Productive and Counterproductive Behavior in Organizations
Productive and Counterproductive Behavior in Organizations
March 1, 2012
PSY/428
If the leader of an organization you were considering making an investment in was consistently tardy to meetings and procrastinated deadlines, would it make you reconsider where you were putting your money? You want to know that the person has ambition and is organized. The ideal person would be right on time, prepared, and be eager to conduct business. These are some of the differences of productive and counterproductive behaviors. And they can directly influence to the success, or failure, of the organization.
I would define counterproductive behavior as having the opposite effect of the desired goal of the organization, whether it is intentional or not (The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English,2009). It would require an employee to be doing, or not doing things detrimental to the organizations goals. Things like obsessive absenteeism, harassing coworkers, or being the bully around the office are some examples of unintentional counter productivity. Now, an employee who is angry or upset with the company, or maybe has interest in moving to another organization, can be very counterproductive. This employee could sell trade secrets, intentionally supply incorrect information, or just stop caring all together in every detail of their work. And depending on the importance of that employee, that can contribute to the failure of the organization.
Productive behavior is keeping in mind the goal of your organization and only doing or deciding on something if it is going to positively affect that goal. Some examples of productive behaviors are always being on time, being efficient, and effective at achieving your own personal goals as well as your organizations. These are the kinds of people that you would want motivating the rest of your employees. If that positive attitude and eagerness is spread around, that can only be even more beneficial to the organization.
March 1, 2012
PSY/428
If the leader of an organization you were considering making an investment in was consistently tardy to meetings and procrastinated deadlines, would it make you reconsider where you were putting your money? You want to know that the person has ambition and is organized. The ideal person would be right on time, prepared, and be eager to conduct business. These are some of the differences of productive and counterproductive behaviors. And they can directly influence to the success, or failure, of the organization.
I would define counterproductive behavior as having the opposite effect of the desired goal of the organization, whether it is intentional or not (The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English,2009). It would require an employee to be doing, or not doing things detrimental to the organizations goals. Things like obsessive absenteeism, harassing coworkers, or being the bully around the office are some examples of unintentional counter productivity. Now, an employee who is angry or upset with the company, or maybe has interest in moving to another organization, can be very counterproductive. This employee could sell trade secrets, intentionally supply incorrect information, or just stop caring all together in every detail of their work. And depending on the importance of that employee, that can contribute to the failure of the organization.
Productive behavior is keeping in mind the goal of your organization and only doing or deciding on something if it is going to positively affect that goal. Some examples of productive behaviors are always being on time, being efficient, and effective at achieving your own personal goals as well as your organizations. These are the kinds of people that you would want motivating the rest of your employees. If that positive attitude and eagerness is spread around, that can only be even more beneficial to the organization.
References: "counterproductive." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved March 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-counterproductive.html