Question 1 -4 At least 120 words, reference required.
1. As you have been reading (Organizational Behavior, Ch.3), managers should be interested in the attitude of their employees because changes in attitudes will usually give warnings of potential problems and influence behavior. It is easy to understand why satisfied and committed employees, for instance, have lower rates of turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors and also tend to perform better on the job.
Based on what you have read, please describe the major job attitudes and explain their role in on-the-job behavior.
2. This week we have been studying (Organizational Behavior, Ch. 7) different motivation theories and their role in employee performance. You will have noticed that there are some differences and some similarities between these different theories.
Based on what you have learned and your own work experience, which of the contemporary motivation theories do you believe would motivate you the most? Please explain why?
3. This week in our course text (Robbins & Judge, Organizational Behavior, Ch. 12), we have learned how to distinguish the difference between leadership and management and have identified different leadership traits and behaviors.
In addition, you have been introduced to a variety of leadership styles and their role in effective leadership.
Based on what you have learned, can you explain how leadership style can impact group communication?
4. As we learn about leadership and the importance of effective communication to success in the workplace, we should look to our own work experience and think about the skills of managers and supervisors with whom we have worked.
Think about a supervisor you have had in the past that you admired. What qualities did that person possess that you respected? Provide examples to support your answer.
Question 5-6: response to peers’ post on your own words, reference if needed
5. Major attitudes in the workplace are job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support, and employee engagement (Robbins and Judge, 2011).
Behavior in the work place can be relaxed or tense. When employees are relaxed and satisfied with the work performed better circumstances can emerge such as happier customers. The feeling of satisfaction in a job does not just come from the work performed but the feeling within the job. When employees are told they perform well and the company meets the needs of the customers the job satisfaction can make the work environment more relaxed. When the work environment is tense then the satisfaction of the employee may start failing and work becomes more of a duty than a easy work experience. organizational commitment helps the employee see and strive to achieve goals but again reverts to the satisfaction of the employee and the environment of the work place. Employees will me more engaged in the work performed. All attitudes conform to whether an employee feels the environment they work in is both helpful and supportive to the needs of the employee. The job satisfaction needs support and organization that helps the employee grow and the need of the company also grows through the relaxed work environment.
To work in a place where you feel the company backs the employees and supports the needs of such employees will be a productive environment and one where employees have little to no tension slowing progress.
6. The contemporary theory that most closely resembles my personal feelings about motivation is expectancy theory, which states, “…employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe it will lead to a good performance appraisal; that a good performance appraisal will lead to organizational rewards such as bonuses, salary increases, or promotion; and that the rewards will satisfy the employees’ personal goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). For me, this theory is consistent with how I have tried to manage my life and career. I start with understanding my goals, and then I decide what is necessary to attain them. For example, I wanted to be promoted from a senior manager to director to satisfy a personal goal, and I knew that that would require high performance appraisal scores. My company takes annual performance ratings very seriously as they are regularly shared with the executive team, so having a lower appraisal score could halt any career progress. We also try to use objective measurements in our performance ratings, so I understood that hard work would be required to attain a high score.
7. One leadership style that has a significant impact on communication is charismatic leadership. Charismatic leaders have a vision, are willing to take personal risks, demonstrate sensitivity to their followers’ needs, and may engage in unconventional behavior (Robbins & Judge, 2011). From a communication standpoint, charismatic leaders have the ability to convey their clearly defined vision in terms that are understandable to their followers. Part of their communication style is setting a tone of “cooperation and mutual support” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Finally, their communication style can be “emotion-inducing” and “unconventional” to demonstrate how committed they are to their vision (Robbins & Judge, 2011).
8. My current supervisor is the VP of Internal Audit at my company, and he is the supervisor I have had the most respect for due to his expert power and referent power. “Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). He has a great deal of experience in accounting, finance, and audit, and I have gained more technical knowledge from him in the four years I’ve reported to him than I have from any other supervisor. My supervisor also has referent power, which is “based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). He has referent power over me because I respect his integrity, the calm manner in which he handles stressful situations, and the confident manner in which he communicates with the executive team and Audit Committee.
