The Nature Of Behaviour In Organizations

Where do you place yourself in the school setting, is your part in the organization a part of management? Why is it necessary to study the behaviour of people we work with? Does the behaviour of members in the organization have an impact on their work performance and their leader or supervisor? Think about all these questions as you go through the text?

The Basis for Understanding Work Behaviour

A manager’s observation and analysis of individual behaviour and performance require the consideration of at least two sets of variables that directly influence individual behaviour or what an employee does (e.g. produces output, teaches effectively, services machines). The two sets of variables are classified as being individual and organizational

Individual Variables

Each employee is different in many respects. A manager needs to ask how such differences influence the behaviour and performance of subordinates. It is, therefore, important to highlight some of the individual differences that can explain why one person is significantly a better performer than another person. Differences among people require forms of adjustment for both the individual and those for whom he or she will work with. Managers who ignore such differences often become involved in practices which hinder achieving organization and personal goals. These differences among people are influenced by factors such as demographic, abilities and skills, and the way one perceives things. These individual variables are briefly explained below;

Demographic

These include such factors as socioeconomic background, nationality, educational attainment level, age, sex, and race to name a few of the potential more significant ones.

When considering age for example. A 55 year – old teacher nearing a career’s end will most likely have significantly different goals, experiences and perhaps beliefs and values, than 25 – year old teacher just beginning a career it would be surprising if these age-related differences did not occasionally lead these two individuals to choose different behaviours in otherwise similar situations. This is not to suggest that one’s behaviour is likely to be “better” than the others, but sometimes will be different. Effective management requires awareness of these differences.

Another example of an important demographic difference is that of gender or sex. It has been argued, for example, that men make better managers because they are more assertive and that women are less committed to organizational career because of family considerations while it is true that examples supporting each of these generalizations can be found, it is also true that one can find a multiple examples which refute them.

It is therefore, important for you to understand that the perceptions that these difference exist influences the behaviour of both men and women in work settings.

B. Abilities and Skills

Abilities and skill:

What role do Abilities and Skills play in an individual’s life? Just think about it as you read through this text.

Abilities and Skills play a major role in individual behaviour and performance. Ability is a trait (innate or learned) that permits a person to do something mental or physical. For example, various mental abilities such as inductive reasoning, number facility, verbal comprehension, memory span, spatial orientation and deductive reasoning make up what is commonly referred to as intelligence.

Skills, on the other hand, are task-related competencies such as the skills to operate a computer and so on. Managers must attempt to match a person with abilities and skills to the job requirements. In the same way, teachers must attempt to match special education needs children with abilities and skills to the requirements of their disabilities. The matching process is important for both the manager and the teacher since no amount of leadership, motivation, or organizational resources can make up for the deficiencies in abilities or skills

C. Perception

Individual teachers and pupils give meaning to their environment and things around them in different ways. Similarly, the way one behaves may be viewed differently by people around.

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