Dimensions of Readings, Case Study Example

Research focus

The purpose of the current essay is to reveal some ideas about how the human mind works; what influences decisions, beliefs, self-image, and perception of the world around us. By selecting six different scholarly sources, reflecting on human brain processes, development of thinking, and idea creation, the author of the current study wold like to identify common traits, patterns, contrast the authors’ views, and reflect on the various approaches attempting to explain human behavior that affects organizations. The study below is two-fold: it will cover some of the theories related to individual behavior and decision-making, and others that examine organizational behavior based on similar theories.

Analysis

Beech, MacIntosh and McInnes (958) highlight the fact that it is important to understand the dynamics that form organizaitons’ and individuals’ identity. One of the main statements of the article that is relevant to the current research is that identities are formed and influenced by interactions with other people. The authors have examined the correlation between interaction, identities, sense of belonging, and job satisfaction, assuming that the higher employee commitment is the better the outcomes of the organization are. This highlights an important purpose of examining identity formation: gaining commitment, engaging with patients and staff, and increasing both reputation and performance. Bringing together two types of theories: theories of change and theories of identity, the authors attempt to create a new framework related to “identity work”: the formation of coherence (belonging) and distinctiveness.

Cowan and Todorovic highlights one important point that is often neglected when creating organizational strategies: the personal element. The main argument of the study is that the tree distinctive layers of values influence the outcomes of the organization’s projects: surface values, hidden values, and deep values. Generally speaking, when implementing changes within organizations, it is important to review the current values of individuals and the system as a whole. Deep values are less visible and harder to change. Surface values are highly visible, and easy to change. The principles of spiral dynamics, highlighted by the article, and the list of zones provides important information for researchers who would like to understand group dynamics, individual motivation, and even approach to working. Green people, for example, have a high appreciation for collaboration and community spirit, and this makes them suitable for projects that need joint ventures or discussions among different departments. The same color zones can be applied to determine organizations’ attitudes, values, and approaches.

Robbins and Judge found that environment is more important for socialization and values than genes. Reviewing twin studies, the authors revealed that personality does not change. Personalities indeed determine one’s attitude towards their job and their performance. Finally, it affects how a person can be motivated to achieve goals. The authors also examined the role of values in people’s decisions and found that they influence how well the individual would fit each role.

Lipton found that emotions influence people’s behavior and decisions. The role of positive and negative beliefs creates preconceptions, therefore, understanding the person’s emotions, personality type, and beliefs can help creating a connection, building group cohesion or work collaboration groups.

Weick and Sutcliffe examined a higher level of thinking than deep level visions and preferences: sensemaking. The authors state that “sensemaking is about the interplay of action and interpretation rather than the influence of evaluation on choice” (Weick and Sutcliffe 409). Like the above mentioned authors, the researchers apply an individual theory of sense-making on organizational thinking. One of the arguments the authors make is extremely relevant to the current research: “sensemaking is social and systematic”. The statement highlights the importance of human interaction in the decision-making process. While all sense-making starts with a  “chaos”, according to the article, one important step towards “making sense” is labeling. And this is not possible without building on previous experiences. The more experiences are taken into account when making sense of a situation, the more effective the process will be. Another important aspect that the authors highlight is the need for communication. Without communication, thoughts, ideas, and situations cannot be organized in a way that one can “make sense” of them. Communication within the organization promotes sense-making.

Zukav examined the evolution of thinking in order to better understand some of the processes that influence judgments, values, visions, and decisions. According to the author, if humans only relied on their five senses to perceive the world around them, they would be living in fear. The fact that humans learned through thinking and creativity how to “control” their environment. The author, however, goes further than examining the impact of control on human behavior: he states that the same power “creates” communities, armies, and even police departments. Here, the article takes another turn and starts to explain the difference between external and internal power. While countries, companies, and people fight to maintain their external power, internal (authentic) power is based on aligning purposes, values, and visions. This type of power can create a greater group cohesion, and can be used by organizations to use common values instead of power exercised to engage with employees. This type of power also creates a greater level of commitment, and an “invisible realm”. While creating a common goal, mission, and vision is an effective approach to increasing organizational performance, job satisfaction, and work morale, it is also a challenging task. Aligning values, preferences and beliefs in order to create a cohesive organizational community requires one thing: understanding employees’ identities.

McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino state that “social collective is the activator and regulator of the energy in social systems” (18). This statement is in line with previous authors’ findings that communities, sense of belonging does not only determine organizational and individual behavior, but can also create cohesion in the group that no external force is able to produce. Socio-emotional connection is a rarely examined area of organizational structure. It could be interesting to measure the correlation between employees’ socio-economic connection with the organization and their team, and the retention,  job satisfaction rates. Group coherence can – in the future – be measured based on the perceived level of socio-emotional connectedness of individual employees, and the results can be used to improve group cohesion, align values, and create meaningful conversations, missions, and internal organizational messages.

Weisinger created a guide for professionals who would like to engage in higher level of self-awareness. While this is the only article reviewed that does not mention potential benefits of the described method for organizations, the author of the current study is hereby attempting to make the principles applicable for managing not only individuals, but teams and networks of workgroups, as well. One recommendation that is easy to implement for organizations is: engage in an inner dialogue. While the author suggests that individuals should express their own feelings in order to solve problems, internal communication within the organization can be just as beneficial. As an example: when the recent patient satisfaction survey shows a decline in care quality perception, the manager has two options: simply stating that employees are “incompetent” and – exercising power – instructing them to perform better. It is evident that this approach produce little or no result.

Evaluation – layers of interpretation and connection

Five out of the six selected readings found that there are similarities in human and organizational behavior patterns and processes. Beech, MacIntosh and McInnes looked at both individuals’ and organizations’ identity formation as as a dynamic process. Indeed, the identity of the organization depends on its interaction with the public, employees, and other stakeholders. The closer the value of the individual is to the group’s, the higher the cohesion and “sense of belonging” will be. As an example: the more a person agrees with the individual life choices of the local Baptist minister, the more connected they will feel with the church. On the organizational level: if a customer who works in an orphanage sees that the company embraces socially responsible initiatives to help local disadvantaged children, they will be more connected to the brand based on shared values and visions. The same is true for employee engagement: the more the company’s policies, vision, and values are with employees’ individual values and perception of the world, the more committed workers will be to do their best. This brings us to the question of power. By aligning values and missions with stakeholders’ individual perceptions and beliefs, the company can exercise a power over them; something that Zukav calls an authentic power. It can create cohesion in groups and increase commitment.

McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino also confirmed that communities, built on common values and visions (beliefs), can be stronger and better performing. This statement leads to the question: how do individual beliefs and visions influence organizational behavior?  Weick and Sutcliffe found that collaboration and communication can enhance the process of sense-making. It is extremely easy to find individual examples in the health care industry: nursing managers who are often engaged in paperwork, staffing schedules, and management meetings would not have first-hand information about the day-to-day problems that occur in the organization. However – provided that there is a clearly communicated, shared vision – through collaboration, he or she will be able to see further than the statistics. The nursing manager would see that patients stayed longer in the hospital in the second quarter of the year than the first. Communicating the vision clearly with team members that – due to the low availability of beds in the nursing unit – the hospital should serve more patients more effectively, and reduce the length of the waiting list, the team leader could engage in a meaningful conversation. They might find out from nurses that there was a shortage of one particular drug that was proven to be more effective for the symptoms patients were admitted with, and this was the reason they had to wait longer until they could be safely released. There are three important benefits of this type of discussion: it engages dynamic identity creation of employees, makes them feel as a part of the organization,  and strengthens their values shared with the health care provider.

As Cowan and Todorovic confirms: the three levels of values can influence organizational behavior and outcomes. Aligning values with employees’ priorities and values, however, leads to the next, more advanced approach: involving stakeholders in not only discussion, but also he development of core values, vision, and this way increasing their commitment, work morale, job satisfaction, and – eventually – organizational outcomes.

Conclusion    

The above articles have confirmed that organizational behavior is influenced by dynanics of beliefs, visions, and socialization patterns. Further, the research has also found that connectedness and a “sense of belonging” can be created and enhanced in communities and organizations alike through aligning core values. This calls for a new approach to examine organizational behavior and performance: a system that influences people and is influenced by group cohesion.

Works Cited

Nic Beech, “Identity Work: Processes and Dynamics of Identity Formations” International Journal of Public Administration, 31: 957–970, 2008. Print.

Crisopher Cowan and Natasha Todorovic “Spiral dynamics. The layers of human values in strategy. Strategic Leadership. 28. 2000. Print.

Bruce Lipton “Biology and Belief” 2011. Print.

Rollin McCraty, Trevor Bradley and Dana Tomasino “The Resonant Heart”. In: Shift: A the Frontiers of Consciousness. December 2004-February 2005. 2005. Print.

Karl Weick  and Kathleen Sutfliffe “Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking”. Organization Science. Vol. 16, No. 4, July–August 2005, pp. 409–421. 2005. Print.

Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy Judge “Organizational Behavior” 15^th Ed. 2011. Print.

1998. Weisinger “Developing Self-Awareness” In: Intelligence at Work. 1998. Print.

Gary Zukav. “Evolution” In: The Seat of the Soul. 1991. Print.