Managerial Skills

Core Concepts of Core Concepts of Organizational Organizational

BehaviorBehaviorSchermerhorn, Hunt, and Schermerhorn, Hunt, and

OsbornOsborn

Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior: Chapter 1

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Chapter 1Organizational Behavior Today

Study questions.– What is organizational behavior and why is it

important?– How do we learn about organizational

behavior?– What are organizations like as work settings?– What is the nature of managerial work?– How do ethics influence human behavior in

organizations?


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What is organizational behaviorand why is it important?

Organizational behavior.– Study of individuals and groups in

organizations.– Emphasizes high performance organizations.– Occurs in a global context. – Dimensions of individual and group behavior. – Nature of organizations. – Core processes.


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Shifting paradigms of organizational behavior.– Demise of “command-and-control.”– Emergence of new workplace expectations.– Critical role of information technologies.– Belief in empowerment.– Emphasis on teamwork.– Concern for work-life balance.


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Organizational behavior and diversity.– Workforce diversity is the presence of

differences based on:• Gender.• Race and ethnicity.• Age.• Abel-bodiedness.• Sexual orientation.


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Organizational behavior and diversity — cont.– Valuing diversity is a core OB theme.

• Interpersonal and cultural sensitivity.

– Glass ceiling effect.• Women and minorities as managers and

executives.

• Earnings of women and minorities.


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How do we learn aboutorganizational behavior?

Organizational behavior and the learning imperative.– Organizational learning is the process of

acquiring knowledge and utilizing information to adapt successfully to changing circumstances.

– Necessity of life-long learning.


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How do we learn aboutorganizational behavior?

Scientific foundations of organizational

behavior.

– Interdisciplinary body of knowledge.

– Use of scientific methods.

– Focus on application.

– Contingency thinking.


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What are organizations like as work settings?

An organization is a collection of people

working together in a division of labor to

achieve a common purpose.

Applies to:

– A wide variety of clubs, institutions, agencies,

businesses, and other organized entities.


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What are organizationslike as work settings?

Purpose, mission, and strategies.

– Core purpose of an organization.

– Mission and vision.

– Mission statements.


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People and work systems.

– Intellectual capital

• The sum total of knowledge, expertise, and

dedication of an organization’s workforce.

– Human resources.

– Material resources.


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Organizations as open systems.– Organizations obtain resource inputs from the

environment.– Organizations transform resource inputs.– Organizations return transformed inputs to the

environment as outputs in the form of goods and services.


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What is the nature of managerial work?

Managers:– Perform jobs that involve directly supporting

the work efforts of others.

– Help other people get important things done in timely, high-quality, and satisfying ways.

– Assume roles such as coordinator, coach, or team leader.


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The nature of managerial work.– Managers work long hours.

– Managers are busy people.

– Managers are often interrupted.

– Managers work mostly with other people.

– Managers are communicators.


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The management process.– An effective manager is one whose

organizational unit, group, or team consistently achieves its goals while its members remain capable, committed, and enthusiastic.

– Key results of effective management:• Task performance.• Job satisfaction.


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Functions of management.– Planning.

• Defining goals, setting specific performance objectives, and identifying the actions needed to achieve them.

– Organizing.• Creating work structures and systems, and

arranging resources to accomplish goals and objectives.


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Functions of management — cont.– Leading.

• Instilling enthusiasm by communicating with others, motivating them to work hard, and maintaining good interpersonal relations.

– Controlling.• Ensuring that things go well by monitoring

performance and taking corrective action as necessary.


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Managerial roles.– Interpersonal roles.

• Figurehead.• Leader.• Liaison.

– Informational roles.• Monitor.• Disseminator.• Spokesperson.


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Managerial roles — cont.– Decisional roles.

• Entrepreneur.• Disturbance handler.• Resource allocator.• Negotiator.


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Managerial networks.– Task networks.

• Specific job-related contacts.

– Career networks.• Career guidance and opportunity resources.

– Social networks.• Trustworthy friends and peers.


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Managerial skills and competencies.

– A skill is an ability to translate knowledge into

action that results in a desired performance.

– Categories of skills:

• Technical.

• Human.

• Conceptual.


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Managerial skills and competencies — cont.– Technical skills are relatively more important

at entry levels.– Human skills are consistently important across

all managerial levels.– Conceptual skills are relatively more

important at top management levels.


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Managerial skills and competencies— cont.– Technical skills.

• An ability to perform specialized tasks.

• Derives from knowledge of expertise gained from education or experience.

• Proficiency at using select methods, processes, and procedures to accomplish tasks.


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Managerial skills and competencies — cont.– Human skills.

• An ability to work well with other people.• Emerges as a spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and

genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships.• Self-awareness.• Capacity for understanding and empathizing.• Engages in persuasive communication.• Deals successfully with conflicts.


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Managerial skills and competencies — cont.– Conceptual skills.

• An ability to see and understand how the system works, and how the parts are interrelated.

• Used to:– Identify problems and opportunities.– Gather and interpret relevant information.– Make good problem-solving decisions.


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How do ethics influence human behavior in organizations?

Ethical behavior.– “Good” and “right” as opposed to “bad” or

“wrong” in a particular setting.– Ways of thinking about ethical behavior.

• Utilitarian view.• Individualism view.• Moral rights view.• Justice view.


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Ethical dilemmas in the workplace.– Nature of an ethical dilemma.– Ethical dilemmas occur in relationships with:

• Superiors.• Subordinates.• Customers.• Competitors.• Suppliers.• Regulators.


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Ethical dilemmas in the workplace — cont.– Rationalizations for unethical behavior:

• Pretending the behavior is not really unethical or illegal.

• Saying the behavior is really in the organization’s or person’s best interest.

• Assuming the behavior is acceptable if others don’t find out about it.

• Presuming that superiors will support and protect you.


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Organizational social responsibility.– The obligation of organizations to behave in

ethical and moral ways as institutions of the broader society.

– Managers should commit organizations to:• Pursuit of high productivity.• Corporate social responsibility.


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Work and the quality of life.– Quality of work life (QWL).

• The overall quality of human experience in the workplace.

– QWL commitment reflects an endorsement of Theory Y assumptions.

– Work-life balance.• Job demands should fit personal life and nonwork

responsibilities.

Technology

Managerial Skills