Chapter 1:

What is
Organizational Behaviour?

Organizational Behaviour
5th Canadian Edition
Langton / Robbins / Judge
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada
Chapter Outline
Defining Organizational Behaviour

Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations

What is Organizational Behaviour?
What is organizational behaviour?

What challenges do managers and employees face in todays workplace?

Isnt organizational behaviour common sense? Or is it just like psychology?

Organizational Behaviour
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour
within organizations; the aim is to apply such knowledge toward improving organizational effectiveness.
Why Do We Study OB?
To learn about yourself and others

To understand how the organizations you encounter work

To become familiar with team work

Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
derived from PPT text material utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P., Langton, Nancy

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS Fifth

Canadian Edition).

To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs
What Do We Mean By An Organization?
A consciously coordinated social unit:

composed of a group of people

functioning on a relatively continuous basis

to achieve a common goal or set of goals

The Importance of Interpersonal Skills
Recognition of the importance of developing interpersonal skills is closely tied to the need for
organizations to get and keep high- performing employees.

Creating a pleasant workplace makes good economic sense.

Companies with reputations as good places to work have been found to generate superior financial
performance.
Exhibit 1-1 Basic OB Model
Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace
Challenges at the Individual Level
Individual Differences
Job Satisfaction
Motivation
Empowerment
Behaving Ethically
Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace
Challenges at the Organizational Level

Improving Quality and Productivity

Developing Effective Employees
Putting People First
Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts
Creating a Positive Work Environment
Global Competition
Managing and Working in a Multicultural World
Improving Quality and Productivity
Productivity
Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
derived from PPT text material utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P., Langton, Nancy

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS Fifth

Canadian Edition).

A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency.

Effectiveness
The achievement of goals.

Efficiency
The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.
Developing Effective Employees
Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)

Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employees formal job requirements, but that nevertheless
promotes the effective functioning of the organization.
Putting People First
Putting people first generates a committed workforce, and positively affects the bottom line.

People will work harder when they feel they have more control and say in their work.
How to Put People First
Provide employment security.
Hire well.
Create self-managed teams.
Pay well.
Provide extensive training.
Reduce status differences.
Share information about organizational performance.
Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts
Employees are increasingly complaining that the lines between work and private life have blurred.
has led to more personal conflicts and stress.
Why?
Creation of global organizations; the world never sleeps
Communication technology; people bring work home
Organizations are asking employees to work longer hours
Organizations must help employees strike a balance or risk losing key employees and future candidates.
Creating a Positive Work Environment
Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
derived from PPT text material utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P., Langton, Nancy

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS Fifth

Canadian Edition).

Positive Organizational Scholarship

An area of OB research that focuses on how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality and
resilience, and unlock potential.
This approach challenges researchers and companies to look at OB through a new lens.
Focus is placed on how to exploit employee strengths rather than to dwell on their limitations.
Global Competition
In recent years, Canadian businesses have faced tough competition from the United States, Europe, Japan,
and even China, as well as from other companies within our borders.

To survive, they have had to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.
Managing and Working in a Multicultural World
Managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures:
Multinational corporations are developing operations worldwide.

Companies are developing joint ventures with foreign partners.

Workers are pursuing job opportunities across national borders.

The Building Blocks of OB
Psychology

Social Psychology

Sociology

Anthropology
Exhibit 1-2 Toward an OB Discipline
The Rigour of OB
OB Looks at Consistencies
What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?
OB Looks Beyond Common Sense
Systematic study, based on scientific evidence
Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
derived from PPT text material utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P., Langton, Nancy

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS Fifth

Canadian Edition).

Evidence-based management (EBM)

OB Has Few Absolutes
OB Takes a Contingency Approach
Considers behaviour in context
Exhibit 1-3 Research Methods in OB
OB Looks at Consistencies
What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?
Certainly there are differences among individuals.
Placed in similar situations, all people dont act exactly alike.

However, there are certain fundamental consistencies underlying the behaviour of all individuals.
OB Looks Beyond Common Sense
Systematic study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects and drawing conclusions based on
scientific evidence
Behaviour is generally predictable.
There are differences between individuals.
There are fundamental consistencies.
There are rules (written and unwritten) in almost every setting.
OB Has Few Absolutes
There are few simple and universal principles that explain organizational behaviour.

Human beings are very complex.

Humans are not alike, which limits the ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations.
OB Takes a Contingency Approach
Considers behaviour within the context in which it occurs .

Notes: Created by Richard Beeson for student use in completing course requirements. These notes are
derived from PPT text material utilized in the course (OT3010 - Robbins, Stephen P., Langton, Nancy

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:CONCEPTS, CONTROVERSIES, APPLICATIONS Fifth

Canadian Edition).