Chapter

ONE

What is
Organizational
Behavior?

Learning A bout B ehavioral

Sciences/O rganizationalB ehavior
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 O bjectives
Define organizational behavior and

explain how and why it determines

the effectiveness of an
organization
Appreciate why the study of
organizational behavior improves a
persons ability to understand and
respond to events that take place
in a work setting
Differentiate between the three
levels at which organizational

W hat Is O rganizational
Behavior?
1. Isnt 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?

W hat is O rganizational
B ehavior?
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

W hat is an O rganization?
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

W hat is O rganizational
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
organizations effectiveness.

Figure 1.1
W hat is O rganizationalBehavior?

Insert Figure 1.1 here

Figure 1.2 Levels ofAnalysis

Organizational Level
Group Level
Individual
Level

Roles and Skills in the N ew

W orkplace
Mentor

Innovator
Broker

Facilitator
Monitor

Producer

Coordinator

Director

Control

External Focus

Internal Focus

Flexibility

H ow Com panies are Changing

CoolCompanies
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)

OldCompanies
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

W orkplace
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

Workplace

D eveloping Eff
ective
Em ployees
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(OCB)
Discretionary behavior that is not part of

an employees 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 ofM anagem ent

Planning

Organizing

Decide on organizational goals

and allocate and use
resources to
achieve those goals

Establish the rules and

reporting relationships that
allow people to
achieve organizational goals

Controlling

Evaluate how well the

organization is achieving goals
and take action to
maintain, improve, and correct
performance

Leading

Encourage and coordinate

individuals and groups
so that they work
toward organizational goals

Table 1.1:M intzbergs

M anagerialRoles
Figurehead
Liaison
Disseminator
Entrepreneur

Leader
Monitor

Resource

Spokesperson
Disturbance

allocator

handler
Negotiator

Mintzbergs
Mintzbergs Managerial
Managerial Roles
Roles

Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright 1973
by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

E X H I B I T 11
E X H I B I T 11

Mintzbergs
Mintzbergs Managerial
Managerial Roles
Roles
(contd)
(contd)

Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright 1973
by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

E X H I B I T 11 (contd)
E X H I B I T 11 (contd)

Mintzbergs
Mintzbergs Managerial
Managerial Roles
Roles
(contd)
(contd)

Source: Adapted from The Nature of Managerial Work by H. Mintzberg. Copyright 1973
by H. Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education.

E X H I B I T 11 (contd)
E X H I B I T 11 (contd)

M anagerialSkills

Conceptual Skills

Human Skills

Technical Skills

Management
Management Skills
Skills
Technical skills

The ability to apply specialized

knowledge or expertise.

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.

Effective
Effective Versus
Versus Successful
Successful
Managerial
Managerial Activities
Activities (Luthans)
(Luthans)
1.
1.Traditional
Traditionalmanagement
management
Decision
Decisionmaking,
making,planning,
planning,and
andcontrolling
controlling

2.
2.Communication
Communication
Exchanging
Exchangingroutine
routineinformation
informationand
andprocessing
processing
paperwork
paperwork

3.
3.Human
Humanresource
resourcemanagement
management
Motivating,
Motivating,disciplining,
disciplining,managing
managingconflict,
conflict,staffing,
staffing,
and
andtraining
training

4.
4.Networking
Networking
Socializing,
Socializing,politicking,
politicking,and
andinteracting
interactingwith
withothers
others

Allocation
Allocation of
of Activities
Activities by
by Time
Time

D ouglas M cG regor:
Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X
Average employee is

lazy, dislikes work, and

will try to do as little as
possible
Managers 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
Managers task is

create a work setting

that encourages
commitment to
organizational goals
and provides
opportunities for
employees to be
exercise initiative

The Layers ofO B

The Organization

The Group

Change
Organizational culture
Decision making
Leadership

Power and politics

The Individual

Negotiation
Conflict
Communication
Groups and teams

Motivating self and others

Emotions
Values and attitudes
Perception
Personality

Towards an OB Discipline
Behavioural
science

Psychology

Sociology

Contribution
Learning
Motivation
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Individual decision making
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress

Individual

Group

Behavioural change
Attitude change
Communication
Group processes
Group decision making
Comparative values
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis

Anthropology
Organizational culture
Organizational environment
Political science

Output

Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Formal organization theory
Organizational technology
Organizational change
Organizational culture

Social psychology

Unit of
analysis

Conflict
Intraorganizational politics
Power

Organization
system

Study of
Organizational
Behaviour

Contributing D isciplines to the

O B Field
Psychology

The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes

change the behavior of humans and other animals.

Contributing D isciplines to the

O B Field (contd)
Sociology

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

Contributing D isciplines to the

O B Field (contd)
Social Psychology

An area within psychology that blends concepts from

psychology and sociology and that focuses on the
influence of people on one another.

Contributing D isciplines to the

O B Field (contd)
Anthropology

The study of societies to learn about human beings

and their activities.

There Are Few Absolutes in O B

Contingency variables: "It
Depends!!!"

In

In

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

Country 2

May be related to

May NOT be related to

y
y

Research M ethods in O B

Bottom Line:O B 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.

Sum m ary and Im plications

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.

Q U ESTIO N S