Lecture 2

Definition of organisation and organisational behaviour (OB)

Determinants of OB Influences on OB Interface of Management and OB Definition of organisational goals OB linkage with Organisational goals

Organisational culture (OC)- What is a culture?- Why is culture important?- Why is it important to study organisational culture?- Types of cultures - OC and its characteristics- Organisational culture v/s Organisational climate

It is very important to note the difference between Organisation and Organisational Behaviour

ORGANISATION ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

•Defined as a collection of people who works together to achieve a wide variety of goals

•Defined as actions and attitudes of people in an organisation•Study of the way people interact within groups•Attempt to create a more efficient business organisation•Subject is becoming more important as people with diverse backgrounds and cultural values have to work together effectively and efficiently•Seeks to emphasise the understanding of behaviour in organisations so as to develop competencies in foreseeing how people are likely to behave•Knowledge may help in controlling those behaviours that are not befitting the objectives of organisations

The main determinants of OB are:- Individuals- Groups- Structures

OB applies the knowledge gained abboutindividuals, groups and the effect of structure on behaviour to make the organisation more effective

Mission, vision, objectives set up

Organisational Culture and climate

Change in management – people used to work in a ‘X’ manner but with change will have to work in ‘Y’ manner

New policies taken by Senior Management without consultation

Continuously working in an atmosphere of competitive advantage

Concept of interfaceInter-relation with ‘X factor’ – which is the inter-relation of Management and OB in this topic!

Normally organisation have managers with titles like marketing manager, director of public relations, vice president of HRM and so on. But there is no organisation which has a position called Organisational Behaviour Manager

Reason for this is simple – organisational behaviour is not an organisational function or area. Instead, it is best described as a perspective or set of tools that all managers can use to carry out their jobs more effectively

By understanding OB concept, managers can better understand and appreciate the behaviour of those around them

Managers can also use their knowledge from the field of OB to better understand their own behaviours and feelings (e.g. Understanding personal needs and motives; how to improve decision-making capabilities, how to respond and control stress; how to better communicate with others...)

Provides useful insights in understanding attitudinal processes, individual differences, group dynamics, OC and so on

GOALS

STRATEGIES

STRUCTURE

CULTURE

SYSTEMS

Functions – tasks / Activities (What/Why)

Procedures (How)

Roles and Responsibi

lities(Who)

Core Values

Vision / Missions

Personality, perception, skills and attitude development

Learning

Motivation

Leader Behaviour and power

Interpersonal communication

Group structure and processes

Change processes

Culture of any group of people is that set of beliefs, customs, practices and ways of thinking that they come to share with each other through being and working together.

It is a set of assumptions that people simply accept without question as they interact with each other

At the visible level, the culture of a group of people takes the form of ritual behaviour, symbols, myths, stories, sounds and artefacts

(Stacey, 96)

Can affect degree of employee’s motivation

Can affect staff turnover

Can affect morale and goodwill of employees

Can affect absenteeism and punctuality

Can have an effect on productivity and efficiency

Can affect quality of work produced

Can affect an employee’s willingness to accept change/rapid change of environment

People are affected by culture in which they live

An individual working for any organisation with a firmly established culture will be taught values, beliefs and expected behaviours of that organisation

Study of organisational culture is important for the understanding and practice of OB (Luthans, 98)

TYPES EXPLANATION

POWER CULTURE – “Spider web” •Illustrated as spider’s web with all important spiders sitting in the centre because key to whole organisation sits in the centre surrounded by influences and intimates•Closer you are to spider more powerful and influence you are•Heavily dependent on people with abilities in middle•Performance judged on results

ROLE CULTURE •Illustrated by building with columns and beams•Each column and beam has specific role to play to keep building up•For employees, this culture offers security and opportunity to acquire specialist expertise•This culture is frustrating for ambitious people who are power orientated

TYPES EXPLANATION

TASK CULTURE •Job or project oriented•Often associated with organisation that adopt matrix structural designs•Emphasis is on getting the job done and the culture seeks to bring together the appropriate resources and the right people at the right level in order to assemble relevant resources for completion of particular project•Depends highly on teamwork to produce results

PERSON CULTURE •Is an unusual culture•People is at the focal point

OC is the set of important understandings such as norms, values, attitudes and beliefs shared by organisational members

OC has its key functions and they include sense of identity, enhancement of commitment and reinforcement of behaviour

Primary characteristics of an OC are as follows:

1. Innovation and Risk Taking: It can be described as the degree or extent to which employees are encouraged to take innovative steps and calculated risk. 2. Attention to Detail: It can be described as degree or extent to which employees are expected to pay attention to details. 3. Outcome Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which management focuses on outcome rather than on process to achieve outcome. 4. People Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which management gives attention to effect of decisions on people working in the organisation and on its shareholders. 5. Team Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which works are organised around team rather than individuals. 6. Aggressiveness: It can be described as the degree or extent to which people are aggressive or competitive rather than unconcerned or relaxed. 7. Stability: It can be described as the degree or extent to which maintaining status quo is emphasized in contrast to growth. 8. Individual Autonomy: It can be described as the degree or extent of responsibility, independence, and opportunities for exercising initiative that individuals in an organisation have. 9. Structure: It can be described as the degree or extent of rules and regulations and the amount of direct supervision that is used to supervise and control behaviour.

10. Support: It can be described as the degree or extent of assistance and warmth managers provide for their subordinates.11. Identity: It can be described as the degree or extent to which members identify with the organisation as a whole rather than with their particular work group or field of professional expertise. 12. Performance-Reward: It can be described as the degree or extent to which reward in the organisation are based on employee work performance. 13. Conflict Tolerance: It can be described as the degree or extent of conflict present in relationships between peers and work groups as well as the motivation to be honest and open about differences. 14. Attitude towards Change: It can be described as the response given to new methods, ways, and values.15. Focus: It can be described as the vision of the goals and objectives of an organisation’s operations as communicated by those in control.16. Standard and Values: The levels of performance and behaviour considered to be acceptable by both types of criteria – formal and informal. 17. Rituals: It can be described as the expressive events that support and reinforce organisational standards and values;18. Openness, Communication, and Supervision: It can be described as the amount and type of interchange permitted. The communication flow can be downward, upward, across the organisation, and in other directions as spelled out by the culture.19. Market and Customer Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which the organisation is responsive to its markets and customers. 20. Excitement, Pride, and esprit de corps: It can be described as a perceptibly good feeling about the organisation and its activities. 21. Commitment: It can be described as the degree or extent to which individuals are willingly working towards goals on a long-lasting basis

Organisational culture is concerned with the nature of beliefs and expectations about organisational life, its about a set of values, assumptions and norms that is present in an organisational life.

Organisational climate is an indicator whether those beliefs and expectations are being fulfilled. Organisational climate has strong impact on the performance of the organisation. The climate indicates whether an organisation is healthy or unhealthy – and this is what is going to determine the successfulness of the organisation.

Organisational culture and organisational climate can also be compared to personality and mood – whereby the former is enduring and the latter is temporary

Organisational culture has 2 levels – visible that can be seen on the surface (dress codes, office layout) and invisible cannot be seen on the surface (stories about the people performance...)

Organisational climate makes an assessment of the organisational culture (the 2 levels) and thus providing the answer via the climate of the organisation:

- Structure- Responsibility- Risk- Warmth- Support- Conflict- Trust