Ob1 unit 2 chapter - 5 - understanding ob

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Unit – 2 CHAPTER - 5

UNDERSTANDING OB

MBA 12 ORGANIZATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR - 1

Delivered By,

Dr. S. Gokula Krishnan, PhD.,

Associate Professor – OB, HR & Data Analytics,

Nehru School of Management,

Nehru College of Engineering & Research Centre.

E-mail : [email protected]

Discussions on

Dr. S. GOKULA KRISHNAN, Associate Professor @NSM2

Understanding Organizational Behavior

Fundamental Concepts

Organizational processes

Organizational structure

Organizational Change and Innovation processes

Effectiveness in organizations

Limitations and Continuing challenges to OB

Reference:

1. Stephen P Robbins, Timothy A Judge & NeharikaVohra, Organizational Behaviour, 15th ed., p. 17-24 &

2. Other Reference Books

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Fundamental Concepts Connected with OB


The Nature of People

• Law of individual differences

• Perception

• A whole person

• Motivated behavior

• Desire for Involvement

• Value of the Person

The Nature of Organizations

• Social systems

• Mutual Interest

• Ethics

The Nature of People


Law of individual differences-Each person is substantially different from all others in terms of theirpersonalities, needs, demographic factors and past experiences and/or because they are placed in different physicalsettings, time periods or social surroundings. This diversity needs to be recognized and viewed as a valuable asset toorganizations.

Perception- Perception is the unique way in which each person sees, organizes and interprets things based ontheir background of individual differences. Each person reacts not to an objective world, but to a world judged interms of his/her own beliefs, values and expectations. Sometimes it may lead to selective perception in whichpeople tend to pay attention to only those things that are consistent with or reinforce their own expectations.Selective perceptions may lead to misinterpretation of single events at work or create a barrier in the search fornew experience. Managers need to recognize the perceptual differences among the employees and manage themaccordingly.

A whole person- People function as total human beings. People are physical, mental, social and spiritual beingsand the organization actually employs the whole person rather than certain characteristics. There are spillovereffects between the work life and life outside work and management’s focus should be in developing not only abetter employee but also a better person in terms of growth and fulfillment. If the whole person can be developed ,then benefits will extend beyond the firm into the larger society in which each employee lives.

Motivated behaviour- Individual’s behavior are guided by their needs and the consequences that results fromtheir acts. In case of needs, people are motivated not by what others think they ought to have but by what theythemselves want. Motivation of employees is essential to the operation of organizations and the biggest challengefaced by managers.

Desire for Involvement-Many employees actively seek opportunities at work to become involved in relevantdecisions, thereby contributing their talents and ideas to the organization’s success. Consequently, organizationsneed to provide opportunities to the employees for meaningful involvement.

Value of the Person- People want to be treated with care, dignity and respect and increasingly they aredemanding such treatment from their employers. They want to be valued for their skills and abilities and to beprovided with opportunities to develop themselves.

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The Nature of Organizations


Social systems- Sociology tells that organizations are social systems. Just havepeople have psychological needs they also have social roles and status. Theirbehavior is influenced by their group as well as their by their individual drives. Twotypes of social systems exist side by side in the organization- the formal (official )social system and the informal social system- each influencing and gettinginfluenced by the other.

Mutual Interest-There is a mutuality of interest between the organization and itsemployees. Organization needs employees to reach its objectives and people needorganizations to help them reach individual objectives. Mutual interest provides asuperordinate goal – one that can be attained only through the integrated efforts ofindividuals and their employees.

Ethics- Ethics is the use of moral principles and values to affect the behavior ofindividuals and organizations with regard to choices between what is right andwrong. In order to ensure a higher standard of ethical performance by managersand employees companies have established codes of ethics, publicized statements ofethical values and set up internal procedures to handle misconduct. SinceOrganizational behavior involves people, ethical philosophy is involved in one wayor another in each action they take. When organization’s goals and actions areethical, individual, organizational and social objectives are more likely to be met.

Framing the study of OB


The study of OB involves

The Organization’s Environment Forces present in the environment outside the organization like needs of the society, demands of customers or clients, legal and political constraints, economic and technological changes and developments interact with the organization and the management of an organization must respond appropriately to it.

The Individual in the Organization Individual performance forms the basis of organizational performance. The four key influences on individual’s behavior and motivation are: Individual characteristics—e.g., personality, attitudes, perceptions, values.

Individual motivation—interacts with ability to work to determine individual performance.

Rewards/punishment—use of behavior modification techniques to enhance performance and control misbehavior.

Stress.

Interpersonal Influence and Group Behavior Interpersonal influence and group behavior affect organizational performance in the following way: Group Behavior—the dynamics of formal groups (created by managerial decisions) and informal

groups (developing around members' common interests and friendship) have an impact on the functioning of the organization

Intergroup Behavior and Conflict—groups can cooperate and/or compete with each other in organizations; conflict resulting from competition may be either functional or dysfunctional, depending on the organization.

Power and Politics—the dynamics and effects of power, authority and politics in the organization.

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Organizational Processes, Structure &

Design


A formal pattern of activities and interrelationship among the various subunits of theorganization. It includes:

Organizational Structure—the components of the organization and how thesecomponents fit together.

Job Design—the processes managers use to specify the contents, methods, andrelationships of jobs and specific task assignments.

Organizational Processes—four behavioral processes that contribute to effectiveorganizational performance are: Leadership—important for obtaining individual, group and organizational performance.

Defined by some in terms of specific traits and behaviors; the combination of thosebehaviors; or dependent upon the specific situation in which the leading is occurring.

Communication Process—links the organization to its environment and links partswithin the organization to each other.

Decision-Making Process—the dynamics, variety and techniques of both individual andgroup decision-making.

Organizational Change and Development Processes—planned attempts toimplement change that will improve overall individual, group, and organizationalperformance. It involves the study of Organizational structure and Design and Managingchange and Innovation.

Organizational Change & Innovation Process


Organizational Change: Organizational change is continuous process. People who are in position to take decision can very effectively influence the decisions. These change may include vital areas like restructuring, creating new departments, launching a new product line, appointment of key personnel at top levels and thus creating a lobby within the organization. This may prove to be counter productive and harmful for maintaining peaceful atmosphere.

Innovation: Innovation is the process of creating new ideas and putting them into practice. It is the means by which creative ideas find their way into everyday practices, ideally practices that contribute to improved customer service or organizational productivity.

Innovation Process 1. Idea Generation: To create an idea through spontaneous creativity, ingenuity, and

information processing.

2. Initial Experimentation: To establish the idea’s potential value and application.

3. Feasibility Determination: To identity anticipated costs and benefits.

4. Final Application: To produce and market a new product or services, or to implement a new approach to operations.

The innovation process is not complete until final application has been achieved. A new idea – even a great one – is not enough, In any organization, the idea must pass through all stages of innovation and reach the point of final application before its value can be realized.

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Effectiveness in Organizations


Levi Strauss, an effective company practices the following value principles: Behaviors—management exemplifies directness, openness to influence,

commitment to others’ success, and willingness to acknowledge employees’ contributions to problems.

Diversity—Levi’s values a diverse workforce at all levels. Differing points of views are sought and not suppressed.”

Recognition—Levi’s provide multiple forms of recognition for individuals and teams that contribute to the company’s success.

Ethical Practices—management epitomizes the stated standards of ethical behavior.

Empowerment—managers increase the authority and responsibility of those closest to the products and the customers.

The starting point for understanding of effectiveness begins with Frederick Taylor’s theory of scientific management. Since then effectiveness research has looked at two kinds of attributes:

Variables that predict effectiveness. Variables that indicate effectiveness.

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Continuing challenges to OB


Responding to Economic Pressures

Responding to Globalization Increased Foreign Assignments Working with People from Different Cultures Overseeing Movement of Jobs to Countries with Low-Cost Labor

Managing Workforce Diversity

Improving Customer Service

Improving People Skills

Stimulating Innovation and Change

Coping with “Temporariness”

Working in Networked Organizations

Helping Employees Balance Work–Life Conflicts

Creating a Positive Work Environment

Improving Ethical Behavior

Challenges – Level Wise


Challenges at the Individual

Level

• Individual Differences

• Job Satisfaction

• Motivation

• Empowerment

• Behaving Ethically

Challenges at the Group

Level

• Working With Others

• Workforce Diversity

Challenges at the

Organizational Level

• Productivity

• Developing Effective Employees

• Putting People First

• Global Competition

• Managing and Working in a Multicultural World

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Limitations to OB


Behavioural Bias- A narrow viewpoint that emphasizes satisfying employee experiences while overlooking the broader system of the organization in relation to all its public. Sound OB should recognize a social system in which many types of human needs are served in many ways.

The Law of diminishing returns- More of a good thing is not necessarily good. For any situation there is an optimum amount of desirable practice. Organizational effectiveness is achieved not by maximizing human variable but by combining all system variables together in a balanced way.

Unethical Manipulation of people-Knowledge and techniques can be used to manipulate people unethically.

END OF THE CHAPTER

Leadership & Management

Ob1 unit 2 chapter - 5 - understanding ob