Essentials of Organizational Behavior Chapter 01: Welcome to the World of Organizational Behavior Instructor Dr. Ammar Ali Gull After studying this chapter you should be able to: 1. Define organizational behavior (OB). 2. Show the value of systematic study to OB. 3. Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. 4. Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB. 5. Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts. 6. Compare the three levels of analysis in this text’s OB model. Starting Up! ■ Let me ask you a simple question. ■ What is Organizational Behavior for you? ■ It is combination of two words Organization and Behavior. ■ Organization is 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. ■ Behavior is the way in which an animal or person behaves in response to a particular situation. Organizational Behavior ■ A field of study that investigates the impact ■ that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, ■ with an intention of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness. Why is OB Important for Managers? ■ The goal of organizational behavior is to understand and predict the behavior of people with in organization. ■ Managers have to accomplish organizational goal by working with and through the people within and outside organization. ■ Therefore, understanding the behavior of people working in organization is an important part of a manager’s job. ■ Understanding of behavior makes the job of managers easy because managers can deal with employees according to their behavior to achieve organizational goals in an efficient manner. Focal Points of Organizational Behavior ■ Motivation ■ Leader behavior and power ■ Interpersonal communication ■ Group structures and processes ■ Attitude development and perception ■ Change management processes ■ Conflict and negotiation ■ Work design Motivation ■ Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. ■ Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors. Such as the ü Intensity of desire or need, ü Incentive or reward value of the goal ü Expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. Interpersonal communication ■ Interpersonal communication: is an exchange of information between two or more people. ■ It is also an area of study and research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish a number of personal and relational goals. Group structure ■ Group structure: is defined as the layout of a group. ■ It is a combination of group roles, norms, conformity, workplace behavior, status, reference groups, group demography and cohesiveness. Group Process ■ Group process refers to how an organization's members work together to get things done. ■ Typically, organizations spend a great deal of time and energy setting and striving to reach goals but give little consideration to what is happening between and to the group's greatest resource, it's members. Attitude ■ An attitude: refers to a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward a particular object, person, thing, or event. ■ Attitudes are often the result of experience or upbringing, and they can have a powerful influence over behavior. ■ While attitudes are enduring, they can also change. Perception ■ Perception: is the process through which the information from outside environment is selected, received, organised and interpreted to make it meaningful to you. ■ This input of meaningful information results in decisions and actions. Change Management Process ■ Change management process: is the sequence of steps or activities that a change management team or project leader follow to apply change management. ■ In order to drive individual transitions and ensure the project meets its intended outcomes. Conflict and Negotiation ■ Conflict: refers to a situation where two parties are in disagreement. ■ Negotiation: refers to a discussion or meeting arranged to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict. Work/Job design ■ Work/job design: is used to assess how tasks or the entire job is organised within the work environment, and then ensure these are well-matched to the attributes of the employee. Complementing Intuition with Systematic Study ■ Intuition: is a “gut feeling” not necessarily supported by research. ■ Systematic study: improves the ability to accurately predict behavior – Assumes behavior is not random – Fundamental consistencies underlie behavior – These can be identified and modified to reflect individual differences Systematic Study ■ Examines relationships ■ Attempts to attribute causes and effects ■ Bases conclusions on scientific evidence: – Data is gathered under controlled conditions – Data is measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner Evidence-Based Management ■ Evidence-based management: The basing of managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence. – Complements systematic study – Forces managers to become more scientific in their thinking Big Data ■ Big data: the extensive use of statistical compilation and analysis – Identify persistent and predictive statistics – to create target marketing strategies ■ Using big data for managerial practices: – Define objectives, develop theories of causality, test the theories to see which employee activities are relevant to the objectives. Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field Micro: The Individual Psychology Sociology Macro: Groups & Organizations Social Psychology Anthropology Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field Psychology: The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. Sociology: The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings. Social Psychology An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another. Anthropology: The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Political Science: The study of the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment. Few Absolutes in OB ■ Impossible to make simple and accurate generalizations. ■ Human beings are complex and diverse. ■ OB concepts must reflect situational conditions or contingency variables. ■ Situational factors: variables that moderate the relationship between two or more other variables and improve the correlation. Challenges and Opportunities for OB 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Responding to continuing globalization Understanding workforce demographics Managing workforce diversity Impact of social media Employee well-being at work Creating a positive work environment Improving ethical behavior Employment Options Responding to Globalization ■ Increased foreign assignments ■ Working with people from different cultures ■ Adapting to differing cultural and regulatory norms Managing Workforce Demographics ■ Longevity ■ Birth rates ■ Socioeconomic conditions ■ Other changes in the workforce Managing Workforce Diversity Workforce diversity: organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation Social Media ■ Use of social media by employees ■ Using social media to learn about employees ■ Impact of social media on employee well-being Enhancing Employee Well-Being at Work ■ The line between work and non-work has blurred and managers are increasingly dealing with conflicts that arise between work and life away from work. Creating a Positive Work Environment ■ Positive organizational scholarship: How organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential. – Focus on what’s good about an organization, not what’s bad Improving Ethical Behavior ■ Managers facing ethical dilemmas or ethical choices are required to identify right and wrong conduct. ■ Companies promoting strong ethical missions: – Encourage employees to behave with integrity. – Provide strong leadership that influences employee decisions to behave ethically. Developing an OB Model ■ A model is an abstraction of reality – a simplified version of some real-world phenomenon. ■ Three types of variables: – Inputs, processes, and outcomes ■ Three levels of analysis – Individual, group, and organizational The Dependent Variables Dependent variable A response that is affected by an independent variable. y x The Dependent Variables (cont’d) Productivity: A performance measure that includes effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness: Achievement of goals. Efficiency: The ratio of effective output to the input required to achieve it. The Dependent Variables (cont’d) Absenteeism: The failure to report to work. Turnover: The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization. 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. The Dependent Variables (cont’d) Job satisfaction: • A general attitude toward one’s job • The difference between the amount of reward workers receive and the amount they believe they should receive. The Independent Variables Independent variable: The presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable. Independent Variables Individual-Level Variables Group-Level Variables Organization System-Level Variables Three Types of Variables Three Levels of OB Analysis Chapters 15 - 17 Chapters 9 - 14 Chapters 2 - 8 Plan of the Book Implications for Managers ■ Don’t rely on generalizations. ■ Use metrics and situational variables rather than “hunches” to explain cause-and-effect relationships. ■ Increase leadership potential by improving interpersonal skills. ■ Improve technical and conceptual skills by staying current with trends like big data. ■ Recognize the role of organizational behavior on employee work quality and productivity. ■ Use organizational behavior to help design and implement change programs, improve customer service, and address the work-life balance conflict. THANK YOU!
