Human Resource Knowledge

Organizational behavior in E-world

The e-organization uses the Internet ,intranets, and extranets to open up an organization’s communication channels, making it possible to integrate and share information ,and allowing customers, suppliers, employees ,and other to communicate with and through the organization on a real-time basis. The more that an organization integrates global and private networks ,the more it takes on characteristics of an e-org.

ORGANIZATION SYSTEMS

E-orgs tend to rely heavily on the organic form of structure .As such, employees who need rules ,regulations and close supervision are likely to be poorly matched to e-organizations.

Electronic communication networks are reshaping the workplace and redesigning jobs .But they are also putting employees in front of CRT monitors for hours at a time and increasing the risk of fatigue, eyestrain, and repetitive-motion injuries. Management ,in cooperation with architects and industrial engineers, need to design workplace that are ergonomically effective.

The success or failure of an organization depends, to a large degree, on the quality of the people it hires. Managers in e-orgs need to pay particular attention in hiring to finding job candidates who are not only competent in their area of expertise ,but who can handle high levels of uncertainty and change ,who work well on teams ,can endure long hours ,and can handle intense work pressure.

Finally, employees are increasingly seeking to balance their work and personal lives. Offering family-friendly benefits such as flexible work hours and onsite day-care facilities are attempts by organizations to help their employees better cope with the demands of their personal lives. But management can do more. For instance, although management can’t eliminate work-family conflicts, it can help counsel employees to understand the need to make trade-offs.

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR

E-orgs create social isolation and uncertainty .These conditions foster a need by employees for strong emotional bonds. Managers in e-orgs should consider ,therefore ,encouraging employees to more openly express their emotions than should managers in more traditional organizations.

As the line separating employees’ home life and work life increasingly blurs, employees need guidance as to which online behaviors are and are not acceptable. Managers need to inform employees if, when, and how their work will be monitored; and managers need to create clear policy guidelines to reduce ethical ambiguities .motivating employees in an e-org creates unique challenges for managers .For example, managers need to make jobs interesting to minimize the distraction of going online .And to hire and keep professional and technical employees, who are in short supply ,management should design creative compensation and benefit programs that will appeal to these employees’ varied needs.

GROUP BEHAVIOR

In contrast to traditional organizations ,e-orgs are more dependent on group decision processes. These decisions are also likely to be more fluid and less rational because there are no proven business models for e-orgs .Managers in e-orgs need to let teams make mistakes and encourage them to learn from them.

Communication in e-orgs is able to cut across vertical and horizontal levels. Employees can communicate instantly anytime, ,with anyone, anywhere. But this openness also increases the likelihood that employees will experience communication overload .to help employees, managers should encourage people to screen communications carefully, prioritize demands on their time ,and engage in other time-management techniques.

Managers who have worked in both traditional and e-organizations say that leadership is different in e-orgs because of the increased importance of speed ,flexibility ,and the need to provide direction through vision. Additionally ,the change and instability typical in an e-org places a higher premium on managers creating a trusting climate with their employees.

Politics in e-orgs is not limited to face-to-face interactions. Traditional political activities ,such as water cooler conversation, are expanded in e-orgs to include cyber-schmoozing via the electronic grapevine. Effective managers in e-orgs will recognize this added dimension to political channels and attempt to keep abreast of the issues that concern employees by monitoring these e-messages .Monitoring electronic communications is made further necessary to ensure that the Internet and e-mail are not used to harass or discriminate against others.

Labels: Psychology

posted by Paresh @ 9:46 PM