Analytical Summary of Appelbaum et al (2005)

In their research, Appelbaum et al (2005) studied a case that was talking about a rod mill faced a serious problem of low productivity. To know what are the reasons that cause the low productivity happened, the authors mentioned that they “conducted a survey to measure employee satisfaction and to determine the correlation between employee satisfaction and productivity.” (p.1). They purposed to find out the result from the organization behavior perspective. Thus, the authors not only listed four hypotheses but also did the survey which are consists of 63 questions under thirteen categories that are related to H1 to H4. After the survey, Appelbaum et al (2005) found that why this company has this problem of low productivity is mainly because of the poor communication between management and employee. Moreover, job satisfaction and low motivation also caused the low productivity happened because we cannot observe that there are a true relationship and an atmosphere of family in this environment. As a result, Appelbaum et al (2005) provided three alternatives and some recommendations such as Robec need an appropriate plan to maintain their productivity, if not, they will face the productivity that below the standard. Finally, they hope that the content of this research can be a helpful and useful source that help others or everyone who is working in Rodbec, it can be their support to face the future issue or problem like in this case.

One of the key concepts in Appelbaum et al (2005) was productivity and it can be treated as an index to measure a company’s strength and value. The power of productivity is about the unity of all the company and what the leaders and members’ heart for contributing to their business. I think that how a company can create the greatest profit in a short time is the definition of productivity. In this article, Appelbaum et al (2005) described it as “the ratio of productive hours over available hours of production.” (p.1). In addition, Appelbaum et al (2005) also defined this concept from an opinion of a new general director to further develop this concept, that is “productivity is achieved when all employees share a common objective and are empowered to work toward it.” (p.12). Moreover, the authors also focused on the correlation between this concept and other categories on the part of results and analysis to support the concept of productivity. For example, they thought that “Productivity could be improved by increasing the job satisfaction elements that are truly job-related. Furthermore, good communication, the transparency, and education can also be the factors of improving productivity. Being a graduate school student whose major is Business Management, this case study is really a useful experience for me to learn more about the phenomena within the field of business. I studied Economics as my major at the undergraduate school so, I used to know only what productivity means is but I didn’t know that it can be related to many categories and discussed with Psychological level. I appreciated that I can have this opportunity to learn something new in this research especially about the thinking, solution, satisfaction, and productivity among the business. A case study makes me interested in the problem or challenge that face one company or industry. Although today I just read one, I would like to read more case study like this in the future.

In Luthans & Yousseff’s (2008) article, they focus on positive organizational behavior this concept. It helps the people who are a manager or the practicer in the business area to develop the most basic understanding of the business behavior. It also extends people’s ken of management so that they can have a professional knowledge about it. Although the concept of servant leadership in Liden et al (2014) is not easy to do in the real society, it is a good way that has boundless prospects for someone manages a big group especially a company. What more, though it still has some difficult places to implement, we cannot ignore its importance and impact in the future. For the advancement of business, I would like to say that servant leadership is really a worthy perspective. It can be a huge energy for every employee to increase the motivation and devotion to work, not only benefit the employees themselves but also the managers and boss. After that, the managers stand at the higher level will be the model of employees. In my opinion, this concept develops a great atmosphere in the business environment. Moreover, in Appelbaum et al’s (2005) research advance everyone’s ability to solve similar situations in the future, especially when people face the problem of low productivity in the company. The more resources we get, the more experience we can have. This three research are presented in the world now and are helping people increase the understanding of positive organizational behavior. Also, they improve everyone who is interested in this field or who is studying this field. I respect their contribution, effort and attitude. As a student of business management, I must take these three articles as the direction to continue toward my future career.

Reference

Appelbaum, S. H., Adam, J., Javeri, N., Lessard, M., Lion, J. P., Simard, M., & Sorbo, S. (2005). A                         case study analysis of the impact of satisfaction and organizational citizenship on productivity. Management Research News, 28(5), 1-26.

Luthan, F., & Youssef, C. M. (2007). Emerging Positive Organizational Behavior. Journal of Management, 33(3), 321-349.

Liden, B. C., Wayne, S. J., Liao, C., & Meuser, J. D. (2014). SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND SERVING CULTURE: INFLUENCE ON INDIVIDUAL AND UNIT PERFORMANCE. Academy of Management Journal, 57(5), 1434-1452.