expectation. Also, the individual must behave in a way that would realize the expectations and this includes spending more time in the workplace and working with others.

Surface and Deep-Level Diversities

The surface-level diversity is a form of diversity based on observable differences among individuals. In any workplace, all individuals can identify these differential factors. Among the factors include sex, age, ethnicity, and marital status. The diversity allows room for different perception because some individuals may think that they are superior to others because of the features they possess. Also, it affects the personality of individuals, depending on their characteristics, and their perceptions. Diversity assumes that personality and values influence individual behavior and that individuals with some characteristics are better than others (Griffin et al., 2016). Deep-level diversity involves non-observable features. They are perceived rather than objective. They influence the cohesion and performance of employees. These features include attitudes, beliefs, values, and personality. Deep-level diversity perceives that diversity in the workplace influences the general behavior of individuals, while they also affect personality. It assumes that non-observable characteristics affect the attitude of people and skill development in an organization.

Females' Reactions When Making Decisions Under Stress

Stress causes men and women to respond differently based on the same situation. Although men and women respond differently to situations that require decisions, they both increase communication with others and consultation so that they come up with the best option. The primary feature that determines how females react to making decisions is that they slow down in making decisions to allow more time for consultation. Stress prevents females from making prompt decisions to respond to the changes in the business environment (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). It is because they tend to think more about the outcome and risk involved in case the decision does not succeed. Also, women do not think more about rewards during stress, unlike males who would make prompt decisions, considering available rewards. In this regard, the process of making decisions should involve males and females so that they scrutinize potential options and come up with the best decision that would help the company to respond to the changes in the business environment.

Unfair Discrimination and Diversity Management

The primary difference is that unfair discrimination assumes that all individuals in the organization or a team are equal and deserve equal treatment but a manager may decide to treat some individuals unequally. For example, a manager may promote all members of a team except one when they all have equal standards. On the contrary, diversity management involves making everyone in the organization to be aware of their differences (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). Because of the differences, they respond differently to others. Additionally, unfair discrimination can be direct or indirect and it is based on the decision of the manager while diversity management is direct since leaders make decisions based on observed employee characteristics. The similarity is that they all influence the behavior of the manager towards some employees based on their characteristics. Employee diversity gives the basis for unfair discrimination since a manager can discriminate against an individual based on their race.

Standardization in Organizational Behavior

Standardization is the development of a generally acceptable behavior in the workplace that all stakeholders should follow. The organization must adhere to the standardized processes, and this ensures consistency when dealing with the stakeholders. It works by setting general guidelines regarding business operations with the primary purpose of enhancing consistency across the entity. Entities apply the concept in different ways. For example, fast food retailers standardize the food making processes so that they prepare their foods in the same manner. Also, organizations standardize their marketing processes internationally to ensure they use the same message to all markets to avoid inconsistency and confusion among customers (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). Companies use the same designs and logos in all its markets to ensure consistency. Although standardization promotes consistency, it may not be appropriate in all circumstances because of the changes in the business environment that require the adoption of different behaviors to meet the needs of different stakeholders in different markets.

Organizational Culture and Employees Turnover

A strong organizational culture would help to have the right people in the right place. For example, combining employees who share the same beliefs would improve organizational results because it prevents potential conflict of interest among the members. Realizing winning results would encourage and motivate the members and they will be satisfied with their work; hence, they will not leave the entity due to dissatisfaction. Secondly, a strong organizational culture would assess the personality and the ability of an employee to fit in the team environment (Griffin et al., 2016). As a result, it helps in the recruitment process where the team selects employees with characteristics that fit the organization and this increases employee motivation and satisfaction. Finally, it promotes interpersonal relationships since the employees consider each other equal and essential for the success of the company. In the process, it would lead to equality; thus, making all employees happy and they will not be interested to exit their current workplace. Therefore, a strong organizational culture can help to manage employee turnover.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The cognitive dissonance theory asserts that people of an organization tend to seek consistency among their opinions and beliefs also referred to as cognition. However, there are situations where inconsistency happens often referred to as dissonance. In such situations, people must do something to eliminate the dissonance (Fox, 2007). Factors that determine dissonance include individual beliefs and their relative importance. While trying to eliminate inconsistency, individuals must change their attitudes to accommodate the required behavior. Furthermore, individuals should minimize the significance of dissonant beliefs and increase consonant values. Notably, dissonance occurs when individuals have to choose between incompatible actions and beliefs. They can all be attractive, but the individual must balance the two and change their attitudes to accommodate the desired behavior.

Importance of Creating Group Behavior

Creating trust among teams and groups in an organization is essential since it influences their productivity. First, it helps to create trust by ensuring that all people follow rules and regulations. Everyone should learn to follow set guidelines to avoid inconsistencies that would create conflicts among team members; thus, promoting team success (Fox, 2007). Secondly, building a climate of trust would promote groupthink. The culture encourages all members to think towards meeting the goals and objectives of the organization. Groupthink is a means towards realizing cohesiveness and avoiding behaviors that would lead to a conflict of interest. Most importantly, it encourages open information sharing and ensures effective communication for constructive arguments that improve organizational decisions. However, to achieve this, the management should consider promoting workplace diversity so that all members will have equal opportunities and treatments; thus, promoting team cohesiveness.

Type of Authority Structure

Considering the expansion plans of ABC Industries, the best type of authority structure to apply in its planned form is a line authority structure. It is the authority structure where the entity will have a vertical structure and managers make different decisions at different levels of management. The chief executive officer has the highest authority and influences the decisions of various departments (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). The authority structure is the best for the company since it clarifies authority and expertise. Since the business environment is changing fast, the structure would improve the decision-making process since there are fewer ranks involved. Although it is simple to plan and implement, it neglects the skills of specialists in the planning process. Since the company wants to become the market leader in small-batch technology, the leadership must ensure the involvement of all stakeholders and specialists in the planning process to develop competitive strategies.

Disadvantages of Functional Organizational Structure

A functional organizational structure divides an organization into different departments based on the roles they play. A functional manager heads every department. Existing disadvantages in these organizations include boredom among employees because they do the same work repetitively.