Organisations And ‘Virtous’ Behaviour

Introduction

The performance of any organisation is heavily dependent on its ability to nurture and uphold certain behavioural types. In fact, this is the reason why many organisations were aiming to promote their employees’ behaviour towards the attainment of a ‘virtuous behaviour’-based culture among all members present in the organisation. This action was well-placed since there is the need to appreciate that the identity of an organisation can make or break it. Therefore, the intention of the early organisations devising certain behavioural types among the employees was aimed at safeguarding the companies from crisis caused by the negative image presented to the public due to poor perceived reputation. In the same line of thought, organisations in the current era are still upholding this approach, whereby in every organisation, there are certain values that each and every employee and any other relevant party must uphold. The management is keen on identifying the values that the organisation is focused on and then making necessary realignments and communication that are aimed at ensuring their adoption by all parties. These values play a critical role in ensuring a smooth operation that upholds efficiency and the interest of the organisation. In order to support the idea that the culture of virtuous behaviour (organisation behaviour) is still present in organisations in the current era, this paper aims to analyse the importance of these behavioural types to the well-being of the organisations that have seen them remain relevant.

‘Virtuous Behaviour’

Virtuous behaviour is the one that exhibits a high level of value integration, leading to adherence to the set rules and regulations. It is a behavioural type that is focused on conformity to the set guidelines as the only and expected way of behaving. Members who are under the set guidelines are coached and inducted to ensure total conformity since this is the only way the welfare of the organisation can be guaranteed. Accordingly, this is the reason why virtuous behaviour is referred to as righteous because when present, all the set rules are respected. It is out of these behaviours that organisation’s culture is born when the expected level of conduct becomes heavily integrated with individuals constituting an organisation’s workforce.

The Rationale Behind ‘Virtuous Behaviour’ Demand by Organisations

In the business world, the only way of guaranteeing the perpetuity of any business is through attaining a competitive edge in the area of operations. The primary reason the early organisations were demanding this level of behaviour from their employees was to ensure that there was cohesion among the employees, leading to a more productive workforce. When workers are aware of their expected level of behaviour, it becomes easier to delegate responsibility, leading to maximisation of time resource. Therefore, the demand directed towards the employees of the early organisation was a crucial element that ensured that there was order leading to an eventuality when all the parties were behaving in a manner that served best the interest of the organisation. Competition is even more severe in the current era, and the difference between success and failure can be a result of disharmony in the various undertakings taken by the organisation. The primary role of having strict values pegged in an organisation is the provision of direction and platform under which, as mentioned earlier, the interest of the organisation was served.

Moreover, there is the need to appreciate that the values determined in an organisation are formulated with due diligence. It is these values and norms that help an organisation maintain a high level of cohesion, efficiency and commitment variables common in all successful organisations. In addition, the values constituting the virtuous behaviour are all necessary components that ensure that an organisation serves in the best way possible its customers. It is, therefore, clear that the demands for employees to uphold virtuous behaviour are aimed at ensuring that the concerned organisations are able to maintain their competitiveness provided by cohesion within the establishment.

Reasons for the Relevance of Organisation Behaviour Demands over the Years

Virtuous behaviour demand in various organisations has remained a constant phenomenon that was and continues to be relevant over the years. The main reason why this behaviour was perceived as virtuous is because during the early centuries, the dominant norm was liberalism and the demand prevailing in the organisations was conformity that saw different people behave in the same manner. In the modern organisation, ‘virtuous behaviour’ is what is known as organisation behaviour or culture. In fact, this is a situation when there is mutual behaviour of people working in the same organisation. A point to appreciate is the fact that each organisation has its unique culture/behaviour that all employees are supposed to follow. Sometimes, it is perceived as organisation’s codes of conduct that all employees should comply with while in and sometimes even outside the organisation.

Relevance Capability over the Years

One of the reasons for the relevance of this behaviour is the fact that organisation’s cultures form the basis of how it is perceived by the public. When the general public interacts with employees, it is possible to identify the value upheld by them through employee’s service. The perception taken by the customer is passed to the public, and if the experience is positive, the concerned customer works as a marketing tool whereby positive information is transmitted. On the contrary, if the experience is negative, the organisation’s image will be highly dented, leading to the loss of customers. To counter the latter, the set rules of customer engagement ensure that all employees can meet at any time the expectations of the concerned customer. As a result, the organisation can attract more new customers in addition to retaining its active customers.

Another crucial trait that organisations demand is a specific way of conduct because these behavioural types safeguard the perpetuity of the concerned organisations. By having employees behave in a specific manner, it becomes possible to control them, making them meet their expected responsibilities within the organisation. Organisation behaviour is aimed at ensuring that the interest of the organisation is met, and this objective is heavily attained through the employees’ adherence to the set rules constituting the organisation’s culture. Apparently, this is the major reason why organisation behaviour is still being agitated for over the years. When employees are under the same level of behaviour, policy actualisation becomes easier since each employee can be trusted to meet the set goals. Moreover, it becomes easier to identify problems in the manner through which the organisation operations are conducted as the employees’ input can be estimated as they all follow the set rules. As a result, self-evaluation by the organisation becomes a lesser cumbersome undertaking. Furthermore, the organisation continues to demand particular conduct of the employees as this provides a strong brand for the company, particularly for organisations in the service industry.

Organisation Behaviour as a Competitive Tool

In many organisations, one of the reasons for demanding a unique manner of behaviour is to ensure that an organisation’s aim is to enjoy the benefit of remaining competitive in the industry. Upholding what the organisation perceived as ideal behaviour type ensures that operations meet their set qualities. With all relevant resources availed, having employees behaving in an expected manner provides a more competitive edge for the organisation as timeliness and quality are guaranteed. The reason is that the aim of formulating organisation behaviour is to enhance individual’s output, leading to improved performance, thereby enabling the organisation remain competitive in the industry. There is also a strong brand that comes as a result of a well-behaved workforce. Accordingly, high-quality products, their timely delivery and relevant after-sales services as stipulated in the outlined set of acceptable behaviour all work to improve the organisation’s brand. A strong brand is as good as any another diligence-based investment and provides high competitive advantage for the organisation. Competition is ever-increasing due to improved accessibility of capital, leading to an influx of alternative organisations finding their way into the market. Having a strong brand is helpful in improving the differentiation capability of the organisation within any market.

Efficiency is a phenomenon best served through teamwork that can only be efficient if all individuals of the team follow the stipulated regulations. Therefore, having well-articulated organisation behaviour improves the probability of employees working together as one team, leading to improved workforce output that in turn enhances the efficiency of an organisation. The ripple effect is reduced cost of operation leading to low unit cost, and the organisation can quote a more pocket-friendly price in the market, making it more competitive in the market. (Improved efficiency = low cost of operation = low unit cost = low end user price). In addition, organisation behaviour provides clarity regarding the hierarchy of power within the organisation, leading to improved self-awareness among the employees that ensures the improved delegation. With employees aware of their responsibilities and their senior management, it becomes easier to maintain order within the organisation. It also becomes simpler to minimise the element of duplicative tasks since the employees’ duties are explained in the hierarchy system. Thus, this ensures clarity of duties among employees and improved supervisory job by the management. As a result, all relevant parties are clearly aware of their responsibilities, leading to an improved level of output.

Organisation Behaviour and Code of Ethics

It is through organisation behaviour that expected way of conduct can be quantified and audited. The set rules and regulations that shape the conduct of employees within an organisation forms the basis of what can be termed as ethical or unethical in alignment with set industrial guidelines. Moreover, it is through the specifics within organisation behaviour that various conducts can be analysed and corrected if they do not meet the expected level of adherence. As a result, professionalism is highly upheld within the organisation, leading to sustained sobriety. It is also through organisation behaviour that various ethics are derived that constitute what the concerned organisation works towards sustaining in their line of operation. With the help of demands by the expected organisation behaviour, an organisation can shape its employees’ behaviour to be in line with the industrial policy demands. The result is that there are minimised conflicts to no conflict between the authority governing the industry and the concerned organisation, thereby guaranteeing smooth operations.

Organisation Behaviour and Culture of Motivation

In organisations, organisation behaviour/culture containing a rewarding system acts a motivation avenue to the employees. In fact, this is when the behavioural types being agitated for are performance-centred when certain specific targets are predetermined and the employees have to meet them. Those who meet their set targets are rewarded, while those who fail to meet their goals are subjected to the set punishment. As a result, this type of organisation behaviour presents a platform under which employees can be influenced to adopt behaviours that will help them realign better in order to meet the set goals. Moreover, this type of behaviour can act as a form of motivation when employees are recognised for their positive input in the organisation. From this point of view, organisation behaviour can be used to influence the performance of individuals within the organisation through motivating them to achieve goals.

Through the above roles organisation behaviour can play within an organisation, one can appreciate the reason this phenomenon has existed within the business industry over the centuries. It is through organisation behaviour that organisations remain in the market tackling increasing competition within their respective industry year in, year out. Moreover, it is through organisation’s accepted level of behaviour that the organisation is able to implement policies in the desired manner, thereby yielding desired results. With the modern organisation facing even more stiff competition, organisation behaviour remains a crucial variable that works in order to enhance their capability to meet the market demand despite the changing dynamics that are sometimes unpredictable. Thus, organisation behaviour is and will continue to remain one of the critical assets of organisations.

Conclusion

It is evident that virtuous behaviour in the early centuries and the organisation behaviour in modern organisations are clearly vital components ensuring the well-being of organisations. It is also clear that through this type of behaviour, organisations are better placed to meet their expectations in terms of performance. There is a clear picture that it is through organisation behaviour that each organisation is able to present itself as a unique component of the larger market. It is also evident that organisation behaviour can be utilised as a tool for improving the competitive edge of a given organisation through improved individual and team performance. Furthermore, it is evident that as in the early century, modern organisations still utilise organisation behaviour as a crucial tool of guaranteeing their perpetuity through a unique form of behaviour that these organisations employ in their respective markets.