Organizational Behavior Essay

At Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (KTPA), Steve Cross is an excellent example of a star, or an effective employee. Steve always has, or seems to always have job satisfaction, low levels of stress, and general cognitive ability. On the other hand, Bryan Turner is the perfect example of an ineffective employee at KTPA. Bryan glides by in his role by just barely performing to the requirements. Bryan does not display trustworthiness, job satisfaction, or general cognitive ability with regard to his role at KTPA. Steve Cross joined KTPA in 2006 and was regarded as a role model from the very beginning. From day one, Steve has always exhibited the best of the Big Five personality dimensions. As a conscientious employee, Steve prioritizes striving for accomplishments. Steve sends his supervisors, colleagues, and employees a daily update email which includes current happenings, goals, and progress on achieving those goals. By way of this email, Steve not only keeps others abreast of his commitment to accomplishments and his progress, but he also tracks his progress himself so that it is always at the front of his mind. Another great Big Five attribute that Steve demonstrates is agreeableness. Steve is always cooperative and helpful, and as such, does a great job creating community within his division at KTPA. Whenever a KTPA employee has a new idea or even has an issue with a current process, they are comfortable enough to bring it to Steve and thanks to his agreeableness; he helps bring these items to light. Steve is a definite extrovert, and this is a great quality, especially in his role at KTPA. Steve is a Territory Sales Director and has a team of regional and area sales directors reporting to him. These regional and area directors have a team of campus directors and managers who report to them. With such a large team directly and indirectly reporting to him, it is important for Steve to come across as a dominant, sociable, and passionate KTPA star, and to be high in positive affectivity. Steve does all of these things by ensuring he knows all of these reports on an individual level and establishing himself as their dominant leader while still displaying a pleasant and engaging disposition. For example, when regional director John Dribus wanted to put in place a new method for processing student leads, he brought his idea to Steve. Being an extrovert, Steve maintained his dominant position by recognizing the faults of the new process while still encouraging John to tweak his idea and present it again. With the clarity provided by Steve, John perfected his idea and KTPA now uses the John Dribus System for processing leads. As far as neuroticism is concerned, Steve maintains the flip side: emotional stability. As such, Steve does a great job of coping with stressors and helping his colleagues and reports cope with stressors. Often times, Steve will address a common stressor in his daily update and provide ways of coping. Back to School (BTS) is one of Kaplan’s most important sales seasons and happens to take place in January, just after the holiday season. As such, many employees are stressed about how to handle preparing for the holidays with their friends and families while still appropriately planning and preparing for BTS. Many find it hard to manage long hours during this important planning period at work and still have enough time to spend with their families and get their holiday shopping done. Steve always sends out a daily update about managing a work-life balance during this time; and always manages to provide new and different tips to ensure employees can cope. Finally, Steve is very open to experience. Most roles at KTPA are very dynamic and constantly demanding new and different things from their employees. Steve’s role is no exception and if he weren’t as imaginative or complex, it is unlikely that he would be as successful as he is. Originally, Steve’s current role did not include team building activities, as

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Questions On Organizational Behavior