Foundations of Organizational Behavior What Is Organizational Behavior? . . a field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups, and structure on behavior within organizations the purpose of applying such knowledge is to improve an organization’s effectiveness The Basic OB Model Definition of Organizational Behavior Robbins: Organizational behavior studies the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization's effectiveness There are Few Absolutes in OB Major differences between OB and physical sciences: o o o o Lack of universal principles Limited ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations Predictions about human behavior are at best probabilistic, not absolute OB concepts must reflect situational, contextual conditions Assumptions underlying Organizational Behavior Individual differences Whole person Caused behavior Human dignity Organizations are social systems Mutuality of interest Holistic concept Significance of Human Relations and Organizational Behavior Contribution to ‘People-Skills’ Building Understanding people These fields provide an understanding of why people behave as they do in organizations Building ‘People-Skills’ Understanding people: A worker is viewed as a human being exposed to varied stresses, having fears expectations frustrations impulses All these exert a great influence on his performance Attempts are being made to motivate a worker to not only do his work but also improve his performance in correlation to his potential Getting people to work effectively Greater emphasis is being laid on management development programs It is in these areas that the fields of OB and HR have assumed utmost significance Davis illustrates the significance of OB with the following equation: Ability * Motivation = Human Performance Contribution to Organizational Performance Here Ability is the product of knowledge and skill While Motivation stems from an individual’s attitudes in a given situation Contribution to Organizational Performance OB is represented by motivation and as it motivates workers to acquire ability, it is the most significant part of the whole equation of human performance Emerging Trends and Future Prospects ‘Megatrends’ in OB and HR Luthans identifies six specific trends Declining productivity Revolution in middle management Computerized offices and factories Equal opportunities for minorities and women Union-management cooperation Innovative plans for special career needs Emerging Trends and Future Prospects OB and HR have reached the status of identifiable fields of study and applications respectively, with explicit implications for human resource management in complex organizations There is a movement in this field (e.g. perception, personality,…) to those more specifically identified with OB & HR (e.g job conflict and stress, organizational development,……..) The trend is to make HR more application oriented Shifting Paradigms of Organizational Behavior Demise of “command-and-control” Increasing competitiveness Traditional hierarchical structures are proving unwieldy, slow, and costly for survival Emergence of new workforce expectations A new generation of workers is bringing with it Less tolerance for hierarchy More informality Concerns for performance merit rather than status Increasing impact of Information Technology Organizations are now burgeoning with computers, and the consequent implications for information utilization are far reaching and substantial Belief in empowerment A dynamic and complex environment places a premium on knowledge, experience and commitment which thrive in high-involvement and participatory work-settings Organizations today are less vertical and more horizontal in focus Driven by complex environments and customer demands Work is increasingly team based Focus is on peer contributions Concern for work-life balance As society increases in complexity, organizations are paying more attention to how members balance the sometimes conflicting demands and priorities of work and personal affairs Competing Values Framework Internal-External Dimension inwardly towards employee needs and concerns and / or production processes and internal systems outwardly, towards the marketplace, government regulations, the changing social, environmental, and technological conditions of the future Flexibility-Control Dimension flexible and dynamic, allowing more teamwork and participation; seeking new opportunities for products and services controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less change Skills in the New Workplace Managerial Roles for External Focus Innovator Living with change Creative thinking Managing change Building, maintaining a power base Negotiating agreements, commitments Negotiating and selling ideas Control Personal productivity and motivation Motivating others Time and stress management Taking initiative Goal setting Delegating effectively Understanding yourself and others Interpersonal communication Broker Producer Director Mentor Developing subordinates Team building Participative decision-making Conflict management Control Receiving and organizing information Evaluating routine information Responding to routine information Facilitator Monitor Coordinator Planning Organizing Controlling Research Foundations for Organizational Behavior Lippitt and White Leadership Studies involved directing groups of schoolchildren in the production of arts and crafts in four different clubs They had three types of leader assigned to them Authoritarian - this leader was to remain aloof and to use orders without consultation in directing the group activities Democratic - this leader was to offer guidance, encourage the children and to participate in the group Laissez-faire - this leader gave the children knowledge, but did not become involved and generally participated little in the group's activities The aggressive children were rebellious and constantly demanded attention from the leader, as well as tending to blame other members of the group whenever anything went wrong The apathetic children placed fewer demands on the leader and were less critical of him Democratic - morale was high, relationships between the group members as well as with the group leader were friendly Laissez-faire - these were the worst group of all Their group satisfaction was the lowest They co-operated little and placed great demands on the leader Showed little ability to work independently Conclusions The studies demonstrated that different types of leadership can give rise to numerous complex reactions from the same or similar groups Lester Coch and John R.P. French conducted their study in the late 1940s at the Marion, Virginia plant which produced pyjamas and employed 500 women and 100 men The Study Coch and French divided a number of workers whose jobs were about to be changed, into three groups Group I were simply told by management that the change would be made Group II were told why the changes were necessary and what would be involved and were also invited to choose representatives who would help to devise the retraining program Group III were told why the changes were necessary and what was involved, but, in this case, the whole group was invited to help design and plan the new jobs and the retraining Groups II and III improved their production (Gro up III doing slightly better than Group II), whereas in Group I production declined Communication between the ranks is vital, explaining to those affected why a particular course of action is to be followed; Participation in decision making is very important, the lower ranks sharing in the decision-making process, especially where they are to be directly affected Involved three phases: Experimental reorganization of automatic weaving Experimental reorganization of non-automatic weaving and Experimental reorganization of management It demonstrated empirically how people can be integrated with technology to accomplish effective performance Theory X and Theory Y (Douglas Mc Gregor) Theory X relates to assumptions upon which traditional organizations are based and which are inadequate for the optimal realization of human potential Theory Y deals with assumptions which are consistent with recent research findings leading to higher motivation and greater actualization of both individual as well as organizational goals Assumptions of Theory X Most people have Little capacity for creativity in solving organizational problems Motivation occurs only at the physiological and safety levels They must be closely controlled and often coerced to achieve organizational objectives Assumptions of Theory Y Work is as natural as play, if the conditions are favourable Self-control is often indispensable in achieving organizational goals The capacity for creativity in solving organizational problems is widely distributed in the population Motivation occurs at the social, esteem and self-actualization levels, as well as physiological and security levels People can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated Research Foundations for Organizational Behavior Milgram’s Obedience to Authority Study Milgram conducted a series of experimental studies in the Yale Psychological Laboratory on nearly 1000 adults. He analysed the immediate situational impact on their personality Implications The findings suggest that situations can play a very powerful role in an individual’s personality Indeed, the situational determinants are as relevant as case histories in determining human behavior Milgram indicates that the situation exercises crucial pressure on the individual in the form of constraints and pushes There may be circumstances in which the situation rather than the personality determines the actions of a person This leads us to the person-situation interface in the dynamics of human behavior at work Dwivedi’s Management by Trust Dwivedi evolved a new trust-based behavioral approach to management based on his action-research in two organizations in India A ‘dynamic system, based on definable, measurable and developable units of trusting behavior, involving attainment of effective performance through optimization of organizational structures and processes, assimilation of conflicts and integration of goals’ Dwivedi’s Management by Trust Management by trust involves six interrelated, interdependent and interacting factors