1. Essentials of Organizational Behavior
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 1
What Is Organizational Behavior?
Copyright © 2018, 2016, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3. After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Define organizational behavior (OB).
Show the value of systematic study to OB.
Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB.
Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB.
Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.
Compare the three levels of analysis in this text’s OB model.

4. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND
This course in Organizational Behavior is not designed as merely an academic exercise;
It is designed to help an organization achieve its business objectives or business plan, sustain its operations, and grow the business.

5. BENEFICIARIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational behavior must help the TMT address the concerns of many constituents, e.g. Owners/shareholders Employees Government regulators Customers Industry regulators Labor/employee relations Budgets Accounting Social (CSR - public persona) Boards of Directors Competition R & D Technology Marketing Customer service P & L impact Others …

6. Three Levels of OB Analysis
Chapters
Chapters
In organizational behavior (OB), we utilize the representation of the world as broken down into three levels. The first level of analysis we will look at is the Individual level. At this level we look at individuals’ behavior. Next, recognizing that individuals make up groups, we analyze how group behavior occurs. Finally, organizations are made up of groups of individuals, so we analyze the organization at a systems level.
Chapters 2 - 8
Plan of the Book

7. Organizational behavior
What’s the history of organizational behavior?
Church
Military
Government

8. e.g. Catholic church
Pope = CEO & COB Cardinals = Executive VP Bishops = VP Priests = 1st line supervisors Laity = Workers

9. e.g. military
Army = General = CEO & COB Corps = LTG = Executive VP Division = MG = Business unit VP Brigade = COL = 3rd line supervisor/VP Battalion = LTC = 2nd line supervisor Company = CPT = 1st line supervisor Platoon/squads = LT & NCO = Employees

10. The Field of Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior studies the influence that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations
Its chief goal is to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness and advance the objectives of the organization
Organizational behavior looks at how individuals, groups, and structure can influence the behavior within an organization. This study is done so that we can use the knowledge to improve organizational outcomes and thereby their effectiveness.

11. caveat: there are Few – if any - Absolutes in OB
Impossible to make simple and accurate generalizations
Human beings are complex and diverse
OB concepts must reflect situational conditions: contingency variables
X leads to Y but only under conditions specified in Z
There are few absolutes in organizational behavior. When making decisions, you must always take into account situational factors that can change the relationship between two variables.

12. What is organizational behavior expected to do?
Advance the objectives of the organization !!! TRIGGER WARNING: You are hired, retained, developed and/or fired based upon what you produce for your department or organization that advances its objectives

13. What are some objectives of an organization
New product development
Profit
Efficiency
Market Share
Organizational citizenship
Diversity
Global leader
Improve the condition of mankind
Be #1 or #2 in our industry
Growth
Others???

14. Practical Exercise Select a job in your organization and trace
its link to the objectives of the company or department.
Objective/mission of the organization
CEO’s Objectives_____________________________
__________________________________________
Your department’s Objective __________________
Your job’s objective _________________________
Your subordinate’s job objectives _______________

15. Practical Exercise
What are some of the issues that you have seen that employees struggle with to fulfill their job objectives

16. Some Focal Points of OB
Advance the objectives of the organization (e.g. sustain & grow the business)
Motivation
Leader behavior and power
Interpersonal communication
Group structures and processes
Attitude development and perception
Change processes
Conflict and negotiation
Work design
Some core topics that are included in the study of OB and employment situations are motivation, leader behavior and power, and interpersonal communication. OB also includes the study of group structures and processes, attitudes development and perception, as well as change processes, conflict and negotiation, and work design. In sum, OB is the study of what people do in an organization and the way their behavior affects the organization’s performance.

17. Effective versus Successful Managerial Activities
Traditional management
Decision making, planning, controlling
Communication
Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork
Human resources management (The function, not the department)
Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, training and development
Networking
Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders
Why are some managers more effective than others? Research shows that there is a link between communication and effective management. Those managers who explain their decisions and seek information from colleagues and employees are the most effective.

18. Complementing Intuition with Systematic Study
Intuition: your “gut feeling” explanation of behavior
Systematic study improves ability to accurately predict behavior
Assumes behavior is not random
Fundamental consistencies underlie behavior
These can be identified and modified to reflect individual differences
Often our intuition leads us in the decision-making process. Our intuition relies on gut feelings, individual observation, and common sense. Although our intuition is extremely useful in the decision-making process, it does not give us the complete picture. By engaging in a systematic study of behavior we can enhance our effectiveness.
It is not an either relationship. Rather, intuition and systematic study can work effectively together to predict behavior.

19. Systematic Study Examines relationships
Attempts to attribute causes and effects
Bases conclusions on scientific evidence:
Data is gathered under controlled conditions
Data is measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner
When we talk about engaging in a systematic study, we are talking about looking at relationships. By doing so, we can better determine cause and effect, and then, by applying scientific evidence to our conclusions, we are better able to predict behavior.

20. Evidence-Based Management
Bases decisions on the best available scientific evidence
Complements systematic study
Forces managers to become more scientific in their thinking
Evidence-based management (EBM) complements systematic study by applying scientific evidence to managerial decisions.

21. Big Data / ANALYTICS
Big data: the extensive use of statistical data compilation and analysis
Identify persistent and predictive statistics
Create targeted marketing strategies
Using big data for managerial practices:
Define objectives, develop theories of causality, test the theories to see which employee activities are relevant to the objectives
Big data can be used together with intuition to help make decisions.

22. Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology
Social Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
Micro: The Individual
Macro: Groups & Organizations
Organizational behavior (OB) is interdisciplinary in nature as it is an applied behavioral science. The theory in OB relies on contributions from multiple behavioral disciplines. These disciplines include Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology.

23. Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology – the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometime change the behaviors of human and other animals Social Psychology – An area of psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology to focus on the influence of people on one another

24. Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Sociology – The study of people in relation to their social environment or culture
Anthropology – The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities

25. Challenges and opportunities for OB
Globalization
Working with people from different cultures
Adapting to differing cultural and regulatory norms
Ethical Behavior
Ethical dilemmas - Ethical choices
What constitutes good ethical behavior has not been clearly defined;
The line between good and not good ethical behavior has been blurred.
The international playing field is not level. They don’t play by American rules

26. Challenges and opportunities for OB
Globalization in Smallbany
Turbines GE
Coffee Columbia
Wines France, Chile, Italy, Germany, etc.
Cars Mazda, Toyota, Honda, VW
Olive oil Mediterranean
Mahogany Honduras

27. Challenges and opportunities for OB
Managing Workforce Demographics
Longevity - increasing
Birth rates - decreasing
Socio-economic conditions - varied
Other changes in the workforce
Diversity Wealth
Languages Skill sets
Social Media Generational
Others
We can explore what factors encourage people to make certain choices regarding their employment and how those choices are reflected in their perceptions of the workplace.

28. Challenges and opportunities for OB
Five Generations Working Together Veterans Baby Boomers Gen X 1964 – 1980 Millennials 1980 – 2000 Generation Z ??? Issues Retirement – benefits – work/life balance Technology – social media – wisdom & experience vs. enthusiasm & energy

29. Challenges and opportunities for ob
Managing Workforce Diversity
Workforce diversity: organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation
Workforce Cultural Diversity
As the borders are disappearing we are seeing more and more heterogeneity in the workplace. Managers today need to embrace diversity and find ways to manage it effectively. The changing demographics have shifted management philosophy in a way that recognizes and utilizes differences to create productivity, profitability, and welcoming cultures.
Diversity poses great opportunities and challenging questions for managers and employees in all countries. Managers must recognize differences and find ways to utilize those differences to improve organizational performance.

30. Challenges and opportunities for OB
Social Media – (Chapter 11 – among others)
What is acceptable
Can it be used for hiring decisions – e.g. profiling
Can it be used for firing decisions
Access to social media during work
Other social media issues in your workplace
Impact of social media on employee well-being

31. Additional Random Challenges and Opportunities for OB
Employee well-being at work
Longer hours
Burnout is showing (1 in 4 show signs)
Heavier workload
Creating a positive work environment
Looking at the good in organizations
Improving ethical behavior
In the workplace today there are many challenges and opportunities in the area of organizational behavior. Understanding OB has never been more important for managers, as organizations are changing at a much more rapid pace than historically seen.

32. High visibility Challenges and Opportunities for OB
Men and women working together is close quarters
Men and women working together with multiple cultural backgrounds
Balancing acceptable social behavior with professional behavior

33. Enhancing Employee Well-Being at Work
Work / life balance
The line between work and non-work has blurred.
Managers are increasingly dealing with conflicts that arise between work and life away from work
Only the employee can answer this
As technology continues to become an integral part of organizational effectiveness, workers will find that their communication styles and needs will change as well. Managers must stay on top of what is needed to motivate workers in this environment.

34. Creating a Positive Work Environment
Positive organizational scholarship:
How organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential
Building on what’s good about an organization, minimizing what’s bad
Positive organizational behavior is a growing interest in organizational behavior. It promotes the idea of exploiting employee strengths rather than focusing on employee limitations or weaknesses.

35. Practical Exercise - Social
What are some of the organizational behavior issues with employees with these situations
I’m a working parent
I’m a single parent
I have aging parents
Is or is not my company’s FMLA policy helpful to these people
What is your company’s approach regarding the issue of getting a full day’s work out of an employee and corporate social responsibility

36. Improving Ethical Behavior
Managers facing ethical dilemmas or ethical choices are required to identify right and wrong conduct
Companies promoting strong ethical missions:
Encourage employees to behave with Integrity
Provide strong leadership that influences employee decisions to behave ethically
Today’s highly competitive global economy has created a work environment in which employees may feel pressured to make poor decisions. Moreover, there is generally greater tolerance for unethical behavior. This has prompted many companies to try to help employees navigate ethical dilemmas using tools such as seminars and workshops, as well as formal codes of ethics.

37. Team Discussion Ethics
Where do ethics come from
How is ethics defined in your company
Who defines and defends ethics

38. Ob Implications for managers
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
3. ____________________________________
4. ____________________________________

39. Implications for Managers
Don’t rely on generalizations
Use metrics and situational variables rather than “hunches” to explain cause-and-effect relationships
Increase leadership potential by improving interpersonal skills
Improve technical and conceptual skills by staying current with trends like big data
Recognize the role of organizational behavior on employee work quality and productivity
Use organizational behavior to help design and implement change programs, improve customer service, and address the work-life balance conflict
The OB Model is critical to your understanding of how organizations behave. In the remainder of this book, we will be utilizing that model to look at behavior on an individual, group, and organizational level.