Chapter 1
Nelson & Quick
Introduction: Organizational
Behavior in Changing Times
Copyright ©2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Organizational Behavior
The study of individual behavior and
group dynamics in organizations
Organizational Behavior:
Dynamics in Organizations
Psychosocial
Interpersonal
Organizational
Behavior
Behavioral
Organizational Variables that
Affect Human Behavior
Performance
Appraisal
Work
Design
Communication
Jobs
Organizational
Structure
Human
Behavior
Organizational
Design
Organizational vs. Individual
Point of View
Clockworks or Snake pit?
Human Behavior
in the
Organization
Internal/External Perspective of
Human Behavior
Internal Perspective
External Perspective
Understand Thoughts,feelings,
behavior in past experiences,
terms of
and needs
External events,
environmental forces, &
behavioral consequences
Explain
Individuals’ history
behavior by & personal value
examining
system
Surrounding external
events & environmental
forces
Each perspective has produced
motivational & leadership theories.
Sociology
Psychology
the science
of society
Engineering
the science of
human behavior
Anthropology
the science of the
learned behavior
of human beings
the applied science
of energy & matter
Interdisciplinary
Influences on
Organizational
Behavior
Management
the study of overseeing
activities and supervising
people in organizations
Medicine
the applied science of
healing or treatment of
diseases to enhance an
individual’s health and
well-being
Components of an Organization
Task - an organization’s mission, purpose, or goal for
existing
People - the human resources of the organization
Structure - the manner in which an organization’s work is
designed at the micro level; how departments,
divisions, & the overall organization are designed at the
macro level
Technology - the intellectual and mechanical processes
used by an organization to transform inputs into
products or services that meet organizational goals
(ch02)
Open Systems
View of
Organization
Task environment:
Competitors
Unions
Regulatory agencies
Clients
Structure
Inputs:
Material
Capital
Human
Task
Technology
Outputs:
Products
Services
People
(Actors)
Organizational Boundary
Based on Harold Levitt, “Applied Organizational Change in
Industry: Structural, Technological, and Humanistic Approaches,” in J.G.
March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1965,
p. 1145. Reprinted by permission of James G. March
Formal vs. Informal
Organization
Formal Organization - the official, legitimate, and
most visible part of the system
Informal Organization - the unofficial and less
visible part of the system
Hawthorne Studies: studies
conducted during the 1920s and
1930s that discovered the existence
of the informal organization
Formal &
Informal
Elements of
Organizations
Formal organization
(overt)
Goals & objectives
Policies & procedures
Job descriptions
Financial resources
Authority structure
Communication channels
Products & services
Informal organization
(covert)
Beliefs & assumptions
Perceptions & attitudes
Values
Feelings, such as fear, joy
anger, trust, & hope
Group norms
Informal leaders
Social
Surface
U.S. Gross Domestic Product
Total
$10.4 Trillion
12% 7%
9%
8%
44%
20%
Federal purchases
Personal durable goods
State/local purchases
Personal nondurable goods
Personal Services
Fixed investments
Five Focus Organizations





Brinker International
Harley-Davidson
Hewlett-Packard
Patagonia
American Heart Association
The Challenge of Change
 Too much change = chaos
 Too little change = stagnation
How do you view change?
Threat
Opportunity
International Competition in
Business
Driving forces creating and shaping change at work
 Diversity
 Globalization
 Ethics
 Technology
Success will require:
 positive response to the competition in the
international marketplace
 responsiveness to ethnic, religious, and gender
diversity in the workforce
Quality
 A potential means for giving organizations in viable
industries a competitive edge in international
competition
 A rubric for products and services that are of high
status
 A customer-oriented philosophy of management
with implications for all aspects of organizational
behavior
 A cultural value embedded in successful
organizations
Cannot be optimized
Quality
Is not a fad
Is not an end in itself
Three key questions in evaluating quality-improvement ideas
1. Does the idea improve customer response?
2. Does the idea accelerate results?
3. Does the idea raise the effectiveness of resources?
YES means the idea should improve overall quality
Total Quality Management
The total dedication to continuous
improvement and to customers so that the
customers’ needs are met and their
expectations exceeded
CEOs Advance Total Quality by:





Engaging in participative management
Being willing to change everything
Focusing quality efforts on customer service
Including quality as a criterion in reward systems
Improving the flow of information regarding
quality-improvement successes or failures
 Being actively & personally involved in quality
efforts
Seven Categories in the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award Examination







Leadership
Information and analysis
Strategic quality planning
Human resource utilization
Quality assurance of products & services
Quality results
Customer satisfaction
Challenges to Managing
Organizational Behavior
1. Increasing globalization of organizations’ operating
territory
2. Increasing diversity of organizational workforces
3. Continuing technological innovation with its
companion need for skill enhancement
4. Continuing demand for higher levels of moral &
ethical behavior at work
Learning about Organizational
Behavior
Mastery of
basic objective
knowledge*
Development of
specific skills**
and abilities
* Objective knowledge
knowledge that results
from research and
scholarly activities
Application
of knowledge
and skills
** Skill development
the mastery of abilities
essential to successful
functioning in organizations
Learning from Structured Activity
New or modified
knowledge or skills
(e.g., consensus
group decisions are
better)
Individual or group
structured activity
(e.g., group decision
activity)
Conclusions based
on the systematic
review (e.g., the
group did better)
Systematic review
of the structured
activity (e.g.,
compare individual
& group results)
Three Assumptions Required for
Learning from Structured Activity
 Each student must accept responsibility for his/her
own behavior, actions, & learning
 Each student must actively participate in the
individual/group structured learning activity
 Each student must be open to new information,
new skills, new ideas, and experimentation
Trends Affecting Managers





Industrial restructuring
Increased amount & availability of information
Need to attract & retain the best employees
Need to understand human & cultural differences
Rapid shortening of response times in all aspects of
business
Watchwords for Organizations
in These Changing Times