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.
What is Organizational Behavior?
Insert Figure 1.1 here
Levels of Analysis
Organizational Level
Group Level
Individual
Level
Roles and Skills in the New Workplace
Flexibility
Mentor Innovator
External Focus
Internal Focus
Facilitator Broker
Monitor Producer
Coordinator Director
Control
How Companies are Changing
“Cool” Companies “Old” Companies
Believe casual days are Think casual Fridays are pitiful
progressive Charge employees for perks and
Believe titles are obsolete incentives
Don't impose on employees' Hold events on employee time
personal time Have flex time: but only between
Allow staff to come and go as 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
they please Hide financial results from their
Offer all employees stock options employees
Let employees make decisions Encourage employee input -- but
that affect their work rarely act on it
Offer assistance with childcare Employ rigid hierarchies (chain of
Have minimal bureaucracy (red command)
tape) Stop at “open door” policies
Challenges Facing the Workplace
Organizational Level
• Productivity
• Developing effective employees
• Global competition
• Managing in the global village
Group Level
• Working with others
• Workforce diversity Workplace
Individual Level
• Job satisfaction
• Empowerment
• Behaving ethically
Developing Effective Employees
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
Discretionary behavior that is not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but that
however 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 positively affects the
bottom line.
“more control and say in their work.”
How do you Put people first?
Four Functions of Management
Planning Organizing
Decide on organizational goals Establish the rules and
and allocate and use reporting relationships that
resources to allow people to
achieve those goals achieve organizational goals
Controlling
Leading
Evaluate how well the
Encourage and coordinate
organization is achieving goals
individuals and groups
and take action to
so that they work
maintain, improve, and correct
toward organizational goals
performance
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
Managerial Skills
Conceptual Skills Technical Skills
Human Skills
Management 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 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
The Layers of OB
The Organization
Change
Organizational culture
Decision making
The Group Leadership
Power and politics
Negotiation
Conflict
Communication
The Individual Groups and teams
Motivating self and others
Emotions
Values and attitudes
Perception
Personality
Towards an OB Discipline
Behavioural Contribution Unit of Output
science analysis
Learning
Motivation
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Psychology Individual decision making
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress
Individual
Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Sociology
Formal organization theory Study of
Organizational technology Group Organizational
Organizational change Behaviour
Organizational culture
Behavioural change
Attitude change
Social psychology Communication
Group processes
Group decision making
Organization
Comparative values system
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis
Anthropology
Organizational culture
Organizational environment
Conflict
Political science Intraorganizational politics
Power
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes
change the behavior of humans and other animals.
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
(cont’d)
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
(cont’d)
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 Disciplines to the OB Field
(cont’d)
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their
activities.
Research Methods in OB
Bottom Line: OB Is For Everyone
Organizational behavior 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
