MGMT 2110:

ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR
PROFESSOR TALI KAPADIA
(L1, L6)
BETTER LEARNING EXPERIENCE

• Research shows that students understand concepts better and retain more knowledge
when they take notes by hand than with a laptop.
• Personal experience shows that discussion is much more engaging when technology is
put away.

• NO TECHNOLOGY in this class except when required for the PRS questions. All
phones and laptops in your bag.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

• I want to get a good grade, obviously!

• This course is required! I have no choice but to take this course!
• I am very interested in organizational behavior!
• I want to have fun!!!
• I want to succeed in my career...
EVERYONE NEEDS ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

• How many of you plan to work in…..?

• Accounting
• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Sales

• How many of you plan to work with people?

COURSE GOALS

• Increase your knowledge of OB concepts so that you can understand and analyze how
organizations and the people within them work

• Provide you with opportunities to apply OB concepts to real-world problems faced by

managers

• Develop your leadership and management potential

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR?

• The science of behavior in work organizations

• Descriptive science: what do people do?
• Interpretive science: how and why does it happen?
• Prescriptive science: what should people do, and how can we make it happen?

• An applied interdisciplinary social science

• Primarily psychology, as well as some sociology, political science, and economics
• But is OB really a science?
• Let’s compare it with medicine, a successful applied science
SOME OF MEDICINE’S MOST FAMOUS FINDINGS

Medical findings: Correlations:

Nicotine patch  quitting smoking .18
Ibuprofen  pain reduction .14
Antihistamine use  nose stops running .11
Chemotherapy  breast cancer survival .03
Smoking  lung cancer .08
Aspirin  reduced death by heart attack .02

Antibiotics  cured ear infections .08

Sugar  children’s behavior .00

SOME OF OB’S MOST FAMOUS FINDINGS

OB findings: Correlations:
Conscientiousness  job performance .24
College grades  job performance .16
Pay incentives  individual productivity .32
Structured interview  predicting success .20
Top management commitment to “management .67
by objectives” (goal-setting, participative
decisions, feedback)  organizational
productivity
Physical height  income .26
HEIGHT AND CAREER
SUCCESS • Tall people are more likely to receive high
supervisor ratings, attain leadership roles,
and earn high salaries
• Over a 30-year career, an individual who is 6’ tall earns,
on average, $166,000 more than an individual who is
5’5”
• Is this true for women as well as men?
• Why do you think this happens?

• Tall people tend to have higher…

– Self-esteem: greater personal confidence
– Social esteem: greater respect from others
BUT THERE ARE MANY EXCEPTIONS...

• OB is a science of averages
• In general…
• Often…
• On average…

• Height does not = success!

• Intelligence, motivation
LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

1. The best manager for a group of engineers is the one who is the best
engineer in the group.

2. People can be easily trained to be sociable and friendly to their

teammates.

3. People work harder when part of a team than when working by

themselves.
LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

4. Organizations often increase their performance by acting ethically.

5. Physically attractive job candidates tend to be viewed as colder and

less intelligent than plainer ones.

6. The most effective work groups are those with very little conflict.
LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

7. Interviews are the best method for hiring the right person for the
job.

8. Effective leaders take the characteristics of their followers into

account when deciding how to behave towards them.

9. To get employees to do a better job, pay them more money.

 LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

1. The best manager for a group of engineers is the one who is the best
FALSE
engineer in the group.
GOOGLE’S PROJECT OXYGEN

• What did Project Oxygen find?

• Technical expertise = last of the “Big Eight” characteristics

• More important?
• Making time for one-on-one meetings
• Helping to problem solve by asking questions, not dictating
answers
• Taking an interest in employees’ lives/careers
• Being consistent
 LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

1. The best manager for a group of engineers is the one who is the best
FALSE
engineer in the group.

2. People can be easily trained to be sociable and friendly to their

FALSE
teammates.

3. People work harder when part of a team than when working by

FALSE themselves.
SOCIAL LOAFING

Source: Latane, Willians, and Harkins (1979)

 LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

TRUE 4. Organizations often increase their performance by acting ethically.

5. Physically attractive job candidates tend to be viewed as colder and

FALSE
less intelligent than plainer ones.

FALSE 6. The most effective work groups are those with very little conflict.
 LET’S TAKE A QUIZ (TRUE OR FALSE)

7. Interviews are the best method for hiring the right person for the
FALSE
job.

8. Effective leaders take the characteristics of their followers into

TRUE
account when deciding how to behave towards them.

TRUE
9. To get employees to do a better job, pay them more money.
FALSE
MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING...

• Money can often motivate lower earners…

• But not always the case for $75,000+ earners—other
factors are also important!
• Love of their work (intrinsic motivation)
• Autonomy
• Work-life balance/hours
• Creative opportunity
• Status
• Giving back to the community
INSIDE THE WORKPLACE
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AT THREE LEVELS
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS COURSE

• Individual level
• How to identify individual
differences and use them to excel

• How to understand emotions and

job attitudes

• How to motivate employees

through rewards, goal-setting, and
job design
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS COURSE

• Group/Team level

• How to avoid common group

decision-making blunders

• How to become a better leader

• How to better communicate with

co-workers, bosses, employees
A LITTLE ABOUT ME...
TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF!

• Fill out your introduction card

• Name
• Demographics
• Personality
• Hobbies
• Strengths
• Course expectations

• Make sure to fill out a name card and bring it to class every day
COURSE SYLLABUS
NEXT CLASS

• Topic
• Introduction to OB

• Readings
• Chapter 1