Chapter 1

What Is
Organizational
Behaviour?

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Agenda
• Defining Organizational Behaviour
• Today’s Challenges in the Workplace
• OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in
Organizations
• Levels of Organizational Behaviour

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 What Is Organizational
Behaviour?
Questions for Consideration
• What is organizational behaviour?
• What challenges do managers and
employees face in the workplace of the
21st century?
• How will knowledge of organizational
behaviour make a difference for you?

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Organizational Behaviour
• . . . 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
organization’s effectiveness.

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Why Do We Study OB?
• To learn about yourself and how to deal with
others
• You are part of an organization now, and will
continue to be a part of various organizations
• Organizations are increasingly expecting
individuals to be able to work in teams, at least
some of the time
• Some of you may want to be managers or
entrepreneurs

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 What Is an Organization?
• A consciously coordinated social unit,
composed of a group of people, which
functions on a relatively continuous basis
to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Characteristics Of
Organisation
• Communication
• Cooperative efforts
• Common objectives
• Rules and regulations
According to Barnard these are the four major
characteristics of organisation.

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Features Of Organisation

• Identifiable Aggregation Of Human Being

• Deliberate And Conscious Creation
• Purposive Creation
• Coordination Of Activities
• Structure
• Rationality

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Organisation as system
The boundry of syseam classified in to two
parts
• Closed system
• open system

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Exhibit 1-1 Challenges
Facing the Workplace
Organizational Level
• Productivity
• Developing Effective Employees
• Global Competition
• Managing in the Global Village

Group Level
• Working With Others
• Workforce Diversity Workplace

Individual Level
• Job Satisfaction
• Empowerment
• Behaving Ethically

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Today’s Challenges in the
today’s Workplace
• Challenges at the Individual Level
– Job Satisfaction
– Empowerment
– Behaving Ethically
• Challenges at the Group Level
– Working With Others
– Workforce Diversity

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Today’s Challenges in the
today’s Workplace
• Challenges at the Organizational Level
– Productivity
– Developing Effective Employees
• Absenteeism
• Turnover
• Organizational Citizenship
– Competition From the Global Environment
– Managing and Working in a Global Village

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Productivity
• Productivity
– A performance measure including
effectiveness and efficiency
• Effectiveness
– Achievement of goals
• Efficiency
– The ratio of effective work output to the
input required to produce the work

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Effective Employees
• Absenteeism
– Failure to report to work
• Turnover
– Voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal
from the organization
• Organizational citizenship behaviour
– Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but is helpful to
the organization

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Contributing Disciplines to
the OB Field
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Social Psychology
• Anthropology
• Political Science

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Exhibit 1-2
Toward an OB Discipline
Behavioural Contribution Unit of Output
science analysis
Learning
Motivation
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Psychology Individual decision making
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress
Individual

Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Sociology
Formal organization theory Study of
Organizational technology Group Organizational
Organizational change Behaviour
Organizational culture

Behavioural change
Attitude change
Social psychology Communication
Group processes
Group decision making
Organization
Comparative values system
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis
Anthropology
Organizational culture
Organizational environment

Conflict
Political science Intraorganizational politics
Power

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 The Rigour of OB
• OB looks at consistencies
– What is common about behaviour, and helps
predictability?
• OB is more than common sense
– Systematic study, based on scientific evidence
• OB has few absolutes
• OB takes a contingency approach
– Considers behaviour in context

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 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 & unwritten)
in almost every setting

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Exhibit 1-3
Basic OB Model, Stage I

Organization systems level

Group level

Individual level

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Exhibit 1-4
Basic OB Model, Stage II
Human resource
policies and
practices

Organization Work design

Organizational
structure and
culture
and design technology

Organization
Systems Level

Change and Group

Leadership
stress decision making

Group Work
Communication Productivity
structure teams

Absence

Turnover
Other Power and
Conflict Human
groups politics
Group Level output
Satisfaction

Organizational
commitment

Biographical
characteristics
Workplace
interaction

Personality Perception

Motivation Individual
Values and
attitudes decision making

Human Individual
Ability Differences
input
Individual Level
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Summary and Implications
• OB is a field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups, and structure
have on behaviour within an organization.
• OB focuses on improving productivity, reducing
absenteeism and turnover, and increasing
employee job satisfaction and organizational
commitment.
• OB uses systematic study to improve
predictions of behaviour.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Exhibit 1-5
Competing Values
Framework
Flexibility
Internal Focus

External Focus
Control
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Competing Values
Framework
• Internal-External Dimension
– Inwardly toward employee needs and concerns and/or production
processes and internal systems
or
– Outwardly, toward such factors as the marketplace, government
regulations, and the changing social, environmental, and technological
conditions of the future
• Flexibility-Control Dimension
– Flexible and dynamic, allowing more teamwork and participation;
seeking new opportunities for products and services
or
– Controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less
change

Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.