Deviant behaviour is a special case of frustration or thwarted motivation. Furthermore, frustration is the inability of an individual to fulfil or reach a desired goal. Symptoms or indicators of frustrated behaviour are aggression, regression, resignation, aparthy, boredom, fixation, compensation, displacement, fantasy, conversion, identification, negativism, projection, rationalisation, repression, flight/withdrawal, reaction-formation, compromise, behaviour disorder and pathological thinking.
In the last fifteen years, AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy has been involved in keeping records of the deviant behaviour that is pervading the industry. The findings were not limited to a particular media firm but the entire industry in general. Equally, this is not limited to a particular department as it cuts across all the departments within the media industry. The findings can be categorised as innovations, retreatism, ritualism and rebellion.
It has to be borne in mind that the media has played and is still playing appreciable role in the social and economic developments of the nation. This is besides the prominent role it played before democracy was achieved. In fact, the media industry is far above the average based on any ctiterion. Although, the good side outweighs the negative one but the conduct of some staff should be addressed. Their behaviour is not different from what can be seen or observed in other sectors or industries.
Specific items of noticed/observed deviant attitudes and behaviour within the industry include dishonesty, serious misconduct, insubordination, stealing or embezzlement, office violence (fighting), sleeping or idling at work, habitual negligence, damage to office property willfully or by neglect, receiving or offering bribes, impersonation, drunkenness, habitual lateness, truancy from work, mating in office, misuse of property or allocated resource, verbal attack, arson, dirty habit, leaking official secret, concealing vital information, insider trading, playing quotation against one another, encouraging unnecessary demurrage, deceptive practices, 419, eye – service, loafing, self-before-the company philosophy, discouraging team spirit, disrespect to constituted authority and stakeholders, strikes, sabotage, conspiracy, apathy, organised crime, work soldering, insurrection, living in communes, larceny, harmful gossips, back biting, slandering and even assassination.
All the above stated factors have history of their occurrences and how they could be avoided but lack of space here is an hindrance. This has made the author to document all these; efforts are in top gear to publish a book, where the story behind each of the items would be narrated. Prior to the time, references are being made whenever interventions of the consultancy outfit are sought by the media players.
It must be noted that deviant behaviour has destroyed some media companies irretrievably besides the damages done to their brands and occurrence of such needs to be avoided. This is the more reason why the media managers must device means of diagonising negative or deviant behaviour. Diagnosis consists of fact-finding activities that are designed to ascertain the state of the system in the media industry, the status of a problem “the way things are” and “the way things should be”, Available methods range from projective devices to the more traditional data collection methods of interview, surveys, questionnaires, and meetings.
In view of the organisational consequences of deviant behaviour which are but not limited to reduced output, poor quality of work, labour turnover, high dissatisfaction, frequent management-union confrontation, lawlessness, low sales, low profitability, and complaints by the reading public, the media managers should pay utmost attention to this scourge.
Finally, media managers should devout most of their time to the concepts, theories, processes, and techniques by which behaviour of their employees can be influenced towards selected ends. In other words, they should be able to describe, understand, predict and control any type of behaviour and influence them towards desired objectives.
……… Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy.
0802 305 1315
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
