III.1.

4 People in Organizations
Human beings require an opportunity for self-expression through work, which is t
he best tie between themselves and reality. We have failed to use work properly
as an instrument of therapy and rehabilitation.'
If we managers are to become more successful at dealing with behavioral conditio
ns and changes in the workplace, we must learn to distinguish those ingredients
of human behavior in order to make more accurate determinations of a course of a
aion in line with organizational needs. We must learn which situations should be
decided with speed, allowed room for change under controlled conditions, or be
accommodated with intentional flexibility. Also, we need to recognize when some
behavioral conditions are justified, in which case it might be the organization
that ought to change. When we stop looking at the organization as the possible c
ulprit of behavioral problems, we're in deep trouble as managers of our organiza
tion's welfare, let alone its resources.
1.12 CHANGES AND TRENDS IN INDUSTRY AND OUR WORKFORCE
The unquestionable fact that contemporary workers are uniquely different than th
eir counterparts of 30 or more years ago has been referred to frequently in othe
r chapters,.and heavily documented in research publications. Indeed, there has b
een a massive restructuring of the American society in most aspects of life, soc
ial conditions, and orientation toward values and beliefs. Our industrial and ec
onomic base has likewise undergone rather dramatic transformation during this sa
me period resulting in a shift toward services as the leading industry, a consum
ption economy, technology as our salvation, and global competition for markets a
nd resources as our impetus to retool business practices.
When we look at this bigger picture it becomes more apparent that these two sour
ces of economic development the workforce and industry have not changed in unison ba
sed on mutual goals, hi the same direction based on creating shared benefits, no
r in the same time sequence that might otherwise complement mutual needs during
the last three decades. These changes have been out of sync, often with cross-pu
rposes, and with disjointed lag time between change in one area (employer or wor
kforce need) and adjustment to it (workforce or employer response) some years la
ter. It may sound like a physics theory, but whenever two sources become opposin
g forces they will repel, not complement, each other and remain at cross-purpose
until one yields enough to draw closer to neutralize their respective positions
.
Looking closer at societal (and consequently workforce) changes, it is somewhat
insightful to make note of some features about our present workforce and, with c
ontinued reading, why many of our traditional approaches to resolving workforce
problems are ineffective. Here are some issues to ponder, but as you read them,
begin to
1 Ginzberg, Hi; "Man And His Work"; in Dale S. Beach, Managing People at Work. p
_5.