Organizational behavior and leadership

Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Organizational behavior is described as how people, structures, or groups influence organizational behavior. Organizational action is critical for increasing organizational success. Businesses exist to offer different products and services that consumers need. The goods and services provided are the outcomes of the employees’ actions. Organizational behavior is influenced by a variety of variables, including how individual workers and organizations react to diverse events in the workplace and how the organization manages the environment. As one of the reasons, this paper will address leadership on organizational behavior. Leadership is the technique of influencing the actions of individuals to achieve a common goal (McHugh, 2004). Effective leadership is essential to the success of the company. The discussion will be based on Amazon.com, which is the environment I previously worked. Amazon Company deals with electronic products.

Leadership Principle: “Earn Trust of Others”

The first leadership principle in Amazon is “Earn Trust of Others.” Working effectively with a team is the best way of earning trust from others. At Amazon, individuals work efficiently in groups, and in the process, they create a name for themselves. Through this, if prove that they are reliable and they can be entrusted to ensure that the goals are achieved. This is very beneficial, especially during the annual review process in the company. The organization has a yearly review in which feedback from each employee is obtained. Feedback is also sought from the individuals who worked with the company previously, and the result is graded against the company coworkers in the whole bay area. If an individual is found to work well with others, he or she will be the last one to be considered for termination during the process of downsizing (Normann, 2007).

Leading by Example

Leading by example is what is considered most by the Amazon company management. Always the leaders who do not walk the talk lose the trust of the employees. The team members in the company display specific behaviors displayed by their leaders. The leaders cannot ask others to do something they cannot do on their own (McHugh, 2004). For instance, being late by a leader will encourage the subjects to be late too. The company management in Amazon demonstrates to the workers that they work together with them as a team and they are equal. Being a role model to the employees has enabled Amazon to meet its targets.

Effective Communication

Communication is also another critical factor in leadership and organizational behavior. In every company, including Amazon, trust is built on transparency. In most cases, trust in the organization is destroyed by secrets. Amazon management ensures they are direct and honest, and they create efficient communication at all times. The employees are encouraged to raise issues and express their opinions freely. This has enabled the company to operate smoothly without workers striking. The absence of information results in assumptions that are usually disruptive or negative to employees’ motivation as well as their productivity. Failure to communicate can make employees feel that something is being hidden. At Amazon, if the information cannot be shared yet, the employees are encouraged to be patient since not communicating at all may result in misunderstanding. This is very crucial, especially during the time of layoffs or reorganizations.

Acknowledging Limitations and Admitting Mistakes

Furthermore, acknowledging limitations and admitting mistakes is very essential in leadership, and the same is evident on Amazon. The team leaders in the company publicly own up their mistakes when they make them. Leaders admitting that they are wrong is not a sign of weakness, but instead, it shows strength. The company management always accepts their mistakes and outlines the new course of action. This will enable the workers to acknowledge the fact that no individual is perfect, and everyone has limitations. Accepting mistakes allows building a team that complements the team leaders as well as employees in skills, knowledge, and capabilities. The leaders at Amazon do not do everything on their own, but instead, they leave the team members to accomplish specific projects. This instills the confidence and motivation of employees. It will also make them feel part of the highly reputed company. Allowing employees to achieve some responsibilities makes them feel valued (Noel, Otter, & Charan, 2013). The management is always ready to give them support in case something goes wrong in what they are assigned to do.

Keeping Promises and Sticking to Commitments

Keeping promises and sticking to the commitment is also very essential for every company. Whenever assurances are given to the employees or the stakeholders in the company, they must be kept. If it is not possible to be fulfilling the promise, it is essential that the workers are notified and explained to them the reason why it is not possible. Keeping the promises has kept Amazon moving, and that is why most of the goals of the company are being achieved. The company cannot make promises to the members that cannot be easily met. It is hard for the leaders who cannot keep their word to be trusted. Whenever a leader makes a promise, he or she should stick to it. However, there are situations which are outside control which might come into play. In these circumstances, the team members will understand, as long as the leaders display this behavior consistently (Noel, Otter, & Charan, 2013).

Trusting Employees

Trusting employees is also another crucial factor in organizational behavior. In Amazon, each is entrusted and given an opportunity to lead. Trusting the employee in the company has enabled them to trust management too. The team leaders will never get trust from the members if the trust cannot start from them. Sometimes a leader cannot avoid taking the blame, but in the process, he or she should give away credit. Team members should be recognized for their contributions. The more credit a leader gives away, the more employees accomplish tasks, even those that seem complicated. At Amazon, whenever anything goes wrong, the management acknowledges it and finds means of fixing it.

Employee Contribution and Recognition

Allowing employees to contribute towards the development of the company is what is expected of every leader. Amazon has created an environment of learning from the feedback of every individual in the firm (Noel, Otter, & Charan, 2013). By enabling the employees to give their opinion concerning the progress of the company, it will help them to be more productive. Amazon Company has created an improved working environment by ensuring the contribution of every staff counts. The team members who come up with the best ideas in the business are rewarded so that they can remain motivated. It will also enable them to be more creative and innovative.

Transparency and Equality

It is worth noting that no employee is favored in the company. A double standard that can lead to the deterioration of the business does not exist on Amazon. Employees will never deliver if they feel that some of them are being favored. While giving rewards to the company workers on Amazon, it is done transparently to ensure equality.

Respect and Clear Expectations

Treating the employees with humanity is what should be upheld in every company. Employees at Amazon are treated with respect. This is very interesting as employees play a vital role in the success of the business. The same set of expectations for each member of the team is ensured. The rule in which everyone is expected to follow is set to ensure that the company is running smoothly. In some of the departments in the business, the team leaders create those rules collectively with the team members, thus ensuring that each agrees to uphold a similar set of standards (Normann, 2007). Coming up with clear expectations including responsibilities and roles eliminate surprise whenever anything goes wrong. This removes unnecessary stress in daily duties. Every employee in the company is aware of what they are expected to do, and they will not have any worry during the performance review discussion.

Effective Listening

Finally, listening to employees is key to success in every organization. Listening to them ensures that they work towards the set standards of the company. Listening to the workers is more empowering than only speaking. Amazon has developed a culture of taking strictly the issues raised by the employees. This has enabled the building of trust and ensured the employees buy into the vision of the company. Effective listening is made up of both nonverbal and verbal communication skills, which can be acquired through practice over time. Amazon believes that proper listening is essential for the growth of the company, and it has put in place all the measures to improve it. The team leaders in every department know every member. The leaders ask questions regularly to employees and listen to them. A lot will be learned when the team leader keeps quiet at some point and allows them to talk or discuss during the meeting (Normann, 2007).

Conclusion

The knowledge I have gained in this course has changed the way I will do business and interact in the future in various ways. First, it has offered me efficient business communication skills. I have new skills now on how to handle customers as well as company employees. Also, the course has enabled me to know that feedback from both customers and employees is crucial. I will now be in a position to handle feedback seriously as this will lead to the growth and development of the business. Building trust is also another value I will uphold during my future business and interaction since trust ensures a smooth running of the company.

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

In conclusion, leadership in organizational behavior plays a very critical role. Proper administration enables the smooth running of every organization. The way individual employees are handled by the team leaders or the company management dictates their productivity in the company. Leaders have a role in creating a conducive working environment for the employees. Without proper leadership, the company is prone to operating at a loss. How employees are communicated to impacts how they act. Creating efficient communication channels and being transparent without favoring any individual employees is essential. Employees should be given a chance to contribute towards the development of the company.

References

McHugh, D. E. (2004). Golf and the game of leadership: An 18-hole guide for success in business and in life. New York: AMACOM.

Noel, J., Otter, S., & Charan, R. (2013). The leadership pipeline: How to build the leadership powered company. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Normann, R. (2007). Service management: Strategy and leadership in service business. Chichester: Wiley.