5 Challenges to organisational behaviour

Neha Dangi

epgp books

 

 

1. Learning objectives

2.Introduction

3. Challenges to Organisational Behaviour

3.1 Multiplicity of Culture or Cultural Diversity

3.2 Fluctuations in Demographic Profile of Workforce

3.3 Diversity in Workforce

3.4 Mergers and Acquisitions

3.5 Innovative Organisational Designs

3.6 Increasing Awareness about Quality

3.7 Stimulating Ethical Behaviour

4. Summary

 

 

1.      Learning objectives:

 

The basic objectives of this module are:

  • To study the challenges to Organisational Behaviour. To study the challenge of Cultural Diversity.
  • To learn about the challenge related to Demographic Profile of Workforce. To know about the challenge of Workforce Diversity.
  • To study the challenge of Awareness about Quality.
  • To learn about the challenge of Stimulating Ethical Behaviour.

 

2.      Introduction

 

The modern business is characterised by two main features viz. liberalisation of economy and globalisation of economy. Liberalisation of economy has cemented the path for a free economy in which there are no restrictions and one can do what one wants to do. It has resulted into severe competition among business organisations which ultimately lead to change in the styles of doing business. As a result of this change, the managers have to tackle with a lot of behavioural problems. The other aspect of the present day business is globalisation. As a result of globalisation, business organisations throughout the world have been affected. Many multinational corporations have come to India for doing business and many Indian companies have gone in the foreign countries. The two types of behavioural problems have been arising as a result of globalisation. Firstly, a manager from India faces a lot of problems in managing the workforce as the workforce in the other countries is very much different from that of Indian workforce. Secondly, when a manager works with a multinational company in India, he finds a different work culture and he has to change himself according to the new circumstances. Thus, in context of liberalisation and globalisation of economy, the challenges that the managers have to face in managing behaviour in business organisations have been discussed. These challenges and opportunities are given below:-

 

3.   Challenges to Organisational Behaviour

 

3.1 Multiplicity of Culture or Cultural Diversity

Source: https://image.slidesharecdn.com/managingculturaldiversity-120803040415-phpapp01/95/managing-cultural-diversity-5-728.jpg?cb=1344328374

 

Multiplicity of Culture or Cultural Diversity or Cross Cultural Dynamics means that people of different cultures will possess different patterns of behaviour. It has been proved from various researches that there is no one single management principle which is applicable for all the cultures. A set of beliefs, values and attitudes which has been shared in common by the members of the society is termed as culture. Due to possession of different cultures in different countries the behavioural patterns would be also be different in every country.

 

1.1 Magnitudes of Cultural Diversity

 

Multiplicity of culture exists on the basis of various magnitudes which have been discussed as under:-

 

1)Socialism versus Individualism: There are differences among people on the basis of socialism and individualism. Socialism is defined as the degree to which people think about good for the society or the group whereas Individualism refers to the degree to which people give importance to themselves. USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Netherlands and New Zealand are the countries that follow the concept of Individualism whereas countries like Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Columbia and Philippines follow socialism.

 

2)Alignment to Authority: People always prefer a situation in which there is high alignment to authority and where authority is never evaded. On the other hand, authority is evaded by people in such situation where less alignment is provided to authority. Thus, in such a culture, people avoid lines of authority in order to achieve jobs.

 

3) Circumvention of Uncertainty: Circumvention of uncertainty or avoidance of uncertainty is defined as the degree to which people are vulnerable to unidentified circumstances and their liking for clear and definite environment.

 

4) Maleness versus Femaleness: The possession of masculine and feminine characteristics or features will define the culture of the society. If there are male characteristics in a society then there will be dominance of ego goals, money and career. On the other hand, the societies which possess feminine characteristics more emphasis would be laid on social goals such as relationships, helping others, concern for people and overall quality of life. The most masculine country is Japan and the most feminine country is Sweden.

 

5) Time Alignment: Time alignment can be divided into two categories: short- term alignment and long-term alignment. People who have long-term alignment are more focussed on future, give preference to long-term projects, have perseverance and are cautious. On the other hand, people having short-term alignment are more inclined towards past and present and they respect their customs and social responsibilities. Indians always think of long-term.

 

1.2 Hurdles of Cultural Multiplicity or Diversity

 

There are many hurdles or barriers in the path of acceptance of cultural diversity. These hurdles comprise the following:-

  1. Ethnocentrism: It refers to the propensity to consider one’s own group, culture or nation as superior or bigger to others. Ethnocentric persons consider the customs and beliefs of their group as right and others as wrong.
  2. Prejudice: It is defined as unfair negative attitude for a person on the basis of his her membership of a particular group. Thus, there exists biasness and partiality.
  3. Pigeonholing: Pigeonholing or stereotyping is also a hurdle an accepting different cultures by the people. It refers to a set of beliefs which are being followed by all the members of a particular group. Pigeonholing is not good whether it is positive or negative because one statement can be rarely true for all the members of a group.
  4. Discrimination: Another barrier is not giving a person membership or a job in an organisation because of the reason that he is a member of a particular group. This is known as discrimination.
  5. Provocation: It means verbally or physically ill-treating an individual because of his membership of a particular group.
  6. Sexual Harassment: A person when treated in an unwanted, uninvited and intimate way which obstructs a person’s growth and development is known as sexual harassment or provoking a person in an unwanted way.
  7. Criticism: It means giving a negative response if some group has earned power and influence which leads to fear, anger and opposite judgement.

 

1.3 Effective Management and Supervision of Diversity

Source: https://image.slidesharecdn.com/managingdiversity-441-100112065612-phpapp02/95/managing-diversity-441-1-728.jpg?cb=1263279457

 

The diversity can be effectively managed by adopting the following ways:-

 

  1. Growth of Skills of Diversity: An increase in diversity skills should lay emphasis on the improving the way in which managers make an interaction with their subordinates and refining their aptitude to work with different type of people. Managers and subordinates should be provided knowledge and information regarding how people vary in the way they think, communicate and approach particular issues and situations which will help employees in developing a strong respect for the diversity and enabling shared understanding.
  2. Spreading Awareness: In order to increase managers’ and workers’ awareness regarding attitudes, behaviours and experiences of people, diversity awareness programmes should be organised at regular intervals. These programmes help in providing correct information on diversity to all the members of the organisation. Besides, these programmes also help in reducing personal favouritisms and stereotypes.
  3. Multiplicity in culture: Another way of the effective management and supervision of diversity is to tie together the prosperity of differences due to multiplicity or diversity in culture. There can be many policies which can be adopted in order to accomplish efficiency in management of cultural differences. For an individual, staying and working in some other country rather than their home country and following the customs of that country can be a good policy. Besides, doing friendship with people from other nations, learning other languages and providing language training to employees is another policy.
  4. Diversity in Gender: There has been an increasing role of women in the working of organisations. Though the participation of women is increasing but they are not being given good rewards for their participation. There are many ways to manage the diversity of gender. Firstly, due recognition should be given to both the sexes whether it is male or female. Such relationships should be developed between male and female employees working in an organisation so that both of them can learn from each other’s managerial styles. Secondly, there should be proper knowledge about the observed differences between male and female employees in the social circle as well as at the workplace. Finally, it is important to be cautious about gender stereotypes and escape such acts related to behaviour and language which lead to negative views.

 

1.2 Fluctuations in Demographic Profile of Workforce

 

There has been a continuous change in the demographic profile of workforce in Indian organisations over a period of time. Previously, the workforce was not literate and all the activities were focussed on meeting the demands of job and expectations on the basis of illiteracy. But now days, workforce is more educated, highly skilled, mostly fresher and have more anticipations. The demographic profile of knowledge workforce is absolutely different from other types of workforce. Due to increasing use of knowledge in the economy, the economy has been categorised as traditional or industrial economy and modern or knowledge economy. A knowledge economy refers to that economy which gains strength and power with the use of knowledge and skills of its human resources. The following features of knowledge workforce are significant from the viewpoint of management:-

 

i. Commitment to Work: Knowledge workers are more committed to their work rather than the organisation in which they work. This commitment of knowledge workers towards their work or profession allows update in their skills and knowledge in a continuous manner. Knowledge workers keep on changing their workplaces from one organisation to another because of their willingness to learn more and more. This can prove to be risky from the viewpoint of an organisation.

 

Source:http://www.cfoaccountingsolutions.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/commitmen t.png

 

ii.  Standard of living: Knowledge workers want a high standard of living. Therefore, they generally prefer to work with those employers who can provide work life balance through their practices such as time flexibility, on-the-job care of child, sharing of job, homeworking, etc.

 

iii. Speedy Response and Regular Rewards: Knowledge workers are very ambitious and they are always focussed on their performance in order to achieve their highly set targets. That is why they are always keen to get speedy or immediate response or feedback of their performance. Besides this, they also expect regular or continuous rewards or prizes for good performance.

 

iv. Interesting and Stimulating Jobs: Knowledge workers are always desperate to get interesting and stimulating jobs which possess some kind of challenge such as the use of modern technology and practices.

 

v. Autonomous Work Environment: Knowledge workers should be provided with an autonomous work environment in which there is decentralisation, freedom of communication, good leadership, etc. so that their creativity and innovation can be increased.

 

Source:https://beydaar.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/d8c641e7b7f407654d9711a6912 99463_affe9626c71c60597436489639213a-empowerment-clip-art_1037-1065.jpeg

 

1.3 Diversity in Workforce

Source: http://womanatwork.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/workforce-gender-diversity..-1.jpg According to Business Dictionary, workforce diversity has been defined in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities or disabilities, race, religion, and sex. In the words of Rob McInnes, “Workforce Diversity refers to policies and practices that seek to include people within a workforce who are considered to be, in some way, different from those in the prevailing constituency.” Diversity in workforce has increased over a period of time due to various changes in the working environment. It has become a challenge for the managers to understand the nature of workforce diversity and to solve various problems and issues linked with it. The concept of Workforce Diversity is applicable to all types of employees working in an organisation. But special attention needs to be given to the following categories of employees:-

 

i. Lady Employees: The role of women has been increasing in every sector of the economy such as telecom, retail, banking, hospitality, etc. But female employees are also facing various problems at the workplace such as sexual harassment, partialities against lady employees, etc. That is why; female employees should be provided education and knowledge regarding fighting with sexual abuse and biasness in the organisations. They should be provided such kind of jobs which do not need long travelling, late working hours, hazardous machinery, etc. In every organisation, such culture should prevail which provides equal status to both male and female employees on the basis of their performance.

 

Source: http://cdn.xl.thumbs.canstockphoto.com/canstock18480687.jpg

 

ii. Double Income Families: Double income families refer to those families in which both husband and wife are working either in the same organisation or in different organisations. These families mainly encounter two kinds of problems; (i) It becomes difficult to maintain a balance between personal life and professional life and (ii) There is also a chance of having ego clashes between the husband and wife as they both focus on their careers. Therefore, in order to tackle these two problems, firstly, there should be compatibility in the jobs they choose so that there can be a balance between their personal and professional life. Secondly, they both should appreciate the point of view of each other so that the career and family matters can be managed properly. Finally, there should be adjustment regarding the working hours of both husband and wife so that the work and the personal life can be adjusted accordingly.

 

iii.  Employees of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes: The recruitment of persons belonging to scheduled caste/scheduled tribes, economically and socially backward communities has been increasing. In public sector organisations, there is reservation for such categories. Also, in private sector stress is being given on the recruitment of persons who belong to such communities. Persons who belong to such communities encounter various problems viz. class conflict between persons and other employees and perception of inferiority regarding such persons. Therefore, there is a need to provide extra opportunities and facilities to scheduled castes/scheduled tribes employees so that they can further learn and develop their skills so that inter-group behaviour and conflicts can be managed.

 

iv. Physically Handicapped Employees: These employees are those who are suffering from some physical disabilities such as hand and leg problems, or any other kind of abnormality. Such employees face many problems such as inefficiency in job performance, lack of will-power, etc. Therefore, such employees should be given jobs which do not need high physical efforts.

Source: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/handicap-background-concept-wordcloud-illustration-57556617.jpg

 

1.4 Mergers and Acquisitions

Source:http://www.edupristine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/crowdfunding-mergers-acquisitions.jpg

The progress of an organisation can be ensured through the process of mergers and acquisitions. Merger has been defined as a process in which one organisation merges with the other organisation whereas on the other hand, Acquisition is a process in which the control of one organisation is acquired by the other organisation. After the completion of the process of merger and acquisitions, there arises mainly two problems related to incorporation of human resources which have been discussed as under:-

 

i. Variations in Practices of Management: The main problem that has to be dealt with is the differences in the practices of management in acquiring company and the acquired company. The basis of such variations are as follows:-

 

a.       Growth of People- High Focus versus Low focus.

b.      Performance Appraisal-Modern versus Out-dated.

c.       Work Culture- High execution versus low execution.

d.      Similarity between jobs and Individuals- High similarity versus low similarity.

e.       Reward- skill based versus job based.

f.       Contribution- high versus low or no contribution.

 

Thus, managers have to face a big task of assimilating the people of the acquired company with the working style of the acquiring company in order to overcome the feelings of fear of losing jobs, stress and nervousness, fear of transfer to some other location, changes in salary structure, and changes in power, status and prestige.

 

ii. Separation of Employees from Organisation: The rate of turnover or separation of employees from the organisation is very high in case of mergers and acquisitions because of the negatively perceived differences in the work culture of the acquiring company. Thus, the whole process of merger and acquisition has no significance if the important employees of the acquired company do not stay in the company. This kind of problem prevails in both industrial as well as knowledge-based organisations.

 

1.5 Innovative Organisational Designs

Source:https://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/3057494/527243680/stock-photo-innovation-word-written-on-computer-keyboard-527243680.jpg

 

The business environment is changing at a rapid rate. Therefore, there is a need to develop some creative and innovative designs or plans for the organisations. Earlier organisational designs were based on hierarchy, division of labour, departmentalisation and equality between authority and responsibility. But in the modern era, the nature of persons holding a job and their job profile has gone through various changes due to automation of technology. Thus, the modern organisational designs are more flexible, dynamic and innovative as compared to traditional organisational designs.

 

1.6 Increasing Awareness about Quality

Source: http://bilmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/quality-focus.jpg

 

There has been a rising concern among the organisations about the quality of their products or services because of increase in competition in the market. Quality means making good and standardised products and providing effective services to customers. In order to increase the awareness regarding quality, the various practices which can be adopted are total quality management, six sigma approach, regular up gradation of quality and certification of quality. By following these practices, good quality of products or services can be ensured.

 

1.7 Stimulating Ethical Behaviour

Source: http://condo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Ethics-condo-directors-code-behaviour-conflict-law-Condo.ca_.jpg

 

The ethical issues related to organisational behaviour are of prime importance because of evolving corporate governance practices in management all over the world including India. The ethical issues include ethics related to business which have been defined as a set of moral principles which play a dominant role in providing guidance regarding the conduct of managers and employees in the working of an organisation. These principles will decide what is correct and what is incorrect. The effect of these principles is doing only the right act and evading wrong acts. In the modern society, the need of ethics in organisational behaviour is due to the reasons mentioned below:-

 

i. Legal System: Sometimes, there is confusion whether a particular behaviour is ethical or unethical. Therefore, to escape from such confusing situation our society has framed certain laws in which it has been made clear which behaviour is ethical and which is unethical. These laws are necessary and should be followed in all the organisations.

 

ii.  Dominance of Environment: An organisation is a significant part of society and various factors existing in the environment of the society are putting pressure on the organisation to show ethical behaviour. Thus, the employees which show unethical behaviour should stay outside the organisation and only those employees should be kept which behave ethically.

 

iii.  Reliability: If an organisation’s behaviour is ethical then there will be trustworthiness of that organisation in the society. This trustworthiness or reliability of an organisation will maintain its identity in a positive manner. High reliability can be attained by regular ethical behaviour.

 

Ethical Awareness: Every individual should be made aware about the ethical behaviour and they should be made conscious regarding the fact that the long-term survival of an organisation depends on its ethical behaviour.

 

4. Summary

 

To sum up, it can be stated that there are many challenges which an organisation has to face such as cultural diversity, workforce diversity, mergers and acquisitions, etc. These challenges should be faced properly for the survival of an organisation. Thus, challenges related to organisational behaviour is a concept which is of great concern in the present scenario.

 

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Learn More

 

Few important sources to learn more about Challenges to Organisational Behaviour:

  • Organisational Behaviour by P.Subba Rao, published by Himalaya Publishing House.
  • Organisational Behaviour by L.M. Prasad, published by Sultan Chand & Sons.
  • Organisational Behaviour by Stephen P. Robbins, published by Prentice-Hall India.
  • Organisational Behaviour by K Ashwathappa, published by Himalaya Publishing House.
  • Organisational Behaviour by Shashi K Gupta and Rosy Joshi, published by Kalyani Publishers.
  • Management Concepts and Organisational Behaviour by N.K.Sahni, published by Kalyani Publishers.
  • Organizational Behaviour- an evidence based approach by Fred Luthans, published by McGraw Hill Education, 12th Edition.
  • Organisational behaviour-foundation, realities and challenges by Debra L. Nelson and James Campbell Quick, Published by South-Western Cengage Learning, 5th Edition.
  • http://managementportal.blogspot.in/2013/05/challenges-and-opportunities-for.html
  • http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/challenges-for-managing-organizational-behaviour/45108/
  • https://www.scribd.com/doc/56797536/Challenges-and-Opportunities-for-Organizational-Behavior
  • http://www.bizstudyportal.com/content/b/i/z/S/t/u/D/y/MISC/OB/2/21MISC2012OB0921201246. pdf