Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

In any organization that this learner has been apart of are affiliated with there are always different terminology and concepts that one will have to acquire. The ones that this learner will try to touch on are organizational behavior and culture, diversity, communication, business ethics, change management and organizational learning.

Organizational behavior is defined as the study of human behavior in organizations it is an interdisciplinary body of knowledge with strong ties to the behavioral sciences such as psychology, sociology and anthropology as well as to allied sciences. The ultimate goal of organizational behavior is to improve the performance of people, groups and organizations (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2005). To overcome cultural barriers to effective communication, you must first learn what culture actually means”. (Hahn, 2007) Culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behavior. (UOP Soc 315) Martin Hahn also created what he calls the ten commandments of intercultural communication. (1). Be aware of differing social values (2) Be aware of differing status symbols and how to demonstrate them (3) Be aware of decision-making customs: not all people like to make decisions quickly and efficiently; (4) Be aware of concepts of time: not all people like to see time as money (5) Be aware of personal space: people from different cultures have different ‘comfort zones’ (6). Be aware of cultural context: people from certain cultures (called ‘high-context cultures) rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. People from low-context cultures like the USA rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and implied meaning to convey meaning (7). Be aware of body language: learn the basic differences in the way people supplement their words with body movement...