Understanding Issues in Organizational Behavior

Understanding Issues in Organizational Behavior

1. Non-monetary incentives are very effective in relieving stress in the workplace. There were examples of this in the interactive simulation. One example that I chose was the "Break Out Zone". This entailed turning a portion of the cafeteria into a leisure activity zone with television sets, gaming consoles, magazines and computers with internet connections. This would give the employee leisure breaks between long tasks or between shifts. This is a good idea because it provides the employee an ideal environment to unwind and would help to defuse high stress levels due to excessive workloads. Another was to introduce an exercise program. This entailed scheduling exercise programs for before and after shifts with a professional instructor. Exercise is a good stress reliever and it goes a long way in helping the employee to achieve physical agility and mental alertness. These are good short-term strategies for stress relief. A good long-term stress relief strategy would be to organize stress management workshops. This non-monetary strategy is very effective because it gives the employee the opportunity to take a break from routine work and will lead to innovative solutions to work-related problems. Behavior counseling is another good long-term strategy. This helps the organization in addressing stress and motivation-related problems on an individual level. This enables the employee to communicate problems openly, which in turn will address behavioral issues and result in greater productivity and morale. Although monetary incentives are very important in motivating an employee these non-monetary incentives seem to be very effective in relieving stress and boosting morale.

2. Employee motivation impacts the organizational performance greatly. If you have employees that are not motivated then absenteeism goes up and productivity goes down. In the interactive simulation the scenario of motivation matters concentrated on employees having to work in the freezing temperatures of winter and how the employees felt overwhelmed by the extra activities that came with it. The simulation also touched on how employees preferred to work the day shift over the night shift. A couple of motivational measures I chose were to introduce a shift swap, a NightLife program, spot rewards and provide free protective gear. By providing free protective gear it took care of what the employees considered to be the biggest challenge of working in the frigid temperatures of winter. Although this measure can be expensive it shows the employees that management cares about their well being. The shift swap is a good motivator because it gives the employee some flexibility if something personal comes up. The NightLife program helps the problem of employees preferring to work the day shifts. Since the absenteeism is higher on the night shifts

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