Organisational Behaviour Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Organisational Behaviour - Research Paper Example It is difficult for any workplace to be without stereotypes. This is because the nature of a workplace has an evaluation aspect, and stereotypes are responses to evaluation (Kray & Shirako 2009). The generalisations arising from stereotyping are usually done to make the decision making process easier, and are not deliberate attempts to make others feel incompetent. Stereotyping thus reduces the effectiveness of organisations. Correct organisational behaviour practices minimize the negative effects of stereotyping in the workplace. The purpose of organisational behaviour, as a field of study, is to make the organisations work with more effectiveness (Robbins & Judge 2013). This research paper will discuss the effects, evidence and applications of stereotyping based on the grouping of age. The issue of age in the workplace is an important aspect for at least three reasons. One, there is a perception in most cultures that the productivity of a person decreases with increasing age. Two, the workforce is aging in many developed countries including Australia, UK and USA. And three, many countries are increasing the retirement age, or completely doing away with the concept of retirement age. The influence of negative stereotype can affect ones performance at work. A case reported by Roberson & Kulik (2007, p.26) describes a situation where older workers have mastered ‘the look’ when they are introduced to persons who feel that they are too old to do work. A fifty seven year old accountant will conclude that a person finds him to be incompetent because of his age with comments such as ‘you had such a young voice on the phone’. A comment similar to the one describe can be concluded to mean that the commenter would have preferred (and was expecting) a younger accountant for one reason or the other. Desmette and Gaillard (2008) report that older workers