Organisational Behaviour

Lecture 1

Related to individuals and group of people

working in teams

OB is concerned with the study of what

people do in an organisation and how that
behaviour affects the performance of the
organisation:

- Individual Behaviour
- Individual and group behaviour
- Organisational structure

Primary roles, functions and activities of different management

levels in an organisation

- Definition of an organisation
- Structure of an organisation
- Four key Management Functions
- Management roles
- Management activities
- Comparison of the roles, functions and
activities within the different levels in the
organisation

Definition and structure of an

organisation?

According to Lawler & Hackman, 1975:

- Composed of individuals and groups

- Exist in order to achieve certain goals
- Require control and co-ordination
- Some degree of permanence/existence

Structure
- Organisations are set up to meet values, mission and goals of
organisations
- All organisations have rules and regulations
- No right or wrong structure depends on what one would favour
- The traditional structure accepted in an organisation is the structure
where authority pass through Top to Bottom level of the organisation

Traditional Structure
Top
Management

Flow of
levels in the
organisations

Middle
Management
First-Line Management

This figure / structure is commonly referred as the Line and Staff

Relationship Diagram
Line Relationship Describes a situation where someone has a direct authority
over and responsible for the work of subordinates
- It flows from one level of hierarchy to the next level
- Also, called as the Scalar chain whereby power is shown
Staff Relationship Describes a situation where advice may be provided or/and
authority is exercised
- Concerned essentially with achieving organisational goals

Four Key Management Functions

PLANNING

ORGANISING

DIRECTING

CONTROLLING

Determines what
needs to be done
for the organisation
in the long-term
Systematic thought
that precedes
action
It involves the
following:

Concerned with
allocation of
resources for both
staff and others
(finance, time,
materials and so
on..)

Ensuring that
employees are
appropriately
engaged in working
on activities to
meet goals and
plans
Involves motivating
and supervising staff
for effective
performance

Process of
monitoring and
regulating
performance to
ensure it conforms
to plans and goals
of organisation

- Forecasting
- Goal setting
- Decision-making

Management Roles

Mintzberg identified 3 main roles:

- Interpersonal dealing with maintenance of
relationships within and outside the organisation
- Informational dealing with gathering and provision of
information
- Decisional dealing with organisational and operational
problems and difficulties

Management Activities
Determining objectives
Defining problems that need to be solved to
achieve the objectives
Searching for solutions to problems specified
Determining the best solution to the
problem
Securing an agreement on implementation
Preparation and issue of instructions
Execution of agreed solutions
Devising and discharging an audit process

Differences in the main responsibilities

of the 3 management levels
TOP

MIDDLE

FIRST-LINE

Responsible for entire

organisation or significant
large parts of it is located
Also responsible for
middle tier of
management
Also called as the
institutional or
corporate level
Concerned with the
whole organisation, its
goals and relationship with
the environment

Also called as the meat

in the sandwich
between senior and firstline management
Responsible for the work
of managers at a lower
level
Some analyses describes
this level as the
organisational level due
to its concern with the
organisation and
integration of work
processes across a
broader range

Commonly known as the

supervision / supervisor
level
Takes place at the lowest
level in the hierarchy
Directly responsible for
the operation of discrete
tasks and non-managerial
personnel
Often called as the
technical Level
Concerned primarily with
undertaking actual work
processes

Differences in the Functions

PLANNING

ORGANISING

CONTROLLING

SENIOR

MIDDLE

FIRST-LINE

PLANNING

ORGANISING AND
DIRECTING

CONTROLLING

Overall decisions on goals

and plans for the whole
organisation is made by the
Senior Management
Senior management works
closely with the middle
management in developing
the operational plans for the
achievement of the goals
planned by the Senior
At lower level, less
emphasis is put onto the
decision-making they are
only instructed

Allocation of resources is
controlled by the highest
level which is the Top
management
Middle management carries
out the detailed
responsibility for planning
and organising of work on
broad level
First line management have
a limited scope for
organising in respect of
resource allocation and
operational arrangements
Much more involved in
directing more responsibility
on this level
Front line or first line they
are involved in organising
and getting the work done

This constant is found in all

3 levels
Each level of management
need to monitor and review
progress towards goals in
relation to their
responsibilities

Differences in the Roles

INTERPERSONAL

INFORMATIONAL

DECISIONAL

Role of the figurehead

tends to be more
important at senior
levels
Greater positional
power and weight often
necessary for duties to
be carried out properly
Leader role is central
to supervisors reflecting
their greater
involvement in ensuring
smooth operation of
staff relationship

Spokesperson roles is
more dominant in higher
levels same reason as
figurehead

Important to note that

entrepreneur/supervisor
role is as important
throughout the
hierarchy in terms of
disturbance handler
Middle/Senior
management mainly
deals with the resource
allocator

Differences in the Activities

Highlights the inter-relationships between

activities carried out in different part of the
structure
SENIOR
Concerned with
determination of
objectives & deciding
upon appropriate
courses of action at
highest level

MIDDLE
Securing agreement at
highest level to ensure
the acceptability of
proposed plans

SUPERVISOR
Issuing of instructions &
development of schemes
of work to be executed
Specifying problems and
solutions to work on

Overall importance of management

in an organisation
In order for an organisation is successful in
achieving its goals. Co-operation at all levels
is important
Senior management is dependant on 1st line
management and vice versa