Managing for Organizational Effectiveness - Week 1

Instructor Profile: Dr. Kemi Anazodo

  • Academic Background:

    • PhD in Human Resource Management, York University (2019).

    • Masters in Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto.

    • Bachelor of Business Administration (Human Resources), Brock University.

  • Research Streams:

    • Stream 1: Criminal Records and Employment.

    • Stream 2: Inclusion and Belonging, specifically focusing on:

      • Neurodiversity.

      • Black women in leadership.

      • Healthcare workers.

      • Religious Refugees.

      • Essential Service Workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Course Overview and Objectives

  • The Human Side of Management:

    • Managing an organization, its groups, and oneself effectively.

    • Accomplishing tasks, goals, and projects within organizational structures.

    • Dynamics of working for others, with others, and supervising others.

  • Course Goals:

    • Complement technical skills from core business courses.

    • Develop connections between Organizational Behavior (OB) and management theory/practice.

    • Connect scientific research to personal experience.

    • Apply academic material to business cases and pop-press articles.

    • Enhance critical thinking, personal leadership, and teamwork skills.

Organizational Behavior (OB) vs. Human Resource Management (HRM)

  • Organizational Behavior (OB):

    • Definition: The study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations.

    • Scope:

      • Considers employee behavior, decisions, perceptions, and emotional responses.

      • Examines interpersonal relationships and teamwork dynamics.

      • Analyzes how organizations interact with external environments.

    • Importance: OB provides the theoretical basis for HR practices. It helps predict and make sense of people in organizations while rebuilding personal perspectives and values to enable effectiveness.

  • Human Resource Management (HRM):

    • Definition: Programs, practices, and systems to acquire, develop, motivate, and retain employees.

    • Key Functions:

      • Recruitment and selection processes.

      • Orientation and induction (onboarding).

      • Training, skill development, and performance appraisal.

      • Compensation, benefits, and motivation.

      • Labor relations and trade union management.

      • Employee safety, welfare, and health compliance with labor laws.

Core Course Themes and Career Influences

  • Course Themes:

    • Attitudes: Job satisfaction and commitment.

    • Motivation.

    • Diversity: Deep-level vs. surface-level.

    • Behavior: Cooperation, engagement, communication, conflict, negotiation, innovation, and creativity.

    • Power and Influence: Ethics and work/life balance.

    • Teams and Leadership: Focusing on both self and others.

    • Psychological Mechanisms: Personality, perception, identity, values, emotions, and stress.

  • Career Influence of OB Knowledge:

    • Influence People Strategy: Roles like consultants, organizational development specialists, or change managers.

    • Shape Learning & Leadership: Building programs for future leaders (e.g., L&D Specialist).

    • Use Data (People Analytics): Analyzing why employees leave or how to boost engagement.

    • Protect Well-being: Creating policies for psychological health, safety, and fairness (e.g., Occupational Health & Safety).

    • Bridge Science and Practice: Designing nudges, running experiments, and shaping policy through behavioral science.

Course Expectations and Policies

  • Engagement and Professionalism:

    • Think critically, challenge assumptions, and conduct independent research.

    • Complete all assigned readings and podcasts.

    • Use your voice: Share experiences, ask questions, and engage in kind, considerate debate.

  • Communication:

    • Use only UWindsor email; check Brightspace frequently.

    • Email Format: Include course code, section, and topic in the subject line (e.g., MGMT2400 S1, OB in the News).

    • Response Time: Expected within 4848 hours.

    • Office Hours: Virtual office hours held M/W 11:30 to 111:30 \text{ to } 1. Use the waiting room and put your name in the chat.

  • Academic Integrity:

    • Work must be solely individual or group-based (for group projects).

    • Plagiarism software is used under Odette’s Academic Integrity and Code of Conduct policy.

    • Bylaw 31: Academic Integrity concerns.

  • Missed Assessments:

    • Late work generally results in a mark of zero (00).

    • Extenuating circumstances require the Master of Management Alternative Assessment Request form.

  • Regrading Policy:

    • Requests must be submitted in Word via email within one week (11 week) of receiving the grade.

    • Requests must explain precise reasons; regrading can result in a higher, lower, or identical grade.

Participation and Grading Criteria

  • 50 to 6050 \text{ to } 60: Absent, disengaged, left early, disrupted class, or unprofessional behavior.

  • 60 to 7060 \text{ to } 70: Present but did not participate; comments lacked reading preparation.

  • 70 to 8070 \text{ to } 80: Participated in discussions; demonstrated adequate preparation and moderate quality (e.g., restating facts).

  • 80+80+: Regular participation; comments were insightful, demonstrated critical thinking, synthesized concepts, and reconciled discrepancies.

Generative AI Policy

  • Allowed Uses: Editing, outlining, and brainstorming work.

  • Requirement: Must be acknowledged and cited at the end of the assignment.

  • Restriction: Use outside of these scopes constitutes academic misconduct.

  • Sample Statement: "During the preparation of this work, the author utilized [name AI tool] to support copy editing and refinement. All content generated… was subsequently reviewed, edited, and approved by the authors."

Management Frameworks and Evolution

  • Bureaucracy:

    • Characteristics: Strict chain of command, technical selection criteria, detailed rules, high specialization, and centralized power.

    • Drawbacks: Employee alienation, limited innovation, resistance to change, and preoccupation with the "minimum acceptable" performance.

  • Human Relations Movement:

    • Characteristics: Recognized psychological/social processes, flexible management, interesting job design, open communication, and employee participation.

  • The Contingency Approach:

    • Resolves that there is no "one best way" to manage.

    • The answer is often "it depends," where dependencies are called "contingencies."

    • Management style should match the demands of the specific situation.

  • Evidence-Based Management (EBM):

    • Making decisions based on current scientific evidence rather than personal preference or unsystematic experience.

    • Increases the likelihood of attaining organizational goals.

Contemporary Management Concerns

  • The Psychological Contract:

    • Traditional: Stability, permanence, predictability, fairness, and tradition.

    • Modern: Mutual respect, self-reliance, flexibility, adaptability, transactional nature, and self-actualization.

  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB):

    • Diversity: Recognizing and valuing individual differences.

    • Equity: Ensuring fair treatment and equitable distribution of power/resources.

    • Inclusion: Creating environments where diverse voices have influence and autonomy.

    • Belonging: A culture where individuals feel accepted and valued to contribute full potential.

  • Indigenization, Decolonization, and Reconciliation:

    • Indigenization: Naturalizing Indigenous knowledge systems and weaving them with Western systems (a unique process for every organization).

    • Decolonization: Deconstructing colonial ideologies of Western superiority and dismantling status quo structures; must be led by Indigenous people.

    • Reconciliation: Addressing past wrongs, making amends, and improving relationships; a responsibility of non-Indigenous people.

Meaningful Work and Work-Life Balance

  • Meaningful Work: An authentic connection between work and a broader transcendent life purpose beyond the self.

  • Five Qualities of Meaningful Work (Bailey & Madden, 2016):

    • Self-Transcendent: Impacts others, not just self.

    • Poignant: Includes challenges, not just euphoria.

    • Episodic: Experienced in deeply meaningful moments.

    • Reflective: Realized in retrospect.

    • Personal: Connected to personal life experiences.

  • Work-life Balance and Role Management:

    • Segmenting: Consciously separating roles.

    • Integrating: Consciously amalgamating roles.

    • Importing: Drawing on one role to facilitate another.

    • Role Conflict:

      • Seeping: Roles become blurred.

      • Invading: Roles involuntarily comprise one another (associated with burnout, anxiety, and absenteeism).

  • Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA):

    • Flexibility in "where" or "when" work is done (e.g., Hybrid, Remote, Travel).

    • Positives: Higher engagement, productivity, and satisfaction.

    • Risks: Social isolation, mental health issues, and potential reduction in promotion opportunities.

Ikigai: A Reason for Being

  • The Intersection of Four Circles:

    1. What you love.

    2. What you are good at.

    3. What the world needs.

    4. What you can be paid for.

  • States of Imbalance:

    • Love + Good at + World needs (but no pay): Delight and fullness, but no wealth.

    • Good at + Paid for + Love (but world doesn't need): Satisfaction but a feeling of uselessness.

    • Paid for + World needs + Good at (but don't love): Comfortable, but feeling of emptiness.

    • World needs + Paid for + Love (but not good at): Excitement but a sense of uncertainty.