Download Organizational behavior

Defining Organizational
Behavior
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The field of organizational
behavior traces its roots
back to the late 1940s when
researchers in psychology,
sociology, political science,
economics, and other social
sciences joined together in
an effort to develop a
comprehensive body of
organizational research
It is now divided into three
distinct subfields
What is Organizational Behavior?

Organizational Behavior is the study of
human behavior in the workplace, the
interaction (cooperate ,work together )
between people and the organization
with the intent (aim,goal,target) to
understand and predict (expect)
human behavior.
Organizational Behavior and
Organizational Theory
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Organizational behavior and organizational
theory specialize in studying organizations
Organizational behavior:
understanding behavior, attitudes, and
performance
Organizational theory: design and
structure of organizations
Organizational Behavior
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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
Organizational Behavior
The field that seeks increased knowledge of
all aspects of behavior in organizational
settings through the use of the scientific
method.
Characteristics of the field:
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OB applies the scientific method to practical managerial
problems.
OB focuses on three levels of analysis.
OB is multidisciplinary in nature.
OB seeks to improve organizational effectiveness and the
quality of life at work.
OB is not Human Resources
Management (HRM)
HRM is an organizational
function responsible for staffing
issues
OB is not a function, it is a set
of organization-wide processes
Micro level & Macro level OB
Micro Level OB
Individual,
Interpersonal and
Group Behaviors
Macro Level OB
How human systems
and organized,
structured and
controlled
Also called
organizational theory
Micro Organizational Behavior
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Micro organizational behavior is
concerned mainly with the behaviors of
individuals working alone
Three subfields of psychology were the
principal contributors to the beginnings
of micro organizational behavior:
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Experimental psychology: provided theories of
learning, motivation, perception, and stress
Clinical psychology: furnished models of
personality and human development
Industrial psychology: offered theories of
employee selection, workplace attitudes, and
performance assessment
Meso Organizational Behavior
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Meso organizational behavior is a
middle ground, bridging the other
two subfields of organizational
behavior
It focuses primarily on
understanding the behaviors of
people working together in teams or
groups
In addition to sharing the origins of
the other two subfields, meso
organizational behavior grew out of
research in the fields of
Macro Organizational
Behavior
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Macro organizational behavior focuses on
understanding the behaviors of entire
organizations
The origins of macro organizational
behavior can be traced to four disciplines:
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Sociology: provided theories of structure,
social status, and institutional relations
Political science: offered theories of power,
conflict, bargaining, and control
Anthropology: contributed theories of
symbolism, cultural influence, and comparative
analysis
Economics: furnished theories of competition
and efficiency
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Why Study
Organizational Behavior?
Success isn’t a destination – it’s a process. And the
margin between successes is often small. Learn the
principles of defining and achieving success in your own
life and begin the journey today.
This journey begins with understanding the behaviors
between the leader, the followers, and the organization.
This is also a leadership course of study. To be
successful leader, one needs to understand the behaviors
of people, organizations, and the situation.
Why Study Organizational Behavior and
its History?
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Leadership and administration means
working with and through other people to
achieve organizational goals.
A major cause of failure by principals is not
having a theory of practice.
Only by knowing the contributions of those
who came before us, can we prepare
ourselves for making strategic and tactical
decisions to undergrid our leadership.
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
12
Organizational Behavior
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Does organizational behavior (OB)
require a systematic study ?
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Many people think OB is just common
sense.
Some would add OB is just intuition.
Intuition versus Common Sense
Common Sense Defined
The unreflective opinion of ordinary men and
women, unsophisticated judgment.
Intuition Defined
A feeling not necessarily supported by
research.
Contributing Disciplines to the
OB Field
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Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
Key concept of OB
Organizational Behavior
Key
concepts
promotes
employee effectiveness through understanding of
individual, group, and organizational processes
stresses relationships among employees/managers
assumes employees want to work and can control themselves
Contributions
increased
participation, greater autonomy, individual
challenge and initiative, and enriched jobs may increase
participation
recognized the importance of developing human resources
Limitations
some
approaches ignored situational factors, such as the
environment and technology
KEY ELEMENTS IN ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR
* People join together in an organization to
accomplish an
objective, some kind of structure is required.
* People use technology to help get the job done, so
there
is an interaction.
* These elements are influenced by external
environment
and they influenced it.
Organizations and OB
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What is changing that requires a more
systematic study?
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Organizations
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Diversity
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Global competition
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Technology’s influence on behavior
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Society – social changes
Organizational Behavior
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Human behavior depends on
contingencies.
Behavior can be predicted, but you have
to understand the circumstances.
Understanding circumstances and
predicting behavior require a systematic
study.
Basic OB Model
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Independent Variables
Organizational Level
Group Level
Individual Level
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Dependent Variables
PRODUCTIVITY
ABSENTEESIM
TURNOVER
JOB SATISFACTION
Basic OB Model
The Dependent Variables
y
x
The Dependent Variables
(cont’d)
The Dependent Variables
(cont’d)
The Dependent Variables
(cont’d)
Contemporary Issues
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The three subfields of
organizational behavior
offers valuable
information, insight, and
advice to managers facing
the challenge of
understanding and
reacting to a broad range
of contemporary
management issues
Today’s managers find
four of these issues
especially important
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Contemporary Issues
Workforce Diversity
 Team Productivity
 Organizational Adaptability
 International Growth and Development
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Contemporary Issues:
Workforce Diversity
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Within the societal cultures of the United States and
Canada, subcultural differences once ignored by many
managers now command significant attention and
sensitivity
Historically, the North American workforce has
consisted primarily of white males; however today
white males make up only about 15% of business new
hires in the U.S., whereas women, African American,
Hispanic, and Asian men account for increasingly large
segments of the U.S. workforce
Knowledge about the workplace consequences of
these differences, drawn from the subfield of micro
organizational behavior, can provide managers with
help in this regard
Contemporary Issues:
Team Productivity
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Management is becoming less of a process relying
on top-down command and control
For various reasons organizations now use greater
amounts of empowerment
Often empowerment is accomplished by grouping
employees into teams, then giving those teams
responsibility for self-management activities
Guidance from the meso organizational behavior
precepts can help managers establish realistic
expectations about the implementation difficulties
and probable effects of team-based empowerment
Contemporary Issues:
Organizational Adaptability
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In today’s business world, emphasis is shifting from
mass production of low-cost, interchangeable
commodities to the production of high-quality goods
and services, made individually or in small batches
and geared to meet the specific demands of small
groups of consumers
Companies are reacting by implementing programs
that require new ways of dividing an organization’s
work into jobs and coordinating the efforts of many
employees
Implementations of this sort benefit from insights
derived from macro organizational behavior6
Contemporary Issues: International
Growth and Development
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Fewer firms today limit their operations to a
single national or cultural region than was
once the case
Multinationalism or even statelessness has
become the norm
The resulting globalization is changing the
way business is conducted and it promises to
continue to do so at an increasing pace
All three subfields of organizational behavior
have valuable advice to offer managers
confronted with this challenge