Chapter 1:

What is Organizational Behaviour?

Organizational Behaviour
5th Canadian Edition

Langton / Robbins / Judge Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada 1-1

Chapter Outline Defining Organizational Behaviour

Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations

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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

What is Organizational Behaviour? 1. What is organizational behaviour?

2. What challenges do managers and employees face in todays workplace?

3. Isnt organizational behaviour common sense? Or is it just like psychology?

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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Organizational Behaviour
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations; the aim is to apply such knowledge toward improving organizational effectiveness.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Why Do We Study OB?

To learn about yourself and others
To understand how the organizations you encounter work To become familiar with team work To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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What Do We Mean By An Organization? A consciously coordinated social unit:

composed of a group of people functioning on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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The Importance of Interpersonal Skills

Recognition of the importance of developing interpersonal skills is closely tied to the need for organizations to get and keep high-performing employees.
Creating a pleasant workplace makes good economic sense.
Companies with reputations as good places to work have been found to generate superior financial performance.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-1 Basic OB Model

Organization systems level

Group level

Individual level

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Challenges at the Individual Level
Individual Differences Job Satisfaction Motivation Empowerment Behaving Ethically

Challenges at the Group Level

Working With Others Workforce Diversity

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace Challenges at the Organizational Level

Improving Quality and Productivity Developing Effective Employees Putting People First Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts Creating a Positive Work Environment Global Competition Managing and Working in a Multicultural World
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Improving Quality and Productivity

Productivity
A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency.

Effectiveness
The achievement of goals.

Efficiency
The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Developing Effective Employees Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)

Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employees formal job requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Putting People First

Putting people first generates a committed workforce, and positively affects the bottom line. People will work harder when they feel they have more control and say in their work.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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How to Put People First Provide employment security. Hire well. Create self-managed teams. Pay well. Provide extensive training. Reduce status differences. Share information about organizational performance.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Helping Employees Balance WorkLife Conflicts

Employees are increasingly complaining that the lines between work and private life have blurred.
has led to more personal conflicts and stress.

Why?
Creation of global organizations; the world never sleeps Communication technology; people bring work home Organizations are asking employees to work longer hours

Organizations must help employees strike a balance or risk losing key employees and future candidates.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Creating a Positive Work Environment

Positive Organizational Scholarship
An area of OB research that focuses on how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential. This approach challenges researchers and companies to look at OB through a new lens. Focus is placed on how to exploit employee strengths rather than to dwell on their limitations.
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Global Competition
In recent years, Canadian businesses have faced tough competition from the United States, Europe, Japan, and even China, as well as from other companies within our borders.
To survive, they have had to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Managing and Working in a Multicultural World

Managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures:
Multinational corporations are developing operations worldwide. Companies are developing joint ventures with foreign partners. Workers are pursuing job opportunities across national borders.
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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The Building Blocks of OB

Psychology
Social Psychology Sociology Anthropology
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-2 Toward an OB Discipline

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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The Rigour of OB
OB Looks at Consistencies
What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?

OB Looks Beyond Common Sense

Systematic study, based on scientific evidence
Evidence-based management (EBM)

OB Has Few Absolutes OB Takes a Contingency Approach

Considers behaviour in context

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-3 Research Methods in OB

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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OB Looks at Consistencies
What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?
Certainly there are differences among individuals. Placed in similar situations, all people dont act exactly alike.

However, there are certain fundamental consistencies underlying the behaviour of all individuals.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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OB Looks Beyond Common Sense Systematic study

Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence
Behaviour is generally predictable. There are differences between individuals. There are fundamental consistencies. There are rules (written and unwritten) in almost every setting.
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

OB Has Few Absolutes

There are few simple and universal principles that explain organizational behaviour. Human beings are very complex.
Humans are not alike, which limits the ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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OB Takes a Contingency Approach

Considers behaviour within the context in which it occurs.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-4 OB in Summary

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Summary and Implications

1. What is organizational behaviour?
OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within an organization.

2.

What challenges do managers and employees face in todays workplace?

Each level of analysisthe individual, the group, and the organizationpresents challenges.

3.

Isnt organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology?

OB is built on contributions from a number of behavioural disciplines, including psychology, sociology, social psychology, and anthropology. It goes beyond common sense.
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

OB at Work

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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For Review
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Define organizational behaviour. What is an organization? Is the family unit an organization? Explain. Behaviour is generally predictable, so there is no need to formally study OB. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? What are some of the challenges and opportunities that managers face in todays workplace? What are the three levels of analysis in our OB model? Are they related? If so, how? Why is job satisfaction an important consideration for OB? What are effectiveness and efficiency, and how are they related to OB? What does it mean to say OB takes a contingency approach in its analysis of behaviour?

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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For Critical Thinking

1. OB is for everyone. Build an argument to support this statement. 2. Why do you think the subject of OB might be criticized as being only common sense, when we would rarely hear such a criticism of a course in physics or statistics? Do you think this criticism of OB is fair? 3. On a scale of 1 to 10 measuring the sophistication of a scientific discipline in predicting phenomena, mathematical physics would probably be a 10. Where do you think OB would fall on the scale? Why? 4. Can empowerment lead to greater job satisfaction?

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Learning About Yourself Exercise

1. 2. 3. 4. Taking initiative Goal setting Delegating effectively Personal productivity and motivation 5. Motivating others 6. Time and stress management 7. Planning 8. Organizing 9. Controlling 10.Receiving and organizing information 11.Evaluating routine information 12.Responding to routine information 13.Understanding yourself and others 14.Interpersonal communication 15.Developing subordinates 16.Team building 17. Participative decision making 18. Conflict management 19. Living with change 20. Creative thinking 21. Managing change 22. Building and maintaining a power base 23. Negotiating agreement and commitment 24. Negotiating and selling ideas
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Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Learning About Yourself Scoring Key

Director: 1, 2, 3 Producer: 4, 5, 6 Coordinator: 7, 8, 9 Monitor: 10, 11, 12 Mentor: 13, 14, 15 Facilitator: 16, 17, 18 Innovator: 19, 20, 21 Broker: 22, 23, 24

Source: Created based on material from R. E. Quinn, S. R. Faerman, M. P. Thompson, and M. R. McGrath, Becoming A Master Manager: A Competency Framework (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1990), Chapter 1.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Breakout Group Exercises

Form small groups to discuss the following topics:
1. Consider a group situation in which you have worked. To what extent did the group rely on the technical skills of the group members vs. their interpersonal skills? Which skills seemed most important in helping the group function well? Identify some examples of worst jobs. What conditions of these jobs made them unpleasant? To what extent were these conditions related to behaviours of individuals? Develop a list of organizational puzzles, that is, behaviour youve observed in organizations that seemed to make little sense. As the term progresses, see if you can begin to explain these puzzles, using your knowledge of OB.
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2.

3.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Working With Others Exercise

This exercise asks you to consider the skills outlined in the Competing Values Framework to develop an understanding of managerial expertise. Steps 14 can be completed in 1520 minutes. 1. Using the skills listed in Learning About Yourself, identify the 4 skills that you think all managers should have. 2. Identify the 4 skills that you think are least important for managers to have. 3. In groups of 57, reach a consensus on the most-needed and leastneeded skills identified in Steps 1 and 2. 4. Using Exhibit 1-7, determine whether your ideal managers would have trouble managing in some dimensions of organizational demands.

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-6 Competing Values Framework

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Competing Values Framework

Internal-External Dimension
Inwardly, toward employee needs and concerns and/or production processes and internal systems or Outwardly, toward such factors as the marketplace, government regulations, and the changing social, environmental, and technological conditions of the future

Flexibility-Control Dimension
Flexible and dynamic, allowing more teamwork and participation; seeking new opportunities for products and services or Controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less change
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-7 Skills for Mastery in the New Workplace

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Supplemental Material

Slides for activities I do in my own classroom

Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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Exercise In groups of 6
Introduce yourselves. Pick an interviewer. Decide on questions or topics you want interviewer to ask me.

The interview
Introduce interviewer to me and the class. Ask one question from your list (we will go around the groups with one question at a time).
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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