Module 1 #Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

Module 1: Introduction to organizational behavior

Vinay Kumar, Ph.D

Vidisha Garg, MBA

ICBM-SBE, 2014

Idea of an ‘organization’

Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 2

PEOPLE

PROCESSES

TECHNOLOGY

GOALS

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SOCIETY (GOVERNMENT)

MARKETS (COMPETITION)

Read more @ http://www.csupomona.edu/~msharifzadeh/chapter1.html

http://www.csupomona.edu/~msharifzadeh/chapter1.html

Managing organizations

• Who is managing – people

• Who/what are managed – people/resources

• What is being managed – alignment

• Why management – goals

• What happens if there is no management

– Supplement 1: Is management always necessary?

– Supplement 2: Should management always be felt?

– Supplement 3: Can management not exist in any organization?

• What is the context for management – boundary constraints

3 Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg

Perspectives


What does effective management need?

• Externally,

– Being sensitive to regulatory and social constraints

– Having access and capacity to mobilize resources (men/material etc)

• Internally,

– Being sensitive to human behaviour (Here is Org. Behaviour)

– Making optimal utilization of resources (men/material etc)


What is organizational behaviour?

• Systematic study of people and structures on behaviours

exhibited within the organization

– Key premise here is that knowledge gained through such study could be

applied to improve organizational effectiveness


Roots of OB


• Psychology

– Studies the causes and

changes individual behavior

• Social psychology

– Studies the influences of

people on one another,

especially in group settings

• Sociology

– Studies the behavior of

people in relation to their

social culture or environment

• Anthropology

– Studies the evolution of

cultures and environments

Source: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational Behavior,15th Edition. Pearson: New Jersey.

Contributions to foundations of OB

• What if all of us thought alike, i.e. there is a common

conscience in all of us?

– Crime is that which deviates from common conscience; and

punishment becomes repressive

• What if there is a social order brought through division of

labor according to merit?

– Crime is that which tries to break the social order; and

punishment becomes restorative

– Social inequalities come closest to natural inequalities

• ‘Whole is greater and different than the sum of its parts’

• Read more @

http://www.wavesofwords.4t.com/theorywebpage.htm


Emile Durkheim (1858-1957)

http://www.wavesofwords.4t.com/theorywebpage.htm


• What if the most efficient way of organizing human

activity?

– Bureaucracy as a method of organizing human activity by

bestowing rational-legal authority to certain individuals

– Administration as an idea of dominating through

knowledge

– Bureaucracy is efficient yet it

• Threatens individual freedom

• Through a process of rationalization, it captures the human soul in an

iron-cage made of rules and controls

• Read more @

http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/encyclop/bur

eaucracy.html


Max Weber (1864-1920)

http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/encyclop/bureaucracy.html

http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/encyclop/bureaucracy.html


• When would people cooperate? (ex: take orders)

– Informal organization exists within formal setups.

– People take orders from managers when there is a ‘zone

of indifference’, i.e. a situation where individuals accept

orders without questioning the authority of manager

– Four conditions when authority is acceptable:

• Communication is effective

• Decisions are purposeful

• Orders compatible with interests of executives

• Executive is capable

• Read more @

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Functions_of_the_Executive


Chester Barnard (1886-1961)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Functions_of_the_Executive

How to recognize OB?

• Four checks:

– Systematic study: Identifying relationships between variables, cause and effect

relations, if any, based on scientific methods of observation and analysis

• Example 1: Survey indicates moderate level of satisfaction among mid-career group

• Example 2: Manager observes sudden decrease in performance of his team; and the

manager interviews his team to explore reasons (evidence-based management)

• Note: Intuition isn’t necessarily the best method for decision-making

– Behaviours: Not all behaviours, but those related to performance

• Examples: Absenteeism, turnover, productivity, loyalty etc

– Structures: Indicates how different configurations influence behaviour

• Example: Deep hierarchies could discourage people from performing

– Application: Changes within organization would make it more effective

• Example: Merit-based promotions encourage people to perform


TYS: Is this OB?

• Ranjan got married recently, and went out for a long honeymoon on

company approved leaves. When he was back he was shocked to find there

were several complaints on his pending work which was allotted to him

during his absence. Ranjan was upset about this and confronted his

manager. His manager simply said, ‘we followed the rules of project

management in allocating work and were totally scientific in our methods,

and by that we imagine you should be able to comeback and do your stuff’.


TYS: Is this OB?

• Namita has joined the firm recently as a software developer but she aspires

to be a civil servant. After office hours, she is spending time at a coaching

center to prepare for her upcoming exams. However, overnight

preparations started showing up in her performance on the job. Her

manager suggested that Namita should carefully think about her priorities

since lackadaisical performance was intolerable.


TYS: Is this OB?

• Sumit worked as a consultant for twenty years in the same firm. He began

to feel the need to spend time with his family and informed his manager

about this. After a long discussion, manager agreed to relieve Sumit from

the job and wished him a happy time ahead.


TYS: Is this OB?

• Polly is a bubbly girl and she works for an ad agency. People around her are

always flattered by her style. Recently, her manager began to feel a bit

isolated with everyone giving their attention to Polly and not him. He

figured that it was because of how Polly dressed herself and decided to

deal with it. One day he called Polly and warned her to dress more

appropriately. When Polly did not comply, he came with a new dress-code

policy to make sure everyone, including Polly, adhered to it. This, he

reasoned to seniors as an initiative to reduce differences in how people

looked, and therefore lets them focus on their performance more than

their appearance.


The holy grail of OB

• Hypothesis 1: Productive people are happier

• Hypothesis 2: Happier people are more productive

• Managerial dilemma

– Control production vs. Care for people

– Performance vs. Satisfaction

• The way in which individuals deal with each other often indicates their

orientation towards this dilemma

– Example: Task-oriented managers stress for results, whereas people-oriented

managers stress for bonding, teamwork, and loyalty

Reference:

Landy, E. F. (1989). Psychology of work behavior. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.


What managers do • Planning

• Organizing

• Leading

• Controlling


Fayol, H. (1949). General and Industrial Management. (C. Storrs, Translation). Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Limited: London

Gulick, L. & Urwick, L. (1933). Papers on the science of administration. Institute of Public Administration: New York.

Note: Evolution of management thought must be learnt in detail from the PPM Course, Unit 1.

Skills managers need

• Technical skills

– Specialized knowledge in solving technical problems. These problems need more

individual attention than group interaction or public consultation.

– Examples: Building functions in Excel, charting processes in Visio, entering transactions

into Tally, writing summary reports in Word

• Interpersonal skills

– Specialized knowledge in interacting with individuals and groups. These problems need

greater variety of thought or individuals contributing pieces of their knowledge.

– Examples: Designing ads, establishing international businesses, dealing with new

customer segments, maintaining organizational reports

• Conceptual skills

– Specialized knowledge in abstraction. Typically, individuals need these skills to identify

problems, work on alternatives, make hard decisions and drive policies

– Examples: …more money, and then…, …high labor turnover, so now what…


Success vs. Effectiveness


Do managers who get quick promotions continue doing the same

things they did to get promoted?

Roles that managers play

• Interpersonal

• Informational

• Decisional

• Managers can play several

roles at the same time,

depending on the situation


TYS: What role is prominent here?

• At a reputed consulting firm, call it Booz Allen, a lady receptionist, about 80

years old still continues in her job. The manager of that facility proudly says

that his receptionist’s single point job-description is to greet all other

employees with a smile.

• Companies should be fortunate to find eager-beavers. Justin was one such

who would not leave the desk with any pending work, not just of his but of

his team too. But his manager has been asking him to leave the office on-

time irrespective of whether the work gets done or not.

• Vallika had to fly to US to sign a contract. She anticipated other deals in

India in her absence, and had put up a vacation responder on her email

indicating her subordinate’s contact details and the date of her arrival.


TYS: What role is prominent here?

• Bank manager, Srinivas, signing loan applications was consciously checking

whether his subordinates have signed on the file, and whether the

applicants have reliable sources of income. If he is unsatisfied with any

application, he is sending it back for more information.

• As a senior manager of the firm, Teffany, had to report the recent employee

satisfaction survey results to the media. Whenever she talks, she also

wanted to communicate her expectations from employees. She prepared

her speech accordingly.

• Bappi, manager of an upcoming steel plant, found that there are two other

companies vying for the load of coal that was recently imported into the

local shipyard. He knew that competition would be counter-productive to

his business. He wanted to discuss with the shipyard on getting his rights on

coal before others get into competition for the same load.


Challenges to OB

• Responding to economic pressures

• Responding to globalization

• Managing workplace diversity

• Improving customer service

• Improving people skills

• Stimulating innovation and change

• Coping with ‘temporariness’ (becoming obsolete too soon)

• Working in networked organizations

• Helping employees balance work-life conflicts

• Creating a positive work environment

• Improving ethical behavior


Making sense of OB: Process model


Source: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational Behavior,15th Edition. Pearson: New Jersey.

Modus operandi

• Managers may, from their abilities to grasp a situation, choose any (or combination)

of the models of operating with their understanding of OB

– Autocratic model: Power-centric; ‘I order-you do’

– Custodial model: Resource-centric; ‘We must share these’

– Supportive model: Leadership-centric; ‘Let us make this a better place’

– Collegial model: Cooperation-centric; ‘What can I do for you’

– Systems model: Structure-centric; ‘All of us are here for each other’

• In that order, each model makes organizations more democratic

• For more discussion, read:

– http://wikieducator.org/Organizational_Behavior

– http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/255194?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104332911777


http://wikieducator.org/Organizational_Behavior

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/255194?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104332911777

Exercise

• Find one news article which has an OB component. Preferably, it should include ‘in

quote’ comments by a representative of the organization in the article.

• Note: You should be able to explain the OB component you observed.


• For example, in this article, Satya Nadella says, in quotes:

• My message to employees is clear: let's be bold and

ambitious and really get behind the core that is

unique to us

• Today is all about focusing on the change that is

needed and renewal that is needed

• [Microsoft should become a place with] least number

of layers and least number of decision makers

• Read more @ http://online.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-ceo-

nadella-hints-at-organizational-changes-1405003356

http://online.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-ceo-nadella-hints-at-organizational-changes-1405003356















For discussion

• Does national culture influence behavior within organizations?

• What is the best way to learn organizational behavior?

– Is it possible to learn from failures?

– Is robust research necessary for decision-making?

• Do introverts influence the behavior of others in organizations?

– If so, how?

– If not, why should they be in organizations?

• What are different forms of violence in organizations that is not apparent,

but also not ignorable?

– For example, bullying is an apparent act of violence. Objurgating is not so apparent,

but causes serious damage to psychology of individuals.

– What other forms of these soft violence are identifiable?


End of module 1.

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Module 1 #Introduction to Organizational Behavior