Assessment Sample

Introduction
Organisational Behaviour is a study of people and relationships; therefore, most of the phenomena that you encounter in the field do not have concise, black and white responses. People are complex. Relationships are subtle and changeable. Some OB theories may give the appearance of factoring in all of the possible variables, but there is usually debate about the boundaries of the concepts. As a student, your learning activities in OB will normally require you to grapple with the controversies and inherent uncertainties of key theories. Most teachers of OB will be looking for you to show a systematic approach to your answers in either assignments or examinations. Even when a question is very specifically centred in a chapter, there will normally be opportunities for you to show that you know how the effects can cascade into other topics. There are systemic influences in almost every aspect of people management. For example, consider the following learning activity:
The decisions and actions of supervisors and managers have a direct effect on employee turnover and absenteeism. Critically discuss and debate this statement.

At first glance this may be a question about leadership style (Chapter 6). Naturally, the things that leaders in an organisation decide and do will affect the ways that employees feel about their work. However, thinking from another angle, the ways that jobs are designed (Chapter 9) might be just as important for determining whether people want to turn up for work or would rather work somewhere else altogether. Also the group dynamics in the workplace will surely be relevant (Chapter 5). Another point of view is that turnover and absenteeism are affected by individual motivation (Chapter 4). So your answer to the question ultimately has to draw from multiple sections of the textbook because the reality of complex problems in the workplace merges into a number of systemic causes and effects. Examination or assignment questions in OB may require you to define a key term but as part of a broader response to the question. In the example above, of course turnover and absenteeism are terms that will need clarification as part of the answer. The structure and approach of the rest of the response is normally quite different for each student. We have included a sample paper with permission of a student who has grappled with this particular learning activity. There are comments provided by the instructor in both papers.

Please note: Sample assessment is to be used for personal study only. Distribution and copying is prohibited.

Critical Essay

The decisions and actions of supervisors and managers have a direct effect on employee turnover and absenteeism. Introduction
The actions and decisions of supervisors and managers can have a direct effect on employee

absenteeism and turnover. A managers ability to plan, organise, lead and control all aspects of the organisation can greatly affect the performance and the satisfaction level of employees. Employee performance is a result of personal attributes, work effort and support from the organisation (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). The decisions and actions of supervisors and managers affect many aspects of an employees work life. Superiors can impact upon aspects of an employees job satisfaction. There is a direct correlation between absenteeism, turnover and job satisfaction (Josias, 2005). Satisfaction can be affected by reinforcement and punishment which can also affect staff turnover and absenteeism, by influencing their motivation levels (Strickler, 2006). Furthermore, job design is determined by superiors, and this aspect of a job can directly affect employee turnover and absenteeism. A managers decision to implement work teams, in particular self managing teams, can also impact upon absenteeism and turnover. But, maybe there is more to it than just the effects of superiors. Maybe employee turnover and absenteeism are affected by other factors such as stress, or co workers (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Nevertheless, a relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism appears to exist (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). The impact of job satisfaction, and its determinants, on employee turnover and absenteeism Job satisfaction influences employee absenteeism and turnover (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Job satisfaction is the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Ones level of overall job satisfaction is a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic forces (Dawis, 2011).
Comment [AC2]: This is the crux of your introduction. Consider an extra sentence or two explaining how the rest of your paper will proceed to analyse this key issue. Comment [AC1]: OK but be wary of too many references in your introduction. You should really be setting up the aims and objectives in the introduction without too much in-depth analysis. What you have done is good in order to establish the premise of the paper.

Managers and supervisors have a direct impact upon the extrinsic factors that affect job satisfaction. One factor that superiors have control over is their reward system. This includes pay, praise and promotions. Some suggest that a proper allocation of rewards can have a positive influence on job satisfaction and performance (Branham, 2004). B.F. Skinner, a Harvard clinical psychologist believed that rewards and punishment motivate people. This belief has been come deeply entrenched in the psyche of business (Strickler, 2006). Motivated employees have a high job satisfaction, which in turn reduces turnover and absenteeism (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Frederick Herzbergs twofactor theory also explores the sources of work satisfaction and dissatisfaction. His theory distinguishes between sources of work dissatisfaction (hygiene factors) and satisfaction (motivators) (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Herzberg, as a result of 12 investigations, reported that the top motivating factors for employees were achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth. The top dissatisfiers were company policy, supervision, relationship with supervisor, work conditions and salary (Herzberg, 1987). Almost all of these factors are, or can be, influenced by managers and supervisors. So therefore it is clear that the actions and decisions of managers and supervisors, effect job satisfaction, which in turn affects absenteeism and turnover. Empowerment is another process managers control, which can impact upon employee satisfaction. Thomas and Tymon argue that empowerment is more likely to manifest at higher levels of job satisfaction (Lee & Wang, 2009). Employee empowerment intrinsically motivates employees (Seibert, Silver, & Randolph, 2004). This in turn increases productivity, motivation, commitment and satisfaction (Brown, 2010). Committed employees are less likely to leave the organisation. Empowerment liberates employees and encourages them to take on leadership roles (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Empowerment can involve an increase in responsibility. As mentioned previously, Herzberg identified responsibility as one of the top motivating factors for employees. All in all, it is clear that employees with low job satisfaction are more probable to quit their jobs (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011) or take more days off. Ultimately, the decisions and actions of managers and supervisors, in regard to the factors that influence job satisfaction, can contribute to employee turnover and absenteeism. Job design can also have effect turnover and absenteeism.
Comment [AC3]: Nice analysis with good referencing. But this is a very long paragraph. Do consider breaking this into separate paragraphs for each of the key issues you are analysing. It will improve the logical flow of your writing.

The effects of job design on employee turnover and absenteeism Job design is an aspect of a job that managers and supervisors have a large degree of control over. Their decisions regarding job design can definitely have some level of impact upon employee turnover and absenteeism. Job design involves the planning and specification of job tasks and the work setting in which they are to be accomplished (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Leigh Branhams book; The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, highlighted results of a survey as to why employees leave. 11% said they left because job duties were boring and unchallenging (Branham, 2004). This is clearly indicative of poor job design. There are four approaches to job design. Each can have differing effects on employee absenteeism and turnover. Job simplification involves standardising and clearly defining tasks. When superiors design jobs using the job simplification approach, this can cause high rates of turnover and absenteeism (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). This is simply because simplified jobs can be monotonous, low skilled, unchallenging, and they provide very little intrinsic motivation (Hsieh & Chai, 2004). On the other hand, job enlargement increases task variety, which increases performance and satisfaction for individuals (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). This approach to job design, when utilised by supervisors and managers decreases employee absenteeism and turnover. Similarly, job rotation, which involves shifting employees between jobs with differing tasks at similar skill levels (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006), can increase job satisfaction and reduce absenteeism and turnover. Job rotation eliminates monotony, boredom and fatigue (Hsieh & Chai, 2004). When superiors take the job enrichment approach to job design, it highly motivates employees by building motivating factors into job content (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Job enrichment links in nicely with Herzbergs two-factor theory. Herzberg himself says that job enrichment should be a continuous management function (Herzberg, 1987), as an enriched job motivates employees, and high levels of motivation reduce absenteeism and turnover. Furthermore, job enrichment links in with Hackman and Oldhams Job Characteristics Model. Their model identifies five characteristics as being especially important to job designs. These characteristics are; skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and job feedback. Jobs that are high in these characteristics are said to be enriched (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006), and it has also been found that work characteristics such as

job variety, autonomy and responsibility usually associate negatively with turnover (cited in Krackhardt, McKenna, Porter, & Steers, 1981). Furthermore, Hackman and Oldham state that to develop intrinsic motivation employees must also experience meaningfulness in their work, experience responsibility for work outcomes, and have knowledge of actual results of their work activities. Once these three criteria have been fulfilled, in conjunction with the five core job characteristics, employees often experience high intrinsic work motivation, have high performance, and high satisfaction, which results in low absenteeism and turnover (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). Self managing teams and employee turnover and absenteeism Its managements decision as to whether organisational goals will be most effectively achieved by employees working in teams or individually. Teams, particularly self managing teams, can have a fundamental effect on employee turnover and absenteeism. Self managing teams are small groups of people empowered to manage themselves and the work they do on a day-to-day basis (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). They have freedom and can exercise discretion, as well as organise their own internal work and structure to best accomplish goals (Langfred, 2007). A high level of cohesiveness is required in such groups, as is expertise, problem solving skills, decision making skills and interpersonal skills (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). These groups are highly empowered by managers. As discussed earlier, empowerment is intrinsically motivating (Seibert, Silver, & Randolph, 2004), and high levels of motivation decrease absenteeism and turnover. Being an empowered and self managing group, results in their being no need for a formal supervisor. Instead, team leaders are used to represent the team when communicating with senior managers (Druskat & Wheeler, 2004). Self managing teams improve productivity, product quality and flexibility. They also improve employee work attitudes and commitment (Merritt & Reynolds, 2000), which can ultimately lead to a reduction in employee turnover and absenteeism. It does appear that employee turnover and absenteeism is reduced by working in effective self managing teams and managers need to acknowledge this. The way in which they structure their employees can greatly impact employees absenteeism and turnover. By considering implementing functional self managing teams into their organisations, managers can empower their employees, increase motivation and morale, and as a result, reduce the turnover and absenteeism of their

employees. But to reap these positive rewards, managers must be sure that the teams have a high level of cohesiveness, develop effectively by passing through the five stages of group development and grow into mature, functional groups (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz, & Fitzgerald, 2006). Causes of employee turnover and absenteeism, not related to the decisions of management Maybe the decisions of managers and supervisors arent to blame when it comes to employee absenteeism and turnover. It could be argued that other factors affect absenteeism and turnover, such as co workers or a stressful home life. Stress is a cause of absenteeism and absenteeism is a cause of stress. Absenteeism can be reduced by handling stress properly (cited in Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Stress can be caused by family problems, financial problems and health problems, just to name a few. A recent survey indicates that most employees call in sick at the last minute because of personal issues rather than physical illness (Legal Access Plans, 2010). Stress from employees home life is something that managers and supervisors do not have direct control over. Furthermore, maybe its an employees co workers who effect their absenteeism and turnover, not the decisions and actions of supervisors and managers. Turnover has been proven to decrease when there are satisfactory working terms with peers because there is a negative relationship between satisfaction with co-workers and turnover (cited in Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Managers may not have a direct effect on these issues, but they may be able to offer support to assist their employees. Some larger organisations now have Employee Counselling and Assistance Programmes to help employees cope with the strains and stresses of modern day life and employment (Reed Business Information, 2005). Human resource departments can also help improve co worker relations by overcoming barriers to effective interactions across workgroups (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 2000). Social events and social clubs can also prove helpful in improving coworker relations. Conclusion It appears that the decisions and actions of supervisors and managers can have a direct effect on employee absenteeism and turnover. The superiors of employees can greatly

impact upon an employees job satisfaction. They can particularly impact upon extrinsic factors of motivation such as rewards and empowerment, which can be explored using Herzbergs two factor theory. Job dissatisfaction is one of the most important determinants of turnover and absenteeism (Shahzad, Hayat, Abbas, Bashir, & Rehman, 2011). Furthermore, job design can greatly affect employee turnover and absenteeism. Therefore, it is vital that managers design jobs to be motivating and enriching for employees. Job enrichment should be a continuous management function (Herzberg, 1987) and management should always adhere to the job characteristics model. Additionally, self managing teams prove to reduce turnover and absenteeism, and its ultimately the decision of management as to whether self managing teams are given the opportunity to exist. On the other hand, there are factors that affect absenteeism and turnover that are not a direct effect of management decisions. Factors such as a stressful home life and poor co worker relations can impact absenteeism and turnover. To help reduce the effects of these factors managers and supervisors may be able to play a support role through their human resource departments, and by offering employee assistance programs. The majority of the time, it is in fact the decisions and actions of managers and supervisors that effect employee absenteeism and turnover. Employee retention is of critical importance to organisational success. In the words of Mary Kay Ash, a famous businesswoman, A company is only as good as the people it keeps (Employee Quotations, 2010). Bibliography Branham, L. (2004). The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. New York: Amacom. Brown, C. (2010). The Process of Empowerment. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Articles Alley: http://www.articlesalley.com/article.detail.php/137250/19/Ethics/Business/1/The_Process _Of_Empowerment Dawis, D. R. (2011). Job Satisfaction. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from The Career Key: http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/job_satisfaction.html Druskat, V. U., & Wheeler, J. V. (2004). How to Lead a Self Managing Team. MIT Sloan Management Review , 65-71.
Comment [AC4]: This is more correctly called a reference list under the Harvard style of referencing.

Employee Quotations. (2010). Retrieved April 21, 2011, from AfterQuotes: http://www.afterquotes.com/great/people/mary-kay-ash/index.htm Hackman, R., & Oldham, G. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology , 159-170. Herzberg, F. (1987). One More Time: How do You Motivate Employees? Harvard Business Review , 109-121. Hsieh, A.-T., & Chai, H.-Y. (2004). A reassessment of the relationship between job specialization, job rotation and job burnout: example of Taiwan's high-technology industry . International Journal of Human Resource Management , 1108-1123. Langfred, C. W. (2007). The Downside of Self Management: A longitudinal study of the effects of conflict on trust, autonomy and interdependence in self-managing teams. Academy of Management Journal , 885-900. Lee, P., & Wang, G. (2009). Psychological Empowerment and Job Satisfaction: An Analysis of Interactive Effects. Group and Organization Management , 271-296. Legal Access Plans. (2010). Reduce Employee Absenteeism. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Legal Access Plans: http://employee-group-legal-plan.com/reducing-employeeabsenteeism.html Lengnick-Hall, M., & Lengnick-Hall, C. (2000). HR's Role in Building Relationship Networks . Academy of Management Executive , 53. Merritt, A. A., & Reynolds, D. (2000). The Effect of Self-Managing Teams on Manager Commitment and Organizational Tenure in Private Clubs. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from Self Managed Teams: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:PlIwGaT9ZM4J:edwardamerritt.com/Docume nts/Self%2520Managing%2520Teams%2520Commitment%2520Tenure%2520Web%2520Ve r.pdf+do+self+managing+teams+reduce+employee+turnover&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=A DGEESiXB2QvYcgkDw2B8isM

Reed Business Information. (2005, January). Employers taking proactive approach to EAPs. Occupational Health (supplement) . Seibert, S., Silver, S., & Randolph, A. (2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal , 332-349. Shahzad, K., Hayat, K., Abbas, M., Bashir, S., & Rehman, K.-u.-R. (2011). Antedecents of TUrnover and Absenteeism: Evidence from Public Sector Institutions in Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business , 108-115. Strickler, J. (2006). What really motivates people? The Journal for Quality and Participation , 26-28. Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., & Fitzgerald, J. (2006). Organisational Behaviour: Core concepts and Applications. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Comment [AC5]: Dont forget to also include volume and issue numbers for journal articles. This is a recurring omission in your reference list.