Organizational Behavior and Its Key Concepts Essay Example

up of individuals (adult volunteers and staff), teams (councils, associations, and departments), and society at large (via in kind donations and support) that believe they can make a difference in girl’s lives. Diversity is paramount within the Girl Scout organization.

Within an rganization diversity is “the presence of individual differences based on gender, race and ethnicity, age, able-bodiedness, and sexual orientation. ” (Schermerhorn, 2005 p. 9). The Girl Scout organization believes that Girl Scouting is for every girl everywhere.

They embody this belief by not turning a girl away for any reason and by reflecting diversity within their organization’s staff and volunteers. Our country is vastly diverse and GSUSA understands the importance of valuing and reflecting that diversity.They make a conscious effort to train the staff and volunteers to embrace and understand our diverse culture. The Girl Scout Program offers flexibility so that girls can tailor their troop’s activities to their unique needs and desires. The Girl Scout staff consists of people from all walks of life and many diverse cultures. Every staff member is valued and given opportunities to succeed.

Programs are designed to appeal to and target areas where language or culture may be a barrier.In today’s multicultural and diverse society organizations must be inclusive and respectful of all people no matter their circumstances. If organizations can not embrace an inclusive philosophy they will soon become obsolete. Understanding the unique needs of individuals will open the doors for better opportunity and communication within an organization. “Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages with attached meaning. ” (Schermerhorn, 2005 p.295). Many problems or malfunctions within an organization are initially caused by poor communication.Somehow the intended

message gets interrupted or misinterpreted. The use of active listening and allowing opportunities for feedback will ensure messages are understood. For communication to be effective it must be a two way process.

When preparing for the realignment GSUSAwas aware that the major changes they planned to implement would require frequent and thoughtful communication. With a drastic change some confusion, disagreement, and misunderstanding is inevitable. GSUSA had to do their best to anticipate questions and concerns and have a plan to deal with them.They developed a system that provided a variety of communication pathways.

Regular email messages, an online newsletter, town hall meetings, departmental meetings, and press releases were among some of the pathways they used. Council CEOs, COOs, and department heads were always available for face to face meetings. In addition to the variety of communication pathways offered, feedback was solicited and encouraged in all forums. The care in planning a strong communication system and being open to feedback eased the inevitable negativity and resistance that surrounds a large restructuring.Clear and open communication will be the first step toward developing a more effective and efficient organization.

An organization’s effectiveness and efficiency are determined by sustained success in meeting goals. Upon analyzing their effectiveness GSUSA determined that they could be doing a more efficient job. New membership was down and many girls continued to lose interest as they reached middle school. In addition to losing girl members adult volunteerism was also decreasing.Without adults to lead girls the organization suffers. Through research and surveys of adult and girl members and non members they discovered that they were not meeting the needs of their most important stakeholders, girls.

GSUSA was losing its

effectiveness as an organization. They were determined to learn what was missing from their organization and to make it relevant to today’s girl. Just as individuals need to learn continuously to keep up with today’s ever changing world; organizations need to learn as well.Organizational learning is “the process of acquiring knowledge and utilizing information to adapt successfully to changing circumstances. ” (Schermerhorn, 2005 p. 15).

Once research was collected and analyzed, GSUSA realized (learned) that they needed to make changes in order to achieve and even exceed their goals. The first step needed to be the restructuring of the entire organization in order to gain maximum efficiency. Once the structural realignment is complete GSUSA can focus on improving volunteerism, brand recognition, funding, and program.By understanding the importance of organizational diversity, communication, effectiveness and efficiency, and learning, GSUSA has built a strong organizational culture.

Their organizational behavior exemplifies a strong culture of teams and individuals devoted to building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

References

1. GSUSA Approves Northern California Council Realingment. (2007). Girl Scouts of Northern California: Realignment News, (1), 1 – 3.
2. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://www. irlscoutsnorcal. org/documents/NorCal_RealignmentNews-0107. pdf database. Hrywna, Mark.(2007).
3. Extreme Makeover: Girl Scouts Shrink Councils. The NonProfit Times, January 2, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://www. nptimes.com/main/backissues. html database. Schermerhorn, Dr. John R. Jr., Hunt. , James G. , & 0sborn, Richard N. (2005).
4. Organizational Behavior, 9e. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text].
5. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Retrieved February 13, 2008, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, MGT/331 Web site.