Organizational Behavior Terminology & Concepts

Organizational Behavior Terminology & Concepts

I work for a large business organization that supports the Department of Defense (DOD) and the men and women serving in the military. We have over 125,000 employees worldwide, so you can just imagine how many different departments we have. My department supports the Navy in all environments. I currently work on the new missile system program under the Lockheed Martin Information & Technology Services Department. This department exists because it provides goods and services that the customer wants. The quality of these goods and services are the result of the behaviors and performances of the Lockheed Martin employees.

Organizational behavior is the study of the many factors that have an impact on how people act, think, feel, and respond to work and organizations, and how organizations respond to their environments. Understanding how organizational behavior works can help managers enhance the positive and reduce the negative effects of working in the workplace. Focusing on the organizational behavior allows organizations to compete and gain a competitive advantage against its competition. Lockheed Martin’s vision is powered by innovation, guided by integrity and helping our customers achieve their most challenging goals. Its organizational behavior presents us with an opportunity to outperform the competition by getting the most out of the most valuable asset, which are the employees.

The set of shared values, beliefs, and norms that influence the way employees think, feel and behave toward each other and toward people outside the organization is known as organizational culture. An organization’s culture is determined by the value it places on its principals, programs, and employees. Employee satisfaction is determined by management’s ability to convey the direction of the company and to fulfill the needs of its employees. The organizational direction, and the way in which it is pursued, directly affects productivity. Besides the corporate vision mentioned earlier, Lockheed Martin has three value statements for employees to follow. The first value is doing what is right by committing to the highest standards of ethical conduct in all that we do by believing that honesty and integrity engender trust, which is the cornerstone of our business. The second value is respect others by recognizing that our success as an enterprise depends on the talent, skills and expertise of our people and our ability to function as a tightly integrated team. The third value is performing with excellence by understanding the importance of our missions and the trust our customers place in us. For Lockheed Martin Corporation, the customer’s needs are the common denominator linking all the departments with a common focus, and providing positive employee satisfaction. A large part of Lockheed Martin’s success is the cultural statement it established (this is located underneath the recognizable logo) which states, “We never forget who we’re working for.”

Diversity is a characteristic of a group of people suggesting differences among those people on any relevant dimension such as age, race, ethnic background, education, values, and personality. Diversity, if properly managed, can help organizations build a competitive advantage and create positive worker settings where diverse employees come together for a common cause. For example, Lockheed Martin Corporation has managers and employees representing diverse ethnicities, which help the company better, understand and serve its customer base. We appreciate this diversity and believe that respect - for our colleagues, customers, partners, and all those with whom we interact - is an essential element of all positive and productive business relationships. Lockheed Martin Corporation builds a workplace environment that promulgates employees feeling included and valued, which helps achieve a competitive advantage.

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