MOS2181 - Intro to Organizational Behaviour (Lecture 1)

Unit 1

What is organizational behaviour?

Field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, & improving the attitudes/behaviours of individuals and groups in organizations.

Integrative model of OB: General Structure

(Relational Mechanisms + Organizational Mechanisms) → Individual Characteristics and Mechanisms → Individual Outcomes

Integrative model of OB: Relational mechanisms

Relational mechanisms:

• Communication

• Team characteristics & processes

• Power, influence, and negotiation

• Leadership styles & behaviours

Integrative model of OB: Organizational mechanisms

Organizational mechanisms:

• Organizational structure

• Organizational culture & change

Integrative model of OB: Individual characteristics & mechanisms

Individual characteristics & mechanisms

• Personality, Cultural Values, & Ability

• Job Satisfaction

• Stress

• Motivation

• Trust, Justice, and Ethics

• Learning & Decision Making

Individual outcomes

Individual Outcomes

• Job performance

• Organizational commitment

Frederick Taylor

• Scientific management

• Optimal and efficient work processes

• Focus on scientific methods

Max Weber

• Bureaucracy

• Specialization, strict chain of command, formal rules/procedures, decision-making at the top of the organization.

Contemporary management theory

• Dependencies between classical and human relations approaches

• There is not one best, universal principle

Resource-based view

Rare and inimitable resources help firms maintain a competitive advantage

• History

• Numerous small decisions

• Socially complex resources

Resource-based view: Rare, inimitable, resources

• Rare: in short supply

• Inimitable: incapable of being imitated or copied

• Resources: financial (e.g., revenue), physical (e.g., buildings), and human (e.g., knowledge, ability, wisdom)

Rule of one-eighth

Belief that, at best, one-eighth (12%) of organizations will do what is required to build profits by putting people first.

Theory and hypotheses

Theory → Hypothesis → Data → Verification → Theory

Meta-analysis

Method that combines the results of multiple studies by calculating a weighted-average correlation across studies

ex. 2020: extroversion & stress + 2007: is stress associated with extroversion? + 1990: does extroversion lead to a reduction in stress + 2015: the relationship between stress and extroversion.

Evidence-based management

a perspective that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education.