Organizational Behavior - Terminology and Term Paper

Besides being the process through which information is exchanged throughout the organization, communication is a critical job skill because it directly influences the management of interpersonal relationships. This is true at the organizational as well as the individual level. Indeed, this is precisely the reason why organizations need to focus on important aspects of effective interpersonal communication, including communication systems, perception, verbal and nonverbal communication, networks and channels, listening and feedback, symbolic behavior, and the impact of organizational structure and culture (Harris, 1993, p. 284).

Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency: Organizational effectiveness is measured using established criteria of organizational performance such as achievement of stated business goals. Organizational efficiency, on the other hand, looks at the ability of an organization to achieve its goals using the bare minimum of resources. In other words, organizational efficiency is all about "doing things right" in order to bring about maximum utilization of resources, while organizational effectiveness involves "doing the right things," as in setting the right goals and objectives. Besides the setting of goals, organizational effectiveness is a function of management facilitating performance by creating the right organizational structure and culture (Blanchard, 2004).

Organizational Learning: Reflection and change work together to produce organizational learning. Most organizations achieve this through management systems such as work and project reviews, appraisals and informal feedback. However, it is important to note that organizational learning is considered to take place only when such reviews result in actions that reflect past learning (Shelby, 2001). Organizational learning is also impacted by organizational structure and culture since these are key in encouraging the transparent exchange of information. Indeed, this is the reason why a boundaryless organization is sometimes also referred to as the network, learning or virtual organization. Such organizations have the advantage of a flexible structure, which is able to respond quickly to changes in the environment or business opportunities and, therefore, facilitate learning.

References

Blanchard, K. (2004). Effectiveness vs. Efficiency. Wachovia. Retrieved Nov. 30, 2004:

http://www.wachovia.com/small_biz/page/0,447_972_1695_1946_1965,00.html

Harris, T.E. (1993). Applied Organizational Communication: Perspectives, Principles, and Pragmatics. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

NOAA. Managing Diversity at NOAA...Definitions and Commonly Asked Questions.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site. Retrieved Nov. 30, 2004: http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~Diversity/definitions.html

Pfeffer, J. (1997). New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects. New York: Oxford University Press.

Shibley, J.J. (2001). A Simple Introduction to Organizational Learning. The Portland

Learning Organization Group. Retrieved Nov. 30, 2004: http://www.systemsprimer.com/what_is_org_learning.htm