Leana, Mittal, and Stiehl (2012) in the article “Organizational Behavior and the Working Poor,” undertook a study ignored by most researchers. The article’s premise is based on the working poor who are a sizeable lot in the labor market thus they are represented as a strong situation that affects work-related outcomes. This premise is demonstrated in the entire paper by using the significant conceptions and stereotyping associated with the working poor. The article begins by describing the organizational behavior as the ability and attitude towards work. The use of four categories of workers.
The purpose of Cell I, II, III, and IV to represent the working poor, aspirants, middle to high income, and textbook workers respectively. The working poor earn low-income which complements their problems thus have a life that is consistent with the past, low expectations of transforming their lives. Aspirants have inconsistency between their history and the current experiences. The anxiety that the current situation may not last and do not have the same developments as their peers describe the aspirants. The middle class also have inconsistency present from their past and are relatively similar to the aspirants although they recognize that their current positions are much permanent. However, textbook workers enjoy consistence experiences and have higher expectations of the future. Cell II and III are relatively similar whereas Cell I and IV are the two extremes of poverty and wealth respectively (Leana, Mittal, & Stiehl, 2012).
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By choosing to term poverty as a strong situation, the article can demonstrate the conditions that are significantly powerful and mostly overwhelms the workers reducing individual’s hope or expectations thus resulting in the negative attitude (Leana, Mittal, & Stiehl, 2012). The working poor in an organization has little if any form to improve their payments or gain promotions. For instance, caregivers are paid peanuts to care for wealthy older citizens but they cannot obtain any promotion as they are unable to continue their education and their roles do not have higher positions. The use of nurses compared to doctors is evidence of the contrasting levels of workers and the functions they pay in the health sector. The nurses earn mere a fraction of the doctor’s salary although they provide most of the services and unlike the doctors, nurses positions or payment in the institution rarely changes.
The theory that working poor are lazy and unambitious is a stereotyped assumption from people who have not experienced poverty. The article depicted that the working poor are quite ambitious, but the constant economic constraints such as lack of health insurance, loans, and inability pay for their children’s education result in their goals changing to survive or be as the others (Leana, Mittal, & Stiehl, 2012). The discussion of organizational behavior is vital as they enable understanding the issues influencing attitude changes and reduced outputs. The study is instrumental in shedding light on a topic ignored by most researchers since they comprise the most substantial number of workers in all industries (Leana, Mittal, & Stiehl, 2012). Failure to discuss and apprehend the misconceptions about the role of poverty in attitude and output decline will continue to diminish the productivity of the most significant group of the workforce.
The discussion on barriers of workforce interrelationship, motivation and the mediating factors that would improve productivity is similar to the discussion in the business concepts covered in this course. It was evident that value and sense of belonging are important in shaping the association of workers with their place of work. The article demonstrated the various ways that working poor are willing to remain in an organization, but the issues of negativity tend to affect their productivity. Therefore, the authors are adamant that researchers must acknowledge the role of working poor and the need to increase studies that will improve the lives of these important workers.
Reference
Leana, C., Mittal, V., & Stiehl, E. (2012). PERSPECTIVE—Organizational Behavior and the Working Poor. Organization Science , 23 (3), 888-906. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0672
