SELF- REFLECTION REPORT

Beatriz Mena (z5049785)

Tue: 11-12am

OrganizationalBehaviorsignificantlychangedmyperceptionabouthowto
understandandmanageindividualandgroupbehaviorinanorganization
environment.Thisreportdescribesthelectureandthetutorialmaterial.Thenit
providesexampleswhichdemonstratehowtakingthiscourseimprovedmymanaging
knowledgeandabilities,mycommunicationskillsinEnglishandmycriticalreading
andthinking.
FirstlyIwouldliketoemphasizeweek4topic:MotivationandEmotion.Duringthe
tutorialwemadeaselfassessmentexerciseinwhichweevaluatedoursown
sensitivitytoequityandfairnessinwhichIvegotamoderatelevel.ThatmeansthatI
valuefairlytreatment,incontrastinImalsoabletounderstandwhyfairnessisnot
possibletobeachievedinsomesituationsandthenIdontfeelmotivatedtochange
things.
Onmytable,meandanotherstudentgotmoderatelevelandtheothertwogotahigh
sensitivitylevel.Thisexercisedmademelearnmoreaboutmyownvaluesandthe
discussionwiththegroupmademeIunderstandhowmuchpeoplearedifferentand
perceivesituationsinacontrastingway.HoweverjustwithdiscussionIcouldnt
makeaclearlinkagebetweentheequitysensitivityandmotivation.
Onweek4lecturewecontinuedtotalkaboutthistopic,discussingthePartialModel
ofPerformance.Inthismodelahighperformanceoutcomeisachievedbythe
combinationbetweenabilityandmotivatedbehaviors.However,motivationis
determinedbyseveralfactorsthatdependononesselfcontrol,emotionalrewardin
doingthetaskandgoalacceptance.Thislastfactor,inturn,isdeterminedbythe
employeesvaluesbecausebasedonourspersonalvalueswehavedifferentreasonto
achievethegoals.
WiththismodelIunderstoodthattheequitysensitivityisavalueandasresultit
impactsonesgoalacceptance.Forinstance,someonewhoishighlysensitiveto
fairnesscanfeelsignificantlyupsetwithalastmonthunderpaymentandforthis
reasonheorshedoesntfeelmotivatedtoachievenextmonthgoalsettlebythe
manager,becauseregardlessoftheeffortheisalwaysreceivelessthathispeers.
Besidesthislinkagewiththetutorial,Iconsiderthatthistopicweresubstantially
importantbecauseofitspracticalimplications.Firstlyithelpedmetomotivatemyself
inordertoachievemyacademicgoalsduringthesemester.Forinstance,Istartedto
chunkthetask,dividingabigtaskinsmalleronesinordertomakevisibleprogress.
MoreoverIthinkthatthePartialModelofPerformancehaspracticalimplicationfor
managers,becausetheyneedtostructuretheactivitiesinordertoproduceoutcomes

inanefficientway,asconsequencemanagersneedtomakesurethattheiremployees
aremotivated,thereforelearninghowtosetgoalsandmanageselfregulationare
valuablelessons.
Anotherimportanttopicwasdiscussedonweek10OrganizationalCulture.Frommy
personalstandpoint,thetutorialwereconsiderablyrelevantbecausewhenwe
interviewedotherstudentswewereabletounderstandhowtheorganizationalculture
ispreservedandtaught,thenhowthiscanimpactononesperceptionaboutthejob.
Forexample,talkingwithmypeerInoticedthatheholdsapositiveviewabouthis
job,hedescribeshisorganizationasawellstructureandteambasedretailcompany.
Hismanagersusetogivehimfeedbackandsmallrewardsbasedonproductivity
improvementsandthecompanyhasastrongsenseofidentitystressingtheimportance
oftheuniformandorganizationscolors.
Later,onthelectureIcouldfitthosevaluesonthethreefacetsoforganizational
culture:thephysicalartifacts,theintangibleactivitiesandtheunderlyingvalues.The
factthatIalreadyhadsomepracticalexampleshelpedmetoremembertheconcepts
andtounderstandtheimportanceofthevaluesforemployees(helpthemtobealign
withthecompanyexpectationeveninahighturnoversectorasretailsellers).
Moreover,theinterviewprocessitselfisvaluableforseveralreasons.Firstly,Ineeded
tocomeupwiththepropersetofquestions,inordertodosoIusedmyprevious
knowledgetodefineorganizationalcultureaswellastodeterminethescopeinwhich
itcanbeperceived.Secondlythistaskforcedmetouseanalyticalskillstoevaluate
theinformationthattheinterviewedprovidedandtoaggregateitinordertoformulate
apictureabouthisorganizationculture.Finallythepresentationofmyconclusions
forthegroupwereandexercisethathelpedmytodevelopconfidenceinexpress
myselfinfrontofotherswhenImspeakingmysecondlanguage.
Asusual,alecturefollowsthetutorial.Onweek10,itsworthyhighlightthe
CompetingValueFramework(Quinn&Rohrbaugh,1981)thatissouniquebecauseit
relatesindividualleadershipbehaviorswithspecifictypesoforganizationalculture
andcompetencies.Onthismodel,therearetwotensions,onebetweencontroland
flexibilityandtheother,whichisinternalversusexternalapproach.Combiningthose
tensionstherearefourstypesofcultureandtheempiricalresultsshowedthateach
oneofthoseculturesisbetterforacertainpurpose.
ThistheorychangedthewayIseeorganizationalculturebecauseIthoughtthatthere
wasamyriadoforganizationalculturestyleswithoutanyguiding.Howeverafterthe
classIlearnedthattherearesomedirectionsandasresultthemanagercanrelyon
thoseparameterstobuildthecultureandachievetheintendedgoals.

Inconclusion,inthepast12weeksIwasabletoincreasemyknowledgeon
organizationalbehavior.Infact,duringmyundergradprogramItookmostly
EconomicsandAccountingclassesinmyhomeuniversity,onlyinthecurrent
semesterItookmanagementdisciplinesaselectives.ThereforeIhadonlythe
commonknowledgeaboutthetopicsdiscussedonclassandforthisreasoninevery
classIleanedcrucialmanagementskillssuchasdecisionmaking,criticalthinking
andalsopsychologicaltheoriesthatarefundamentaltounderstandemployees
behavior.
Imstillnotsureaboutmyfuturecarrier,howeverinthiscourseIleanedskillsthat
areusefulinawidebranchoffieldssuchasmycommunicationabilitiesinEnglish
throughwritingtheassignmentsandparticipatingonclass.Moreover,duringthe
semesterIreadafewacademicarticles,andthereforeIfamiliarizedmyselfwiththis
typeofwritingandIdevelopedcriticalthinkingandanalysisskills.Forthisreason
ImgladthatIchoosethisdisciplineaspartofmyStudyAbroadprogram.