CONCEPTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, CULTURE, AND DIVERSITY

The continued economic globalization of the tourism and hospitality industry and an increasing influx of migrant workers into the companies make it necessary to manage cultural diversity at the workplace effectively. The modern workforce is made up of people of different genders, ages, ethnicity, religions, and nationalities.

Organizational behavior (OB)

is a field of study that investigates the impact of the three (3) determinants of behavior within organizations: individuals, groups, and structures. OB applies the knowledge gained about the determinants of behavior to make organizations work more effectively (Robbins & Judge, 2018).

Major Behavioral Science Disciplines

OB is an applied behavioral science built on contributions from a number of other behavioral science disciplines, mainly psychology, sociology, social psychology, and anthropology (Robbins & Judge, 2018).

Psychology

It seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. They studied the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other working conditions that could impede efficient work performance. Most recently, their contributions have expanded to include learning, motivation, personality, emotions, leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisals, work design, and job stress.

Sociology

While psychology focuses on the individual, this discipline studies people concerning their social environment or culture. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study of group behaviors in organizations, particularly formal and complex ones. Their contributions include organizational culture, organizational structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict.

Social Psychology

focus on people’s influence on one another. One major study area is change – how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. Social psychologists contribute to measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes, identifying communication patterns, and building trust. They have made significant contributions to the study of group behavior, power, and conflict.

Anthropology

It is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. It work on cultures and environments has helped people understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior among themselves in different countries and within various organizations. Much of today’s understanding of organizational culture and diversity is a result of the work of anthropologists.

Organizational culture

includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, and beliefs. It is a system of shared meaning based on written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid by members that distinguish the organization from other organizations. Seven (7) primary characteristics capture the essence of an organization’s culture (Robbins & Judge, 2018):

Innovation and risk-taking

employees are encouraged to be pioneering, inventive, and take on possibilities.

Attention to detail

employees are expected to exhibit precision, focus, and thorough analysis to specifics.

Outcome orientation

management focuses on results rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.

People orientation

management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

Team orientation

work activities are organized around groups rather than individuals.

Aggressiveness

people are competitive rather than easygoing

Stability

organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

Multicultural diversity

refers to the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society. It is the result of an organizational culture based on race, ethnicity, age, religion, or gender. Race refers to a person's biological or physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or eye color. Ethnicity, on the other hand, refers to cultural factors, including one’s nationality, geographic culture, ancestry, and language.

Continuing Globalization

National borders no longer constrain organizations since the world has become a “global village”. In the process, organization leaders’ job has changed. Effective leaders anticipate and adapt their approaches to global issues concerning organizational behavior. Globalization has enhanced the diversity experienced in the hospitality and tourism industry because of its multicultural nature.

Workforce Demographics

The workforce has always adapted to variations in the economy, longevity, birth rates, socioeconomic conditions, and other changes that have a widespread impact. People adapt to survive, and OB studies the way those adaptations affect individual and group behavior. Studying OB helps organizations investigate the factors that lead employees to make various choices and how their experiences affect their perceptions of their workplaces. In turn, this can help predict one’s organizational outcomes.

Workforce Diversity

This trend is one of the most important challenges for organizations. This happens when organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of employees’ gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. Managing diversity is a global concern.

Social media

Despite its universality, many organizations continue to struggle with employees’ use of social media in the workplace. This difficult issue on social media usage shows how today’s organization managers are presented with both a challenge and an opportunity for OB. They need to adopt policies designed to protect employees and their organizations with balance and understanding. Once employees are on the job, organizations must provide policies or guidelines about accessing social media at work – when, where, and for what purposes. By doing so, this increases employee satisfaction and improve positive organizational outcomes.

Employee Well-Being at Work

One of the biggest challenges to maintain employee well-being is the reality that many workers never get away from the virtual workplace; at some point, employees don’t feel like they are not part of a team. The sense of belonging is very challenging for virtual workers. According to research, one (1) in four (4) employees shows signs of burnout, and two (2) in three (3) report high-stress levels and fatigue. This may actually be an underestimate because workers report maintaining “always on” access for their managers through e-mail, texting, and phone calls. Employee well-being is also challenged by heavy outside personal commitments (i.e., balancing work and family responsibilities). Through the study of OB, organizations can guide managers in designing workplaces that can help their employees deal with work-life conflicts.

Positive Work Environment

A growing area in OB research is referred to as positive organizational behavior (POB), which studies how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential. Key subjects in this research are engagement, hope, optimism, and resilience in the face of strain. POB does not deny the value of the negative (such as critical feedback). It challenges researchers to look at it through a new lens and pushes the organization to make use of employees’ strengths rather than dwell on their limitations. Some organizations employ “culture officers” to shape and preserve the company’s personality.

Ethical Behavior

In an organizational world characterized by downturns, expectations of increasing productivity, and tough competition, it is not surprising that many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and engage in other questionable practices. Increasingly they face ethical dilemmas and choices in which they are required to identify right and wrong conduct. Should they “blow the whistle” if they discover illegal activities in their companies? Do they follow orders with which they don’t personally agree? Should they “play politics” to advance their careers?