Mgt 331 Organizational Behavior Trends

UOP MGT/331 Organizational Behavior Trends

Organizational Behavior Trends

Among the various trends in organizational behavior, both ethics and technology influence behaviors within the workplace in a variety of ways. Implementing ethics into one's decision making will ensure that decisions are both fair and accurate. Understanding technology's effects on behavior can prepare an individual to deal with the possibility of technical difficulties and the various stresses that can result. While ethics and technology impact organizations in different ways, both play a major role in influencing organizational behavior.

The Influence of Ethics on Decision Making

"'Ethics' refers to the 'study of whatever is right and good for humans' and the study of business ethics investigates business practices in light of human values" (Hornsby, 1994, para 1). Ethics, when used in one's personal decision making or decision making in the work place, plays a vital role in determining the success of a problem or situation in which decision making is implemented. "In the wake of recent, well-publicized ethical failures, public attention and the concern of leaders in business and government have focused on the moral climate of corporate America" (Longenecker, Moore, Petty, Palich, McKinney, 2006, para 1). The decision making that takes place within any organization can often be based on one individual's opinion or understanding about a given issue; "these issues include employee problems, product pricing, legal problems, product quality, and government regulatory concerns" (Hornsby, 1994, para 1).

Both managers and employees are faced with decisions everyday and it is not uncommon for ethics to influence one's decisions. An example where ethics would play a role in decision making can be seen when an employee is faced with a quality issue; if an employee damages company property, he or she has the choice to either inform management of the problem, or hide the problem in hopes that it will be overlooked and disciplinary action will not result. Ethics will typically influence the employee into informing management about the mistake because, ethically, it is the right thing to do.

Often times, what is ethically right to do can place individuals in situations where they are faced with very tough decisions; A manager might be faced with firing an employee who he or she has developed a friendship with or a small business owner may be persuaded into committing tax fraud if his business is not profiting. Due to the complexity and potential negative affects of unethical decision making, many businesses have began to implement a code of ethics or code of conduct so that the decision making taking place in ethical situations is done according to company policy. Business leaders can also avoid unethical decisions when they base their decision making on a group effort. A management team "may be less likely to compromise its ethical standards to create gains that will flow toward someone else" (Longenecker, et al., 2006, para 28). By adhering to company policy and ethical codes, as well as making decisions in a group environment, both employees and managers will be less likely to make unethical decisions regardless of the potential gains.

The Impact of Technology on Work Related Stress

"According to the American Institute of Stress, a growing body of evidence indicates that personal stress levels have risen significantly over the past two decades--and the things stressing people often turn out to be the very devices that are supposed to make life easier" (Rizzo, 1999, para 1). Technology can easily increase work related stress when it does not function properly. More and more individuals have began to rely more heavily upon technology within the workplace; technology plays a necessary role in our everyday work. Due to the complexity of the technology many people work with, it is essential that the technology functions properly as many individuals will not be able to remain productive in the workplace if their resources are disabled. "Whether you're dealing with less complex technologies such as cellular phones, pagers, or voice mail, or more complex technologies such as computers, e-mail, or the Internet, it's inevitable for things not always to work the way you want" (Goldsborough, 2002, para 7). Stress levels can be significantly affected when technology fails to