Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Introduction to Organizational Behavior
Seven Foundation Competencies
n Managing Self
n Managing Communication
n Managing Diversity
n Managing Ethics
n Managing Across Cultures
n Managing Teams
n Managing Change
Definition: The study of human behavior, attitudes, and performance in organizations.
Value of OB: Helps people attain the competencies needed to become effective employees, team leaders/members, or managers
Competency = an interrelated set of abilities, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge needed by an individual to be effective in most professional and managerial positions
OB - . . . 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.
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.
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
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals
Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals.
n Early industrial/organizational
p fatigue, boredom, and other factors relevant to working conditions that could impede efficient work performance.
n More recently,
p learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employee selection techniques, work design, and job stress
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings
Sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles; that is, sociology studies people in relation to their fellow human beings.
n Their greatest contribution to OB is through their study of group behavior in organizations, particularly formal and complex organizations
Social Psychology
Social psychology blends the concepts of psychology and sociology.
It focuses on the influence of people on one another.
n Major area—how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance.
An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities
Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Anthropologists work on cultures and environments; for instance, they have helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior among people in different countries and within different organizations.
Political Science
Frequently overlooked
Political science studies the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment.
Contingency variables: “It Depends!”
Situational factors that make the main relationship between two variables change—e.g., the relationship may hold for one condition but not another
Challenges and Opportunities for OB
Responding to Globalization
– Increased foreign assignments
– Working with people from different cultures
– Coping with anti-capitalism backlash
– Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor
– Managing people during the war on terror
Managing Workforce Diversity
– Embracing diversity
– Changing U.S. demographics
– Implications for managers
• Recognizing and responding to differences
Improving Quality and Productivity
– Quality management (QM)
– Process reengineering
Responding to the Labor Shortage
– Changing work force demographics
– Fewer skilled laborers
– Early retirements and older workers
Improving Customer Service
– Increased expectation of service quality
– Customer-responsive cultures
Improving people skills
Empowering people
Stimulating innovation and change
Coping with “temporariness”
Working in networked organizations
Helping employees balance work/life conflicts
Improving ethical behavior
Managing people during the war on terrorism
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
Discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization
Job Satisfaction
A general attitude (not a behavior) toward one’s job; a positive feeling of one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics
Independent Variable
The presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable; major determinants of a dependent variable



What Managers Do
Managers (or Administrators)
Individuals who achieve goals through other people
Managerial Activities
Make decisions
Allocate resources
Direct activities of others to attain goals
Organization
A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals
Planning
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities
Organizing
Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made
Leading
A function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts
Controlling
Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations
Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

Management Skills
Technical Skills
The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise
Human Skills
The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups
Conceptual Skills
The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations

Student of Rai Business School-New Delhi

Sanjeev Kumar Singh