Individual Behavior In Organizations

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS A. INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR Individual behavior is a function of interactions between individuals and other individuals or individuals and their environment, and the behavior of each individual is very different from one another. Quoted from the book Organizational Behavior in Education by Cepi Triatna M., Pd states that a person's behavior is based on perceptions about the reality they face in their life, not about reality itself. Perception can be interpreted as a response or direct acceptance of something as a process within a person to be able to know several things through his five senses (in Triatna, 2015, p. 34). Behavior is a function of the interaction between individuals and their environment. This means that an individual and his environment determine their behavior directly. B. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Each individual has his or her own personality characteristics, starting from those that show a healthy or unhealthy personality (Triatna, 2015, p. 46). Elizabeth (in Triatna, 2015, p. 46) differentiates personality into two types, namely healthy personality and unhealthy personality. The characteristics of a healthy personality are as follows: a. Able to assess oneself realistically; able to judge whether it is good or bad for oneself regarding various things. b. Able to assess situations realistically; can face the life situations or conditions they experience realistically and are willing to accept them naturally, not expecting life conditions to be perfect. c. Able to assess the achievements obtained realistically. Individuals react logically to what they get, without being arrogant. d. Accept responsibility e. Independence; able to stand alone, not depend on others in acting and thinking. f. Can control emotions g. Goal oriented; Individuals take appropriate actions to achieve goals. h. Outward oriented (extrovert); have concern, respect other people's opinions, and have empathy for others. i. Social acceptance; able to participate actively j. Have a life philosophy; directs his life based on a philosophy of life that is rooted in his religious beliefs. k. Be happy Unhealthy personality: a. Easily angry (offended). b. Shows worry and anxiety. c. Often feel depressed. d. Being cruel or happy to bully other people who are younger or towards animals. e. Inability to avoid deviant behavior even though it has been warned or punished. f. Habit of lying. g. Hyperactive. h. Be hostile to all forms of authority. i. Enjoys criticizing/mocking other people. j. Hard to sleep. k. Lack of sense of responsibility. l. Often experience headaches. m. Lack of awareness to obey religious teachings. n. Pessimistic in facing life. o. Lack of enthusiasm in living life. In organizations, leaders play an important role in dealing with personality differences in individuals. Leaders must carry out their responsibilities as individuals who guide the organization to achieve common goals. For example, if an employee is pessimistic, the leader must provide motivation and develop their personal potential so that a sense of optimism emerges in the person concerned. C. Organizational Characteristics and Their Influence on Individuals In an organization, a leader needs to understand the character of individuals within the relevant organizational environment. This must be done by the leader of the organization in order to carry out one of his roles, namely as manager of the organization. Understanding individual character also needs to be done so that organizational goals can be achieved effectively and efficiently. Because humans are one of the components in an organization that is very important and the driving force of the organization. Human behavior is the result of interactions between individuals and their environment, because humans are social creatures, we need to interact with other people in order to know the characteristics of the people in the organization. D. Approaches to Understanding Individual Behavior 1. Cognitive Approach The cognitive approach emphasizes understanding a person's behavior on internal mental properties. An individual's interpretation or perception of the environment is more considered than the perception of the environment itself. In this approach, individual knowledge and experience are mental processes that are refined by existing cognitive structures. The resulting imbalance in the structure results in behavior that can reduce the mismatch in the approach. 2. Reinforcement Approach The reinforcement approach emphasizes understanding a person's behavior and the role of the environment in their life. The environment is seen as a resource that can produce and strengthen behavioral responses. This reinforcement approach views that human behavior is determined by the environment. The environment in which an individual finds himself invites a response determined by his heredity and past history. 3. Psychoanalytic Approach In the psychoanalytic approach, what is emphasized is the role of the personality system in determining behavior. In this process, the environment is considered to satisfy individual desires. This behavior arises from tension resulting from not achieving desires that originate from each individual's ideas. In this approach, desires and hopes are generated in ideas and then processed, carried out by each individual. E. Perception and Communication 1. Perception Perception has an important meaning in human behavior. A person's behavior is based on perceptions of the reality they face in their life, not reality itself. In this case, perception is a cognitive process that can produce information about the surrounding environment. In the process, each individual can select, evaluate and organize their environment and can provide a positive assessment. As stated by Luthans (in Triatna, Cepi, 2015, p. 35) explains perception as follows: "perception is a very complex cognition process that produces a unique picture of the world, a picture that may be quite different from reality." This definition illustrates that perception is a complex cognitive process that produces unique images, where these images may be different from reality. 2. Communication Communication carries out four main functions in a group or organization, namely control, motivation, emotional disclosure and information. Communication acts to control some member behavior in various ways. a. Communication Process These are the steps between the communicant and the recipient that result in the transfer and understanding of the meaning of what is communicated b. Communication Process Model Before communication occurs, it is necessary to express the intention of a message to be conveyed, then the message is transmitted by a medium to the recipient, and the result is meaning from one person to another. c. Communication Components Communication components are divided into four, namely messages (what is communicated), coding (deciphering messages in the form of symbols), channels (tools for sending messages), and interpreting codes (sender's messages). d. Communication Flows in Organizations - Vertical dimensions • Downward, communication flows from one level in an organization to an earlier level. • Upward, communication flows to a higher level within the group or organization - Lateral dimensions Communication with a sideways pattern, for example, communication that occurs between members in an organization. e. Formal and Informal Networks Formal networks are vertical, follow a chain of authority, and are limited to task-related communication. Informal networks are networks that are free to move in any direction. f. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication describes messages sent through body movements, intonation or emphasis on words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and recipient. g. Barriers to Effective Communication One of the obstacles to effective communication is emotion. Emotions can become a barrier if they are extreme or excessive, such as being too cheerful.