Chapter One:

Introduction
to the Field of
Organizational Behavior

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 AB InBev
By applying high performance work practices and other
organizational behavior strategies, AB InBev has
become one of the worlds most successful companies.

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 Organizational Behavior and Organizations
Organizational behavior
(OB)
Studies what people think,
feel, and do in and around
organizations
Organizations
Groups of people who work
interdependently toward
some purpose
Collective entities
Collective sense of purpose

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 Importance of OB
Vital to an organizations
survival and success
Important for people in all
jobs
Comprehend and predict
workplace events
Adopt more accurate
personal theories
Influence organizational
events

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 Technological Change
Long history as a disruptive force in organizations
Effects of technological change
Higher productivity, but displaces employees and occupations
Alters work relationships and behavior patterns
Improves health and wellbeing
Effects of information technology
Gives employees a greater voice vis--vis executives
Worsens worknonwork overlap, attention span, techno-stress

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 Globalization
Economic, social, and cultural connectivity with people
in other parts of the world
Due to better information technology and
transportation systems
Effects of globalization on organizations
Expands markets, lower costs, increases knowledge
Affects teamwork, diversity, cultural values, leadership
Increases competitive pressures and work intensification

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 Emerging Employment Relationships
Due to technology, globalization, etc.
Longer hours, less work-nonwork separation
Worklife balance: degree of conflict between work
and nonwork demands
Remote work
Working at client sites (e.g. repair technicians)
Telecommuting (teleworking) working from home

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 Telecommuting Benefits and Problems
Telecommuting benefits
Better worklife balance
Valued as a work benefit
Higher productivity
Better for the environment
Lower real estate costs for company
Telecommuting disadvantages
Less connection with coworkers, more social isolation
Less informal communication to help an individuals career
Lower team cohesion, weaker organizational culture
Several employee, job, and company contingencies

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 Increasing Workforce Diversity
Surface-level versus deep-level diversity
Consequences of diversity
Better team creativity and decisions, but slower team
development
Easier to recognize and address community needs
Higher risk of dysfunctional conflict
Diversity is a moral and legal imperative

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 Organizational Behavior Anchors (1 of 2)
Systematic research anchor
OB knowledge is built on systematic research
Evidence-based management
- Not many use

Multidisciplinary anchor
Many OB concepts adopted from other disciplines
OB develops its own theories, but scans other fields

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 Organizational Behavior Anchors (2 of 2)
Contingency anchor
A particular action may have different consequences in
different situations
Need to diagnose the situation to choose best action
Multiple levels of analysis anchor
Individual, team, organizational level of analysis
OB topics usually relevant at all three levels of analysis

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 Organizational Effectiveness
The ultimate dependent variable in OB
Goal attainment: discredited view of effectiveness
Organizational effectivenesscomposite of four
perspectives
Open systems
Organizational learning
High-performance work practices (HPWP)
Stakeholder

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 Open Systems Perspective (1 of 2)
Organizations are complex systems that live within
and depend on the external environment
Effective organizations:
Maintain a close fit with changing conditions
Transform inputs to outputs efficiently and flexibly
Foundation for the other three organizational
effectiveness perspectives

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 Open Systems Perspective (2 of 2)

Jump to Appendix 1 description

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 Organizational Learning Perspective
An organizations capacity to acquire, share, use, and
store valuable knowledge
Consider both the stock and flow of knowledge
Stock: intellectual capital
Flow: acquisition, sharing, use, and storage processes

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 Intellectual Capital

Human Capital Knowledge that people

possess and generate

Structural Capital Knowledge captured in

systems and structures

Relationship Capital Value derived from

satisfied customers,
reliable suppliers, etc.

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 Organizational Learning Processes

Storing Knowledge Acquiring Knowledge

Human memory Learning (external)
Documentation Environmental scanning
Knowledge transfer Hiring and grafting
Practices and habits Experimenting

Using Knowledge Sharing Knowledge

Sense making (locating knowledge) Communicating
Requisite skills Learning (internal)
Autonomy to apply knowledge Info systems
Learning orientation culture

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 High-Performance Work Practices
Workplace practices that enhance human capital
Most cited HPWPs (best when bundled together)
1. Employee involvement
2. Job autonomy
3. Competence development (hire, training)
4. Performance- and skill-based rewards

How HPWPs improve effectiveness

Develop employee skills and knowledge
Adapting better to rapidly changing environments
Better motivation and attitudes toward the employer

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 Corporate Social Responsibility at MTN
At MTN Group, Africas largest mobile (cell) phone company,
employees help the local community and the environment
through the companys award-winning 21 Days of Yello Care
program. This photo shows MTN employees installing solar
panels at a rural school in Rwanda.

McGraw-Hill Education. MTN Group

 Stakeholder Perspective
Understand, manage, satisfy
stakeholder needs
Challenges:
Conflicting interests
Firms limited resources

Stakeholders: entities who

affect or are affected by the
firms objectives and actions

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 Stakeholders: Values and Ethics
Personal values influence how corporate boards and
CEOs allocate organizational resources
Values
Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide preferences for outcomes
or courses of action in various situations
Ethics
Moral principles or values, determine whether actions are
right or wrong and whether outcomes are good or bad

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 Stakeholders and CSR
Stakeholder perspective includes corporate social
responsibility (CSR)
Benefit society and environment beyond the firms immediate
financial interests or legal obligations
Organizations implicit contract with society
Triple bottom line
Economy, society, environment

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 Integrative Model of OB

Jump to Appendix 2 for description

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