Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

Terminology and Concepts Paper

In the world of business, there are terms and concepts that must be known and understood to help run a successful business. Without the knowledge of these terms, one might have trouble legally and ethically. In this report, there will terms and concepts explained that will give a better understanding on how Dick’s Sporting Goods has become a successful retail company. By the end of this report, the reader will have a better understanding of organizational behavior, organizational culture, diversity, communication, organizational effectiveness and efficiency, and organizational learning.

One must first start by understanding what the origin of these terms. “Behavior is the manor of conducting oneself” (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1999, pg. 120). “An organization is defined as a collection of people working together in a division of labor to achieve a common purpose” (University of Phoenix, 2006, Pg. 6). When combining the two terms, organizational behavior (OB), is “the study of human behavior in organizations. It is a multidisciplinary field devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics” (University of Phoenix, 2006, pg. 3). In Dick’s Sporting Goods, there are different areas of specialty in which the employees have to have a background in that area. Although each employee has a different background, there is one common goal throughout the company, “to be the number one sports and fitness specialty retailer for all athletes and outdoor enthusiasts through the relentless improvement of everything we do” (Dicks Sporting Goods, 2006).

Culture is “the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group” (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1999, pg. 323). “Organizational culture is the shared beliefs and values that influence the behavior of organizational members” (University of Phoenix, Chapter 1, pg. 9). Dicks Sporting Goods is an equal opportunity employer who feels that by having a variety of employees, with a well-based knowledge of their specialty, can provide the customers a level of comfort to ask any question to the employees he or she needs answered.

“Diversity is the state or fact of being diverse; difference; or unlikeness” (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1999, pg. 385). In the world of business, one might better define diversity as “the presence of individual differences based on gender, race and ethnicity, age, able-bodiedness, and sexual orientation” (University of Phoenix, 2006, pg. 9). This concept relates back to the term culture in the sense that Dick’s Sporting Goods tries to provide an environment in which any customer feels comfortable to ask any question to the employee of his or her choice.

Communication is a broad term that can be perceived in many different forms. Defined in the dictionary, communication is “the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs” (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1999, pg. 419). In business, communication is vital to the success of a company because all the employees need to understand what goals the company has and why these goals are important. If the employees do not have this information, they cannot be held accountable for any problems that may arise. Dicks Sporting Goods could do a better job with the communication to the employees in the sense of communicating what each employee could do better when it relates to his or her job. There could be news letters that the company provides so each employees has a better idea of the stores goals for each week, month, or even the year. This falls on management but without the communication