CHAPTER 1

What Is Organizational Behaviour?

Chapter 1 Outline
Defining Organizational Behaviour
Todays Challenges in the Workplace
OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations
Levels of Organizational Behaviour
What Is Organizational Behavior?

Questions for Consideration

What is organizational behavior?
What challenges do managers and employees face
in the workplace of the 21st century?
How will knowledge of organizational behavior make
a difference for you?
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 organizations
effectiveness.
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
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.
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
Todays Challenges in the Workplace
Challenges at the Individual Level
Job Satisfaction
Empowerment
Behaving Ethically
Challenges at the Group Level
Working With Others
Workforce Diversity
Todays Challenges in the 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
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
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
employees formal job requirements, but is helpful to the
organization
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
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
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
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
Exhibit 1-3
Basic OB Model, Stage I

Organization systems level

Group level

Individual level
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
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.
Exhibit 1-5
Competing Values Framework

Flexibility
Internal Focus

External Focus
Control
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