REFLECTION PAPER

on
THE NATURE, HISTORY, VALUES and BELIEFS
OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR











Submitted by:

Cezar M. Barranta Jr.
PhD in Educational Management
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

I. SUMMARY / SYNOPSIS

Organizational Behavior is the study between human behavior in the
organizational setting, the interference between human behavior and the organization,
and of the organization itself. It is an understanding of all three aspects of
organizational behavior which is the people involved, how they interact with the
organization itself, is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of organizational
behavior.
Based on the history, it is one of the first approaches to the study of management,
popularized during the early 1990s. It focused primarily on the efficiency of
individual workers (The Scientific Management Era). As with Frederic W. Taylor, he
studied the efficiency and productivity of individual workers and systematically
eliminated soldiering with the implementation of price-rate based incentive pay
system.

As the result of his work (Taylor), innovation boosted markedly but some critics
opposed his theory because its explicit goal was to get more outputs from the
workers. According to Max Webber, a German Sociologist, bureaucracy will work
for all the organization. It is a model that will embrace logic, rationality and
efficiency.

As theories of different theorists presented their points of view, some focused on
how organizations can be structured more effectively to meet their goals. This theory
studied how individual workers could be made more efficient, classical organizational
theory focused on how a large number of workers and managers could be organized
most effectively into overall structure.

In 1927, the Hawthorne studies were conducted by Elton Mayo at Western
Electrics plant near Chicago. There were two studies, first are the effects of lighting
on productivity, and second is the effectiveness of a piecework incentive system.
These studies yielded surprising results. The lighting study productivity went up
because the workers were singled out for special treatment. It is the same with the
incentive system that the social pressure caused the workers to vary their work rates.
Researchers concluded that the human element in the workplace was more important
than previously thought.

With regards to human relations movement, its perspective represented a
fundamental shift away from the philosophy and value of scientific management and
classical organizational theory. In the human relations movement, people respond to
their social environment with motivation depends more on social needs than on
economic needs. Another premise is that it satisfies employees to work harder than
unsatisfied ones. Under the human relations movement is the theory of Douglas
McGregor with his theory of two (2) opposing perspective of managerial views on
employees. This is the Theory X and Theory Y managers. He advocated Theory Y
management, which is representative of the human relations perspective.

Other values under the human relations movement is from Abraham Maslows
who published a theory of employee motivation and assumes that motivation arises
from a hierarchal series of needs which needs at each level are satisfied, the
individual progresses to the next higher level.
As its values, it is helping people attain the competencies needed to become
effective employees, team leaders or members, or managers. The values of the
organizational behavior are the terminal values and the instrumental values. Terminal
values are the desirable end-states of existence, the goals that a person would like to
achieve during his or her lifetime while the instrumental values are preferable modes
of achieving ones terminal values.

II. ANALYSIS / EVALUATION
The most important about the Organizational behavior is that studying it is not that
easy. It has to have more time in mastering it and feel how the flow goes. There are
many so theories that were presented from the studies of the great theorists of all
time. The interference with the between human behavior and the organization is a bit
challenging nowadays. Every corner in a mans mind must be situated to put up good
fight with a human behavior in an organization.
It was explained by Frederic Taylor as he explained his principles unconsciously
unto my well-being the to develop a science for each job that covers rules of motion,
standard work tools, and supportive work condition, hire workers with the right
abilities for the job, train and motivate workers to do their job according to the
science, and to support workers by planning and assisting their work using the job
science in now being practice in our organization and most especially in our
department. Although it was concentrated on the output of the workers, it is very
effective to our workplace as a business minded learning institute.
With the theory of Max Webber, bureau also works on an organization most just
like some social group that rely only to the talents of an individual that if the leaders
leaves, the organization could fail. It is too much reliance on cultural traditions
blocked innovation, stifled efficiency, and was often unfair. This is because for the
large organization the bureaucratic form is predominant. This is most likely done in a
quasi-military environment.
Another theory is the on the motivation side. This is by knowing how to motivate
employees by knowing their needs on the level of their satisfaction. As Abraham
Maslows assumes that motivation will arise from the hierarchal series of needs. This
always applies now on most of the organization especially in motivating them on
doing their tasks and advancing their job or work level through their promotions and
level upgrades.

III. REACTIONS
Having learned the theories, values, history and beliefs of the organizational behavior,
I now realize that in combining them, there are some strategies that will come up on
how to lead and motivate employees in an essential way the organization can expect
them to do their tasks. Furthermore, I have learned that the values of the
organizational behavior are on the attitude of the employees. That with regards to
their attitudes, there are degrees to which as employee identifies with a particular
organization and its goals, and wishes to maintain membership in the organization
and the degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates it
in, and considers his or her performance important to self-worth.
I have significantly improved my understanding and knowledge on how to
motivate and lead the employees of the organization I belong with. However, I have
not sufficiently developed the values but I know I can manage to train myself on how
to handle my employees with a somehow change from my previous practice.
This makes me feel confident doing my job as an Officer-in-Charge of Maritime
Education, a Health and Safety Management Representative, a Student and Alumni
Officer and also a President of our Homeowners Association. This knowledge could
be essential and important to me as a learner and as a practitioner as well.
Because I am not certain about the other theories, values, methods and strategies,
I will now need to study and do my research about them and whatever I learned will
be applied to my work afterwards. As a next step, I need to gather more data and
apply them to my daily activities for me to enhance my experiences and involvement
on understanding more the human behavior in my organization.