Organizational Behavior Terminology

Organizational Behavior Terminology

Introduction

An organization is an entity with its own personality and characteristics. It is more than just a workplace or a setup where business is conducted. Every organization has its own dynamic features and personal attributes. Mostly the employees working within the organization form these attributes over the passage of time. External factors such as the customers, competitors and territory also contribute towards the shaping of an organization's personality. The employees working within an organization have their own personalities and during their working period, they transfer some characteristics of their personality to the organization. Factors that make up the personality of an organization include the culture that prevails in the organization, the behavior of the employees with customers and among themselves, the level of diversity that the organization has and the communication methods, techniques and channels that the organization uses. This gives the organization a face and a voice that distinguishes it from other organizations. In this essay, we shall discuss these factors in detail and apply them to the Valley Hospital of New Jersey, USA.

Discussion

Organizational Culture

The culture of an organization is something that develops over the passage of time. An organization cannot decide at the time of its inception about the type of culture that it would have. This is because at the time of inception, the founders cannot foresee the cultures of the employees that would be hired. Over the passage of time, as the organization grows and its workforce increases, the culture of the organization keeps changing accordingly (Tepper, et. al. 2004). Factors that shape up the culture of an organization are the work timings, dress codes and level of formality, types of products/services offered, hierarchies, employee attitudes, gender strength of employees and the nature of customers that the business caters to. The culture of an organization is quite crucial and helps the firm attract quality workforce. Before accepting a job offer, the main thing that employees investigate is the prevailing culture of the organization. For example, if late-sitting is part of the culture in a certain organization, it would discourage young parents from joining because they also have to look after their child. Similarly, if a firm hires artists to make paintings for personal clients, the culture of the organization would be less formal and more colorful and lively, to match the business profile.

Organizational Behavior

The behavior of an organization moves closely with its culture. Mostly, the culture of the organization plays the main role in shaping up the behavior. Organizational behavior refers to the way the organization responds to its customers and the way the employees interact with one another (Robbins & Judge, 2006). In many organizations, there are strict hierarchies that are followed and a person can only interact with his or her immediate supervisor and immediate subordinate. On the other hand, certain organizations have flatter hierarchal structures, encourage suggestions, and have open communication. Similarly, some organizations communicate with their customers on a personal level whereas some maintain a formal ...