Organizational Behaviour

Executive summary

Organizational behavior is going to be considered in this term paper as one of the main keys to the successful performance of any organization. First of all, the term “organizational behavior” is going to be defined. Second of all, we will describe the factors that may influence organizational behavior. Thirdly, we will try to explain how organizational behavior may influence an organization’s business success. Finally, the recommendations of how to improve the current organizational behavior are provided. A particular question we have to answer in the research paper is the following. Why are leadership styles important in the effective management of organizations?

Introduction

Any organization is a difficult mechanism, where production processes, legal schemes, the overall tasks, etc. are combined with people’s emotions and interests. This organism evolves and lives according to specific principles and laws. It is very important to maintain a positive climate inside an organization. It can be done by setting an appropriate organizational behavior. To begin with, we would like to provide a definition of the term “organizational behavior”. In our opinion, one of the most appropriate definitions is the following.

“Organizational behavior is a set of actions and attitudes of individuals and groups toward one another and toward the organization as a whole, and its effect on the organization's functioning and performance” (Organizational Behavior Definition).

Simply speaking, organizational behavior is the term that describes relations inside an organization – relations between employees, between employees and managers, relations between managers, etc. Also, it would be reasonable to add relations of an organization with all the stakeholders and also partners, and even competitors.

Learning this subject, we have to account for two problems. First of all, we have to explore organizational behavior, its factors, and perceptions. On the other hand, it is important to define the ways in which organizational behavior may influence an organization’s performance.

Let us define the factors that may influence organizational behavior. Among them the following ones can be pointed out:

1. The size of an organization. The bigger an organization is – the greater the number of its employees is. It means that relations between them have a lot of levels and can be really complicated. It is a significant challenge to create appropriate organizational behavior in a big organization;
2. The results of an organization’s performance. Bad results create negative corporate climate and environment. Respectively, people are not in a good mood to think about some principles of appropriate behavior;
3. Organizational structure. One of the best definitions of this term is the following. “Organizational structure is the framework, typically hierarchical, within which an organization arranges its lines of authority and communications, and allocates rights and duties. Organizational structure determines the manner and extent to which roles, power, and responsibilities are delegated, controlled, and coordinated, and how information flows between levels of management” (Organizational Structure Definition).
4. Quality of organizational behavior depends on the type and quality of the organizational structure. In fact, a better organizational structure means better organizational behavior;
5. Industry and a type of performance/business. There are kinds of performance, where employees experience significant pressure and event stresses. That is why it is quite difficult to talk about some culture of organizational behavior in such conditions;
6. The degree of professionalism of employees. We believe that higher professionalism and a higher degree of education mean better quality of organizational behavior. People know the required values, respect them and try to implement in practice;
7. Active performance of an organization for the purpose of creating the required quality of organizational behavior. As we know, organizational behavior may be created via training, motivation and even punishment sometimes. Any organization should accept a proactive position in this context.

Therefore, we defined the main factors that may influence organizational behavior. Now it is time to talk about how organizational behavior is able to influence the overall performance of an organization. We are convinced that there is no need to explain that low degree of organizational behavior negatively influences the overall performance of a company or some other organization. That is why it is important to provide the channels via which organizational behavior may influence performance. In our opinion, among these channels the following ones can be pointed out:

1. Productivity – the low degree of organizational behavior lowers productivity of employees;
2. Corporate climate – inappropriate organizational behavior spoils the corporate climate inside an organization. Spoiled relations lower productivity once again;
3. Inappropriate organizational behavior damages informational flows inside a company. Because of lack and low quality of information, wrong decisions are made and the whole organization suffers;
4. There are usually conflicts between managers, shareholders, and employees. As a result, an organization cannot move to a common goal. This factor slows down the development of an organization;
5. Finally, bad relations and communications with the external stakeholders of an organization spoil the company’s corporate image and brand. It is equal to death in the world of tough and aggressive competition.

To conclude with this particular part of our research paper, we would like to say the following. Organizational behavior is behavior that is moved by some particular principles and values that are shared by all the members of an organization in order to maintain good relations and move towards a common goal.

Thus, we are talking about some system of values and principles. These values should be perceived by all the employees, attributed to their work and taken as a basis for decisions. When all the requirements are met, we can talk about job satisfaction of every separate employee, and overall success for a company.

Thus, the role of organizational behavior cannot be overestimated in the successful performance of a company. Generally, it is an obvious fact that organizational behavior is realized by people. On the other hand, leadership is an important factor that may organize people. Below we will talk about leadership, its types, and roles for an organization.

Discussion

First of all, we have to provide a definition of the term “leadership”. In our opinion, one, the essence of the term “leadership” can be described with the following words.

“In its essence, leadership in an organizational role involves (1) establishing a clear vision, (2) sharing (communicating) that vision with others so that they will follow willingly, (3) providing the information, knowledge, and methods to realize that vision, and (4) coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members or stakeholders. A leader comes to the forefront in case of a crisis, and is able to think and act in creative ways in difficult situations. Unlike management, leadership flows from the core of a personality and cannot be taught, although it may be learned and may be enhanced through coaching or mentoring” (Leadership Definition).

We should not confuse leadership and management. The main difference between management and leadership that comes to mind is that management is more formal category while leadership is informal. Managerial principles are formal and are regulated according to some rules and organization policy that are already implemented. Leadership depends on informal relations between people, workers, and emotional relations. Also, leadership depends on the personal qualities of a particular person – a leader.

There are also other differences between these two categories. Leadership sets a new direction or goal for co-workers that they follow. Management controls these co-workers and also recourses according to principles that have already been established. It proves that management is more technical category while leadership is more personal, creative. As for us, a good leader can be a good manager. However, a manager will not always be a leader. And it is really great for any organization when leadership and management are connected.

Any social group inside an organization has its leader. It is very important to notice a leader’s potential of such persons because of the functions that a leader executes. Among these functions, we may differentiate the following ones. First of all, the main function of a leader is to unite his/her coworkers around some goal of an organization’s performance, around an organization’s values. Also, the leader represents the interests of the working group in negotiations with managers and shareholders. A very important responsibility of a leader is to create a positive emotional climate in an organization.

As we can see, all of these functions are vitally important for the overall efficiency of an organization. That is why we can even say that an organization should stimulate the development of effective informal leadership. To do it, a company, first of all, has to notice a potential leader. A potential leader should owe some special features. Among them, we may differentiate the following ones.

A leader has to be a coordinator of all activities of a group. Moreover, a leader should be a controller of in-group activities. Generally, it means that a leader has to organize the work of a group for the purpose of achieving stated goals.

On the other hand, a leader is responsible for formulating these goals, or probably it is better to say he/she is responsible for transferring goals from the managers to members of a group. It means that a leader should be a reliable source of information for the rest of the members of a group.

Finally, a leader should maintain a positive climate inside a group. He/she should not only be a leader at work but also in daily life. That is why a leader should have the following human’s features: confidence, persistence, sociability, etc.

Of course, any leader is characterized by some followers – people that listen to him and follow his advice. The followers are almost every member of a group. However, we should also remember that there can be some people that do not support a leader.

Thus, a leader represents his followers (employees) in relation to management and also transmits information from management to employees. In fact, he is the so-called mediator between workers and managers of a company. That is why his role cannot be overestimated.

There is no single standard of leadership. In fact, there are a few types of leadership. Among them, the following ones may be pointed out: laissez-faire, autocratic, participative, transactional and transformational. Laissez-faire leadership is appropriate in the environment of highly skilled and motivated employees. This type of leadership lacks direct supervision and control. Autocratic leadership is based on the strong authority of a leader, lack of discussion and direct following of his orders. Participative leadership is based on respect and teamwork. However, the final decision is still made by a leader. Transactional leadership is based on direct instructions and formal procedures. Finally, transformational leadership is targeted on the changes in the surrounding environment.

Of course, different types of leadership are appropriate for different companies and situations. For example, laissez-faire leadership is optimal for a prospering company with well trained and motivated employees. On the other hand, crisis companies in crisis times may require autocratic or transformational leadership.

Current Events

Now we are going to say a few words about one of the leading global airline companies Emirates Airlines, and the role of leadership in its organizational behavior. Emirates Airlines was founded on May 25, 1985, by the government of Dubai. The headquarters of the company is based in Dubai, UAE.  The company is a part of Emirates Group. This group is famous for its two main corporations. One of them is Emirates Airlines, and the second one is Dnata, one of the largest travel organizations in the Middle East with over 8,000 employees handling passenger, cargo, ramp, and technical services for numerous airlines at Dubai International Airport. The company is among the leaders on the world’s market. It has achieved a lot for the 25 years of its performance, not least, because of its organizational culture.

We have already mentioned that a system of values and following them is an integral part of organizational behavior. Taking into account the oriental origin of this company, it is not surprising for us that its performance is based on the strict system of corporate and organizational values. In turn, organizational values are determined by the general moral values of this region of the world. The work of all subsidiaries, workers, and managers of the company is united with these values.

Such an attitude to the work improves the services of the company, enhances its customer’s satisfaction and minimizes its total costs. In addition, organizational culture increases the employees’ sense of pride and self-worth. Thus, organizational culture positively influences the organizational behavior of the employees, which makes the work of the whole company more effective.

Organizational culture creates organizational behavior of managers and workers of an organization. In the company Emirates Airlines, the managers are able to consider ethical aspects and are able to transmit these aspects to their employees. In fact, the managers of this company are the real leaders for their employees.

One of the reasons for the success of the company is its ability to hire the most needed and talented people around the world. And one of the criteria to be hired by Emirates is the potential employee’s ability to understand and to share the company’s main corporate and organizational values and philosophy.

What is also really important is that the values of the company resonate with the values of society. The company tries to take into account and to execute the needs of society and the environment. The company tries to resonate with the society and environment. Generally, we may also say that the organizational behavior of the company is significantly affected by the overall business environment in the country.

First of all, business relations in the UAE are based on very significant importance of the relationship. Business relations in the UAE are usually established for a long period of time, and these relations are usually very strong. As a result, a leader in a company is a real professional and mental leader that may lead his people.

The UAE is a Muslim country with appropriate views of its citizens. That is why the attitude to time is different in both counties. The UAE is a country with highly-contextual culture, which means that the context of intercourse and the abiding by informal rules of behavior are very important in the process of doing business. If cultures with high context are characterized by a great part of the information in the context of intercourse, then the main source of information words in the cultures with low context. For example, it is necessary to provide handshake only by the right hand, since the left one is associated with dark forces in the UAE. Also, in the UAE a man should not try to shake woman’s hand unless she offers it. There are a lot of such informal rules of behavior in the UAE.

Taking into account the business and social conditions in the country, we can say that transactional leadership is the most appropriate option for the country. The reason for it is that business relations are based on a lot of formal and informal rules and principles.

Conclusions

Organizational behavior is the term that describes relations inside an organization – relations between employees, between employees and managers, relations between managers, etc. Also, it would be reasonable to add relations of an organization with all the stakeholders and also partners, and even competitors. Construction and following effective organizational behavior rules depend on leaders and managers of a company.

The main difference between management and leadership that comes to mind is that management is more formal category while leadership is informal. Managerial principles are formal and are regulated according to some rules, organization policy that is already implemented. Leadership depends on informal relations between people, workers, and emotional relations. Also, leadership depends on the personal qualities of a particular person – a leader. Finally, there are different types of leadership that can be suitable for different companies in different conditions.