Organisational Behaviour

Welcome to Introductory lecture on OB

Lecture plan
Structure

of the course Historical overview Current trends and contextual relevance (for OB) Organizational Behaviour Subject, Scope and Competencies

Structure of the course

18-Week

long Office hours: Monday 3:30-4:30 in my office room Assessment:

Class Tests Coursework Assignments

attendance/Participation

Any question?

SOME RECOMMENDED SOURCES

Organization Studies Organizational Science Organization Behaviour Human Relations Harvard Business Review Introduction to Organizational behaviour Research in Organizational Behavior Financial times, Economic Times, Economist, McKinsey Quarterly,

Historical overview
The notion of an organisation as an imperative, absolute entity, is the direct outcome of historical transformations occurred in Europe and North America from the end of the 18th century onwards:

Before the 19th Century:

Experience of Artisan work (e.g. Ironsmith)

Technical skills, personal competence and craft pride constitutive of the working process.

Industrial revolution in the 19th Century

Close relationship between the subject of work and his/her activity was lost

Historical overview
Early 20th Century: Classical approach Advent of scientific management (F.W. Taylor) Aim: controlling labour through science Far-reaching process of establishing control and surveillance: to discipline the mind and body of the productive subject was the central concern. Deconstruction of the task from within Rigid control over time and body movements Conception and execution as separate domains in hierarchical relationships Technology for social control

Historical overview
Hawthorne Studies and the Human Relations Movement (Elton Mayo, 1923-1933)

Hawthorne studies: environment and productivity? Results: organizations are social systems, not just technical economical systems Groups, teamwork, different job roles, human relations are of great significance in organizations We are motivated by many needs Leadership should be modified to include concepts of human relations Note: University of Chicago economists John List & Steven Levitt, 2009 A new discipline of human behaviour and, by extension, Organisational behaviour. (1960s)

Exploring OB: Definitions

the study of human behaviour in organizational contexts with a focus on individual and group processes and actions An entitative approach [to organisations] fails to represent what it means to be human, misrepresents the qualities of the relational processes and, more generally, grossly distorts the relationships between person and organisation (Hoskings and
Morley 1991:IX)

A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations effectiveness

The relationship between a person and a context involves accommodation (changing oneself) and assimilation (changing the context) people are both products of their contexts and participants in the shaping of those contexts.
(Hoskings and Morley, 1991:5)

OB vis--vis OT, OD and HRM

THEORETICAL OT (Organization Theory) OB (Organizational Behavior)

APPLIED

OD (Organization Development)

HRM (Human Resource Management)

MACRO

MICRO

OB vis--vis OT, OD and HRM

Understand organizational events

OB tends to be more theoretically oriented and at the micro level of analysis. Specifically, OB draws from many theoretical frameworks of the behavioral sciences that are focused on understanding and explaining individual and group behavior in organizations. As with other sciences, OB accumulates knowledge and test theories by accepted scientific methods of research.

Organizational Behaviour Research

Influence organizational events

In summary, organizational behavior can be defined as Predict the understanding, organizational prediction, and events management of human behavior in organizations.

Trends and Relevance of OB

Globalization Workforce Diversity Employment Relationship Information Technology
New org. structures || Different forms of communication || Increasing competition, change, mergers, downsizing, stress || Need to be more sensitive to cultural differences Primary and secondary diversity || More women in workforce and professions || Different needs of Generation-X and babyboomers || Diversity has advantages, but firms need to adjust Employability || Contingent work Telecommuting || Virtual teams

Affects how employees interact: Virtual teams || Telecommuting organizations are configured: Network structures firms relate to customers: Communication issues Potentially more effective than employees working alone Concern is when to assign tasks to teams rather than to individuals

Multiple Teams

Business Ethics

The study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad What is unethical is not always obvious

Organizational Behavior Anchors

OB Should import knowledge from many disciplines
OB should view organizations as open systems to interact with their environment

Multidisciplinary anchor

OB should study organizations using systematic research methods

Open systems anchor

Organizational Behaviour Anchors

Systematic research anchor

Multiple levels of analysis anchor

OB knowledge should include three levels of analysis: Individual, team and organization

Contingency anchor
OB theory should recognize that the effects of actions often vary with the situation

Multi-disciplinary anchor
Discipline (Traditional)
Psychology Sociology Anthropology Political Science Economics Industrial Engg

Relevant OB topics
Drives, perception, attitudes, personality, job stress, emotions, leadership Team dynamics, roles, socialization, communication patterns, organizational power, organizational structure Corporate culture, org. rituals, cross-cultural dynamics, org. adaptation Inter-group conflict, coalition formation, organizational power and politics, decision making, organizational environments Decision making, negotiation, organizational power Job design, productivity, work measurement

(Emerging)
Communications Info. systems Marketing Women studies
Knowledge management, electronic mail, corporate culture, employee socialization Team dynamics, decision making, knowledge management Knowledge management, creativity and decision making Organizational power, perceptions

Open System Anchor of OB

Feedback Feedback

Subsystem

Subsystem

Inputs

Organization
Subsystem

Outputs

Subsystem

Open System Anchor, a modern approach

Earlier illustration meant the following: The organization seen as an open sociotechnical system. The existence of subsystems which interact with one another. Management is a distinct subsystem which is responsible for direction and coordination of all other subsystems.

To explore in the course

Simple assignment:
BY INTRODUCING DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS, WE HOPE: Go through the introductory chapter on Organizational Behavior Submit articles (make sure to mention the source and full reference) or Write an own note on Organizational behavior phenomenon as understood / observed by you.

TO STIMULATE YOUR SEARCH FOR NEW KNOWLEDGE, CREATIVITY AND SKILLS AS ORGANISATIONAL PRACTITIONERS

Please ensure to make references or comments to their fitment to the established OB body of knowledge

Glossary
Virtual teams:

Cross functional teams that operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries with members who communicate mainly through information technologies Values: Stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important in a variety of situations, that guide our decisions and actions Telecommuting: Working from home, usually with a computer connection to the office; also called tele-working Stakeholders: Shareholders, customers, suppliers, governments, and any other groups with a vested interest in the organization Scientific method: A set of principles and procedures that help researchers to systematically understand previously unexplained events and conditions Organizations: Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose Organizational memory: The storage and preservation of intellectual capital Organizational learning: The knowledge management process in which organizations acquire, share and use knowledge to succeed Organizational culture: The basic pattern of shared assumptions, values and beliefs governing the way employees within an organization think about and act on problems and opportunities Open systems: Organizations that take their sustenance from the environment and, in turn, affect that environment through their output Knowledge Management: Any structured activity that improves an organizations capacity to acquire, share and use knowledge in ways that improve its survival and success Intellectual capital: The sum of organizations human capital, structural capital and relationship capital Grounded theory: A process of developing theory through the constant interplay between data gathering and the development of theoretical concepts Grafting: The process of acquiring knowledge by hiring individuals or buying entire companies Globalization: Economic, social and cultural connectivity (and inter dependence) with people in other parts of the world Ethics: The study of moral principles or values that determine whether the actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad Employability: An employment relationship in which people perform a variety of work activities rather than hold specific jobs, and are expected to continuously learn skills that will keep them employed Corporate Social Responsibility: CSR is an organizations obligation toward its stakeholders Contingent work: Any job which the individual does not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment, or one in which the minimum hours of work can vary in a nonsystematic way. Contingency approach: The idea that a particular action may have different consequences in different situations Communities of Practice: Informal groups bound together by shared expertise and passion for a particular activity or interest