Chapter 1Nelson & Quick

Introduction: Organizational Behavior in Changing Times

Copyright ©2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Organizational Behavior

The study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizations

Psychosocial

OrganizationalBehavior

BehavioralInterpersonal

Organizational Behavior: Dynamics in Organizations

OrganizationalDesign

Jobs

WorkDesign

PerformanceAppraisal

OrganizationalStructure

Organizational Variables that Affect Human Behavior

Communication

HumanBehavior

Human Behaviorin the

Organization

Clockworks or Snake pit?

Organizational vs. Individual Point of View

Internal/External Perspective of Human Behavior

Understand behavior in terms of

External events, environmental forces, & behavioral consequences

Thoughts,feelings, past experiences, and needs

Explain behavior by examining

Surrounding external events & environmental forces

Individuals’ history & personal value system

Internal Perspective External Perspective

Each perspective has produced motivational & leadership theories.

Psychology the science of

human behavior

Management the study of overseeing

activities and supervising people in organizations

Anthropologythe science of the learned behavior of human beings

Medicine the applied science of healing or treatment of

diseases to enhance an individual’s health and

well-being

Engineering the applied science of energy & matter

Sociology the science

of society

Interdisciplinary Influences on Organizational

Behavior

Components of an Organization

Task - an organization’s mission, purpose, or goal for existing

People - the human resources of the organizationStructure - the manner in which an organization’s work is

designed at the micro level; how departments, divisions, & the overall organization are designed at the macro level

Technology - the intellectual and mechanical processes used by an organization to transform inputs into products or services that meet organizational goals (ch02)

Open SystemsView of Organization

Outputs: Products Services

Inputs:MaterialCapitalHuman

Task environment:CompetitorsUnionsRegulatory agenciesClients

Structure

Task Technology

People(Actors)

Organizational BoundaryBased on Harold Levitt, “Applied Organizational Change in Industry: Structural, Technological, and Humanistic Approaches,” in J.G.March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1965,p. 1145. Reprinted by permission of James G. March

Formal vs. Informal Organization

Formal Organization - the official, legitimate, and most visible part of the system

Informal Organization - the unofficial and less visible part of the system

Hawthorne Studies: studies conducted during the 1920s and 1930s that discovered the existence of the informal organization

Formal & Informal Elements of Organizations

Formal organization (overt)

Goals & objectivesPolicies & procedures

Job descriptionsFinancial resourcesAuthority structure

Communication channelsProducts & services

Informal organization (covert)

Beliefs & assumptions Perceptions & attitudes

ValuesFeelings, such as fear, joy

anger, trust, & hopeGroup norms

Informal leaders

SocialSurface

U.S. Gross Domestic Product

Federal purchases State/local purchasesPersonal durable goods Personal nondurable goodsPersonal Services Fixed investments

Total$10.4 Trillion

44%

12% 7%9%

8%

20%

Five Focus Organizations

Brinker International Harley-Davidson Hewlett-Packard Patagonia American Heart Association

The Challenge of Change

Too much change = chaos Too little change = stagnation

How do you view change?

Threat Opportunity

International Competition in Business

Driving forces creating and shaping change at work Globalization Technology

Success will require: positive response to the competition in the

international marketplace responsiveness to ethnic, religious, and gender

diversity in the workforce

Diversity Ethics

Quality A potential means for giving organizations in viable

industries a competitive edge in international competition

A rubric for products and services that are of high status

A customer-oriented philosophy of management with implications for all aspects of organizational behavior

A cultural value embedded in successful organizations

Cannot be optimized

Is not a fad

Is not an end in itself

Quality

Three key questions in evaluating quality-improvement ideas1. Does the idea improve customer response?2. Does the idea accelerate results?3. Does the idea raise the effectiveness of resources?

YES means the idea should improve overall quality

Total Quality Management

The total dedication to continuous improvement and to customers so that the customers’ needs are met and their expectations exceeded

CEOs Advance Total Quality by:

Engaging in participative management Being willing to change everything Focusing quality efforts on customer service Including quality as a criterion in reward systems Improving the flow of information regarding

quality-improvement successes or failures Being actively & personally involved in quality

efforts

Seven Categories in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examination

Leadership Information and analysis Strategic quality planning Human resource utilization Quality assurance of products & services Quality results Customer satisfaction

Challenges to Managing Organizational Behavior

1. Increasing globalization of organizations’ operating territory

2. Increasing diversity of organizational workforces3. Continuing technological innovation with its

companion need for skill enhancement4. Continuing demand for higher levels of moral &

ethical behavior at work

Learning about Organizational Behavior

Mastery ofbasic objectiveobjective

knowledge*knowledge*

Applicationof knowledge

and skills

Development ofDevelopment ofspecific skills**skills**

and abilities

* Objective knowledge knowledge that results from research and scholarly activities

** Skill development the mastery of abilities essential to successful functioning in organizations

Learning from Structured Activity

Individual or groupstructured activity

(e.g., group decisionactivity)New or modified

knowledge or skills(e.g., consensus

group decisions arebetter)

Systematic reviewof the structured

activity (e.g., compare individual & group results)

Conclusions basedon the systematicreview (e.g., thegroup did better)

Three Assumptions Required for Learning from Structured Activity

Each student must accept responsibility for his/her

own behavior, actions, & learning

Each student must actively participate in the individual/group structured learning activity

Each student must be open to new information, new skills, new ideas, and experimentation

Trends Affecting Managers

Industrial restructuring Increased amount & availability of information Need to attract & retain the best employees Need to understand human & cultural differences Rapid shortening of response times in all aspects of

business

Watchwords for Organizationsin These Changing Times