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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.
What is Organizational
Behaviour?
Questions for Consideration
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is organizational behaviour?
What challenges do managers and employees face
in the workplace of the 21st century?
How does knowing about organizational
behaviour make work and life more
understandable?
Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or
just psychology?
What are the building blocks to understanding
organizational behaviour?
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
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 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
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
•
•
•
•
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 Individual Level
– Job Satisfaction
– Empowerment
– Behaving Ethically
• Challenges at the Group Level
– Working With Others
– Workforce Diversity
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
– Developing Effective Employees
• Absenteeism
• Turnover
• Organizational Citizenship
– Competition From the Global Environment
– Managing and Working in a Global Village
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Productivity
• Productivity
– A performance measure including
effectiveness and efficiency
• Effectiveness
– Achievement of goals
• Efficiency
– The ratio of effective work output to the
input required to produce the work
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Effective Employees
• Absenteeism
– Failure to report to work
• Turnover
– Voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal
from the organization
• Organizational citizenship behaviour
– Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but is helpful
to the organization
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-2 Companies
Respected for their HR
Management
Rank on Financial
Performance
Rank on
Investment Value
1
1
Steelmaker
10
9
Aurora, ON
Automotive
3
5
4. IBM Canada Ltd.
Markham, ON
Computers
n/a
n/a
5. BMO Financial Group
Montreal
Financial services
9
n/a
6. WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Calgary
Air transportation
n/a
n/a
7. BCE Inc.
Montreal
Telecommunications
7
4
8. Scotiabank Group
Toronto
Financial services
4
8
9. Bombardier Inc.
Montreal
Transportation
n/a
2
n/a
n/a
Location
Industry
1. RBC Financial Group
Toronto
Financial services
2. Dofasco Inc.
Hamilton, ON
3. Magna International Inc.
10. General Electric Canada Inc.Mississauga, ON Electronic
controls/instruments
Source: Adapted from R. Bloom,
“ RBC Reclaims Top Spot in Survey,”
The Globe and Mail, January 20, 2003, pp. B1, B5.
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
– Knowing organizational behaviour can
help you manage well and makes for better
corporations.
– Managing people well leads to greater
organizational commitment.
– Finally, managing well may improve
organizational citizenship.
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 Individuals
– What if I’m not going to work in a large
organization?
• The theories generally apply to organizations
of any size.
– What if I don’t want to be a manager?
• To some extent, the roles of managers and
employees are becoming blurred in many
organizations.
• While self-employed individuals often do not
act as managers, they certainly interact with
other individuals and organizations as part of
their work.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Bottom Line: OB Is For
Everyone
• Organizational behaviour is not just for
managers.
– The roles of managers and employees are
becoming blurred in many organizations.
– Managers are increasingly asking employees to
share in their decision-making processes rather
than simply follow orders.
• 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.
Contributing Disciplines to
the OB Field
•
•
•
•
•
Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
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
• OB looks at consistencies
– What is common about behaviour, and helps
predictability?
• OB is more than common sense
– Systematic study, based on scientific evidence
• OB has few absolutes
• OB takes a contingency approach
– Considers behaviour in context
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Beyond Common Sense
• Systematic Study
– Looking at relationships, attempting to
attribute causes and effects and drawing
conclusions based on scientific evidence
• This means data are gathered under
controlled conditions, and measured
and interpreted in a reasonably
rigorous manner—rather than relying
on common sense.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
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.
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.
OB at Work
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
For Review
1. Define organizational behaviour.
2. What is an organization? Is the family unit an organization?
Explain.
3. “Behaviour is generally predictable, so there is no need to formally
study OB.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
4. What are some of the challenges and opportunities that managers
face as we move into the 21st century?
5. What are the three levels of analysis in our OB model? Are they
related? If so, how?
6. Why is job satisfaction an important consideration for OB?
7. What are effectiveness and efficiency, and how are they related to
organizational behaviour?
8. What does it mean to say OB takes a contingency approach in its
analysis of behaviour?
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
For Critical Thinking
1. “The best way to view OB is through a contingency
approach.” Build an argument to support this statement.
2. “OB is for everyone.” Build an argument to support this
statement.
3. Why do you think the subject of OB might be criticized as
being “only common sense,” when one would rarely hear
such a criticism of a course in physics or statistics? Do you
think this criticism of OB is fair?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10 measuring the sophistication of a
scientific discipline in predicting phenomena,
mathematical physics would probably be a 10. Where do
you think OB would fall on the scale? Why?
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Learning About Yourself
Scoring Key
•
•
•
•
Director: 1, 2, 3
Producer: 4, 5, 6
Coordinator: 7, 8, 9
Monitor: 10, 11, 12
Mentor: 13, 14, 15
Facilitator: 16, 17, 18
Innovator: 19, 20, 21
Broker: 22, 23, 24
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Learning About Yourself
Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
Taking initiative
Goal setting
Delegating effectively
Personal productivity and
motivation
5. Motivating others
6. Time and stress management
7. Planning
8. Organizing
9. Controlling
10. Receiving and organizing
information
11. Evaluating routine information
12. Responding to routine
information
13. Understanding yourself and
others
14. Interpersonal communication
15. Developing subordinates
16. Team building
17. Participative decision making
18. Conflict management
19. Living with change
20. Creative thinking
21. Managing change
22. Building and maintaining a
power base
23. Negotiating agreement and
commitment
24. Negotiating and selling ideas
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Breakout Group Exercises
Form small groups to discuss the following
topics:
1. Consider a group situation in which you have worked. To what
extent did the group rely on the technical skills of the group
members vs. their interpersonal skills? Which skills seemed most
important in helping the group function well?
2. Identify some examples of “worst jobs.” What conditions of these
jobs made them unpleasant? To what extent were these
conditions related to behaviours of individuals?
3. Develop a list of “organizational puzzles,” i.e., behaviour you’ve
observed in organizations that seemed to make little sense. As
the term progresses, see if you can begin to explain these puzzles,
using your knowledge of organizational behaviour.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Working With Others
Exercise
This exercise asks you to consider the skills outlined in the
Competing Values Framework to develop an understanding of
managerial expertise. Steps 1–4 can be completed in 15–20
minutes.
1. Using the skills listed in “Learning About Yourself,” identify the 4
skills that you think all managers should have.
2. Identify the 4 skills that you think are least important for
managers to have.
3. In groups of 5–7, reach a consensus on the most-needed and leastneeded skills identified in Steps 1 and 2.
4. Using Exhibit 1-4, determine whether your “ideal” managers
would have trouble managing in some dimensions of
organizational demands.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
From Concepts to Skills
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-5
Competing Values Framework
External Focus
Internal Focus
Flexibility
Control
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
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
– or
– Controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less
change
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exhibit 1-6 Skills for Mastery
in the New Workplace
Flexibility
1. Understanding
yourself and others
2. Interpersonal
communication
3. Developing
subordinates
1. Team building
2. Participative
decision making
3. Conflict
management
1. Living with change
2. Creative thinking
3. Managing change
Mentor Innovator
Facilitator
Broker
1. Building and maintaining
a power base
2. Negotiating agreement
and commitment
3. Negotiating and
selling ideas
Internal
1. Receiving and
organizing information
2. Evaluating
routine information
3. Responding to
routine information
External
Monitor
Producer
Coordinator Director
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Controlling
1. Personal productivity
and motivation
2. Motivating others
3. Time and stress
management
1. Taking initiative
2. Goal setting
3. Delegating effectively
Control
Source: R.E. Quinn. Beyond Rational Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1988, p. 48.
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Supplemental Material
Slides for activities I do in my own
classroom
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Exercise
• In groups of 6
– Introduce yourselves
– Pick an interviewer
– Decide on questions or topics you want interviewer
to ask me
• The interview
– Introduce interviewer to me and the class
– Ask one question from your list (we will go around
the groups with one question at a time)
Chapter 1, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.
Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.