ob unit 1

Introduction to Organizational Behavior

• Michael Bowser, a supervisor/team chief in the Department of Defense, emphasizes the importance of interpersonal skills in management.

• Good interpersonal skills are essential for improving workplace dynamics and are just as important as technical expertise.

The Shift in Management Education

• Historically, management curricula focused on technical skills, with little emphasis on human behavior.

• Over the last 15 years, the significance of understanding human behavior in management has become widely recognized, leading to the integration of courses on interpersonal skills into business school curricula.

• Organizations require strong interpersonal relationships to retain high-performing employees, particularly in a competitive job market.

Learning Objectives for Organizational Behavior

1. Define organizational behavior (OB).

2. Describe managerial roles and responsibilities.

3. Explain the value of systematic study in OB.

4. Identify challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.

5. Explore contributions from various behavioral science disciplines to OB.

6. Discuss the necessity of managers understanding OB.

7. Explain the contingency approach in OB study.

8. Outline the three levels of analysis in the OB model.

Definition of Key Terms

• Manager: Individuals who achieve goals through other people.

• Organization: A coordinated social unit composed of two or more people that operates continuously to achieve goals.

What Managers Do

• Managers obtain results through others by making decisions, allocating resources, and directing activities.

• Organizational forms can include corporations, non-profits, hospitals, schools, etc.

Management Functions (Condensed)

1. Planning: Setting goals and defining strategies to achieve them.

2. Organizing: Designing the organization’s structure and allocating resources.

3. Leading: Directing and motivating employees, and resolving conflicts.

4. Controlling: Monitoring and correcting organizational performance based on goals.

Mintzberg's Managerial Roles

• Identified 10 managerial roles grouped into three categories:

  • Interpersonal Roles (e.g., figurehead, leader, liaison).

  • Informational Roles (e.g., monitor, disseminator, spokesperson).

  • Decisional Roles (e.g., entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator).

Essential Management Skills

• Technical Skills: Specialized knowledge or expertise.

• Human Skills: The ability to work effectively with people.

• Conceptual Skills: The ability to analyze complex situations and solve problems.

Effective vs. Successful Managers

• Research indicates that effective managers focus on employee satisfaction and performance, while successful managers emphasize networking and maintaining political connections.

Understanding Organizational Behavior (OB)

• OB is a field that investigates the impact of individual and group behavior and their relationship with organizational structure.

• Components of OB include motivation, leader behavior, attitudes, and group processes.

Importance of Systematic Study

• A systematic approach to studying behavior contrasts with intuition, enabling better predictions about organizational dynamics.

Contributions to Organizational Behavior

• OB integrates insights from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science, focusing on both individual and group behavior.

Contingency Approach in OB

• Effective leadership and management practices depend on situational variables; there are few universal principles that apply across all contexts.

Challenges and Opportunities for OB

• Increasing workforce diversity, globalization, technological change, and evolving managerial roles highlight the importance of OB in contemporary organizations.

Globalization and Workforce Diversity

• Organizations are increasingly global, raising the importance of cultural understanding and adaptability among managers.

• Workforce diversity requires organizations to accommodate varying backgrounds, perspectives, and needs of employees.

Improving Quality and Productivity

• Techniques such as process reengineering and total quality management integrate employee input to boost productivity and product/service quality.

Labor Shortage and Employee Retention

• Managers must develop strategies to retain skilled employees amid labor shortages, emphasizing employee treatment and satisfaction.

Balancing Work/Life Conflicts

• Today's employees seek workplace flexibility to manage personal responsibilities effectively, highlighting the relevance of OB principles.

Enhancing Organizational Ethical Standards

• Organizations strive to create ethical work environments through policies, training, and clear guidelines regarding ethical behavior.

Conclusion: The OB Model

• A comprehensive understanding of OB integrates both independent variables (individual attributes, group behavior, organizational structure) and dependent variables (productivity, job satisfaction, absenteeism, turnover, organizational citizenship).

• The dynamics of behavior must take into account the complex interplay of various situational factors affecting performance.