Introduction to Organizational Behaviour

OB field of study devoted to understanding, explaining and improving

behaviours of individuals and groups within the organization.
HR takes the principles from OB and explores their application within an
organization
Strategic management focuses on the product choices & industry
characteristics that affect profitability.
The role of management theory:
Scientific management scientific methods to design optimal and efficient
work processes and tasks.
Bureaucracy organizational form emphasizing control through strict chain
of commands, formal rules and procedures centralized decision maker.
Human relations management recognition of psychological attributes of
individual workers and the social forces within work groups have important
work behaviour implication (norms, leadership, and motivation).
Contingency approach consequences of situational characteristics (financial
incentives, job design, assigned goals) are interdependent with individual
characteristics (no universal principle).
Integrative model of OB
Individual Characteristics & Group Mechanisms Personality, Cultural Values
& ability/Teams, Diversity, Communication/Power, Influence & Negotiations,
Leadership styles & Behaviour.
Organizational Mechanisms Organizational structure, Organizational Culture
and change.
Individual Mechanisms job satisfaction, stress, motivation, trust, justice and
ethics, Learning & decision making.
Integrative Outcomes - Job performance & Organizational Commitment
Why does OB Matter
Effective OB can help keep a good product over the long term and if the
product is bad it can help incrementally get better over time.
First argument is based on the resource-based view (rareness & inimitability),
namely the KSA as well as a company image & culture, which OB has
influence over.

History people create a history of a company through knowledge &

experience (a defender trait) and it is something that gives leverage against
the threat of the new entrants.
Numerous Small Decision small decisions that are made daily and are
normally harder to replicate because they are part of the existing culture.
Socially Complex Resources culture, teamwork, trust, reputation, leadership
derive from the social dynamics within an organization at a given time.
Research evidence
The OB has an effect on profitability because good people are rare and
inimitable thus making it a valuable resource to have a competitive
advantage. Research evidence support the argument that good people
constitute a viable resource and good OB matters in terms of companies
profitability.
There is no best sole OB practice, instead the effective management implies
that several different important practices along with a long-term
commitment to improve and adjust those practices. To summarize we can
talk about the rule of one-eighth belief that at best 12 percent of
organizations will actually do what is required to build profits by putting
people first. 1\5th wont believe in a connection between how they manage
their people and profits, 1\5th will see the connection but will not have a
systematic approach, and 1\5th of them will sustain those practices long
enough to derive economic benefits.
The Integrative Model of OB suggests high job performance depend not only
on motivation but also fostering high level of satisfaction, effective stress
management, building trusting cliamte, committing to learning of
employees.
Scientific method begins with a theory (verbal & symbolic assertions that
specify how & why variables are related and specify how they should/not be
related.). Sources to build a theory are interviews with employees in work
settings, observations at work, company documentation, research reviews.
But to have an accurate picture, theories should be tested. Therefore
theories inspire hypotheses (written predictions that specify relationship
between variables).