CLEAH CHARITY A.

WASKIN
BSMA III
Human Behavior in Organization

TEST I. Comprehensive Essay

1. What are the different jobs designs practices that motivate employees? How can
management empower their employees? Explain thoroughly your answer.

 There are five job components that increase the motivating potential
of a job: Skill variety refers to the set of skills required to do a job,
task identity where the extent to which a job entails completing an
identifiable piece of work from beginning to end, with a visible result,
task significance refers to the extent to which a job is important to and
affects others within and outside of the organizations, autonomy
assesses each employee's degree of freedom and ability to plan tasks
and feedback that refers to the extent to which an employee receives
direct feedback on their performance.

 On the other hand, by giving honest feedback to your employees on

their performance make them feel empowered in their roles. When
giving feedback, be clear and specific, and emphasize your colleagues'
strengths to boost motivation.

2. What are the possible consequences of workplace stress to the individual and
organization and what are the different ways of managing workplace stress? Discuss
your thoughts thoroughly.

 Workplace stress also has a negative impact on workers' mental

health, increasing their risk of anxiety, burnout, depression, and
substance use disorders. Workers who are stressed at work are more
likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as cigarette smoking,
alcohol and drug abuse, and poor dietary habits.
 Managing workplace stress is quite difficult but here are some ways to
reduce such dilemma; track your stressors, develop healthy responses,
establish boundaries between work and personal life, take time to
recharge your strength and mind, learn how to relax in every
challenging situation, talk to your supervisor if problems inside the
organization are out of your control, and get some support from
positive people around you.
3. Why is it important you make a distinction between “groups” and “team”? What
kinds of behaviors might be different in these assemblages? Discuss thoroughly your
idea.

 Members of a work group are independent of one another and have

individual accountability. In contrast, team members share mutual
accountability and collaborate closely to solve problems. These
dynamics influence how tasks are handled as well as overall
collaboration.

 The members of the group do not share responsibility, but team

members do. The group is focused on achieving the individual
objectives. Team members, on the other hand, are focused on
achieving the team goals. Individual work products are created by the
group.
 COMMUNICATING WITH THE MILLENIALS

Background of the Study

Communication is defined as the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information – in

other words, talking, writing, listening, and reading. Good communicators pay close
attention, speak or write clearly, and respect opposing viewpoints. Proper communication can
assist you in resolving a variety of issues. This is why it is critical to be able to communicate
effectively. Communication skills must be developed so that you can interact with others and
capable of communicating your ideas and reaching out to them. In essence, communication
has become the most important factor in determining an institution's success. An institution
cannot exist without communication, particularly communication that keeps employees up to
date and well-informed about the organization's vision and strategies, as well as
communication that helps every individual in the company work together toward a common
goal. Communication between the employer and its employees is critical because
communication allows the employer to better understand each individual employee's feelings,
allowing the employer to attempt to turn an unsatisfactory situation into a satisfactory work
environment.

The communication process model deconstructs the communication process between

a sender and a receiver.
Communication flows through channels between the sender and receiver in this model. The
sender creates a message and encodes it in the form of words, gestures, voice intonations, and
other symbols or signs. The encoded message is then transmitted to the intended receiver via
one or more communication channels (media). The incoming message is detected by the
receiver and decoded into something meaningful. Ideally, the decoded meaning matches what
the sender intended. p. 249) (McShane et al., 2018).

Following transmission, the initial receiver is expected to acknowledge receipt of the

message and provide some form of feedback to the initial sender. The process is repeated
with feedback, changing the roles of the sender and receiver. The communication process
model is an imperfect system; any interference along the way can be considered noise in the
transmission, which can impact communication clarity. p. 249) (McShane et al., 2018).

Issues and Concern

Communication breakdowns can occur at any point in the communication process,

and no single factor can predictably cause these breakdowns. Language barriers, poor word
choice, chosen media for delivery, colloquialisms, inaccurate decoding of the transmitted
information, a subconscious bias for or against any of the above, the list goes on. Millennial
embrace technological options more broadly than the baby boomer generation does.
 According to surveys, cell phones (particularly smartphones) have become the
preferred medium among millennial. Almost all (97 percent) of millennial in the United
States with cell phones sent text messages, 84 percent accessed the Internet, and 73 percent
sent or received email. p. 272 (McShane et al., 2018). With email and text messaging being
among the preferred modes of communication for millennial, one of the major issues that can
arise is that baby boomers are not as engaged in these modes of communication. "By contrast,
less than two-thirds of cell phone owners over 50 send text messages, only about one-third
access the Internet, and only about one-third send or receive emails using their phones"
(McShane et al., 2018, pp. 272-273).

Contextual cues can be missed in written communication, which is a flaw that can
affect anyone. These missed cues can make it difficult to decipher the sender's actual
message, resulting in the expenditure of time and energy to clear up misunderstandings. The
less engaged someone is with a mode of communication, the more significant the noise,
which affects message comprehension. There is a gap that needs to be filled because baby
boomers are less involved in text-based electronic communication. Millennial use social
media at a higher rate than baby boomers. With a sizable portion of the millennial
demographic using one or more forms of social media and more interactions taking place in
this space, baby boomers may become overwhelmed or completely disengaged in this form of
discourse as well. "Almost 90% of millennial regularly visit Facebook, LinkedIn, or other
social networking sites, whereas only about half of Americans over 50 visit these sites." With
most corporate businesses still run by baby boomers or Generation X members, the
disconnect in social networking usage can cause issues within the organization in terms of
communication and trying to recruit new employees.

The inverse is also true. As they distance themselves from traditional modes of
communication, millennials face greater difficulties communicating with older generations.
Many millennials in the workplace lack confidence in making sales calls, which can be
detrimental to a company that relies on timely sales. (McShane et al., 2018, p. 273) When a
salesperson is waiting for a response to a query and working against a deadline, a lack of
confidence in their telephone skills may contribute to the other party's lack of urgency.

Statement of the Problem

With today's workforce balanced across three generations, there is no single correct
answer to managing communication issues that arise across the generational divide.
While many companies continue to prohibit the use of social networking sites, this has a
negative impact on the millennial workforce. Some baby boomers believe that proprietary
information or confidential information could be leaked through social media. (McShane et
al., 2018, p. 273) While restricting access to social networking sites and services may prevent
unintentional information leaks, it may also create a barrier for the younger, more social
media savvy generation. Blocking all social media can make it difficult to network with
colleagues and other businesses, stifling company growth and, in some cases, personal
development. When allowing employees to use social media on company time, there is
always a risk. In one survey of healthcare workers in the United States, there was a
significant increase in the number of people who used social media to look for other jobs
while they were working.

Among those polled, 25% of those who did not use social media for business-related
purposes admitted to looking for alternative jobs, while 47% of those who did use social
media for business purposes admitted to looking for a new job through social networking.
(Bizzi, 2018). In business, attrition is unavoidable. To combat employees who use social
media to find a new job, employers can reduce this by looking at the career paths available to
their employees and making a more significant investment in their workers' growth and
development. Employees have more access to explore their options thanks to social
networking, particularly professional networking. According to Bizzi (2018), "if, on one
hand, the use of social media can cause your employees to leave the organization, on the
other hand, the same use of social media by employees of other organizations can attract
them to your organization" (para. 6)

Alternative Courses of Action

Motivational factors between generations can differ depending on how society looks
as individuals mature. What is a powerful motivator for the older generation of workers may
appear anachronistic to the younger generation. What is a significant motivator for the
younger generation may appear trivial to their elders. What is true for both generations is that
they are both motivated in the workplace by jobs and job activities that meet their basic
needs. Some motivators are attributed to generational demographics, while others are
attributed to the worker's age.

Motivational factors between generations can differ depending on how society looks
as individuals mature. What is a powerful motivator for the older generation of workers may
appear anachronistic to the younger generation. What is a significant motivator for the
younger generation may appear trivial to their elders. What is true for both generations is that
they are both motivated in the workplace by jobs and job activities that meet their basic
needs. Some motivators are attributed to generational demographics, while others are
attributed to the worker's age.

"For instance, millennial tend to have a stronger need for personal development,
advancement, and recognition, whereas baby boomers are more motivated by interesting and
meaningful work. According to research, as millennial age, their motivation for learning and
advancement will wane while their motivation for interesting and meaningful work will
increase" (McShane et al., 2018, p. 10)

According to Maslow's needs hierarchy theory, human motivation revolves around

meeting basic needs such as psychological safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-
actualization. The need to know and the need for beauty are two additional needs that do not
fall into this prescribed order. (McShane et al., 2018, pp. 130-131) Studies have shown that
people do not move through the hierarchy in a strict order, but rather move from stage to
stage, driven more by need than by sequence.

Recommendation

As previously stated, the motivations of baby boomers are more focused on

interesting and meaningful work. These motivating factors are linked to the need for esteem,
self-actualization, and even a sense of belonging. While esteem and belonging are two
distinct levels on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, they are inextricably linked. When it comes to
satisfying the need for belonging, particularly the need to interact with others, social esteem
or status is closely linked. Work that is interesting and meaningful can help you stand out
from the crowd. Still, because humans are a social animal, there is a need for social
acceptance as well as a desire to be unique. Opportunities for the worker to broaden their
horizons, learn more about themselves, and reach their full potential arise as a result of these
types of work. Less stimulating environments and careers that are not meaningful to the
worker limit the ability to meet the ongoing growth need of self-actualization.

Conclusion

Personal development, advancement, and recognition motivate millennial more than

their baby boomer counterparts. However, there is evidence that as millennial age, their
motivations will become more similar to those of the older generation. Despite the fact that
the motivating factors appear to be different on the surface, the needs that these motivators
fulfill are not dissimilar to the needs that baby boomer motivators fulfill. Personal
development helps to meet the needs of self-actualization and knowledge. Advancement
satisfies the requirement for social status. Recognition satisfies the desire for belonging and
esteem. Even though the motivators of millennial change over time, the needs they are
attempting to fill do not.

The fundamental differences between baby boomers and millennial in communication

media and communication processes are not insurmountable. Both demographics can work
together to overcome the noise that appears when they communicate with each other if they
have enough time, patience, and education. Their intrinsic motivations are sufficiently
different that the younger generation does not appear to be a carbon copy of the older
generation; however, the fundamental needs they both seek to meet through their work are
nearly identical.