Chapter 1

Introduction to
Organizational
Behavior

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 What is an Organization?

▪ An organization is a collection of people who

work together to achieve individual and
organizational goals
– Individual goals
– Organizational goals

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 What is Organizational Behavior?

▪ Organizational behavior (OB): the study of

factors that have an impact on how people
and groups act, think, feel, and respond to
work and organizations, and how
organizations respond to their environments

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 Figure 1.1
What is Organizational Behavior?

Insert Figure 1.1 here

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•   

 
 Approaches to OB

▪ Scientific approach
▪ Behavioral approach
▪ Contingency approach

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 F.W. Taylor and
Scientific Management
▪ Scientific management: the systematic study
of relationships between people and tasks
for the purpose of redesigning the work
process to increase efficiency
▪ The amount of and effort each employee
expends to produce a unit of output can be
reduced by increasing specialization and the
division of labor

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 Four Principles of
Scientific Management
▪ 1. Study the way employees perform their
tasks, gather informal job knowledge that
employees possess, and experiment with
ways of improving the way tasks are
performed
▪ 2. Codify the new methods of performing
tasks into written rules and standard
operating procedures

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 Four Principles of
Scientific Management_2
▪ 3. Carefully select employees so that they
possess skills and abilities that match the
needs of the task, and train them to perform
the task according to the established rules
and procedures
▪ 4. Establish an acceptable level of
performance for a task, and then develop a
pay system that provides a reward for
performance above the acceptable level

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 The Hawthorne Studies

▪ Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric

Company; 1924-1932
▪ Initiated as an attempt to investigate how
characteristics of the work setting affect
employee fatigue and performance (i.e.,
lighting)
▪ Found that productivity increased regardless
of whether illumination was raised or
lowered
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 The Hawthorne Studies_2

▪ Factors influencing behavior:

– Attention from researchers
– Manager’s leadership approach
– Work group norms
▪ The “Hawthorne Effect”

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 Contingency approach

▪ Organization’s structure should match the demands

of its environment
▪ Organization’s structure must be aligned to its
system of technology
▪ Individual subsystem like departments, work groups
must match its particular environment
▪ Leadership behavior of manager in the organization
must be appropriate to situational demands

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 Figure 1.2 Levels of Analysis

Organizational Level

Group Level

Individu
al
Level

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 Figure 1.3 Components of
Organizational Behavior

Understanding
organizational behavior
requires studying

Part One Individuals in Organizations

Part Two Group and Team Processes

Part Three Organizational Processes

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EMERGING ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR

• Globalization
• Diversity
• Developing Ethical Organizations
• New trends in work arrangements
• Technological changes
THANK YOU