Organisational Behaviour

When I first heard about the subject Organisational Behaviour, my first impression about the subject was that it has something to do with how an organization function. As the first day of the class on June 21, 2005 reinforced my concept as we were told about what is an organization, what managers do, the management function, managerial skill and much more. But slowly as the days passed I realized it is just not what I had thought, it also includes the most important the factor The Individual, who shapes the organization. Here I have tried to use my learning in organizational behaviour to put in real practical use, by how it is applicable in marketing filed.

The second day of the class was on June 23, on this day I learned one important statement “people behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself”. Some of the jargon which we learned on that day included fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias; these two are very natural in human being. We all attribute our success to our hard work, dedication and commitment and when it comes to failure we start blaming on all the external factors from climate to fate. As it is said success has many fathers, (all these fathers are internal behaviors) and failure has none. We all make a model of everything, we try generalizing thing.

We all try to make a perception about a particular community such as sindhi’s and gujarti’s are good business man, sardar’s are good in hardware work. All biharis and people from Uttar Pradesh are poltitican. With these perceptions we try to deal with people. Some time we get a shock when we find a person totally different from the model which we have made for him in our mind. These models about people, community and things which we have formed undergo continuous calibration and sensitivity analysis and as such the refinement of this model is an unending or perpetual process. About the halo effect and stereotyping effect I feel that they are in helpful and in sixty percent of cases they ease our way in dealing with people. Combining Marketing with organizational behaviour we can clearly see its application in consumer buying behaviour

Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning. we chose what info we pay attention to, organize it and interpret it. Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. Selective Exposure-select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if it is linked to an event, satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes. Selective Distortion-Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent with beliefs. Advertisers that use comparative advertisements (pitching one product against another), have to be very careful that consumers do not distort the facts and perceive that the advertisement was for the competitor.Selective Retention-Remember inputs that support beliefs, forgets those that don't.Average supermarket shopper is exposed to 17,000 products in a shopping visit lasting 30 minutes-60% of purchases are unplanned. Exposed to 1,500 advertisement per day. Can't be expected to be aware of all these inputs, and certainly will not retain many. Interpreting information is based on what is already familiar, on knowledge that is stored in the memory.

June 28 we came in contact with hi-fi words, words which we always used to hear from our elders. Values and attitudes. Our values are formed by a combination of complex mix of interaction with family members, peer groups, education system. In our SADA (societal Analysis and Development Action) class there was a discussion on topic one was on a topic concerning the current past and future that’s going around us and the other was on topic concerning our values. The heat that was generated in the second discussion was ten times more than it was in the first discussion. This shows our attachment to our values, and how we become uncomfortable when our values are challenged. It has been rightly said that the greatest discovery of our generation is that we can change our destiny by changing our attitude.

In the field of marketing we can say that knowledge, positive and negative feelings about an object or activity-maybe tangible or intangible, living or non- living. Drive perceptions. Individual learns attitudes through experience and interaction with other people. Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its products greatly influence the success or failure of the firm's marketing strategy. So we have the right attitude altitude will not be a problem.

Learning is a continuous process. We behave in a manner in which we have been conditioned. We are what we think. We need to understand individual’s capacity to learn. Learning is any relatively permanent changes in a person's behavior caused by information and experience. Therefore to change consumers' behavior about your product, you need to give them new information re: product...free sample etc. When making buying decisions, buyers must process information. Knowledge is the familiarity with the product and expertise. Inexperience buyers often use prices as an indicator of quality more than those who have knowledge of a product. In our daily life consumers choose the most expensive pack, because they assume that the greater price indicates greater quality.

Emotions are inherent in man. To me they have always been a flow of thoughts with overwhelming power. To control them is a strenuous task. Situations have become out of my control and more often than not the reason has been my lack of control over my emotions. I accept that being expressive is a personality trait for me as an individual but the session on EI has taught me to measure the circumstances and use my expressions judiciously. The questionnaires provided a beautiful insight into my emotional maturity. I was aware that to control the emotions would be vital. The class showed me the methods to do so. I believe that I would be able to apply them in real life situations. I have consciously used some of the techniques with encouraging results. Our emotions are a valuable source of information. Our emotions help us make decisions. Studies show that when a person's emotional connections are severed in the brain, he can not make even simple decisions. Why? Because he doesn't know how he will feel about his choices. When we feel uncomfortable with a person's behavior, our emotions alert us. If we learn to trust our emotions and feel confident expressing ourselves we can let the person know we feel uncomfortable as soon as we are aware of our feeling. This will help us set our boundaries which are necessary to protect our physical and mental health. Our emotions help us communicate with others. Our facial expressions, for example, can convey a wide range of emotions. If we look sad or hurt, we are signalling to others that we need their help. If we are verbally skilled we will be able to express more of our emotional needs and thereby have a better chance of filling them. If we are effective at listening to the emotional troubles of others, we are better able to help them feel understood, important and cared about. The only real way to know that we are happy is when we feel happy. When we feel happy, we feel content and fulfilled. This feeling comes from having our needs met, particulary our emotional needs. We can be warm, dry, and full of food, but still unhappy. Our emotions and our feelings let us know when we are unhappy and when something is missing or needed. The better we can identify our emotions, the easier it will be to determine what is needed to be happy.

Creativity is the human quality which transformed our world. For me creativity in simple terms means thinking in a unique way and coming out with something different and new. Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness–ecstasy. It is the root of innovation. Creative process cannot be explained in a single word or line. It comes out through a series of steps. The overall creative process can be broken down in to five steps. Problem formulation, preparation, idea generation, idea evaluation, and idea selection. Creativity is usually tied to original behavior, and indeed, originality is necessary for creativity, but it is not sufficient. Creativity is a syndrome or complex and flexibility is an important part of it. The flexibility of creative persons is what gives them the capacity to cope with the advances, opportunities, technologies, and changes that are a part of our current day-to-day lives. This view of creativity implies that it is reactive; and surely, it often is a reaction to problems or challenges. Science has speculated that we are using 10% of our brain capacity. If need to access and cultivate that other 90% of unrealized potential.

We all come in different shapes and sizes. We all have strengths and weaknesses. What's right for one person may not be right for another.There are things that are important to me, that you don't care about at all. And sometimes your behavior doesn't make any sense to me. But I want for us to understand each other and communicate well, because we live together in the same world. I know I can't expect you to want the same things that I want.We are not the same person, so we will not always see things the same way. I have my own Thoughts and my own Ideas, may or may not fit into your idea how I should be. By learning more about my own personality and about other personality types. I can come to better understanding of my strength and weakness. I can improve my interpersonal relationships, realign my expectations towards others, and gain a better self-knowledge that will help me define and achieve goals.

The old concept and expression "opposites attract" has been batted around for centuries. And in fact, it's very true when it comes to love relationships. From my experience I have noted that people are usually attracted to their opposite on the Extraversion/Introversion and Judging/Perceiving scales. We are naturally attracted to individuals who are different from ourselves - and therefore somewhat exciting. But it's not just the exciting differences which attract us to our opposites, it is also a natural quest for completion. We naturally are drawn towards individuals who have strengths which we are missing. When two opposites function as a couple, they become a more well-rounded, functioning unit. There is also the theory that our natural attraction to our opposites is a subconscious way of forcing us to deal with the weaker aspects of our own nature. While we are highly attracted to our opposites, two opposites involved in an intimate relationship have significant issues and communication barriers to overcome. So in a sense, our attraction to the opposite personality can be seen as our subconscious minds driving us towards becoming a more complete individual, by causing us to face the areas in life which are most difficult to us.

The same cannot be said for other kinds of relationships. When it comes to work colleagues, or friends, we are not especially interested in dealing with people who are very unlike ourselves. We are most comfortable with those who have similar interests and perspectives, and we do not show a lot of motivation or patience for dealing with our opposites. Although we are attracted to people who are very different from us in the way we deal with the world, we are most attracted to others who have a similar focus in their lives.

What I fell is that Sensors seem to communicate best with other Sensors, and that Intuitives seem to communicate best with other Intuitives.. Two individuals of any type who are well-developed and balanced can communicate effectively and make a relationship work, but many people will communicate best with people who share their same information gathering preference.

From my study on this subject I have found that Personality Type and Relationships shows a definite pattern which indicates that successful mates often share the same dominant function, and the same letter preference ("S" or "N") for their information gathering function. Of course, that does not mean that people with different preferences cannot have a happy, successful marriage, it simply indicates that people frequently settle down with individuals who are on their same "wave-length".

Now let’s go further and ask any person who is successful in whatever he or she is doing what motivates him/her, and very likely the answer will be "goals". Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. So what motivates me? Why I am in college? If I am in college because that's what my parents want, I may find it difficult to motivate myself. Sure, it's possible to succeed with someone else providing the motivation for me. ("If you graduate from college, I'll give you a car!" or worse "If you don't graduate from college, you won't get a car.") But motivation that comes from within really makes the difference.

Certainly, one needs some intelligence, knowledge base, study skills, and time management skills, but if one doesn’t have motivation, he won't get far. Think about this analogy. You have a car with a full tank of gas, a well-tuned engine, good set of tires, quadraphonic CD system, and a sleek, polished exterior. There it sits. This car has incredible potential. (Have you heard that before?) However, until a driver sits behind the wheel, puts the key in the ignition, and cranks it up, the car doesn't function. You guessed it; the KEY is MOTIVATION.

Interest is an important motivator for a student. So is a desire to learn. When you link these two things together, you create success. Often success in an endeavor leads to more interest and a greater desire to learn, creating an upward spiral of motivation toward a goal you have established. When it comes to motivation, KNOWING is not as important as DOING.

Whenever we engage in communication with another person, we seek to gain information about them. We also give off information through a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues. One reason we engage in interpersonal communication is so that we can gain knowledge about another individual. Social Penetration Theory says that we attempt to gain information about others so that we can interact with them more effectively. We can better predict how they will think, feel, and act if we know who they are. We gain this information passively, by observing them; actively, by having others engage them; or interactively, by engaging them ourselves. Self-disclosure is often used to get information from another person. We also engage in interpersonal communication to help us better understand what someone says in a given context. The words we say can mean very different things depending on how they are said or in what context. Another reason we engage in interpersonal communication is to establish an identity. The roles we play in our relationships help us establish identity. So too does the face, the public self-image we present to others. Both roles and face are constructed based on how we interact with others.

Conflict is a part of most every interpersonal relationship. Managing conflict, then, is important if the relationship is to be long-lasting and rewarding. Researchers have identified several problems that typically arise in conflict situations. First, the parties will simply avoid the conflict. This can be damaging, because it can lead to greater problems in the future. It is usually best that the individuals discuss their differences. Second, individuals involved in conflict may blame the other individual. Often, individuals go beyond the specific behavior in question and blame the character of the person. When people use words such as, "He's such a slob," they are engaging in blame the other behavior. A final problem that is often encountered in conflict management is adopting a win-lose mentality. Focusing on each individual's goals/outcomes will help avoid using a win-lose strategy.

This course provided me an introduction to the behaviour of people within organizations, and the behaviour of the whole organizations. What I feel is that appreciation of organizations and their behaviour helps to understand, manage, and improve organizations. An appreciation of organizations and their behaviour helps to understand how technical systems may support organizations, and also why many technical systems fail to support their host organizations. Organizational behaviour offer both challenges and opportunities for managers. It offers specific insights to improve a manager’s people skills. It recognizes differences and help managers to see the value of workforce diversity and practices that may need to be changed when managing in different countries.