Organizational Behavior is a field of study that seeks to
understand, explain, and improve the behavior of people who
make up organizations.
Two major areas of focus in OB are an employee’s Job
Performance & their Organizational Commitment.
Someone’s level of Job Performance is directly
related to their ability to help the company achieve its
goals. Job Performance is much broader than simply doing
what you’re told by a manager or following your job
description to the letter.
Job Performance is comprised of 3 very important
components: Task Performance, Citizenship Performance, and
Counterproductive Behaviors.
1. Task Performance is how well an employee completes their
job duties. Required tasks are obviously very different
for different jobs – but could include abilities such
as problem solving, keeping others informed, technical
proficiency, handling crises, completing paperwork,
innovation, or doing data entry. Task performance comes
down to the efficiency and effectiveness with which one
does their job.
2. Citizenship Performance is seen when an employee goes
above and beyond their formal job requirement to insure
that the organization is running smoothly. Good citizens
show a conscientiousness to do what is needed to make sure
company goals are met. When Citizenship Performance is
demonstrated consistently by many employees, it can be a
major sustained advantage for a company.
3. Counterproductive Behavior is any intentional action of
an employee that is contrary to the company’s best
interests. Examples range from inappropriate conversations
such as arguing with customers to destruction of company
property or theft. Good citizens rarely show
counterproductive behaviors, however, high task performers
may demonstrate counterproductive behaviors.
Take a moment to think about the best and worst people
you’ve ever worked with. The best co-workers or
subordinates I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with
are so great because they show high Task Performance, high
Citizenship Performance, and no Counterproductive Behaviors.
The worst people I’ve ever worked with have
unfortunately shown the exact opposite. They were low Task
Performers, poor corporate Citizens and showed a wide
variety of Counterproductive Behaviors.
Now let’s turn to the other major component that
Organizational Behavior seeks to understand and improve
– Organizational Commitment. This is the degree of
loyalty that an employee demonstrates to their company.
It’s why they want to stay where they are instead of
moving on to a different organization. Commitment tends to
increase as employees get older and as they stay with a
company for longer periods of time.
Imagine you’ve been with a company at least 5 years,
and a competitor to your current company approached you for
employment. What would cause you to stay with your current
company instead of deciding to leave it?
There are 3 different types of Organizational Commitment
that we see people embrace: Affective Commitment,
Continuance Commitment, and Normative Commitment.
1. Affective Commitment is desire to stay with an
organization due to an emotional attachment. Going back to
the hypothetical job offer from a competitor – if you
would stay with your current company simply because you
want to stay, you would be experiencing Affective
Commitment.
2. Continuance Commitment is desire to stay with an
organization because of the costs of leaving. These could
be perceived financial costs or long-term career damage.
You would deny the hypothetical job offer from the
competitor because you need to stay.
3. Normative Commitment is desire to stay with an
organization because of a sense of moral obligation to the
company. You would deny the hypothetical job offer because
you feel you ought to stay.
Many professionals question whether commitment even exists
in today’s corporate culture.
When asked if employees are less loyal today than they were
10 years ago, a large survey revealed that 63% answered
affirmatively. When asked if they would change employers
in the next 5 years, 50% answered yes.
When asked to identify factors that would make them more
likely to remain with their current employer, the top 3
responses were training & mentoring, earnings potential,
and a positive work environment.
“Losers make promises they often break. Winners make
commitments they always keep.” -Denis Waitley
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Laura Adams is the host of the popular MBA Working Girl
Podcast. The content combines brainy business school theory
with real-world business practice from her career as a
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