ORB Chapter 1 1

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Chapter 1

Introduction

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Organizational BehaviorOrganizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior (OB)

OB is concerned with the study of what people think, feel and do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organization's performance

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

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Organizational BehaviorOrganizational Behavior

OB scholars systematically study

• individual,

• team and

• structural characteristics

that influence behavior within organizations.

ORGANIZATIONS

Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose

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Why Study Organizational BehaviorWhy Study Organizational Behavior

• Understanding Organizational Events

• Influencing Organizational Events

• Predicting Organizational Events

OB knowledge helps understand, predict and influence organizational events by understanding and applying concepts in motivation, communication, conflict, team dynamics and other similar areas.

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Complementing Intuition with Systematic StudyComplementing Intuition with Systematic Study

Systematic Study

Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence

Provides a means to predict behaviors

Intuition

“Gut” feelings about “why I do what I do” and “what makes others tick”

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Contributing Disciplines to the OB FieldContributing Disciplines to the OB Field

E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)

Psychology

The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals

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Contributing Disciplines to the OB FieldContributing Disciplines to the OB Field

E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)

Sociology

The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings

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Contributing Disciplines to the OB FieldContributing Disciplines to the OB Field

E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)E X H I B I T 1–3 (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

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Contributing Disciplines to the OB FieldContributing Disciplines to the OB Field

E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)

Anthropology

The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities

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There Are Few Absolutes in OBThere Are Few Absolutes in OB

x y

Contingency variables: “It Depends!”

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

x yCountry 2

May be related to

May NOT be related to

In

In

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Challenges and Opportunities for OBChallenges and Opportunities for OB

• Responding to Globalization– Increased foreign assignments– Working with people from different cultures– Coping with anti-capitalism backlash– Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-

cost labor– Managing people during the war on terror

• Managing Workforce Diversity– Embracing diversity– Changing U.S. demographics– Implications for managers

• Recognizing and responding to differences

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Challenges and Opportunities for OBChallenges and Opportunities for OB

• Improving Quality and Productivity– Quality management (QM)– Process reengineering

• Responding to the Labor Shortage– Changing work force demographics– Fewer skilled laborers– Early retirements and older workers

• Improving Customer Service– Increased expectation of service quality– Customer-responsive cultures

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Challenges and Opportunity for OB Challenges and Opportunity for OB

• Improving people skills

• Empowering people

• Stimulating innovation and change

• Coping with “temporariness”

• Working in networked organizations

• Helping employees balance work/life conflicts

• Improving ethical behavior

• Managing people during the war on terrorism

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A Downside to Empowerment? A Downside to Empowerment?

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Basic OB Model, Stage IBasic OB Model, Stage I

E X H I B I T 1-6E X H I B I T 1-6

Model

An abstraction of reality

A simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon

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The Dependent VariablesThe Dependent Variables

x

y

Dependent Variable

A response that is affected by an independent variable (what organizational behavior researchers try to understand)

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The Dependent VariablesThe Dependent Variables

Productivity

A performance measure that includes effectiveness and efficiency

Effectiveness

Achievement of goals

Efficiency

Meeting goals at a low cost

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The Dependent VariablesThe Dependent Variables

Absenteeism

The failure to report to work

Turnover

The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization

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The Dependent VariablesThe Dependent Variables

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

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The Dependent VariablesThe Dependent Variables

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

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The Dependent Variables The Dependent Variables

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

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The Independent VariablesThe Independent Variables

IndependentVariables Can Be

IndependentVariables Can Be

Individual-Level Variables

Individual-Level Variables

OrganizationSystem-Level

Variables

OrganizationSystem-Level

Variables

Group-LevelVariables

Group-LevelVariables

Independent Variable

The presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable; major determinants of a dependent variable

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Basic OB Model, Stage

II

E X H I B I T 1-7E X H I B I T 1-7