While it may seem obvious in this day and age that a company’s treatment and understanding of its employees is instrumental to its success, it was not until the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century that behavioral theorists really began to focus on how an employee’s behavior and motivation play a vital role in increasing an organization’s productivity.
Known as behavioral management theory, this field of research examines how the attitudes and actions of a company’s workforce can directly influence its success. Today, few would dispute that a firm’s ability to thrive is inextricably linked to its employees’ levels of commitment, unity and satisfaction.
This people- and behavior-centered approach to corporate success takes the focus away from the methods of production. Instead, it analyzes employees as integral elements who can significantly increase the profitability of a business’s services or end products. The approach’s emphasis on the connections between human behavior, motivation and productivity underlies the priority modern business leaders place on improving company culture and the employee experience.
Importance of the Study of Human Behavior for Management
As behavioral management theory gained popularity, it became apparent that it was critical for skilled managers to understand their labor force if their organizations were to flourish. Managers need to know how their employees’ satisfaction levels and sense of loyalty can affect their work ethics — and therefore overall productivity.
No longer was it enough to see employees as small parts of a complex production process. Employees became a valuable resource that could work with managers and senior executives to promote an organization’s development.
The dramatic shift toward remote and hybrid work models during the COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced the importance of employee-centric approaches to management. Managing employees in remote environments — and times of crisis — poses numerous challenges for all involved, necessitating excellent in-person and virtual communication, empathy, and a commitment to employee safety and well-being.
How Does Behavior Management Benefit Business?
If you are thinking of taking Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses or enrolling in an online MBA program to prepare for a leadership role, your success will depend on the depth of your knowledge of employee behavior. Leveraging behavior management expertise and appropriate interventions will benefit you and your business in dynamic and critical ways, such as the following:
Performance management
Excellent managers know what drives the people who work in their companies and how to harness those drivers. If you can understand what motivates an employee, you can use this knowledge to direct individual or group behaviors and attitudes to the benefit of your business and your employees. Combined with assessment, evaluation, feedback and incentives, this expertise in human behavior and motivation is a critical component of the behavioral approach to performance management.
Workforce development, teamwork and accountability
A nuanced understanding of how human behavior functions within an organization is also central to establishing a business’s goals and nurturing a collaborative workforce that can realize a collective vision. This helps create the cohesion and shared values that form the culture of an organization. Additionally, a combination of clearly communicated goals, shared values and vision-alignment, as well as trust in the team, is crucial for employees and managers to respond positively and productively when they are held accountable for their actions or behaviors.
Company culture and retention
The shift in employee priorities and drastic reductions in retention during and after the pandemic highlighted the increasing significance of company culture. It became apparent that many workers value a company’s culture, treatment of the workforce and work-life balance over strictly financial, productivity-based incentives. Clear data demonstrates a strong correlation between the quality of an organization’s culture and positive results across the most essential measurements of business success. Thus, improving company culture, the employee experience, and employee engagement is now key to everything from increasing retention to driving productivity and innovation.
Recruitment and internal advancement
Improved company culture and behavior management expertise also assist in external and internal hiring as well as succession planning. Being able to analyze a job candidate’s behavior, motivations, and personality can help hiring managers and recruiters predict if an applicant will be an appropriate culture fit and, if so, what department, role and team would best suit them. Plus, recognizing leadership traits and behaviors in developing employees is pivotal for effective succession planning to ensure crucial positions have a pipeline of talent waiting and ready.
MBA Programs and Organizational Behavior Management
Many quality MBA degrees, like the online MBA in Management program from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, offer courses in behavioral management. Studying and understanding what drives your employees can give your company a competitive edge, because a satisfied employee is a more productive employee. When an organization understands its staff, it can set better goals and get its workforce to function at peak efficiency.
Good managers can directly influence an employee’s satisfaction and motivation. An MBA course in human behavior offers students a variety of perspectives on how the actions and attitudes of staff members, both as a group and as individuals, can impact an organization’s productivity and profitability.
A sophisticated understanding of human behavior helps managers effectively harness employee motivation and enhance engagement. Southeastern’s online MBA gives students the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of how to direct human behavior and motivate workers to improve a company’s bottom line.
Learn more about Southeastern’s online MBA in Management program.