What is Organizational Behaviour? Chapter 1 What is Organizational Behaviour?

Chapter 1 Outline What is Organizational Behaviour? OB and Today’s Challenges in the Canadian Workplace How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference? OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations There Are Few Absolutes in OB The Organization of This Textbook This material is found at the beginning of the chapter.

What is Organizational Behaviour? Questions for Consideration What is organizational behaviour? What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the 21st century? How will knowledge of organizational behaviour make a difference for you? This material is found at the beginning of the chapter.

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 organization’s effectiveness. This material is found in more detail on page 4.

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 This is one of the slides I use on the first day of class to help motivate the course.

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. This material is found on page 5.

Exhibit 1-1 Competing Values Framework Flexibility Control Internal Focus This material is found on page 7. External Focus

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 controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less change The material for this illustration is found on pages 6.

Exhibit 1-2 Skills in the New Workplace Flexibility Mentor Innovator This material is found on page 6. Broker Facilitator Internal Focus External Focus Monitor Producer Coordinator Director Control

Exhibit 1-2 Skills in the New Workplace Flexibility Understanding yourself and others Interpersonal communication Developing subordinates Living with change Creative thinking Managing change MENTOR INNOVATOR Building and maintaining a power base Negotiating agreement and commitment Negotiating and selling ideas Team building Participative decision making Conflict management This material is found on page 7. FACILITATOR BROKER Internal External MONITOR PRODUCER Receiving and organizing info Evaluating routine info Responding to routine info Personal productivity and motivation Motivating others Time and stress management COORDINATOR DIRECTOR Planning Organizing Controlling Taking initiative Goal setting Delegating effectively Control Source: R.E. Quinn. Beyond Rational Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1988, p. 48.

Exhibit 1-3: How Companies are Changing “Cool” companies Think casual Fridays are pitiful Believe titles are obsolete Don't impose on employees' personal time Allow staff to come and go as they please   Offer all employees stock options Let employees make decisions Offer assistance with childcare Have minimal bureaucracy “Old” companies Believe casual days are progressive Charge employees for parks and incentives Hold events on employee time Have flex time: but only between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Hide financial results from their employees Encourage employee input -- but rarely act on it Employ rigid hierarchies Stop at “open door” policies

Today’s Challenges in the Canadian Workplace Productivity Lack of Respect Demand for Job Satisfaction Absenteeism Turnover Sharing Power Managing and Working in a Changing and Competitive Environment Managing and Working in a Global Village Managing and Working in a Culturally Diverse Workplace This material is found in more detail on pages 4-12. 1. In a recent Angus Reid survey, Canadians were asked to name the company they most respect. Forty percent either didn’t know or would not state the name of a company they respected. Only Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., received acknowledgment of more than 10 percent of those surveyed. This chapter’s OB in the News (p. 6) reveals further concerns expressed by Canadians about the workplace. 2. Employees are increasingly demanding job satisfaction out of their jobs. In a recent Financial Post survey, 75 percent of the public deemed it extremely important for managers to make employees happy and satisfied. 3. Managers are empowering employees. They are putting employees in charge of what they do. And, in the process, managers are learning how to give up control, and employees are learning how to take responsibility for their work and make appropriate decisions. 4. In recent years, Canadian businesses have also faced tough competition from the United States, Europe, Japan, and even China. To survive, they have had to cut fat, increase productivity, and improve quality. 5. As multinational corporations develop operations worldwide, as companies develop joint ventures with foreign partners, and as workers increasingly pursue job opportunities across national borders, managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures. 6. In addition to the more obvious groups—women, First Nations peoples, Asian Canadians, African Canadians, Indo-Canadians—the workplace also includes people with disabilities, gays and lesbians, and the elderly.

Exhibit 1-5 Most Respected Businesses This material is found on page 19. Many of the firms that made Report on Business’ 1999 Honour Roll of Most Respected Businesses for people management also scored highly on innovation, financial performance, corporate responsibility, and investment value. The Financial Post’s 50 Best Managed Private Companies for 1997 found that Top 50 were firms exhibited “a growing awareness of the need for a team approach, not just at the top, but throughout the organization” and “a growing investment in people using everything from advanced training to increased employee share ownership.”

Exhibit 1-6 Employment by Industry,1998 Agricultural and related service industries Fishing and trapping industries Logging and forestry industries Mining (including milling), quarrying and oil well industries Utilities Manufacturing industries Construction industries Transportation and storage industries Communication and other utility industries Wholesale trade industries Retail trade industries Finance and insurance industries Real estate operator and insurance agent industries Business service industries Government service industries Educational service industries Health and social service industries Accommodation, food and beverage service industries Other service industries 3.1 .2 .5 1.2 1.0 16.7 5.4 4.0 2.4 4.1 12.2 3.7 1.8 7.9 5.5 6.7 10.3 6.4 7.2 This material is found on page 20-22.

Exhibit 1-6 Employment by Industry,1998 This material is found on page 20-22.

Exhibit 1-7 Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field This material is found on page 22-24.

Motivating Self and Others Exhibit 1-8: Layers of OB The Organization Change Organizational Culture Decision Making Leadership The Individual Emotions Values and Attitudes Perception Personality Motivating Self and Others The Group Negotiation Conflict Communication Groups and Teams Power and Politics This material is found on page 25-27.

Summary and Implications Managers and employees need to develop their interpersonal, or people, skills to be effective in their jobs. 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, employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and on reducing absenteeism and turnover. OB uses systematic study to improve predictions of behaviour. This material is found on page 27.