Establishment of a Strong and Positive Organizational Culture - Research Proposal Example

Research Analysis of the of the Research question and study objective The main objective of this study is to analyze the proposition that the performances of an organization can be improved through the establishment of a strong and positive organizational culture, removing the individual differences between the employees and developing positive perceptions and attitudes of the employees of the organization. Thus, the primary research question formulated for the study is given as follows: Are the factors of organizational culture, employee perceptions, emotions and attributions and individual differences between the various employee levels significant influencers of the level of employee and organizational performances? The secondary research questions that are formulated to support the achievement of the primary research questions are given as follows: What are the relations between employee perceptions, beliefs and attributes and organizational culture? How does a positive and open organizational culture impact the performances of the individual employee as well as the organization as a whole unit? Does a restricted and negative organizational culture result in the lack of motivation and efficiency of the employees in an organization? Does the minimization of individual differences lead to better conflict management and consequently result in the creation of better efficiency and performance of the employee groups and the organization? How can the managers of an organization manage the employee resources well and develop a positive organizational culture that would help to support the performances of the employees? Research theory Organization behavior is a widely studied topic among researchers and scholars since years. There have been a number of developments in organizational behavior over the years of is existence which have been studied and captured through various literary works. Also, a wide range of studies and theories have been prepared and proposed with respect to the dynamics of organizational behaviors. A number of theories have been presented with respect to the links between organizational culture, individual perceptions, attitudes and behaviors and the individual differences among different employees in an organization. All these factors are components of the organizational behavior domain. The different organizational behavior studies have identified that organizational behaviors including performances, conflict management, efficiency improvement, benefit extraction from employee resources are significant factors that act in a combined manner that lead to the development of beneficial and positive organizational cultures within different organizations. The theories of organizational behavior related to organizational culture, work environment, employee perceptions and attitudes and individual differences should be studied in detail to answer the research questions appropriately and accurately. Literature review An organization is a collection of a group of people who work in a combined manner within divisions of labor for the purpose of achieving a common goal. The main purpose of the functioning of an organization is to create products and services that bring economic profit to the organization. But the development and sale of products and services is not enough for the sustainability and success of a business organization in the current prorate world. As such, today’s organizations have to focus on developing mission and visions that are focused on the achievement of the core purpose of the business while assuring a sufficient level of ethical and moral compliance as well as competency and a positive reputation for the organization among the global stakeholder groups. Organizational behavior is seen as a major course of study in the corporate world because the organizations and its members are continuously facing the challenges to achieve high performance as well as maintain proper ethical and moral constructs in their behaviors. As such, the aspect of organizational behavior has started to embrace a wider range of subjects and has become more complex to understand and specify in particular terms. The study of organizational behavior can be divided into three main categories which are The micro level of organizational behavior which involves the study of the individual working in an organization. The meso level of organizational behavior which involves the study of the work group in the organization The macro level of organizational behavior in which the behavior of the organization as a single unit is studied. The impact of globalization is a main factor for consideration in organizational behavior and all organizations operating in the present day scenario are required to respect and acknowledge the vast differences among the employee groups from various geographical and national backgrounds. As per the arguments presented by Ivancevich, Konopaske and Matteson (2014), this makes it necessary to understand how the culture of an organization is developed, how the employees are interacting with each other and how well the organization is able to reduce the differences in individual opinions and beliefs and thus making the most efficient and beneficial use of its most valuable resources which are the human resource groups of the same (Ivancevich, Konopaske and Matteson, 2014). The organizational behavior is crucial for enabling an organization and its managers to manage the human resource in the most efficient manner and ensure that the present and future aspirations of the organizations as defined through the mission and vision statements are clearly identified and attained. Organizational behavior is the study of the behaviors of the human entities in an organization. As defined by Lord, Klimoski and Kanfer (2002), organizational behavior study is a multidisciplinary field of study which involves the development of an understanding of the behaviors, perceptions and attitudes of the human beings involved in the organization, group behaviors, organizational dynamics and interpersonal processes (Lord, Klimoski and Kanfer, 2002). Miner (2002) has argued in his work that organizational behavior is largely dependent on organizational climate and organizational culture (Miner, 2002). Organizational culture is formed as a result of the beliefs and attitudes of the employee groups which in turn shapes and determines the overall organizational climate. The organizational climate either facilitates or destroys the scopes of higher performance and efficiency of the employees working in the organization. Organizational climate acts as a broader manifestation of the culture of an organization and is built on the basic values, experiences and philosophies of the constituent entities of the organization in question. According to the work of Von Rosenstein (2011), the success of an workplace and its employees extensively depend on different internal factors like developing an understanding of human behaviors of the entities related to the organization, individual interest to perform and adapt to changes, developing positive attitudes towards other entities in the organization and creating intrinsic motivational drivers like rewards and appraisals, pursuing career objectives, goals and scopes of learning and development, and alignment of personal objectives and goals with the organizational goals (Von Rosenstein, 2011). An engaged and involved group of employees supports the development of a positive organizational culture and vice versa. Thus, this system acts as a mutually influencing system in which a supportive organizational culture is dependent on employee engagement and the creation of engaged and motivated employees is dependent on a supportive and open organizational culture. Creating a group of engaged employees is one of the basic mandates for functioning successfully ion the modern corporate world which can be achieved through the management and control of the differences in interests among the employees and recognizing the distinct behaviors and attitudes of each of the employees in an organization. Also, many approaches can be taken up to adequately answer the problems in organizations through the analysis of the different aspects of human behavior in the respective organization. One such approach is the contingency approach which involves the consideration of different variables to understand and analyze the ways in which different situations in the workplace can be best handled. The common contingency variables used in an organizational behavior study are people, processes, tasks, environment, technology, structure and management. For understanding the impacts of the organizational behavior aspects of an enterprise it is important to understand the trends and patterns in the modern workplaces like the level of importance given to the management and use of human resources, the pervasive level of influence of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the balance of control and command as maintained in the enterprise, the commitment level of the company towards ethical and compliant behaviors, the emphasis given on employee relations, collaborative behaviors and team work, the respect for the requirements of the workforce, the degree of support and training provided to the employees for the growth of their careers and for the fulfillment of their ambitions. This is because; all these factors are significant for developing the overall type of organizational behavior within a corporation. Participants of the research study The primary research data should be collected by interviewing a sample selected from the population for the study. The main population of respondents for the case research would be the employees and managers from a wide array of organizations. The sample for the study should be selected such that it is adequately representative of the overall population for the study. The sample can be selected to through an effective sampling technique like the stratified random sampling or the judgmental snowball sampling which are useful sampling techniques for filtering the respondents from a probable population in the most accurate and representative manner. Method and design for the research study Any research related to organizational behavior can be conducted through different research sources and methodologies which may include field studies, meta-analysis, laboratory studies, and survey studies and case studies. These sources can be represented diagrammatically in Figure 1. Figure 1: Research methods of organizational behavior studies (Source: Miner, 2002, p.102) This research would include both primary and secondary research methods. For this purpose, primary data as well as secondary data would be collected. However, the main focus of the research would be on secondary research methods which mean that extensive amounts of data and information would be collected from authentic secondary data sources like journals, articles, company reports, academic books, academically recognized websites, research reports, government documents, technical reports, review articles, reference books and other valid literary works published by scholars and practitioners in the respective field. The administration of a questionnaire among the selected sample would be an appropriate method of primary research that would be used in this research. Also, the primary data collection technique would involve a survey method in which the sample would be surveyed through the use of a selected questionnaire which they would require to fill in appropriately. Methods of data analysis The validity and reliability of the collected data are primarily assessed in order to ensure that the findings and derivations attained from the data analysis are correct and valid as well. The filled questionnaire would be analyzed and interpreted with the use of various statistical interpretation and data analysis techniques and tools like the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Also, the behavioral aspects of the respondents would be studied in depth through the use of judgmental and analytic approaches of the researcher. The authenticity and validity of the information collected for the research as well as the analysis and interpretation of the data would be carefully assessed. Data disaggregation and segmentation of the collected data on the basis of the key variables selected for the study would act as the platform for the data analysis techniques. Proper documentation and contextualization of the collected data would also form an integral part of the data analysis method. Findings and interpretations The findings of the research suggest that there are positive correlations between organizational culture and employee work performances. A supportive and open work culture helps to develop higher levels of employee motivation and involvement in their job roles. A leadership oriented and task oriented organizational culture is found to be a supportive type of organizational culture that enhances the interests, motivations as well as the responsible behavior or the employees towards their respective jobs. On the other hand, a hierarchical organizational culture and an autocratic organizational culture often leads to decreased level of interest and motivation among the workforce and this results in the employees performing their job roles in a mechanical way than in an actively involved way. This often results in reductions in the degree of achievements of the employees and as a result leads to the deterioration of the overall performance of the organization as a single unit. . The differences in interests and opinions among the employees are found to be major reasons that lead to inefficiencies and below average performances in the workplace. This is the reason why most of the companies across the world are focusing on the management of conflicts of interest and options and among the different grades of employees as a strategic initiative to improve the performances of each of the team members and the firm itself. The behaviors and attitudes of the employees are definitely expected to be the core drivers of the organizational culture. They also decide how well the differences of opinions and interest can be managed within an organization. As such, they indirectly affect the performance and efficiency of the employees working in a company. It is found out that the factors like the emotional constituents, the psychographic trends, the inherent beliefs and attitudes and the perceptual distortions are key factors that contribute to the internal mechanism of performance among the individual employees. In overall, it can be clearly identified that a strong organizational culture and the beliefs and attitudes of employee groups are direct influencers of the performances of the individual employees as well as the organizational performances. Also, the factors like differences of opinions at work levels indirectly influence the performances of individual employees at the micro level, teams at the meso level and the organization at the macro level of organizational behaviors. References Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R. & Matteson, M. T. (2014). Organizational Behavior and Management, 10th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lord, R. G., Klimoski, R. J. & Kanfer, R. (2002). Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding the Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Jossey Bass. Miner, J. B. (2002). Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Theories, and Analyses. OUP: Oxford University Press. Von Rosenstein, L. (2011). Employee Behavior in Organizations in the Current State of Research. Management Revue. Vol. 22(4), pp.68-70. Read More