Chapter ONE

What is Organizational

Behavior?

Learning About Behavioral Sciences/Organizational Behavior

What is Organizational Behavior? Seven Foundation Competencies

Managing Self Managing Communication Managing Diversity Managing Ethics Managing Across Cultures Managing Teams Managing Change

Organizations as Open Systems Case Discussions: Video Clips

Chapter Objectives

Define organizational behavior and explain how and why it determines the effectiveness of an organization

Appreciate why the study of organizational behavior improves a person’s ability to understand and respond to events that take place in a work setting

Differentiate between the three levels at which organizational behavior is examined

What Is Organizational Behavior?

1. Isn’t organizational behavior common sense? Or just like psychology?

2. How does knowing about organizational behavior make work and life more understandable?

3. What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?

What is Organizational Behavior? Definition: The study of human behavior,

attitudes, and performance in organizations. Value of OB: Helps people attain the

competencies needed to become effective employees, team leaders/members, or managers

Competency = an interrelated set of abilities, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge needed by an individual to be effective in most professional and managerial positions

What is an Organization?

A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals

An organization is a collection of people who work together to achieve individual and organizational goals Individual goals Organizational goals

.

What is Organizational Behavior? Organizational behavior (OB): the study of

factors that have an impact on how people and groups act, think, feel, and respond to work and organizations, and how organizations respond to their environments

. . . a field of study that investigates how individuals, groups and structure affect and are affected by behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

Insert Figure 1.1 here

Figure 1.1 What is Organizational Behavior?

Figure 1.2 Levels of Analysis

Group Level

Individual Level

Organizational Level

Flexibility

Control

Mentor Innovator

BrokerFacilitator

Monitor Producer

Coordinator DirectorInte

rnal

Foc

usExternal Focus

Roles and Skills in the New Workplace

How Companies are Changing

“Cool” Companies Believe casual days are progressive Believe titles are obsolete Don't impose on employees' personal time Allow staff to come and go as they please   Offer all employees stock options Let employees make decisions that affect their work Offer assistance with childcare Have minimal bureaucracy (red tape)

“Old” Companies Think casual Fridays are pitiful Charge employees for perks and incentives Hold events on employee time Have flex time: but only between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Hide financial results from their employees Encourage employee input -- but rarely act on it Employ rigid hierarchies (chain of command) Stop at “open door” policies

Challenges Facing the Workplace

Workplace

Organizational Level

• Productivity• Developing effective employees• Global competition• Managing in the global village

Group Level

• Working with others• Workforce diversity

Individual Level

• Job satisfaction• Empowerment• Behaving ethically

Developing Effective EmployeesOrganizational Citizenship Behavior

(OCB) Discretionary behavior that is not part of

an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

Organisations where the focus is on the acquisition, sharing and utilisation of knowledge to survive and prosper

Putting People First

committed workforce and positively affects the bottom line.

“more control and say in their work.”

How do you Put people first?

Four Functions of Management

PlanningDecide on organizational goals

and allocate and use resources to

achieve those goals

OrganizingEstablish the rules and

reporting relationships thatallow people to

achieve organizational goals

ControllingEvaluate how well the

organization is achieving goals and take action to

maintain, improve, and correctperformance

LeadingEncourage and coordinate

individuals and groups so that they work

toward organizational goals

Table 1.1: Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

Figurehead Liaison Disseminator Entrepreneur Resource

allocator

Leader Monitor Spokesperson Disturbance

handler Negotiator

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

E X H I B I T 1–1Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright © 1973 by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles (cont’d)

E X H I B I T 1–1 (cont’d)Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright © 1973 by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles (cont’d)

E X H I B I T 1–1 (cont’d)Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright © 1973 by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

Managerial Skills

Conceptual Skills Technical Skills

Human Skills

Management SkillsTechnical skillsThe ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise.

Human skillsThe ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups.

Conceptual SkillsThe mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations.

Effective Versus Successful Managerial Activities (Luthans)

1. Traditional management• Decision making, planning, and controlling

2. Communication• Exchanging routine information and processing

paperwork

3. Human resource management• Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing,

and training

4. Networking• Socializing, politicking, and interacting with others

Allocation of Activities by Time

Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X Average employee is

lazy, dislikes work, and will try to do as little as possible

Manager’s task is to supervise closely and control employees through reward and punishment

Theory Y Employees will do what

is good for the organization when committed

Manager’s task is create a work setting that encourages commitment to organizational goals and provides opportunities for employees to be exercise initiative

The Layers of OBThe Organization

NegotiationConflictCommunicationGroups and teams

Power and politics

The Group

EmotionsValues and attitudesPerceptionPersonality

Motivating self and others

The Individual

ChangeOrganizational cultureDecision makingLeadership

Groups and teams

Towards an OB Discipline

Social psychology

Psychology

Behavioural science Contribution Unit of

analysisOutput

Anthropology

Sociology

Political science

Study ofOrganizational

Behaviour

Organizationsystem

LearningMotivationPerception

TrainingLeadership effectiveness

Job satisfactionIndividual decision making

Performance appraisalAttitude measurement

Employee selectionWork designWork stress

Group dynamicsWork teamsCommunication

PowerConflict

Intergroup behaviour

Formal organization theoryOrganizational technology

Organizational changeOrganizational culture

ConflictIntraorganizational politics

Power

Organizational cultureOrganizational environment

Behavioural changeAttitude changeCommunicationGroup processes

Group decision making

Group

Comparative valuesComparative attitudesCross-cultural analysis

Individual

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field

PsychologyThe science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals.

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (cont’d)

SociologyThe study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (cont’d)

Social PsychologyAn area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another.

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (cont’d)

AnthropologyThe study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.

There Are Few Absolutes in OB

x y

Contingency variables: "It Depends!!!"Situational factors that make the main relationship between two variables change---e.g., the relationship may hold for one condition but not another.

Country 1

x yCountry 2

May be related to

May NOT be related to

In

In

Research Methods in OB

Bottom Line: OB Is For Everyone Organizational behaviour is not just for

managers. OB applies equally well to all situations

in which you interact with others: on the basketball court, at the grocery store, in school, or in church.

Summary and Implications

OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within an organization.

OB focuses on improving productivity, reducing absenteeism and turnover, and increasing employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

OB uses systematic study to improve predictions of behaviour.

QUESTIONS