What many people do not realize is the impact of behaviour by individuals and groups within an organization, business, or institution and how this can create either safe and nurturing environments or toxic and deprecating places of work. While it can be easily said that an individual’s behaviour is generally a product of their direct environment and upbringing, it can also be influenced by other factors, and in an organizational structure, even more, elements come into play.

In addition to the ideals, values, and behaviour of individuals within an organization, there are also those of the organization itself, often serving as the foundational building blocks that maintain its public image. By being able to extrapolate on them in meaningful conversation, or educational presentations for peers, it can create a better understanding of the impact of these often conflicting ideas and behaviours.

The second set of presentation questions focused on the concepts of perception and personality, and how our perceptions of others can affect our behaviour around others as well as in certain situations.

In answering these questions, I focused on outlining the different theories of Organizational Behaviour and how they affect our perceptions and ideas about others and can lead to a breakdown in communication within the workplace. For example, we tend to attribute certain negative factors to concepts that make sense and can be rationalized and project those ideas onto others with an example being that maybe someone who is always late to work is late because they are busying taking care of someone, or maybe they are simply lazy.

I focused on outlining how important it is to avoid assuming things about people, as well as how easy our emotions and personal ideals can create problems, especially in information service work. This is important to recognize and be aware of, as our inherent biases and preconceptions can affect our personalities and emotions in negative ways that can create conflict that can be detrimental.

This third set of questions focused on values and attitudes and the ways in which they can affect the workplace and the importance of being aware of these factors that can easily contribute to breakdowns in communication due to miscommunication or misunderstanding.

In answering the first question, I focused on utilizing Geert Hofstede's theory of the six different categories that can be used to define a culture as well as the adaptation of the same theory by the Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Research Program. I talked about how cultures differ in how they engage and interact with the persons who are a part of them and that these cultural values can sometimes change to meet the needs or views of the people holding these values.

The second question focused heavily on Canadian Values and defining what those looked like and how they differed from others. In my explanation of these values, I used the course content to describe the concept that Canadian Values differ between each generation, as what our parents hold dear will be different for my generation and yet again vary from our children's.

For the third question on attitudes, I focused on the concept that our attitudes often reflect on our surroundings and in turn can have an impact on our behaviour as well as our jobs and our ability to find and retain employment, especially when employers and managers are looking for specific attitudes and values that match those of the organization and company.

The fifth weekly set of questions focused on defining what teams and groups are, the stages they go through, and analyzing the need for collaboration on projects while ensuring the teams being created are effective.

In answering the first question, I outlined the stages of a group or team that were presented in our course content, talking about how when teams of individuals are first made, there are initial issues that arise around finding common ground as well as making a hierarchy or chain of command for responsibility. Following this, I outlined the idea that these groups tend to fall into a "Storming" stage where members realize their due date is coming up and they do not have enough accomplished, creating tension before the group reassesses and finds a way to complete their work using their individual strengths to their advantage.

The answers I provided to the second and third questions fall together, as both focused on asking the question of "what type of group is needed and why?" as this allows for teams with the correct people to be made to complete the task at hand. For example, if you wanted to create a team to effectively create a working e-Library collection of accessible resources, you would likely group together staff members who are used to doing this type of task, and not newly hired interns or technology specialists, as they would not have the necessary expertise and experience with the organization to work as a cohesive group.