Many hard-driving leaders believe the technical competencies of individuals are far more important than the soft skills in making them the most value added to the organization. These no-nonsense leaders think the “touch-feely” skills of communicating well, listening well, interacting well, and motivating one another are in the realm of “hocus-pocus”, and, thus, see no real value to the tough-minded business person’s success in the organization. In this paper, we shall look into how organizational behavior as a vital ingredient in the development of the information technology work force, be they leaders, team members or individual contributors. In addition, we shall discuss how the study and practice of organizational behavior can make a difference in the operation of information technology.
Living as we do in a society that is technologically extremely advanced, most kinds of professional advancement are close to impossible without the mastery of one or more specialized branches of systematic technical knowledge (Douglas, 2002). Technical expertise rules is clearly true of people specializing in technical fields. Organizations employing these people compete vigorously over the quality of their in-house technical expertise and over how adept they are at translating this into the development of new products and services. They argue that this quality wins the competitive edge that is so essential in today’s open markets. However, organizations in most sectors – and especially in ones that are particularly demanding from a technical point of view – are operating in environments where collaboration, teamwork, and an awareness of the commercial consequences and implications of technical research are as important as technical skills themselves. Personnel with scientific and technical skills significantly disproportionate to their ‘people’ skills – meaning people management capabilities and the knowledge of how to work with maximum effectiveness as part of a team – are increasingly unlikely to be as much of an asset to their organization as they ought to be. Those who only excel on the technical front will be of much less value to their organizations in the future than people who can offer those technical skills as well as a facility for managing and working with people.
Since such solely technical people are so focused on their profession and the expertise that it represents, many fail to look at the “big” picture. They don’t realize that in today’s world it is no longer feasible to work in isolation. It is necessary to develop networks and become adept at being a team player (Pamenter, 2000).
In addition, the value of information technology to modern organizations is almost undeniable. One facet that has become important as the value of information technology has risen in modern organizations is the requisite skills of information technology personnel. Along with technical skills, managerial, business, and interpersonal skills have been increasingly cited as mandatory for these technical employees (Cougar et al., 1995; Lee, Trauth, & Farwell, 1995). Indeed, recent research has suggested that softer skills such as managerial, business, and interpersonal skills are crucial to programmers, systems analysts, database administrators, and other information technology personnel in today’s organizations (Cheney, Hale, & Kasper, 1989; Lee et al.; Leitheiser, 1992; Rockart, Earl, & Ross, 1996; Ross, Beath, & Goodhue, 1996; Watson, Young, Miranda, Robichaux, & Seeley, 1990). To add value, IT professionals are called on to blend technical skills with a deep understanding of the business along with cultivating interpersonal skills. Not only do these individuals need to have interpersonal skills, the leaders and managers need that too. Surveys show that “interpersonal skills” factor weigh heaviest among the other factors like years of experience, industry experience, proven accomplishments, and technical knowledge when executives are hiring for management-level job positions. It is important that the professional being hired is not so consumed by their area of specialty that they become a non-team-participant (Pamenter, 2000).
In today’s working environment, individuals can no longer continue to work in isolation or by dictum. The flattening of organizations has made it necessary for employees to work with a broader group of colleagues. These colleagues come from a variety of disciplines and culture, and carry a number of needs. They have different values, attitudes, perception, and learning process. They also represent a number of assets that they can share or retain depending on their relationships with other people in the organization.
With the study of organizational behavior, a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness, it can help an individual in the skills of communicating well, listening well, interacting well, and motivating one another. In a work environment with individuals practicing these skills, it will increase the job satisfaction. And, according to Robbins (2001), job satisfaction at the organizational level will lead to high productivity which will contribute to business success.
Reference
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