Student Number: S168729

Date: 17/12/2015
Applying Organisational Behaviour

The concept of organisational behaviour has received over time a large

number of different definitions and approaches. Summarily, Professor Robert
Dailey considers that organisational behaviour studies the comportment,
attitudes and performance of people in organisations (2012, p. 12). A more
detailed definition suggests that is it a field of study that investigates the
impact that these individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour within
organisation. It is the study and application of knowledge about how people act
within organizations. It is a human tool for human benefit. (Introduction to
organisational behaviour, no date, p. 2). Butler and Rose (2011) have a more
personal approach to this field of study: The study of Organisational Behaviour
usually involves taking a step back from day-to-day activities ,many of which we
take for granted and go unnoticed, to try to make sense of such behaviour in a
more systematic fashion. In an organisation, several factors form the
organisational behaviour and in this report three of them are going to be
discussed.

PERSONALITY
One of the factors that define the culture of an organisation is personality. The
concept of personality was approached by many researchers in different ways.
For example, Mullins (2006, p. 521) believes that personality is an individuals
unique set of characteristics and tendencies which shape a sense of self, what
that person does and the behaviour they exhibit. Bratton (2015, p. 101) defines
it as a relatively enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that
characterizes a persons response to her or his environment.
Researchers have differentiated many categories of types of personalities
and every single one of them has its strengths and weaknesses. In Kernbergs
view, there are three levels of personality organisation: the neurotic level is
considered by Kernberg the healthiest. People in this category have a good
sense of reality, are conscious about their own strengths and flaws, about their
purpose and ways of achieving it. Neurotics care about other people and are
willing to help them and have an efficient manner of handling stress. (See
appendix 1)
On the opposite side, there is the psychotic level, the disorganised level of
personality, where people have a distorted border between reality and fantasy.
They are not aware of their own personality and are very nave, cannot cope with
stress and do not function well in society.

The borderline level is a balance between the previous two: people at this
level have an intact sense of reality but a distorted one on them, do not manage
stress very well and tend to rely on primitive defending mechanisms. (Hoermann,
Zupanick and Dombeck, no date)
Personality is really important in an organisation as it predicts its future:
productivity, profitability, the culture and the actual success that the company
will have or not. Each person acts in a different way and it is important for an
organisation to choose the right people, with the right skills and competencies,
whose personality can benefit the company. The right personalities will blend
with the culture the organisation already has. The Human Resources Department
needs to establish what type of personality the company needs and to find the
right ways to employ the correct people, to discover methods to find out more
about the possible employee. Otherwise, the improper employee can disturb the
personality balance that exists in the organisation and it may alter the future of
it.
At the same time, if a company wants or needs to change the culture that
exists at one moment, the same method can be used: determine what type of
personality would bring benefits to the organisation and find the right methods
to employ the people who fit (Personality in organisations, 2015).
Some of the factors that may reveal a persons personality and predict
how he/she will act in the future are consciousness (how to act around other
people, carefulness and self-discipline), emotional stability (how to cope with
problems and separate them from work and private life), extraversion and
agreeableness (Predicting job performance: personality, 2015).
Organisations are beginning to recognise the importance of personality
when they are hiring new people, because different jobs require different skills
and a different way of thinking, which are related to personality. Only a certain
character can be a motivating leader, or a captivating customer contract or
someone with extremely high attention to details, capable of analysing every
aspect of the organisation. Every job, no matter how insignificant it may seem
calls for a certain set of qualifications and a certain type of personality can do it
the best way. (Lovering, no date).
For example, when hiring people, Google, the multinational technology
company are looking at four things in people: leadership, role-related knowledge,
how the person thinks and googleyness. The organisation believes that a
certain person fits a certain role, based on their thinking and experience; Were
less concerned about grades and transcripts and more interested in how you
think (How we hire, no date). The hiring process involves more communication
with the possible employees to find out more what type of role it would suit the
person: We want to get a feel for what makes you, well, you (How we hire, no
date).

MOTIVATION:
Another factor taken into consideration when studying organisational
behaviour is motivation. Steers and Porter, (1979, cited in Motivation in
Organisations, 2015) believe that motivation is that which energises, directs
and sustains behaviour. Higgins (1994, cited in Motivation and organisational
behaviour, 2013) defined motivation as an internal drive to satisfy an
unsatisfied need. Charles (2000, cited in Motivation and organisational
behaviour, 2013) believed that psychological forces that determine the direction
of a persons behaviour, a persons level of effort and a persons level of
persistence in the face of obstacles are what define motivation.
There are two main sources of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic
motivation comes from the pleasure and sense of satisfaction that a person gets
when completing a task. Paul and Dale (2013, cited in Motivation and
organisational behaviour, 2013) define intrinsic motivation as motivation to
engage in an activity for its own sake. Rewards from intrinsic motivation are, for
example, recognition, information, feedback and relationship.
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes from outside and it
depends on tangible product, such as salary raise, gifts, bonuses. The size and
actual existence of this source of motivation is controlled by other persons and
was very important in the past years when employees found themselves stuck in
routine and it was very hard to be motivated by intrinsic sources. (Kelechi, N.G.
2013, pg. 1-6)
Motivation plays a very significant role in the productivity and profitability
of a company. Employees are the future of an organisation and if the staffs are
not motivated to give their best when they are working, the results can be
disastrous. In order to achieve their goal, employers and managers have to listen
to their employees needs and desires, because when people are motivated to do
their job well, work harder, enjoy what they are doing, both employees and
employers will benefit. As the employees are happy with their job, the employers
are happy with the arising profits and productivity level.
Poor motivated staff will not perform at its full capacity, will not meet the
organisations goal and will be unhappy and stressed. This situation is not an
advantage for anyone because sad employees equal low profits. (The role of
motivation in organisational behaviour, no date)
Even though it sounds simply, motivating people can be extremely difficult
because of several factors. First of all, every person in unique and different
employees have different believes, attitude, values, a different way of thinking
and they are all motivated differently from each other. For example, if someone
finds morality a source of motivation, another individual may not be motivated at
all by it.
Secondly, every person has different needs at different times which may
cause a change in the time period employees are motivated by something.

Thirdly, motives cannot be seen, but only presumed. That is why

managers need to talk with their employees and find out more about what
makes everyone want to do a better job. (Motivational challenges, no date)
However, there are some sources of motivation that work for most of the
people, like money, health care and flexible timetable. (Motivation in
organisations, 2015)
Douglas McGregor (1960, cited in Common-sense theory: motivation,
2015) has distinguished two theories. Theory X states that people cannot be
trusted, that they are lazy and do not enjoy going to work, that they are
motivated by money and need to be threatened by punishment. On the other
hand, people that enjoy working, that seek creativity and self-development, that
are moral and responsible, belong to theory Y.
Maslow (1943, cited in Motivation and organisational behaviour, 2013, p.
12-13) believed that employees have five levels of needs and the lower levels
have to be satisfied first, before moving on to the higher ones. Satisfying these
needs change the employees behaviour, performing better at work. The lowest
level is physiological needs, the basic needs for water, food and emotional
satisfaction. Second level is security: the needs for freedom and job security.
Third level is social needs, which are the need for friendship, belonging to a
group, being accepted by others. Fourth level represents the esteem needs, the
needs for self-respect, recognition, and respect from others. The highest level is
self-actualisation, the need for self-fulfilment of potential and personal goals.
Maslows hierarchy of needs has received many critiques, in the sense that
the boundaries between the levels are not precise and can overlap. Not every
employee fits the pattern, as some may not even get beyond the first level, for
example, the citizens from the third world and at the same time, others can
actually skip some of the levels, being extremely preoccupied with the higher
ones. Different employees will respond different to each satisfied level and also,
there are other factors that can motivate people that are not included, such as
social standards and a sense of duty.
Frederick Herzenberg (1959, cited in Motivation and organisational
behaviour, 2013, p. 14) has a different approach in his two-factor theory of
motivation: the motivators and the hygiene factors. According to Herzenberg,
motivators can cause satisfaction or no satisfaction at all, and hygiene factors
cause no satisfaction or dissatisfaction, depending on how well managed these
are or how the employee perceives them.
Motivational factors are: recognition, sense of achievement, growth and
promotional opportunities, responsibility, meaningfulness of the work. These
factors are also called satisfiers, as they produce positive satisfaction. Employees
are motivated to achieve the task with greater performance as they are
intrinsically rewarded. Because every employee is different, some may be
satisfied with these factors, while others may not. Motivators cannot cause

dissatisfaction because these are not negative, but positive and it only depends
on the person if they find it satisfying or not.
Hygiene factors, on the other hand, do not lead to positive satisfaction for
long-term. These factors are expected to be fulfilled and if these are absent at
the workplace, they will cause dissatisfaction. Also called maintenance factors,
they are essential for existence of motivation at work and when reasonable in a
job, appease the employees. These factors symbolise the physiological needs an
individual has and are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are: salary, which
should be reasonable, policies (should be fair and clear), status (familiar and
retained), interpersonal relations, job security, fringe benefits and physical
working conditions.
The two-factor theory, however, is based more on satisfaction and
productivity was ignored. The trustworthiness is uncertain and no comprehensive
measure of satisfaction was used. Also, the theory allows employees to believe it
is their merit for the satisfaction factor and blame the organisation for the
dissatisfaction.
The managers need to provide the best environment for their employees
at work and motivate them in order to make sure the employees give their best
at work, reward them and to take care of the hygiene factors, to avoid
dissatisfaction. (Herzenbergs two-factor theory of motivation, no date)
One example for an organisation who manages to keep their employees
motivated, despite the busy and agitated environment at work, Starbucks, the
biggest coffeehouse in the world motivates its employees by providing a friendly
and enthusiastic environment, where everyone feels equal without status
differentiation and a sense of belonging towards the company. Also, staff
receives material benefits, such as medical care, the pay increases the longer
they worked there and training is given in how to make coffee and how to deal
with customers as well. Applying the two-factor theory, Starbucks managers ate
taking into consideration both satisfiers and hygiene factors to keep the staffs
content. (Motivation, no date)

STRESS
The last factor discussed in this report is stress. When defining stress, two
alternatives can be taken into consideration: workplace stress or personal life
stress. Workplace stress can be defined as the reactions of individuals to new or
threatening factors in their work environment (Arnold and Feldman, 1986).
Williams and Huber (1986) defined day-to-day stress as "a psychological and
physical reaction to prolonged internal and/or environmental conditions in which
an individual's adaptive capabilities are overextended.
Stress can be categorised into two main types: eustress and distress. Even
though stress is very often perceived as something bad, eustress is the positive
type of stress, the one that motivates and improves performance in employees,

which feels exciting and focuses energy. Distress is negative stress, the type that
harms the body and the mind, which causes nervousness, reduction in
performance and can lead to mental and physical illness. (Eustress vs. distress,
no date)
According to the Healthy and Safety Executive webpage, in 2014/15 the
number of total cases of work related stress, depression or anxiety was 440.000.
The total number of working days lost due to this condition was 9.9 million days
in 2014/15 and in the same years, stress accounted for 35% of all work related ill
health causes and 43%of all working days lost due to ill health. (Buckley, 2016).
Stress at work can be divided into four categories. The first category is
task demand, when employees do not fully understand their role and
responsibilities and they are uncertain if the tasks will change or not. Role
demand is the second category and it refers the situation when employees are
not able to cope with the demands of their jobs or are faced with different
expectations they cannot meet. The next category is interpersonal demand,
when employees do not receive support from their colleagues and managers or
are exposed to offensive behaviour. The last category is physical demand which
implies extreme or dangerous working conditions. All these categories reveal
different situations which may stress the employees. (Defining stress, no date)
According to the NHS website, some of the symptoms that stressed people
experience are anxiety, irritability, low self-esteem, nervousness, headaches,
dizziness, surge of hormones in the body and worrying constantly. (Struggling
with stress?, 2014)
Taking into consideration these symptoms, stress can have a major impact
on an organisation and how it operates. If the employees are stressed they will
not perform well, if at all, which means that the productivity levels will fall due to
the lack of concentration and motivation of the employees. If the managers do
not try to find and solve the problems that cause stress in the organisation, their
staffs will most probably deal with it the only way they can: remove themselves
from the situation. They may take some time off or even leave the organisation
completely, which results in high absenteeism and high staff turnover. Stress has
an impact on the health of people, causing serious illness which may increase
awareness in the organisation. It is in an organisations responsibility to provide a
safe and adequate working environment for the employees and if it fails to meet
these requirements, legal problems may arise, which also can damage its
reputation. All of these consequences that stress has on an organisation lead to
increased training costs because the company has to spend more on health and
safety and stress management training. (Carthage, 2013)
According to Bloomberg.com, Norway is the less stressed country, with
one of the lowest annual homicide rate per 100.000 (0.6), one of the highest GDP
per capita (105.478) and one of the lowest unemployment rate (3.1). (Most
stressed-out: countries, no date)

In order to reduce and eliminate stress at work, managers need to observe

the signs and symptoms that the staffs are showing and find a solution as soon
as possible. One way to prevent or reduce stress is to make a pleasant
environment for the employees to work in, a clean and quiet place, with a
confortable temperature and bright colours can improve a persons mood for the
better. Frequent breaks can be relaxing and motivating to go on with the task
instead of concentrating on it for several hours in a row. Rewards and recognition
are also very motivating and not being very judgemental and demanding. The
attitude of the managers can also improve the employees mood if they are
friendly and willing to listen and communicate with them.
When dealing with stress, Samsung, the multinational conglomerate
company, created its own welfare program Samsung Life Coaching Centre in
2001, the first one in Korea, which now provides a range of counselling programs
for Samsung employees. These programs help stressed persons deal with their
problems, either work-related or personal. Face-to-face counselling, group
therapies, seminars, on-line counselling, psychological assessments and even
meditation classes are provided in order to reduce frustration and help them
solve their problems. (Samsung life coaching centre: manage your stress, find
inner peace, 2012)
In conclusion, organisational behaviour studies the comportment of people
in organisations and the impact they have on the culture of the organisation. By
monitoring and analysing the personality of the employees, managers can
control the future of an organisation. Motivation is as well extremely important
for the productivity and profitability levels of an organisation and better
motivated staffs perform better, which is an advantage both for the employee
and for the employer as well. Last but not least, stress is a negative factor that
needs to be prevented and eliminated when it exists, because it brings many
disadvantages such as ill employees and low productivity levels. By managing
these three elements, an organisation can shape its future for the best.

APPENDICES
Appendix 1

Diagram (no date) Diagram B: Kernbergs dimensional model. Available at:

http://hsccs.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=581&cn=8 (Accessed: 4
November 2015)
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Mullins. L. J., (2006), Essentials of organisational behaviour. 1st edn.

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(Accessed: 15 December 2015)
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