Organizational Behavior (OB)
Chapter 1
What Is Organizational Behavior?
Learning Objectives
Demonstrate the importance of interpersonal skills in the
workplace.
Define organizational behavior (OB).
Show the value of OB to systematic study.
Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to
OB.
Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB.
Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB
concepts.
Compare the three levels of analysis in this text’s OB model.
Describe the key employability skills gained from studying OB that
are applicable to other majors or future careers.
The Importance of
Interpersonal Skills
The significant role that interpersonal skills play in
determining a manager’s effectiveness.
Management and
Organizational Behavior
Manager
An individual who achieves goals through other
people
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.
Four Basic Managerial Activities:
1. Planning
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and
developing plans to coordinate activities.
2. Organizing
Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the
tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions
are to be made.
3. Leading
A function that includes motivating employees, directing others,
selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving
conflicts.
4. Controlling
Monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as
planned and correcting any significant deviations.
Management Roles
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
Traditional management
Decision making, planning, and controlling.
Communication
Exchanging routine information and processing
paperwork.
Human resources management
Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing,
and training.
Networking
Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders
Allocation of Activities by Time
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.
Motivation
Leader behavior and power
Interpersonal communication
Group structure and processes
Attitude development and perception
Change processes
Conflict and negotiation
Work design
Complementing Intuition with
Systematic Study
Systematic study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute
causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based
on scientific evidence.
Evidence-based management (EBM)
Basing managerial decisions on the best available
scientific evidence.
Intuition
An instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by
research.
Big Data
Disciplines That Contribute to OB
There Are Few Absolutes in OB
Contingency variables
Situational factors or variables that moderate the
relationship between two or more variables
Critical Issues of Challenges
and Opportunities
Economic pressures Positive work environment
Continuing globalization Ethical behavior
Workforce demographics
Workforce diversity
Customer service
People skills
Networked organizations
Social media
Employee well-Being at
work
Challenges and Opportunities
Coming Attractions: Developing
an OB Model
Employability Skills
Summary
Managers need to develop their interpersonal, or
people, skills to be effective in their jobs
Organizational behavior (OB) investigates the impact
that individuals, groups, and structure have on
behavior within an organization, and it applies that
knowledge to make organizations work more
effectively.
Implications for Managers
