MGT 321: Organizational Behavior CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS OB? Lecturer: Tasnuva Chaudhury (TcY)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the importance of interpersonal skills Roles of managers and management skills Define and understand organizational behavior Show the value to OB of systematic study. Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. Identify the challenges and opportunities managers have in applying OB concepts. Compare the three levels of analysis of the OB model.

Importance of Interpersonal Skills Technical and Quantitative skills are important Leadership and communication skills are crucial to distinguish managers Organizational benefits of positive social relationships Developing manager’s interpersonal skills attract high performing employees Low turnover and low work stress Strong correlation to overall job satisfaction Superior financial performance

Role of Managers What do managers do? They get things done by other people to achieve organization’s goals Oversee activities of others Make decisions Allocate resources What is an 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.

Management Functions Managers Lead Organize Plan Control - Define roles - Establish strategy - Develop plans to coordinate activities Organize - What tasks to be done -Who should do them -Who reports to whom -Where decisions are to be made Lead -Motivate Employees -Directing others -Selecting most effective communication channels -Resolve conflict -Monitor activities to ensure they are as per plan -Correct any deviations Plan Control

Management Roles Interpersonal Roles Informational Roles Figurehead, Leader, Liaison Informational Roles Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson Decisional Roles Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator, Negotiator

Management Skills Technical Skills Human Skills Conceptual Skills Specialized knowledge or expertise learned through extensive formal education, training programs or on the job 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

Managerial Activities Fred Luthans and his associates looked at 4 types of managerial activities from a somewhat different perspective. 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

Effective vs. Successful Managerial activities

Organizational Behavior OB: A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

Complementing intuition with systematic study Gut feelings Individual observation Common sense Systematic Study Looks at relationships Scientific evidence Predicts behaviors

Evidence Based Management Evidence Based Management (EBM) Basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence Pose a managerial question Search for best available evidence Apply relevant information to case

Intuition Intuition – “gut feeling” Intuition can be based on incomplete information Company can be ‘at the right place at the right time’ and without reliance of any empirical evidence Systematic study can be time consuming Evidence should be used as much as possible to form intuition and experience

Other Disciplines Psychology Social Psychology Sociology Anthropology

Toward an OB Discipline Exhibit 1-3

Challenges and Opportunities of OB Responding to Economic Pressures Responding to Globalization Managing Workforce Diversity Some other challenges and opportunities include: Improving Customer Service Improving People Skills Stimulating Innovation and Change Coping with “Temporariness” Working in Networked Organizations Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts Creating a Positive Work Environment Improving Ethical Behavior

Responding to Economic Pressures Effective management is important during hard economic times. Managing employees is difficult during hard times. Managers need to understand and handle how to reward, satisfy and retain employees Managers also need to handle issues such as stress, decision making, and coping during difficult times.

Responding to Globalization Increased foreign assignments Working with people from different cultures Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor

Managing Workforce Diversity Embracing diversity Changing demographics Changing management philosophy Recognizing and responding to differences

Developing an OB Model A model is an abstraction of reality – a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon. Our OB model has three levels of analysis

Types of Study Variables Independent (X) Dependent (Y) -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 -This is the response to X -It is what the OB researchers want to predict or explain

Dependent Variables in OB Productivity Transforming inputs to outputs at lowest cost. Includes the concepts of effectiveness (achievement of goals) and efficiency (meeting goals at a low cost). Absenteeism Failure to report to work – a huge cost to employers. Turnover Voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization. Deviant Workplace Behavior Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and thereby threatens the well-being of the organization and/or any of its members.

Dependent Variable contd. 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 independent variable (X) can be at any of these three levels in this model: Individual Biographical characteristics, personality and emotions, values and attitudes, ability, perception, motivation, individual learning, and individual decision making Group Communication, group decision making, leadership and trust, group structure, conflict, power and politics, and work teams Organization System Organizational culture, human resource policies and practices, and organizational structure and design

OB Model (Exhibit 1-5)

Summary Managers need to develop their interpersonal skills to be effective. OB focuses on how to improve factors that make organizations more effective. The best predictions of behavior are made from a combination of systematic study and intuition. Situational variables moderate cause-and-effect relationships. There are many OB challenges and opportunities for managers today. OB Model