CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS OB?

MGT 321: Organizational Behavior

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand the importance of interpersonal skillsRoles of managers and management skillsDefine and understand organizational behaviorShow the value to OB of systematic study.Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute

to OB.Identify the challenges and opportunities managers have in

applying OB concepts.Compare the three levels of analysis of the OB model.

Importance of Interpersonal Skills

Technical and Quantitative skills are important Leadership and communication skills are crucial to distinguish

managers

Organizational benefits of positive social relationshipsDeveloping manager’s interpersonal skills attract high performing

employeesLow turnover and low work stressStrong correlation to overall job satisfactionSuperior financial performance

Role of Managers

What do managers do?They get things done by other people to achieve organization’s goalsOversee activities of othersMake decisionsAllocate resources

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.

Management Functions

Managers

- Define roles

- Establish strategy

- Develop plans to coordinate activities

Organize- What tasks to be

done

-Who should do them

-Who reports to whom

-Where decisions are to be made

Lead-Motivate

Employees

-Directing others

-Selecting most effective

communication channels

-Resolve conflict

-Monitor activities to ensure they are

as per plan

-Correct any deviations

Plan Control

Management Roles

Interpersonal Roles Figurehead, Leader, Liaison

Informational Roles Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson

Decisional Roles Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler,

Resource allocator, Negotiator

Management Skills

Technical Skills Specialized knowledge or expertise learned through extensive formal

education, training programs or on the job

Human Skills The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people,

both individually and in groups

Conceptual Skills The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations

Managerial Activities

Fred Luthans and his associates looked at 4 types of managerial activities from a somewhat different perspective.

Traditional Management Decision making, planning, and controlling

Communication Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork

Human Resource Management Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, and training

Networking Socializing, politicking, and interacting with others

Effective vs. Successful Managerial activities

19%

20%

29%

32%

Average Managers

Networking

Human Resource Management

Communication

Traditional Man-agement

48%

11%

28%

13%

Successful Managers

Networking

Human Resource Management

Communication

Traditional Management

11%

26%

44%

19%

Effective Managers

Networking

Human Resource Man-agement

Communication

Traditional Management

Organizational Behavior

OB: A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

Complementing intuition with systematic study

Intuition

•Gut feelings

•Individual observation

•Common sense

Systemat

ic Stud

y

•Looks at relationships

•Scientific evidence

•Predicts behaviors

Evidence Based Management

Evidence Based Management (EBM) Basing managerial decisions on the best available

scientific evidence Pose a managerial question Search for best available evidence Apply relevant information to case

Intuition

Intuition – “gut feeling”Intuition can be based on incomplete informationCompany can be ‘at the right place at the right time’ and

without reliance of any empirical evidenceSystematic study can be time consuming

Evidence should be used as much as possible to form intuition and experience

Other Disciplines

Psychology Social Psychology

Sociology Anthropology

Toward an OB Discipline

Exhibit 1-3

Challenges and Opportunities of OB

Challenges and Opportunities of OB: Responding to Economic Pressures Responding to Globalization Managing Workforce Diversity

Some other challenges and opportunities include: Improving Customer Service Improving People Skills Stimulating Innovation and Change Coping with “Temporariness” Working in Networked Organizations Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts Creating a Positive Work Environment Improving Ethical Behavior

Responding to Economic Pressures

Effective management is important during hard economic times.

Managing employees is difficult during hard times. Managers need to understand and handle how to reward,

satisfy and retain employees Managers also need to handle issues such as stress, decision

making, and coping during difficult times.

Responding to Globalization

Increased foreign assignments

Working with people from different cultures

Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor

Managing Workforce Diversity

Embracing diversity Changing demographics Changing management philosophy Recognizing and responding to differences

Developing an OB Model

A model is an abstraction of reality – a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon.

Our OB model has three levels of analysis

Types of Study Variables

Independent (X) Dependent (Y)

-The presumed cause of the change in the dependent variable (Y)

-This is the variable that OB researchers manipulate to observe the changes in Y

-This is the response to X

-It is what the OB researchers want to predict or explain

Dependent Variables in OB

Productivity Transforming inputs to outputs at lowest cost. Includes the concepts of

effectiveness (achievement of goals) and efficiency (meeting goals at a low cost).

Absenteeism Failure to report to work – a huge cost to employers.

Turnover Voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.

Deviant Workplace Behavior Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and

thereby threatens the well-being of the organization and/or any of its members.

Dependent Variable contd.

Organizational 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.

Job Satisfaction A general attitude (not a behavior) toward one’s job; a positive

feeling of one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.

Independent Variable

The independent variable (X) can be at any of these three levels in this model:Individual Biographical characteristics, personality and emotions, values and

attitudes, ability, perception, motivation, individual learning, and individual decision making

Group Communication, group decision making, leadership and trust, group

structure, conflict, power and politics, and work teamsOrganization System Organizational culture, human resource policies and practices, and

organizational structure and design

OB Model (Exhibit 1-5)

Summary

Managers need to develop their interpersonal skills to be effective.

OB focuses on how to improve factors that make organizations more effective.

The best predictions of behavior are made from a combination of systematic study and intuition.

Situational variables moderate cause-and-effect relationships. There are many OB challenges and opportunities for managers

today.OB Model