What do I want to do with my MBA degree? I constantly ask myself this question after I received my acceptance letter from Southern Oregon University (SOU). The answer is quite simple. I want to challenge myself. I want to be more than just a bench work Research Scientist. I want to enter the different market sectors. I want to become an effective leader who can build and lead teams that can achieve goals; I want to be great.
Organizational Behavior is the first course that I am taking toward my MBA degree at SOU. Prior to taking the class, I consider Organizational Behavior is a study about human behavior in organizational settings and its impacts on company culture. As the course moves forward, I realize my assumption is very conjecturable.
I view my current work as a miniature setting of the global market. In order to succeed globally, I need to succeed locally. Organizational Behavior will be a tool to my success by helping me to understand the complexity of the human behavior in organizational settings, the organization itself as well as the interface between human behavior and the organization. Therefore, I will be able to analyze my work situation to make effective strategic decisions which allow me to get a better job, a better career, and become a better leader.
The degree of stereotypes and prejudice among human beings are very complex. In general, I firmly believe knowing people across functions in the organizational settings will get me far in my career. Unconsciously, I enjoyed associating with coworkers with whom I shared the same personal values. I chose to work with like-minded co-workers and limited myself to know and associate with coworkers whom I didn’t perceive to be like me. I let my personal biases dictate the way I interact in the organizational settings by building barriers. Luckily, Organizational Behavior helps me to recognize and understand my personal biases which allow me to become a better version of myself in both personal and organizational settings. I learn to respect, celebrate, and embrace the differences in everyone. To be better at my job, I need to allow myself to learn from others with a respectful mindset. By breaking the barriers, I create a new opportunity.
People often said to treat others the way you want to be treated. However, in the workplace settings, where competition drives innovation, it’s extremely difficult to treat everyone the same way. Jason, my current coworker, always drives everyone to the edges in the team meeting, including my manager, by asking too many questions and not offering any solutions. He sends very long emails and text messages. He dictates the meeting agenda. Most of the time, he drives me nut with his questions. However, my manager seems not to be bothered by it so much. My team and I expressed our frustration by brushing off and ignoring Jason’s questions during the meeting. To us, he just wanted to have the credit and the voice at the meetings. Meeting with Jason is always a torture for me because it is super unproductive. Therefore, I tend not to invite Jason to the meeting. It’s backfired. He asks even more questions in the next meeting. Sometimes, I tried to put aside our differences to work with Jason but my emotions always got the best of me. I gave up.
Understanding the ongoing stress and conflicts, my manager assigns Organizational Behavior training to everyone in the team. Instead of taking a training, I signed myself up for the MBA program at SOU. With the knowledge that I learn so far, I realize that I have been pricking on Jason for a very long time for very childish reasons. I don’t connect with him on a personal level. I don’t know much about his background. I just don’t like Jason. I dislike his working style and personality. I know nothing about him. I am very biased toward Jason.
Recently, I talk to my managers about the issues. I admit my biases but I am willing to work on it. I don’t know if Jason has taken the training. I have not talked to Jason yet but hopefully, we will talk soon. Communication is a two-way street. A hostile work environment is very intimidating. Hopefully, by the end of this course, my relationship with Jason will be better as I manage to acquire more skills to handle stress, conflicts, and decision makings to make effective decisions in organizational settings. Again, the course is very challenging for me personally since I keep reflecting on my personal experience and questioning my conscience. Admitting my guilt is a very hard thing to do. Writing it out on paper is even harder. For a better me, I am willing to give it a try.
Since I am no longer limited myself to collaborate with a certain group of people, I can start observing and learning more on culture, backgrounds, working styles, personalities, and behaviors to enrich the depth of my conversation or to improve the way I present myself in the organizational settings. Understanding the diversity in people will allow me to communicate and collaborate more effectively. By being diverse in the organizational settings, I can now act, connect, learn, and adapt better. That’s the first step to be better at my workplace.
Organizational Behavior not only helps me to understand the people but also manages the people as well. As I become more diverse and more aware of human behaviors in the organizational settings, I will build the relationship. Offering solutions to conflicts between working groups, I can strengthen my relationship with peers and establish my credibility. I will then encourage good behavior through coaching and eliminate bad behavior through training. Slowly, I can showcase my leadership and management skills to peers, business partners, and professionals in the industry. By being diverse in the organizational settings, I can act, connect, learn, and adapt better.
Traditional management approach in organizational settings will clash with the constant changes in the workforce. According to a recent study from Pew Research Center, 35% of the American workforce is the Millennials. However, most of the managers and leaders are the Generation Xs. Will there be a conflict? Absolutely. While the Generation X assumes that the Millennials are lazy, entitled, and self-center, the Millennials think the Generation Xs are cynical, disengaged, and apathetic. Every generation is unique. It takes an effective manager to bring out the best of each generation. Unlike my manager, most of the managers in my current company focus on delivery and not in training or personal development. They use the same managerial skills for every group they manage. The inflexibility increases turnover and decreases job satisfaction. It creates conflict between employees and managers.
Since Organizational Behavior helps me to understand the importance of managerial functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in organizational settings, I can apply it to current and future projects. I will hire more effectively by not looking at the technical skills but also on the diverse in the candidates and the training that I can provide to my future teammate. Through personal reflection, I can share positive stories about my work to promote engagement with my current teammate by minimizing dysfunctional behavior. With that, I will execute goals in the most effective way.
Therefore, Organizational Behavior is not simply a sociology course; it is a real-life self-development course that allows me to become a better version of myself in the workplace. It allows me to do better at my job, expand my career horizon, and hone me to be an effective leader. Even though it’s challenging; yet it’s rewarding.
