OB in Action Case Study: Companies Are Trying to Improve Employee Attitudes during the Recession
Introduction
“Creating an effective and productive workplace takes a firm commitment from management even in the best of times” (Ballard, 2012). When the recession hit full force, many companies had to make some difficult decisions. “In a 2009 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 68 percent of employed Americans reported that their employers had taken steps such as putting a freeze on hiring or wages, laying off staff, reducing work hours, benefits or pay, requiring unpaid days off or increasing work hours because of the weak economy” (Ballard, 2012).
During a period of recession, managers need to understand the
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In other words, values describe what is essentially important to a person and they form a main part of person’s individual’s identity. Knowledge of values will increase one’s “understanding of organizational behavior because they influence our behavior across different settings” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 152) Shalom Schwartz, a social psychologist, developed a widely accepted value model that consists of 10 human value types. The first value is Power. Power refers to social status, prestige, and the control or dominance over people and resource. The second value is Achievement, which addresses “personal success through demonstrating competence through social standards” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 153). Schwartz’s third value is titled Hedonism. Hedonism is pleasure or happiness in one’s life. His fourth value is Stimulation. This value encompasses excitement, originality, and challenge in a person’s life. The fifth value, Self-direction, refers to independent thought and action through creativity, freedom, and individual choice. The sixth value is Universalism. The motive of this value is “understanding, appreciation, tolerance and protection of the welfare of all people….” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 153). Schwartz’s seventh value, Benevolence, refers to the “preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom on is in frequent personal contact” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 153). His eighth
Values help people determine what is right and wrong. They provide our moral compass in life.
What are values and how do they relate to the other terms identified in the introduction? An investigation from multiple sources agrees that values are the motivations and behaviors used to determine priorities of what one sees as important in life and work (MindTools.com, 2017; Atkins, 2017; Value, n.d.). Applying this definition to the values I hold include a list of characteristics that define how I desire to represent myself. First, commitment to my principles, which my faith as a Christian
This gives the implication that values can differ from person to person, so it is therefore important to identify and understand one’s own values in order to work effectively in the field.
Organizations with a high number of actively engaged employees have an average of 147% higher earnings per share than the norm (Kotter, 2015). These numbers illustrate the correlation and importance of obtaining buy-in from all employees. Buy-in will lead to more actively engaged change agents until there is a large volunteer army dedicated to the change process and striving toward a common goal. After all, large-scale change can only occur when very significant numbers of employees amass under a common opportunity and drive toward the same
Values inform or influence choices and action across a wide range of role and context. Successful evolution in culture, systems and practices across a diverse needs base.
Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism. I will also discuss the most successful theory and defend my argument by explaining how the theory
Values relate to our personal principles, morals, and ideals—that is, what we consider to be important.Each person is unique, with their own personal values and beliefs shaped by a number of factors that include culture, religion, and personal experiences.We value each person as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek to understand their priorities, needs, abilities and limits.
It is important that you develop an awareness of what you value, as these values will be important in informing your relationships with clients, co–workers and employers.
Values are intangible things that are important to us, and that guide us, individually, to make decisions. Each person has a different set of values, morals, and ethics, which is the reason that each person handles a situation differently. Here, I will discuss my top 5 values, and why they are important to me.
Values are the traditions, ideals, goals that are believed to be important individually, as well as specific to groups and organizations (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). They are standards of behavior and the principles that guide us personally and professionally in the way we conduct ourselves in our personal and professional lives.
Successful organizations demand satisfied employees. Figure 1 below shows a theoretical one-way linkage chain called the "Engagement-Profit Chain." This chain directly shows how active employee engagement leads to good service which ensures that customers will to continue coming back, providing a solid foundation on which the company can grow. As employee effort is indeed discretionary, it has been observed that higher levels of engagement, or the way management commits itself emotionally to employees, pushes a higher level of discretionary effort (Kruse, 2014). It is not by chance that
An essential component of leadership is to articulate and exemplify the organization's core values. These values must be clear, compelling, and repeated. The leader must both "walk the talk" and inspire his/her colleagues within the organization to also live these values. Values are at the core of individual, group or organizational identity. Values are relatively enduring conceptions or judgments about what is considered to be important to an organization. Agreement between personal and organizational values result in shared values which constitute the benchmarking of a successful business practice.
Values are those things that are important, meaningful and valued by an individual, a group of people, or an organization. Whether we are aware of them or not, every individual has his or her core set of values, which consist of many different kinds of values. Each individual’s value system is different from one another because individual’s values are built up through one’s life experience, environment, and family background. Values are important to us because they reflect our personal moral standards, shape our behavior, and guide us through long life journeys. Since we live in a highly connected society, each person’s value system does not only affect one’s own life, but also affects many other people and the
Employees are at work, but are they actually engaged in their jobs? In October 2013, The Gallup Organization conducted a survey with 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries which consisted of 12 questions. According to Gallup’s latest findings, 87% of workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” and are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces (O'Boyle & Harter, 2013, p. 11). Most studies have broken the various types of workers into two groups, engaged and disengaged, but Gallup’s study has broken it down even further. They have determined that there are three types of employees: engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged (O'Boyle & Harter, 2013). The terms actively disengaged or not engaged are not
An individual’s effectiveness in the workplace often depends on his/her personality, attitudes and values, along with his/her motivation to succeed. Concurrently, the perception, attitudes and values of colleagues in the workplace play a role in determining the individual’s effectiveness. Understanding these characteristics of employees can be very crucial for organizations to operate successfully. At the same time, it is essential that employees understand the values associated with the organization in order to avoid any conflicting feelings toward the work they are employed to do. By recognizing and appreciating each other’s characteristics and constraints, employees and the organizations they are part of, form a highly-beneficial