Chapter 1

Introducing Organizational Behavior

People Make the Difference

Chapter Study Questions

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?

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What is organizational behavior and why is it important?

Organizational behavior
Study of human behavior in organizations. A multidisciplinary field devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics.

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What is organizational behavior and why is it important?

Scientific methods models
simplified views of reality that attempt to identify major factors and forces underlying real-world phenomenon

Link independent variables with dependent variables

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Figure 1.1

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What is organizational behavior and why is it important?

Scientific thinking is important to OB because:
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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What is organizational behavior and why is it important?

Contingency approach
researchers identify how different situations can be best understood and handled

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What is organizational behavior and why is it important?

Modern workplace trends
Commitment to ethical behavior Importance of human capital Demise of command and control Emphasis on teamwork Pervasive influence of information technology Respect for new workforce expectations Changing definition of jobs and career
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Organizations as Work Settings

Organization
a collection of people working together in a division of labor to achieve a common purpose.

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Organizations as Work Settings

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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Organizations as Work Settings

Strategy
comprehensive plan that guides organizations to operate in ways that allow them to outperform their competitors.

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Figure 1.2

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Organizations as Work Settings

Stakeholders
People, groups, and institutions having an interest in an organizations performance Interests of multiple stakeholders sometimes conflict

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Organizations as Work Settings

Organizational culture
the shared beliefs and values that influence the behavior of organizational members.

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Figure 1.3

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Organizations as Work Settings

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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Organizations as Work Settings

Workforce diversity
describes the presence of individual differences based on gender, race and ethnicity, age, ablebodiedness, and sexual orientation

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Organizations as Work Settings

Multiculturalism
refers to pluralism and to respect for diversity and individual differences

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What is the nature of managerial work?

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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What is the nature of managerial work?

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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What is the nature of managerial work?

The management process.
Planning Organizing Leading Controlling

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Figure 1.4

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What is the nature of managerial work?

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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Figure 1.5

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What is the nature of managerial work?

Managerial skills and competencies Skill
an ability to translate knowledge into action that results in a desired performance.

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What is the nature of managerial work?

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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What is the nature of managerial work?

Emotional intelligence
ability to understand and deal with emotions

Self-awareness Self-regulation Motivation Empathy Social skill

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What is the nature of managerial work?

Moral Management Immoral manager Amoral manager Moral manager
Ethics mindfulness

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Figure 1.6

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How do we learn about organizational behavior? Learning

an enduring change in behavior that results from experience.

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How do we learn about organizational behavior?

Life-long learning
learning continuously from day-to-day work experiences, advice from 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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Figure 1.7

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