People
Make the Difference
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
What is organizational behavior and why is it
important?
What are organizations like as work settings?
What is the nature of managerial work?
How do we learn about organizational
behavior?
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Organizational behavior
› Study of human behavior in organizations.
› An interdisciplinary field devoted to
understanding individual and group
behavior, interpersonal processes, and
organizational dynamics.
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Scientific methods models
› Simplified views of reality that attempt to
identify major factors and forces underlying
real-world phenomenon.
› Link presumed causes of events
(independent variables) with outcomes
(dependent variables).
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A.
Field Studies
B.
Meta Analyses
C.
Case Studies
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Meta analyses use statistical pooling from
many studies. This aggregating
technique allows OB researchers to
generalize and apply the conclusions to
many OB situations.
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Scientific thinking is important to OB:
› The process of data collection is controlled
and systematic.
› Proposed explanations are carefully tested.
› Only explanations that can be scientifically
verified are accepted.
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Contingency thinking
› Managers must understand the demands of
different situations and develop responses that
best fit the circumstances and people involved.
› OB scientific models gather evidence of how
different situations can best be understood and
handled.
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Modern workplace trends
› Commitment to ethical behavior.
› Importance of human capital.
› Formal authority (command and control) replaced by
group decisions and consensus.
› Emphasis on teamwork.
› Pervasive influence of information technology.
› Respect for new workforce expectations.
› Changing concept of careers.
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Organization
› A collection of people working together in a
division of labor to achieve a common
purpose.
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The core purpose of an organization is the
creation of goods and services.
Mission statements focus attention on the
core purpose.
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“Our Reason for Being:
To serve our customers' health needs with imaginative
science from plants and minerals;
To inspire all those we serve with a mission of
responsibility and goodness;
To empower others by sharing our knowledge, time,
talents, and profits; and
To help create a better world by exchanging our
faith, experience, and hope.”
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Strategy
› Comprehensive plan that guides
organizations to operate in ways that allow
them to outperform their competitors.
› See Tom’s of Maine strategy that supports
their mission.
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Stakeholders
› People, groups, and institutions having an
interest in an organization’s performance.
› Interests of multiple stakeholders sometimes
conflict.
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Organizational culture
› The shared beliefs and values that influence
the behavior of organizational members.
› Reflects the internal personality of the
organization.
› ‘How we do things around here’
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Constructive culture
› Members are encouraged to work together in ways that
meet higher order human needs.
Passive/defensive culture
› Members tend to act defensively in their working
relationships.
Aggressive/defensive culture
› Members tend to act forcefully in their working
relationships to protect their status and positions.
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Describe an organization you have worked
for, or been a member of.
How was the culture constructive?
Defensive? Aggressive? Explain.
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Workforce diversity
› Individual differences of organizational
members, based on gender, race and
ethnicity, age, able-bodiedness, and sexual
orientation.
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Multiculturalism
› Refers to inclusiveness, pluralism and genuine
respect for diversity and individual
differences.
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Your professor states: “One of your assignments
this term is a team project. Please select and
sign up for a team project.” Do you . . .
a)
Signal your friends in the classroom, and
agree to sign up together for the same team.
b)
Wait for everyone to sign up, and then
decide.
c)
Just pick a team randomly.
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Manager
› Someone whose job it is to directly support
the work efforts of others.
Effective manager
› One whose team consistently achieves its
goals while members remain capable,
committed, and enthusiastic.
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Task performance
› Quality and quantity of the work produced
by the work unit as a whole.
Job satisfaction
› How people feel about their work and the
work setting.
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The management process.
› Planning
› Organizing
› Leading
› Controlling
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The nature of managerial work.
› Managers work long hours.
› Managers are busy people.
› Managers are often interrupted.
› Managerial work is fragmented and variable.
› Managers work mostly with other people.
› Managers spend a lot of time communicating.
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Managerial skills and competencies
Skill
› An ability to translate knowledge into action
that results in a desired performance.
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Technical skill
› Ability to perform specialized tasks.
Human skill
› Ability to work well with other people.
Conceptual skill
› Capacity to analyze and solve complex and
interrelated problems.
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Emotional intelligence
› Ability to understand and deal with emotions.
 Self-awareness
 Self-regulation
 Motivation
 Empathy
 Social skill
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Moral Management – includes ethics in
decision-making.
› Immoral manager
› Amoral manager
› Moral manager
 Practices ethics mindfulness.
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Learning
› An enduring change in behavior that results
from experience.
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Life-long learning
› Continuous learning from everyday work
experiences, colleagues, mentors, and training
seminars and workshops.
Organizational learning
› Process of acquiring knowledge and utilizing
information to adapt successfully to changing
circumstances.
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