Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Chapter 1

Introduction to Organizational Behavior

• Sung Hyoun Hong, Management Department, Georgia State University

Agenda

• Main themes

• Key Concepts

  • What is organizational behavior

  • Importance, relevance, definitions

  • Integrative model of OB through personal and organizational lenses

  • Scientific methods in OB

  • Theory, hypothesis, correlations

What Is Organizational Behavior?

• Engages in reflective thinking by prompting the audience to:

  • Recall experiences with coworkers (positive or negative):

  • Identify actions that made coworkers seem incapable or competent.

  • Consider attributes of a “best place to work” organization and its appeal to current and potential employees.

  • Reflect on personal work experiences regarding enjoyment or dislike of the environment.

Textbook Definitions

• Organizational behavior defined as:

  • “A field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.”

Why Study Organizational Behavior?

• Enhances understanding of:

  • People (self and others): attitudes, behaviors, personal attributes, values and beliefs, motivations, attributions

• Enhances ability to navigate:

  • Relationships with managers, coworkers, friends, and family.

Why Should You Care About OB?

• Relevance to everyone as:

  • All individuals are employees in some capacity.

  • Work life constitutes a significant portion of personal life.

  • Achieving and excelling in various work aspects (salary, career accomplishments, personal values, physical well-being) is important.

  • Mastering diverse relationships within organizations is crucial.

Who Else Cares?

• Stakeholders in OB:

  • Organizations:

  • Concerned with financial profitability, unique culture, employee commitment, engagement, turnover.

  • Employees:

  • Focused on job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and interpersonal relationships.

  • HR professionals and consultants

  • Academics:

  • Interest in exploring theoretical foundations, testing empirical hypotheses, connecting science and literature with practitioners.

Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior (Roadmap for Our Course)

• Organizational Mechanisms:

  • Organizational Culture

  • Organizational Structure

• Group Mechanisms:

  • Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

  • Leadership: Power & Negotiation

  • Teams: Processes & Communication

• Individual Mechanisms:

  • Job Satisfaction

  • Stress

  • Motivation

  • Job Performance

  • Trust, Justice, & Ethics

  • Organizational Commitment

• Individual Characteristics:

  • Ability

  • Personality & Cultural Values

  • Learning & Decision Making

• Individual Outcomes:

  • Reflected in job satisfaction and general performance factors.

OB Practices — High-Performance Work Practice Survey

Questions about Organizational Behavior Practice Covered:

1. Proportion of workforce subjected to formal job analysis

2. Proportion given regular attitude surveys

3. Proportion with access to incentive plans, profit-sharing, or gain-sharing plans

4. Average training hours received by employees in the last year

5. Access to formal grievance procedures and/or complaint resolution systems

6. Proportion administered an employment test before hiring

7. Proportion with performance appraisals impacting compensation

So What’s So Hard? The Rule of One-Eighth

• Key points of the rule of one-eighth:

  • Half of organizations will not connect management of people to profits.

  • Of those that recognize this connection, many will attempt a single change rather than a systematic approach.

  • Of firms making comprehensive changes, only about half will persist long enough to see economic benefits.

How Do We “Know” What We Know About OB?

Sources of Knowledge:

1. Experience

2. Intuition

3. Authority

4. Science

The Scientific Method

• Components include:

  • Verification

  • Theory

  • Data

  • Hypotheses

What Is a Theory?

• Defined as:

  • “A collection of assertions—both verbal and symbolic—that specify how and why variables are related, as well as the conditions in which they should (and should not) be related.”

  • Example: Theory diagram with variables:

  • Independent Variables: Quality of a movie's script, Fame of stars

  • Dependent Variable: Box office earnings.

Theory Building and Hypotheses

• Hypotheses:

  • Defined as written predictions that specify relationships between variables.

  • Example Variables for group work:

  • Trust in supervisor

  • Motivation

  • Job performance

  • Helping behavior

  • Group task: Formulate hypotheses based on above variables.

Example Scale/Measure: Scientific Interest

• Statements regarding interest in scientific career:

  1. Being a scientist would be an interesting career.

  2. I could see myself enjoying working as a scientist.

  3. A scientific career could be engaging despite long work hours.

  4. Collaborating with scientists for discoveries would offer meaning.

  5. Solving problems through scientific knowledge would be satisfying.

• Average Score Calculation: 15 based on responses.

Theory Testing

• Steps in testing theory:

  1. Gather data on hypothesized variables.

  2. Utilize correlation coefficient to test hypotheses and verify theory.

• Correlation Explained:

  • Range:

  • Perfect positive relationship: 1

  • No relationship: 0

  • Perfect negative relationship: -1

  • Strength of correlation inferred from scatterplot compactness (more compact = stronger correlation).

Three Different Correlation Sizes

• Correlation examples demonstrated:

  • Job Performance and Social Recognition Behaviors:

  • a) $r = 1.00$: Perfect positive correlation.

  • b) $r = .50$: Moderate positive correlation.

  • c) $r = .00$: No correlation.

Some Notable Correlations

• Notable correlations in studies:

  • Height and weight: $r = .44$, sample size = 16,948.

  • Ibuprofen and pain reduction: $r = .14$, sample size = 8,488.

  • Antihistamines and reduced sneezing: $r = .11$, sample size = 1,023.

  • Smoking and lung cancer within 25 years: $r = .08$, sample size = 3,956.

  • Coronary bypass surgery and five-year survival: $r = .08$, sample size = 2,649.

• In Organizational Behavior research, correlation interpretations are:

  • $r = .50$: strong

  • $r = .30$: moderate

  • $r = .10$: weak

• Significance of correlation is contingent on various factors such as sample selection and size.

More About Correlations

• Definition:

  • A correlation describes the statistical relationship between two variables.

• Important Note:

  • Correlation does not prove causality!

  • Proving causation requires:

  • Correlation

  • Temporal precedence

  • Elimination of alternative explanations.

Combining Correlations

• Method:

  • Correlations from multiple studies are averaged using meta-analysis.

  • Meta-analyses lead to evidence-based management:

  • The application of scientific findings to inform management practices.

  • Strong theories inform why certain behaviors occur:

  • Example inquiries:

    • Why do best and worst coworkers behave differently?

    • Why do individuals have specific thoughts and actions?

(Unfounded) Criticisms of OB

• Common misconceptions:

  • It's common sense!

  • There are no right answers.

  • It is too difficult.

Truths About OB

• Insights:

  • Common sense is often uncommon; relying on intuition and experience alone is inadequate.

  • Scientific inquiry provides correct answers.

  • Humans and their organizations are complex and ever-changing, necessitating ongoing refinement of knowledge.