1. business and industrial
2. business operations
3. human resources

Chapter 1
What is Organizational
Behaviour?
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Chapter 1 Outline
• Defining Organizational Behaviour
• OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in
Organizations
• How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference?
• Today’s Challenges in the Canadian Workplace
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
1-2
What Is Organizational Behaviour?
1. What is organizational behaviour?
2. Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or
just like psychology?
3. How does knowing about organizational behaviour
make work and life more understandable?
4. What challenges do managers and employees face
in the workplace of the twenty-first century?
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
1-3
Organizational Behaviour
•
. . . a field of study that investigates
how individuals, groups and structure
affect and are affected by behaviour
within organizations, for the purpose of
applying such knowledge toward
improving an organization’s
effectiveness.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Why Do We Study OB?
• To learn about yourself and others
• To understand how the many organizations you
encounter work.
• To become familiar with team work
• To help you think about the people issues faced by
managers and entrepreneurs
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
1-5
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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
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Roles and Skills in the New
Workplace
Flexibility
Innovator
Broker
Facilitator
Monitor
Producer
Coordinator
Director
Control
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
External Focus
Internal Focus
Mentor
How Companies are Changing
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“Cool” Companies
Believe casual days are
progressive
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
that affect their work
Offer assistance with childcare
Have minimal bureaucracy (red
tape)
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“Old” Companies
Think casual Fridays are pitiful
Charge employees for perks 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 (chain
of command)
Stop at “open door” policies
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-1 Challenges
Facing the Workplace
Organizational Level
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Productivity
Developing effective employees
Global competition
Managing in the global village
Group Level
• Working with others
• Workforce diversity
Workplace
Individual Level
• Job satisfaction
• Empowerment
• Behaving ethically
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Today’s Challenges
in the Canadian Workplace
• Challenges at the Organizational Level
– Productivity
– Effectiveness
– Efficiency
Developing Effective Employees
Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)
– Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but that
nevertheless promotes the effective functioning
of the organization.
Putting People First
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•
•
committed workforce and positively affects
the bottom line.
“more control and say in their work.”
How do you Put people first?
Global Competition
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In recent years, Canadian businesses have
faced tough international competition, as well
as from other companies within our borders.
Reduce costs, increase productivity, and
improve quality.
Managing and Working in a
Multicultural World
• Managers and employees must become
capable of working with people from different
cultures:
Exhibit 1-4
The Layers of OB
The Organization
The Group
Change
Organizational culture
Decision making
Leadership
Power and politics
The Individual
Negotiation
Conflict
Communication
Groups and teams
Motivating self and others
Emotions
Values and attitudes
Perception
Personality
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
How Will Knowing OB Make
a Difference?
• For Managers
• For Individuals
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-3
Toward an OB Discipline
Behavioural
science
Psychology
Sociology
Contribution
Learning
Motivation
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Individual decision making
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress
Output
Individual
Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Formal organization theory
Organizational technology
Organizational change
Organizational culture
Social psychology
Unit of
analysis
Group
Study of
Organizational
Behaviour
Behavioural change
Attitude change
Communication
Group processes
Group decision making
Comparative values
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis
Organization
system
Anthropology
Organizational culture
Organizational environment
Political science
Conflict
Intraorganizational politics
Power
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
The Rigour of OB
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OB looks at consistencies
OB is more than common sense
OB has few absolutes
OB takes a contingency approach
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-2
Research Methods in OB
Source: J. R. Schermerhorn, J.G. Hunt, and R. N. Osborn, Organizational Behaviour, 9th Edition, 2005, p. 4. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
with the permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bottom Line: OB Is For
Everyone
• Organizational behaviour is not just for
managers.
• OB applies equally well to all situations in
which you interact with others: on the
basketball court, at the grocery store, in
school, or in church.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Summary and Implications
• 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,
reducing absenteeism and turnover, and
increasing employee job satisfaction and
organizational commitment.
• OB uses systematic study to improve
predictions of behaviour.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.