Organizational Behavior and Globalization

In a world which is characterized by globalization, especially in terms of the operations of different businesses, there is also a need for organizations to demonstrate a higher degree of responsiveness and provide an assurance that its current management systems in place are in accordance with the requirements of the current environment and context. With this thing in mind, it can be noted that one of the things which significant affect the operations of businesses which should be highlighted, in response to being more global, or to globalization, would be organizational behavior.

In the past years, globalization has been taken into different contexts and has become more apparent in the operations of many businesses. In a nutshell, the occurrence of globalization can be seen as the act of being absent of distance in culture and society, as there is said to be unification and in time and space, affecting various facets of the society, including political, cultural, social, and economic life (Ray, 2007).

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It is apparent that globalization has led into paradigm shifts in the manner at which many businesses operates wuch as with regards to the presence of a stronger international trade, major technological advancements, and increased cultural exchange (Braun, 2005).

Because of the significant effects which were brought about by the advent of globalization in contemporary businesses, it is apparent that there has also been an urgent need for these firms to address such concerns in managing organizational behavior. Many organizations should adapt to the consequences of globalization because of the fact that it creates a great impact on their organizational behavior.

Because of the higher degree of interdependence between different factors which are relevant in the operations of organizations such as economic, cultural, and social factors, it has been regarded that there is a higher concern for many to place a gat deal of emphasis on organizational behavior. In addition, the advent of globalization has also made businesses expand their operations, some even on an international scale. Because of such expansion, or what others would call multinationalization, it can be reflected that teher are apparent differences within the employees, and even the management style, within the organization. These differences and diversity, as brought about by various cultures in the work environment, and as a consequence of globalization, can be given the appropriate solutions given the fact that the management has the right approach towards organizational behavior (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 2010).

The world made closer and smaller, as a consequence of globalization, has made significant changes in with regards to organizational behavior. From the management context, the intertwining of cultures within organization, again, as a consequence of globalization, has serious management implications. It calls upon the greater need to manage organizational behavior in such a way that it must be assured that the people are made comfortable under a diverse working environment to make them more effective and efficient in their jobs (Harris and Hartman, 2002). In addition, it is also important to note that globalization serves as a major force which restructures economic, political, and social systems within societies and within organizations.

With such, as it has been highlighted in the earlier sections of this paper, globalization calls for better management of organizational behavior and it should be assured that the organizational changes which serve as the consequences of globalization should be given emphasis so that it will not allow any negative consequences on the way people behave and functions within today’s contemporary organizations. The management of today’s organizations must learn many international management techniques, especially those which relate to management of the workforce, to be assured that they are not negatively affected by the outcomes which are brought by globalization (Griffin and Moorhead, 2010).

Organizational Behavior and Organizational Structure

For the effective and efficient operations of any organizations, one of the most apparent requirements would be an organizational structure which fits the business and which would gain a high level of support from its workforce. Organizational structure, by definition, is a system which allows the provision of the division, grouping, and coordination of various activities within the organization. It provides an outline of the tasks which shall be completed by individuals and groups (Hoye, et al., 2009). Furthermore, it also allows the provision of the hierarchy of authority and responsibilities to determine the people who would be reporting with the superiors and to be able to as well provide how the employees are linked to each other, with specific emphasis on the tasks which are supposed to be completed (Kinney, 2008).

It is assumed that the organizational design and structure can be considered as a key shaping force of the organizational behavior. They are highly influential towards the implementation of strategies and also significant towards being able to trigger both employee commitment and motivation (Beer, n.d.). Because of the high degree of importance which is placed upon organizational structure, it is apparent that many firms in today’s time are already veering away from the traditional forms of management. For instance, instead of the deployment of an organizational structure which is mechanistic or stable, many firms are now using a structure and design which is organic or adaptive., The use of such organizational structure is said to give them the benefit of flexibility and being more dynamic.

With such, it can also be assumed that there is a greater flexibility towards the management of the behavior of the workforce. In addition, it is also important to take note that certain aspects of organizational behavior, such as the turnover satisfaction, and performance of the workforce, are greatly influenced by its structure. In an organic or adaptive organization, as it has been mentioned earlier, it can be seen that the level of employee satisfaction is higher basically because there is a greater degree of responsiveness in accordance with what is needed rather than being stable regardless of the situation which the work environment is confronted with (Walonick, 1993).

Furthermore, it should be assured that the organization is structured in such a way that it is responsive of the needs and the objectives of the organization. A weak or deficient organizational structure can have negative effects on organizational behavior, such as in the following aspects: it can delay decision-making because of overloaded hierarchy; correct information may not be provided to the right person and in the right format, therefore leading into low-quality of decision outcomes; organization may demonstrate the failure to become responsive of the changing environment, especially in a case of an organization with a highly diversified workforce; and there might be a presence of conflicts between individuals and departments which are working against each other (Nelson and Quick, 2008).

Different organizational structures, including the systems for reporting and supervision, show a variety of effects on organizational behavior. For instance, n a firm in which the decision-making activities are concentrated on the top or senior management, or under a highly centralized organization, the praises for the problem solving techniques all go to the top management,. In such case, it can be reflected that employees may have a feeling that it is quite unfair for them, especially if they know that they have exerted significant efforts in carrying out a multitude of tasks, for which the credit goes not to them, but to the senior management. This could result into lack of motivation and low level of employee morale.

On the other hand, in an organizational structure at which there are rigid policies and vague design on who and where to report, there is a potential to lead the workforce into the feeling that they are not trusted basically because they are not involved. In such organizational structure, employees may demonstrate low quality of work and low degree of productivity basically because there is a failure from the management to provide am organizational design which clearly outlines their responsibilities and hierarchy. Because of such situations, it is therefore important to create an organizational structure which will be able to make the organizations more effective through a behavior which can be expected to result into high quality of outputs ( Phillips and Gully, 2011).

Organizational Behavior and Outsourcing

Outsourcing in business is indeed a proof that globalization has taken its toll in the operations of today’s organizations. Outsourcing allows for the transfer of the recurrent internal activities of an organization to a contracted outside provider. Outsourcing is considered as a strategic move by today’s contemporary businesses for different reasons and benefits, such as the following: enhancing the effectiveness of the organization by the demonstration of a focus on the things which they do best; improvement in operation performance, increasing product, service, customer, and shareholder value; improving risk management; improving control and management; reduction in investments of various assets; gaining market access through the provider of services which are outsources; and expansion of the organization’s current market (Greaver, 1998). Furthermore, the practice of outsourcing business activities can also result into increased flexibility with regards to ensuring the maximum optimization of the resources which the organization is confronted with and it also allows rapid technological migration (Blokdijk, 2008).

Outsourcing, aside from the fact that it leads into significant reduction in costs, speeding up business activities, and increasing the efficiency of an organization, also shows significant benefits with regards to organizational behavior. For instance, it has been noted that because of outsourcing, there is a greater possibility for teamwork to be apparent within the operations of the organization. Outsourcing makes it possible for the workforce to focus on their job junctions at which they are skilled and competent, making them more valuable for the firm. This can lead into heightened employee motivation and morale, especially knowing the fact that they are given the chance to excel on the things which they do best. It would be possible to enhance teamwork with the presence of outsourcing in the organization, especially if communication, trust, and cooperation are also apparent in the organizational culture.

However, although it can be seen as beneficial in the promotion of teamwork, it does not come in the absence of challenges. These challenges are commonly as well significant in the field of organizational behavior. In the case of organizations in which outsourcing is practiced, it is extremely possible to view such as a threat and lack of support from management. This is basically because the two different companies may not develop a dynamic and lasting relationship which can motivate the employees to do well in their jobs (Griffin and Moorhead, 2010).

Outsourcing has a direct impact on the employees of the organization. For instance, it has been assumed by some that outsourcing can be treated as an apparent breach of the psychological contract of the employees with the organization. This means that the unconscious expectations of the employees for the organization to be more responsive of their psychological needs and be more supportive of their psychological defenses are not fulfilled. Such has the potential to lead into low employee morale and any other aspects of human behavior which can trigger productivity and efficiency at work (Morgan, 2009). In addition, another effect of outsourcing in organizational behavior is that it can possibly lead the employees into having a feeling of job deterioration and job insecurity. It can lead into the deterioration of working conditions in the sense that such employees may be assigned work which is precarious and it can also elad into longer working hours. For instance, if the business is outsourced in a different country, there may be significant differences in working hours between the two locations and it can inevitably lead into stress and unfavorable working conditions at one end (Blanke, 2009). Lastly, outsourcing also has the potential to lead into thinking that the skills and competencies of the employees are underestimated (Roe, et al., n.d.).

Organizational Behavior and Virtual Organizations

Virtual organization, just like outsourcing, is also one of the means to make the world smaller through a network of connections to make business processes more efficient and easier. A virtual organization is an organization which even members are geographically separated from each other, the organization is still single and unified as they are connected with computers and other means of technology which would allow them to be working with each other, regardless of their locations. One of its most outstanding features is that it lacks physical structure which shows that such organizations have a lower degree of physical presence compared to organizations of other types.

Operations are often decentralized rather than being concentrated, basically because the members are geographically dispersed from each other. In addition, it also demonstrates heavy reliance on a multitude of communication technologies in order to link people with each other. Organizations of such type also benefits from the fact that it is inclusive, boundaryless, responsive, and flexible. However, although such benefits may prove to be evident in the case of virtual organizations, it is also apparent that t requires the need for sophisticated management techniques as there is a need to link and unify people into one common organizational objective, despite the fact that they are working in distant locations (Warner and Witzel, 2004).

Just like in cases which were earlier mentioned in the earlier sections of this paper, the operations of virtual organizations also show significant effects with regards to organizational behavior. The advent of various information and communication tcehnologes has given way to such developments in organizational operations. Without a doubt, people were given the opportunity to complete their jobs anywhere and anytime which they find it appropriate. The development of such virtual organizations presented a number of challenges in the management of organizational behavior. In the absence of a physical environment which shall govern and monitor the completion of jobs, there are apparent common challenges such as the management and leadership style which shall be employed, career planning, evaluation of performance, and how the employees will be monitored (Kirel, 2007).

Furthermore, it has also been regarded that one of the most important requirements essential in the success of virtual organizations is the fact that the members or the employees must be knowledgeable and competent in the use of various technologies which shall facilitate communication and coordination between the distant parties working with each other in pursuit of the business goals. In such regard, to be able to result into efficacy, there is a need for the coordination of the different agents who are involved in organizational behavior. There is a need to ensure that all the concerned people will have an understanding of the domain of operations of the virtual organization to be assured that they will demonstrate a high or an acceptable level of competency in the completion of their tasks (Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 2004).

Because one of the main goals of virtual organizations is to coordinate and link people in different locations, management will be confronted with a great challenge in terms of how it shall enact a culture which is apparent in any other organization. There will be a challenge to maintain commitment from the workforce despite the fact that there may be an absence of direct supervision and insufficiency of support coming from the management. There is a potential fgor the presence of increased conflict and decreased loyalty. Such organizational behavior concerns will be quite challenging to manage basically because of the presence of geographically-dispersed locations of operations (Sims, 2002).

Organizational Behavior and Strategic Alliances

With the goal of achieving better business efficiency and effectiveness, many organizations consider a number of means by which they can be able to increase their competency and ability. One of such would be through strategic alliances which make it possible to demonstrate a high degree of cooperation between various groups in lieu of the objective of being able to better business results. Through strategic alliances, businesses are able to employ a cooperative strategy through the combination of capabilities and resources to be able to achieve their sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, under the concept of strategic alliances, there is an apparent sharing and exchange of both resources and capabilities between firms which are partnering with each other. Today, such alliances have been regarded as a competitive strategy, especially for many smaller businesses which are competing against the bigger ones. Strategic alliances are often given consideration by the management in order to expand their operations and tap a greater fraction of the market, which they cannot complete in the absence of another firm to help them accomplish their goals (Hitt, et al., 2009).

With the variety of definitions which are given to describe the contexts of strategic alliances, two prove to be most significant in its relation to organizational behavior. First, strategic alliances entail the involvement of two different organizational entities. These organizational actors are separate, initially, as being characterized by differences in interests, powers, and identities. Second, the formation of a strategic alliance is geared towards the interaction of two parties to achieve specific goals which may vary across partners. The relationship between the organizations forming an alliance serves as a significant discussion in the examination of their relevance to organizational behavior. One of the major challenges which are confronting such integration of businesses is the fact that it many potentially lead into intergroup and identity issues.

This is emerging from the fact that in the case of alliance formations, two or more distinct groups of organizations composed of employees with different culture and orientation, will be working together for a long period of time to achieve a common business goal. Some of the potential issues which may arise from such would include mistrust, favoritism, and group boundaries which would divide the workforce, instead of being unified. Fairness and inclusion are also among two of the most important dimensions which should be highlighted in intergroup issues which are given rise by the advent of strategic alliances. Furthermore, in-group favoritism, as earlier mentioned, can also be evident. This can be possible in a case wherein one side of employees would be more favored from the alliance, especially if such party has a greater contribution towards the success o0f the said alliance. There is also a high tendency and possibility that cultural clash can be present because of the dissimilarity from the different groups of employees. Such issues should be highlighted in the management of organizational behavior so that they cannot6 further escalate into problems which can lead into the failure to manage diversity and can lead into insufficiency of teamwork within the organization formed from a strategic alliance (Leung and White, 2004).

Managerial perceptions and cognitions are important to be developed in the case of strategic alliance sin order to see to it that organizational behavior is properly managed, in such a way that it brings an inclusive workplace, while highlighting the significance of diversity management, in spite of the fact that the employees came from organizations which were once separate from each other. There is a need to manage inter-organizational in such a way that the emotions, culture, and perspectives of the employees from organizations forming the alliance will be carefully understood (Das, 2011).

Organizational Behavior and Multinational Corporations

Current trends in the business context, such as the increasing presence of globalization, have also allowed businesses to flourish and expand their operations on a global scale. An evident proof of such claim is the perpetual increase in the number of multinational corporations operating in different countries all over the world. Selling goods and services of corporations in different countries is not a new phenomenon in the business context, but contemporary issues have confronted such firms especially given the perpetually changing economic and political context which governs their operations. The multinational corporations can be seen as a highly effective and efficient means for utilizing the world’s resources, including humans. It is also an effective tool for bringing new technologies and highly advanced business practices, especially in their operations in developing nations. Despite the fact that a multitude of risks are confronting their operations, it cannot be denied that they bring benefits which are unparalleled especially in terms of economic metrics (Yusof, 2007).

One of the major challenges which are evident in the operations of multinational corporations is the fact that it must be able to demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness in the management of people. This is in recognition of the approach that there is a no one-size-fits-all approach towards managing organizational behavior and culture. Multinational corporations must be able to adjust their management styles and strategies depending on the country at which it has its operations. The organizational behavior must be adjusted to the context that it will prove to be appropriate to the organizational culture.

In addition, there is also a need to manage the global company in such a way that teamwork is promoted despite the diversity of operations and that there is a promotion of inclusivity in the workplace in order to positively influence to attitudes and behaviors of the workforce. Control and coordination should be the focus of the people managing multinational corporations to be assured that the employee needs and requirements are being meant, in spite of the breadth nd scope of the operations of the firm. The right principles towards international management and organizational behavior should be strongly demonstrated in managing an organization in which more than one culture as involved, like in the context of the operations of multinational corporations. In such case, diversity management is essential to promote a work environment which is conducive and productive (Arora, 2000).

In some multinational corporations, even if it can be assumed that the operations are autonomous from each other, there is still a strong need in order to properly manage organizational behavior. As it has been discussed, the diversity of culture, same in the case of strategic alliances, should be one of the most significant highlights which should be prioritized by the management of the organization. There is a need to assure that there is a common vision across boundaries which separate operations. A unified goal is needed in order to get the workforce to act in such a way that the complexity of wide scale operations is minimized to an acceptable level. The ability of multinational corporations to create a globally integrated system will be largely dependent on its capacity to manage its operations, given the fact that it extends geographical boundaries. To create such integration in its systems of operations, there is a need for the demonstration of the ability to manage apparent differences of its people across cultures, to be assured that they will behave and perform in accordance with what is expected to generate better business results and create a more dynamic work environment (Phillips and Gully, 2011).

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