Organizational Behavior Forces Discussion Paper

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR FORCES DISCUSSION PAPER TEAM B MGT307 APRIL 12, 2010 ANDY WAGSTAFF Organizational Behavior Forces Discussion In this paper Learning Team B compares and contrasts the different organizations of each of its team members. The team is made up of six students, each of which is employed by a different organization. It was with a collaborative effort that this group was able to discuss and analyze these organizations. The individual companies and business environments that were addressed in the learning team discussions include; a correctional facility, a variety of organizations that provide some form of health care or medical service, a retail store, an insurance company, and one member of Team B is employed at home as a homemaker/student. Team B participated in discussions and analyzed the organizational behaviors of each organization within their group. The purpose of this paper is to provide that analysis that describes some of the internal and external forces that have an impact on organizational behaviors. Team B intends to present an explanation summarizing the findings of the Learning Team discussions. The paper includes an analysis of the following internal and external forces: Restructuring Organizational Mission Competition Economy Customer Demands The following are personal descriptions of internal and external forces that impact organizational behavior within the organizations of each individual member of Learning Team B. Restructuring Restructuring, or rearranging, of an organization can turn a company upside- down and leave employees in a state of shock. This particular external force can have a huge impact on the organizational behaviors of any organization from a medical clinic to a correctional facility. It is customary for a company under restructure to use layoffs or reduce full-time positions to part-time to decrease the costs of employment. Another possible change made by a company trying to survive after downsizing could be to obtain lower employee wages. This could be done by moving the business to a facility in another state or country. For any number of reasons, a company may choose to move only part of its organization during the restructure. For example, a business’ medical records department holds confidential information regarding its employees. With this in mind, the restructuring team may want to select an outside source to perform medical records services during the restructure. This will ensure the confidentiality of its employees and safeguard their personal information. Understanding organizational behaviors brought on by internal and external forces is important for everyone involved whether it is an insurance company, a retail store, or a home health care agency. There is little known about the safety and health risks to workers who face or survive episodes of downsizing, or the effects of downsizing and outsourcing on the capacity of organizations to provide occupational health services and programs for workers {text:bibliography-mark} . Therefore, it is highly recommended that personnel meetings be scheduled to address the questions and concerns of a company’s remaining employees. Organizational Mission The organizational mission of the medical team at the Pendleton Prison System Department of Corrections provides inmate rehabilitation and medical care. The mission of the medical team at Pendleton is to reduce unnecessary morbidity and mortality and protect public health by providing patient-inmate timely access to safe, efficient medical care, dental, and disability programs. The mission statement of an organization affects the organizational behavior within the company by providing direction to each person’s duties within the company. Although the organizations of the members of Team B are significantly different in size and function, the impact of their organizational mission directly affects their organizational behavior and success. Most organizations define a mission statement and develop practices to control the organizational behavior of the organization to accomplish this mission {text:bibliography-mark} . Competition Competition is an external force that affects organizational behavior in retail as well as many other types of organizations. There are several examples of the different external forces that affect organizational behaviors, some of which include; creditors, customers, suppliers, and the labor market. Competitors Competitors are peers that perform similar functions within their professional discipline. Competitors contribute to the industry with their ability, supply, goods, and services, at competitive prices. Competitors’ contributions are usually of a high caliber and this is what gives consumers their choices. Creditors In contrast, creditors have an impact in retail because most businesses purchase goods and services to a large extent on credit. Generally, these businesses are given discounts or other incentives for buying in bulk. Customers Customers obviously play an essential part in the retail business. In fact, without any customers, there would be no business. In retail, it is important that a business know how to change with itscustomers. This will expand customer confidence and increase buying. Labor Market The labor market affects the number of qualified employees who a business will be allowed to hire. In comparison to expanding customer confidence, the lack of qualified employees at a business can lead any type of organization to customer dissatisfaction. Customer Demands Customer demand is the quantity of a product or service that customers are willing and able to purchase at a given price during a given period {text:bibliography-mark} . Meeting the demands of customers can be difficult at times. The medical field always has tried to satisfy its customers’ needs in the best way possible, but it is becoming more complicated because of the customers’ increased expectations. Here is an example of changes in organizational behaviors of employees at a medical clinic concerning customer demands. A patient is 15 minutes late for his or her appointment so e asked the patient to reschedule the appointment but instead, the patient refuses to leave the clinic until he or she was seen by a doctor. This is when behaviors have to change in order to meet the customer’s demands. There may be times, for instance, when the patient is not able to reschedule the appointment. To meet this customer’s needs, employees have to work even harder. F irst we try to make the customer feel as comfortable as possible until he or she is seen by the provider. We have to gain their satisfaction to go forward to improve our customer services. Second, we focus specifically on this customer. It is important to treat the customer as an individual person just as we want to be treated. One way that a medical clinic can work to improve customer demands is to have questionnaires available for the customers. When the questionnaires are reviewed the company will know what areas that they need to improve in and what areas they are doing well in. These questionnaires may very well lead the medical clinic to implement even more organizational behaviors if needed to increase customer satisfaction. Economy The economy has affected organizational behaviors in many American households. The following is a personal example from an American homemaker and student. My fiance is the bread winner in the household at one point and he was making enough money that I could sit at home and take care of the babies. But now, the economy is so bad that I am now trying to find a job so that we can make ends meet. His job as a correctional officer has stopped giving overtime to the employees. The bills are going up twice as much as they used to be and so now we do not have any extra money to have or to save. Conclusion In conclusion, the internal and external forces that impact the behaviors of an organization can have both a negative and a positive effect on the company itself as well as on the people within the company. These changes in behavior, or reactions from within an organization, are caused by forces such as the restructuring of a business, increased customer demands, technology, competition, or even from a fluctuation in the economy. Although internal forces are considered to be causes that people have either created or could have controlled, external forces are those in which people have no irect control. A business in comparison to people has many forces that can manipulate and form its common behavior and the organizational behaviors of the people within it. Organizations of every kind, from those that provide goods to those that provide services, still have to change continually and positively while searching for new ideas and opportunities to maintain a competitive advantage. This t eam’s belief ist; how a company reacts, how it manages, and how it adapts to changes, will determine its failure or success. References