Overview of

Organizational Behavior
Formal Work Organisations
Formal work organisations have certain attributes in
common:
A purpose (reason for existing)
Division of labour- Tasks are to be performed, if
the reason for existing is to be realised
A hierarchy of authority (arrangement of work
positions in order of increasing authority).
Structure or framework clarifying responsibility
for what, and for whom
2
Organization as Open System
(e.g. Training ,manufacturing)
To the environment
(e.g.. products, wages, earned benefits)
From the environment( e.g.
Natural resources, skilled workforce)
Transformation
Output
Input
What are the various parameters on
which the success of a Business
Organization is measured?
Key Parameters on which success is
measured
Profit
Productivity
Employee Performance
Retention
Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
Organisational Behaviour
The study of people within an organisation.
OB investigates the behaviour of:
Individuals
Groups within an organisation
Relationships between individuals, groups
and the organisation.
OB studies how people behave, the reasons for
that behaviour and how the behaviour affects
the performance of the organisation.
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Organisational Behaviour
The knowledge of OB can then be used to:
Explain and predict behaviour that is likely to
occur in certain situations; and
Promotes behaviour that has been found by
researchers to work in the best interests of
both the people and the business enterprise.
Organisational behaviour is therefore both a
theoretical and a practical activity. The
understanding, prediction and management of
human behavior in organizations.
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Sociology
Political
Science
OB
Anthropology
Psychology
Related to other Disciplines
Evolution of Organisational Behaviour
Major movements have had a continuing effect on the
way we seek to understand behaviour in the work
place and the evolution of management practices.
Grew in the past 100 years out of the desire to
increase workers productivity and industrial
efficiency
Initially there was recognition of the behavioural side
to management but only in a minor way. The human
side got emphasized more and more with time
Scientific management
Behavioural sciences
Human relations
Systems view, and other theories.
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Pioneers in the Field of OB
The Classical Era 1900-1930s
Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management- Time and
Motion Studies (best way to perform jobs), Scientific
Management (Job Design and Job Selection)
Henri Fayol (1914): an engineer who headed the largest
coal-mining firm in Europe wrote what is largely
considered the first book about management (1917)
emphasized Division of Labor and Functions to get work
done more efficiently in a specialized manner
Elton W. Mayo (1924): Human Relations Moment social
conditions (employees treatment, relationship with
management) influence job performance
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Pioneers in the Field of OB
The Behavioural Era. 1930s
Elton Mayo and The Hawthorne Studies.
Maslows Hierarchy of needs.
Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y.
Behavioural Science Theorists.
David McClelland and Needs Achievement.
Frederic Herzberg and his Hygiene Factors.
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The Hawthorne Studies 1924 and 1932
Undertaken by Elton Mayo at Western Electric Companys Hawthorne Works in
Chicago.
Key aspects of work environment were changed (illumination, length of rest
pauses, duration of workday and week etc) to see effects on job performance
Results surprised the researchers productivity increased even with decreasing
illumination and rest-pauses etc importance of the complex human and social
variables
Factors responsible for these unexpected results: small/large group, type of
supervision, earnings, novelty of situation, interest in experiment, attention
received
Research Conclusions:
Worker behavior and sentiments were closely related.
Group influences (norms) were significant in affecting individual behavior.
Group standards (norms) were highly effective in establishing individual
worker output.
Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group
standards, sentiments, and security
The three levels of OB
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OB
Individual level
Group Level Organizational System
Productivity
Absence
Turnover
Satisfaction
The Individual Level in the OB Model
Biographical
Characteristics
Personality
Values and
Attitudes
Ability
Perception
Motivation
Learning
Individual
decision
making
Productivity
Absence
Turnover
Satisfaction
Group
decision making
Communication
Other
Groups
Leadership
Group
Conflict
Power and
Politics
Productivity
Absence
Turnover
Satisfaction
Inter-
group
relations
The Group Level in the OB Model
The Organizational System Level
Human resource
policies and
Practices
Organizational
Culture
Work
Stress
Organization
structure
and design
Productivity
Absence
Turnover
Satisfaction
People in Organizations
People in Organizatons are like a box
of chocolates. Each chocolate is like a
portion of organization. Some are
crunchy, some are nutty, some are
sweet, some are chewy, but all are
delicious in their own way. Without
each one, an organization would not
be complete.
The Importance of Interpersonal Skills
Understanding OB helps determine manager
effectiveness
Technical and quantitative skills are important
But leadership and communication skills are
CRITICAL
Organizational benefits of skilled managers
Lower turnover of quality employees
Higher quality applications for recruitment
Better financial performance
Management Functions
Control
Lead
Organize
Plan
Luthans Study of Managerial Activities
Is there a difference in frequency of managerial activity between
effective and successful managers?
Four types of managerial activity:
Traditional Management
Decision-making, planning, and controlling.
Communication
Exchanging routine information and processing
paperwork
Human Resource Management
Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing and
training.
Networking
Socializing, politicking, and interacting with others.
Successful vs. Effective Allocation by Time
Managers who promoted faster (were successful) did different
things than did effective managers (those who did their jobs
well)
Intuition & Systematic Study
Gut feelings
Individual observation
Commonsense
Intuition
Looks at relationships
Scientific evidence
Predicts behaviors
Systematic
Study
The two are complementary means of predicting behavior.
2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All
rights reserved.
An Outgrowth of Systematic Study
Pose a
managerial
question
Search for
best
available
evidence
Apply
relevant
information
to case
Evidence-Based Management (EBM)
Basing managerial decisions on the best available
scientific evidence
Must think like scientists:
Managers Should Use All 3 Approaches
The trick is to know when to go with your gut.
Jack Welsh
Intuition is often based on inaccurate information
Faddism is prevalent in management
Systematic study can be time-consuming
Use evidence as much as possible to inform your intuition and
experience. That is the promise of OB.
Trends and Challenges
Workforce Diversity
Power of Human Resources
Globalization
Rapid Change New Psychological Contract
Employer-
Employee
The Changed Psychological Contract and
Employee-Employer relationship
Old Contract v/s New Contract
Mergers, Outsourcing, Consolidations & Downsizing
have changed the rules
Families need to balance the challenges of dual
careers seek work arrangements to provide
opportunities for balance in lives
Employees today think of themselves as free agents
there to do a good job but also to prepare for the
next career move
Few Absolutes in OB
Contingency
Variable (Z)
Independent
Variable (X)
Dependent
Variable (Y)
In American
Culture
Boss Gives
Thumbs Up
Sign
Understood as
Complimenting
In Iranian
culture
Boss Gives
Thumbs Up
Sign
Understood as
Insulting - Up
Yours!
Situational factors that make the main relationship
between two variables changee.g., the relationship may
hold for one condition but not another.
2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All
rights reserved.
Types of Study Variables
Independent (X)
The presumed cause of the
change in the dependent
variable (Y).
This is the variable that OB
researchers manipulate to
observe the changes in Y.
Dependent (Y)
This is the response to X
(the independent variable).
It is what the OB
researchers want to predict
or explain.
The interesting variable!
X Y Predictive Ability
2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All
rights reserved.
Independent
Variables (X)
Dependent
Variables (Y)
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2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.
All rights reserved.
More Interesting OB DVs
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
Discretionary behavior that is not part of an
employees formal job requirements, but that
nevertheless promotes the effective functioning
of the organization.
Job Satisfaction
A general attitude (not a behavior) toward ones
job; a positive feeling of one's job resulting from
an evaluation of its characteristics.
Types of Cases
Process Case- main objective is to understand
what is happening and how it is happening
through the support of theory and research
Problem Case- main objective is to apply
understanding in developing a feasible solution
to a managerial dilemma or problem
Steps in a Case Analysis
IDENTIFY- main issues in the case and the topic/s in your course the
case is reflective of
REFER- to the theory and research on the topic
APPLY- in the analysis and proposals if any (for a problem case)
ELABORATE on the relation between the facts of the case and the
theory and research on the topic
CONSIDER - various possibilities in the analysis & proposals that
could be arrived at through the application of theory and research
on the topic
FOCUS- throughout on the main point/s the case writer/s is/are
trying to make
Next Session
Readings- Chapter 3
(Attitudes and Job Satisfaction)