Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

PCL Family of Companies Several organizational behaviour practices have helped the Edmonton-based PCL Family of Companies become an employer of choice, a leader in the construction industry, and a valued community member Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Organizational Behaviour and Organizations The study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations Organizations Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose Structured patterns of interaction Coordinated tasks Organizations have a purpose (even if not fully agreed) Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Why Study OB? Satisfy the need to understand and predict Helps us to test personal theories Influence behaviour – get things done OB improves an organization’s financial health OB is for everyone Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Old Perspective of Organizational Effectiveness Goal oriented -- Effective firms achieve their stated objectives No longer accepted as a perspective of org effectiveness Companies could set easy goals Some goals too abstract to know if achieved Company might achieve goals but go out of business by achieving wrong goals © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Defining Organizational Effectiveness as 4 Perspectives Open systems: they have a good fit with their external environment High-performance work practices: their internal subsystems are configured for a high-performance workplace Organizational learning: they are learning organizations Stakeholder: they satisfy the needs of key stakeholders NOTE: Need to consider all four perspectives when assessing a company’s effectiveness © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Open Systems Perspective Organizations -- complex systems that “live” within (and depend upon) the external environment Effective organizations Maintain a close “fit” with changing conditions Transform inputs to outputs efficiently and flexibly Open systems perspective – foundation for the other three effectiveness perspectives © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Open Systems Perspective Subsystems -- processes, task activities, social dynamics within the system Transformation process -- subsystems transform inputs into various outputs Feedback -- information from environment about value of outputs/availability of inputs Environment Feedback Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Organizational Learning Perspective An organization’s capacity to acquire, share, use, and store valuable knowledge Need to consider both stock and flow of knowledge Stock: intellectual capital Flow: org learning processes of acquisition, sharing, and use © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Organizational Learning Processes KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION KNOWLEDGE SHARING KNOWLEDGE USE Extracting information and ideas from its environment as well as through insight Distributing knowledge throughout the organization Applying knowledge to organizational processes in ways that improves the organization’s effectiveness Examples in practice Hiring skilled staff Posting case studies on intranet Giving staff freedom to try out ideas © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Organizational Memory The storage and preservation of intellectual capital Retain intellectual capital by: Keeping knowledgeable employees Transferring knowledge to others Transferring human capital to structural capital Successful companies also unlearn © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) HPWPs are internal systems and structures that are associated with successful companies Employees are competitive advantage Value of employees increased through specific practices. Maximum benefit when org practices are bundled © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

High Performance Work Practices No consensus, but HPWPs include: Employee involvement and job autonomy (and their combination as self-directed teams). Employee competence (training, selection, etc.). Performance-based rewards © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Stakeholder Perspective Stakeholders: any entity who affect or is affected by the firm’s objectives and actions Personalizes the open systems perspective Identifies social entities in the environment Stakeholder relations are dynamic Problem: Stakeholders have conflicting interests Firms have limited resources Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Canadian Public Service as a Values-Driven Organization The Canadian federal public service is becoming a values-driven organization. The government believes that values will guide desired behaviours and replace existing control system based on hierarchy and compliance. Canadian Public Service Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Stakeholders: Values and Ethics Values and ethics prioritize stakeholder interests Values Stable, evaluative beliefs, guide preferences for outcomes or courses of action in various situations Ethics Moral principles/values, determine whether actions are right/wrong and outcomes are good or bad Canadian Public Service © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Stakeholders and CSR Stakeholder perspective includes corporate social responsibility (CSR) Benefit society and environment beyond the firm’s immediate financial interests or legal obligations Organization’s contract with society Triple bottom line Economy, society, environment Canadian Public Service Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Types of Individual Behaviour Task Performance Goal-directed behaviours under person’s control Organizational Citizenship Contextual performance – cooperation and helpfulness beyond required job duties more © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Types of Individual Behaviour (con’t) Counterproductive Work Behaviours Voluntary behaviours that potentially harm the organization Joining/staying with the Organization Agreeing to employment relationship; remaining in that relationship Maintaining Work Attendance Attending work at required times © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Globalization Economic, social, and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world Effects of globalization on organizations New structures Increasing diversity Increasing competitive pressures, intensification © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Increasing Workforce Diversity Surface-level diversity Observable demographic and other overt differences in people (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, age) Deep-level diversity Differences in psychological characteristics (e.g. personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes) Example: Differences across age cohorts (e.g. Gen-Y) Implications Leveraging the diversity advantage Also diversity challenges (e.g. teams, conflict) Ethical imperative of diversity Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Employment Relationships Work/life balance Minimizing conflict between work and nonwork demands number one indicator of career success Virtual work Using information technology to perform one’s job away from the traditional physical workplace Telework – issues of replacing face time, clarifying employment expectations Virtual teams Operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries with members who communicate mainly through electronic technologies © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Organizational Behaviour Anchors Multidisciplinary anchor Many OB concepts adopted from other disciplines OB develops its own theories, but scans other fields Systematic research anchor OB researchers rely on scientific method Should apply evidence-based management, but… Bombarded with theories and models Challenge translating general theories to specific situations Swayed by consultant marketing Perceptual biases -- ignoring evidence contrary to our beliefs Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Organizational behaviour Anchors (con’t) Contingency anchor A particular action may have different consequences in different situations Need to diagnose the situation and select best strategy under those conditions Multiple levels of analysis anchor Individual, team, organizational level of analysis OB topics usually relevant at all three levels of analysis © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen

Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Canadian OB 7e: McShane/Steen