Organizations are beginning to recognize that employees cannot just leave their families and personal lives behind when they go to work. They try and help employees find an acceptable balance between the demands of work and family. But Microsoft’s culture encourages employees put the works in first place. It is disadvantage for those employees got married.
Generation and Evaluation of Alternative Solutions
There are several generation and alternative solutions to be thinking of. We will clarify them one by one.
The expectations that individuals and employers have of each other are likely to be important in determining motivation, performance and the success of organizations in holding on to their staff. Some people are studying how people negotiate agreements and manage conflicts within and across teams and organizations. Which have examined the performance implications of management team diversity and autonomy, the impact of cross-cultural differences in risk perception on negotiated agreements, and the changing nature of the psychological contract between employees and organizations.
The psychological contract is the foundation for the personal development plans it recognizes that a successful career is the result of the interaction between an individual's goals, skills, talents, knowledge and enthusiasm and the sense of community, the opportunities and the direction provided by that individual's employer.
How people think they should be treated. Both involve rights, obligations and expectations on the part of the employer and the employee, and a breach in one can have important effects on the other. For example, how people feel they are being treated by the organization can affect their perception of their levels of pay. It's a fundamental relationship that brings success to both, but it is not static. It changes all of the time, and varies from individual to individual. Age, education level, being partnered, presence of children, general life satisfaction, home life interferes with work or work interferes with home life depending on dependent variable in model with work, not enough time for self, not enough time for partner, feeling tired and run down, feeling too rushed to do the things you have to do.
Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization’s members. This was made explicit when we defined culture as a system of shared meaning. There seems to be wide agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members. It is distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key characteristics that the organization values.
Microsoft’s culture values aggressiveness and risk taking which the degree to which work activities are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing, the degree to which their employees are encouraged to be innovative and willing to take risks. That information is useful for better understanding the behaviour of Microsoft executives and employees. The more staffs who accept the one of the core values of long working hours and the greater their commitment to the value is, the stronger the culture is. Therefore, it is hard for Coulter to change or reject to the organization’s culture in order to meet the needs of family-oriented employees. In the other words, organizational culture had a great impact on behaviour.
This dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members. It is a macro view of culture that gives an organization its distinct personality. Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face. It included that the core values are accepted throughout the organization.
Employees have their rights to request for better benefits and fight against the discrimination, it is not easy to win under the poor economy and competitive environment. Since employers will be fired to those employees who cannot meet their requirements; (such as, long working hours or overtime without paid), cannot satisfy the working standard, it had to maintain their productivity and fight against other competitors in order to have advantages. Trying to scarify part of the benefits for employees is the solution for manager to do.
“Employees who work in a software firm called SAS Institute in US, think it is great to work 35-hour workweek, have lunch with their kids, enjoy unlimited sick days, and go home every day at 5 o’clock and many benefits. A privately owned $1 billion dollar company and in charge of 6,200 employees worldwide founded by Jim Goodnight, SAS thrives on a culture of sanity and stated that “if you hire adults and treat them like adults, then they’ll behave like adults.” SAS Institute did successful at developing data-management software in US.
Source: Charles Fishman, “Sanity Inc,” Fast Company, January 1999, p87.
Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
R. S. Schuler, Definition and Conceptualization of Stress in Organizations, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, April 1980, p.189.
Most of us are aware that employee stress is an increasing problem in organizations. Stressed out from greater workloads and who having to work longer hours because of downsizing at company. It is proved that employees complain about the stress created in trying to balance work and family responsibilities.
Appendix II : Figure 2 Reprinted by permission of the The Wall Street Journal, 1996 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Stress can have positive or negative side-effects. A good performance review may lead to a promotion, greater responsibilities, and a higher salary. But a poor review may prevent employee from getting the promotion. In an extremely review might result in being fired.
Increasing workload, a demanding and insensitive boss and unpleasant co-workers are the examples of organizational factors that cause stress to employees. Organizational leadership represents the managerial style of the organization’s senior executives. Some chief executive officers create a culture characterized by tension, fear and anxiety. National surveys showed that people hold family and personal relationships dear. Both create stress for employees that aren’t left at the front door when they arrive at work.
There has been a significant amount of research investigating the stress-performance relationship. The logic underlying the inverted-U relationship is that low to moderate levels of stress stimulates the body and increases its ability to react. Individuals perform better and more intensely and rapidly. Too much stress places unattainable demands or constraints on a person, which result in lower performance. But moderate levels of stress experienced continually over long periods of time, can result in lower performance. Therefore, managers should be aware the stress-performance relationship.
Appendix III: Figure 1
J. M. Ivancevish and M.T. Matteson, Stress and Work (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1981); R. D. Allen, M. A. Hitt, and C. R. Greer, “Occupational Stress and Perceived Organizational Effectiveness in Formal Groups: An Examination of Stress Level and Stress Type,” Personnel Psychology, 1982, p.35-70.
Appendix III: Figure 2
L. A. Muse and S. G. Harris, “ The Relationship Between Stress and Job Performance: Has the Inverted U Theory Had a Fair Test?” D. Eden, “ The Inverted-U Relationship Between Stress and Performance: A Field Study”, Work & Stress, 1996, p.165-73.
Organizations change cultures to suite employees. Many businesses are looking at what they can do to support work/family needs in their work force. How can family-friendly programs be justified when a company needs to be leaner?
The Ford Foundation report from Boston University's Center on Work and Family summarized 10 years of research. The report said that family-friendly policies and programs reduced absenteeism and stress and improved morale.
Aetna found its family programs increased retention of its highest performers from 77 percent to 91 percent. A survey by the Commerce Clearing House listed the hidden costs of unscheduled absences, saying the costs of those absences ranged from an average $45,000 for small firms to more than $1.5 million for companies with up to 5,000 employees.
Employees make change to suite organizations’ cultures. Determine what employees can and cannot change. Take action to effect a change when a change is possible. If the organization cultures and stressors cannot be changed Employees must change their thinking about the organization culture or the stressors and “let go.”
Organizations and Employees are going to change to suite each other. The organization needs individuals to take better managing and communicating about job duties. Let employees get more jobs done in less time with less stress. Stress levels are reduced. Relationships are improved both on and off the job. Employees feel more in control of their work and personal lives. Employees need to manage their job and to better manage and balance their work and personal lives. It will have improvement of work effectiveness due to better focus and organizational skills.
Recommendations
Both the organizations and employees make change together.
Organizations change cultures to suite employees and employees make change to suite organizations’ cultures which is the best way for organizations and employees
Transform the organizations’ culture, create a work environment that will attract and retain the best people. Try to balance work and family lives. Get ideas from workers, each person will have specific situations to work through; however, there are several common needs that most every worker will have to address. Workers would like flexible working arrangements; they may go to work early and leave work on time or even early. Reduced stress levels of employees; Increased loyalty and morale; Increased commitment to the job and the company; enhanced image in the community as a caring organization.
Employees have their rights to request for better benefits and fight against the discrimination, it is not easy to win under the poor economy and competitive environment. Employees to do the change to fit into employers’ organization culture may have much more benefit than against it. Employees must change the thinking about the organization culture of their work place or the stressors. And try to accept and fit in the culture of the organization.
Organizations need motivated staff, not the costs of absenteeism. To stand out, they need people who see their work as more than 'just a job'. Organizations should look at what they can do to support work/family needs in their work force. How can family-friendly programs be justified? In short, they need the loyalty and dedication given by employees who enjoy a balance between their work and home lives. Employees have to adopt the organizations’ expectation.
Implementations
Accomplishing the best productivity for each of the employees in the organization, both employees and organization should take the responsibility. Stress release is the main problem. Although the stress can bring the employees more aggressive, the stress can also burn the employees out, which will greatly decrease the productivity of them. There for the organization should solve the problem of stress, through the change of the organization’s culture and the employees’ attitude.
As mention in the previous section, the conflict between the organization’s culture and the employees’ life styles is the core of the stress. The organization focus on the productivity and the profit making, however, most of the employees take the family as their first priority. The best solution of solving the stress is both organization change its culture and employees change their attitude. The organization can provide some programmes like flexible working hour, childcare, organization medical care, etc; which can build an environment that shows the organization is not only concern of the organization’s productivity but also the staff. These can motivate the employees to concentrate on the job, because their families are taking care by the organization.
Also the reward of work overtime, like time leave replacement and pay for the overtime work, leads the employees who more willing to work overtime; virtually, all staffs are working more aggressive because they get reward of work.
Nevertheless, developing the communication channels between the managerial level and the low level of employees can help the organization to change the culture to the point of balance. These channels include general meetings, nameless surveys, interviews, and departmental or organizational picnics etc; that can help the management to more understand the employees, which help to develop a more peaceful and motive mood in the organization that supposedly increase the productivity.
On the other hand, the employees should make change to achieve the balance between the families and job. It is not surprise that most of the employees are selfish, that want to work less and get most. However, if each and every one of the employees work with this attitude, there will be no one working at all, for sure, the productivity is absented.
The greater the employees’ involvement is the greater the productivity is. When the organization can achieve a certain level of productivity, as mention before, the organization has the space to reward the employees. In addition, when everyone is working with 100% effort, actually the job will be done in less time, that means the organization can be more competitive and the employees can have more time for their family life. Furthermore, communications is always full duplex, including speech and feedback, these means that the employees should get involve in the organization’s meetings or other communication activities that operated by the organization, and willing to share their opinions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the conflict between organization’s culture and the employees’ expectation can lead the organization downwards, but the cooperation and respectability can lead the organization to the other side of the contradiction. These contradiction conditions are the result of the appropriate stress or not. If the stress is appropriate, the employees are productive and the organization is running efficiently; otherwise, the employees are either ‘killing’ themselves or not willing to work. To accomplice the goal of high productivity, both organization and employees should take the responsibility. The employees should working with their efforts and willing to give out their opinions of the organization; and the organization should inspire and motivate their employees and provide a good atmosphere and environment for the employees to work.
References
Supervision Concepts and Practices of Management, 7th edition
Hilgert & Leonard
South-Western College Publishing
Management of Organizational Behaviour, 5th edition
Paul Hersey Kenneth H.Blanchard
Prentice Hall
Management, 2nd edition
Stephen P. Robbins, Rolf Bergman, Ian Stagg, Mary Coulter
Prentice Hall
Organization Behaviour
Robertlee & Peter Lawrence
Hutchinson
Levine, J. and Pittinsky, T. (1997) Working Fathers: New Strategies for Balancing Work and Family, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Massachusetts.
J. M. Ivancevish and M.T. Matteson, Stress and Work (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1981); R. D. Allen, M. A. Hitt, and C. R. Greer, “Occupational Stress and Perceived Organizational Effectiveness in Formal Groups: An Examination of Stress Level and Stress Type,” Personnel Psychology, 1982, p.35-70.
L. A. Muse and S. G. Harris, “ The Relationship Between Stress and Job Performance: Has the Inverted U Theory Had a Fair Test?” D. Eden, “ The Inverted-U Relationship Between Stress and Performance: A Field Study”, Work & Stress, 1996, p.165-73.
R. S. Schuler, Definition and Conceptualization of Stress in Organizations, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, April 1980, p.189.
Appendix I
Group Process Journal - 1
Group Members and Contact Telephone Numbers
Record of Meeting:
Keep a record of every group meeting. At these meetings you should discuss how tasks are to be achieved, who will be responsible for various tasks and when these tasks are due to be completed – usually by the next meeting date.
Date:
Attendance:
Agreed action:
Time, date and place of next meeting:
Signatures:
Date:
Group Process Journal - 2
Group Members and Contact Telephone Numbers
Record of Meeting:
Keep a record of every group meeting. At these meetings you should discuss how tasks are to be achieved, who will be responsible for various tasks and when these tasks are due to be completed – usually by the next meeting date.
Date:
Attendance:
Agreed action:
Time, date and place of next meeting:
Signatures:
Date:
Group Process Journal - 3
Group Members and Contact Telephone Numbers
Record of Meeting:
Keep a record of every group meeting. At these meetings you should discuss how tasks are to be achieved, who will be responsible for various tasks and when these tasks are due to be completed – usually by the next meeting date.
Date:
Attendance:
Agreed action:
Time, date and place of next meeting:
Signatures:
Date:
Appendix II
Analysis of Group Effectiveness
All group members should complete this analysis and include it with the group case study.
Goals and Direction
No clear idea of direction, Purpose and direction
confusion on goals well understood
0 5 10
Trust Factors
Very low trust, highly High trust
suspicious attitudes acceptance of each other
0 5 10
Resources
Time and material resources Managed time and other
not used well, resources well in order
wasted and not managed to get job done
0 5 10
Members’ Contributions
No one felt they worked Individuals felt like
well or contributed they ‘gave it their all’
0 5 10
Goal Accomplishments
We don’t accomplish All of our goals were met
anything we want to get done
0 5 10
Comments:
Appendix III
Figure 1 :
Chart - Inverted-U Relationship between Stress and Job Performance
Figure 2 :
Table - The most Stressful Jobs
