Chapter 1

What is
Organizational
Behavior
 What is organizational behaviour (OB)?

What is the importance of interpersonal

skills in the workplace?

AGENDA What workplace challenges provide

opportunities to apply OB concepts?

What are the three levels of analysis in this

book’s OB model?
What Do We Mean
by 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
 Defining Organizational Behaviour

“impact
A field of study that looks at the
that individuals, groups,
and structure have on behaviour
within organizations
Its aim is to apply such
knowledge toward improving
organizational effectiveness
Where Do You Want to
Work?

Why ?
 CHALLENGES TO OB MODEL

Responding to economic Globalization &

pressures Diversity

Dramatic increases in Improving Customer

remote work Service

Improving ethical Enhancing employee

behaviour well-being at work

Creating a positive Improving skills

work environment
 Challenges and
Opportunities for O B (2 of 10)
Responding to Economic Pressures
Effective management can be just as hard, if not harder, in ‘good’
economic times as in ‘bad’ economic times
Good management can be the difference between survival and
failure

When times are bad, managers are on the front lines with
employees who may be terminated, may be asked to make do
with less, worry about their future
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(3 of 10)

Dramatic Increases in Remote Work

2020 global pandemic changed how people worked
Many office employees and knowledge workers started working virtually
from home
Remote work creates efficiencies
A challenging environment for managers and workers
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(4 of 10)
Responding to Globalization
Increased foreign assignments
Working with people from different cultures
Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labour
Adapting to differing cultural and regulatory norms

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.
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(5 of 10)

Managing Workforce Diversity

Organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous
mix of people in terms of
age
gender
race
ethnicity
ability
sexual orientation
Diversity Challenge – mix of generations such as Baby
Boomers, Generation X, and Millennial groups.

Due to different life experiences, bring different

values and expectations to the workplace

Employees don’t set aside their cultural values and

lifestyle preferences when they go to work

Need to accommodate diverse groups of people by

addressing their different lifestyles, family needs,
and work styles
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(6 of 10)

Improving Customer Service

Assist managers in skills to create customer-friendly
cultures
Assist managers in increasing success through
appropriate attitude and behaviours
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(7 of 10)
Improving People Skills
People skills are essential
Managers must adapt their skills and communication
styles
Helps managers develop new skills to manage
diverse requirements
Challenges and Opportunities for O
B (8 of 10)
Employees are increasingly has led to more
complaining that the lines
between work and private personal conflicts
life have blurred. and stress.

Creation of global organizations; the world never sleeps

Why? 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.
 Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(9 of 10)
Creating a Positive Work Environment
Positive organizational scholarship
Develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and
unlock potential
Reflective Best Self
Employees find their “personal best” to exploit their strengths
Challenges and Opportunities for O B
(10 of 10)
Improving Ethical Behaviour
Managers facing ethical dilemmas or ethical choices are
required to identify right and wrong conduct
Difficult in a global economy where different cultures approach
decisions from different perspectives
Companies promoting strong ethical missions
Encourage employees to behave with integrity
Strong leadership influences employee decisions to behave
ethically
Working in Networked Organizations
Allow people to communicate and work together even though
they may be located elsewhere

Manager’s job is different in these organizations

Motivating and leading people, making collaborative decisions

online requires different techniques

Managers and employees need to develop new skills

OB can provide insights to help with honing those skills

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.
Wages and benefits are not the main reasons people
like their jobs or stay with an employer. Social
relationships among co-workers and supervisors
are strongly related to overall job satisfaction.
Competing Values Framework (1 of 2)
 Internal-External Dimension
Inwardly, toward employee needs and
concerns and/or production
processes and internal systems –
or –
Outwardly, toward such factors as the
Competing marketplace, government
regulations, and the changing social,
environmental, and technological
Values conditions of the future
Flexibility-Control Dimension
Framework (2 of 2) 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

20
Skills for Mastery in the
New Workplace
 Overview
A model is a simplified
representation of a
real-world
phenomenon
Proposes three types of
variables (individual,
group, organizational)
Proceeds from left to
right
Inputs leading to
processes; processes
Developing an OB leading to outcomes
Outcomes can also
Model influence inputs in the
future

22
A Basic OB Model (1 of 3)
 Inputs are variables such as personality,
group structure, and organizational
culture that lead to processes
Often determined in advance of the
employment relationship.

A Basic OB Processes are actions that individuals,

groups, and organizations engage in
as a result of inputs that lead to certain
Model (2 of 3) outcomes
Individual level – emotions and
moods, motivation, perception,
decision making
Group level – communication,
leadership, power and politics,
conflict and negotiation
Organizational level – change
practices
24
 Outcomes are key variables that
you want to explain or predict
Individual level – attitudes and
stress, task performance,
organizational citizenship
behaviour, and withdrawal
behaviour
Group level – group cohesion
and functioning
A Basic OB Organizational level – overall
productivity, profitability,

Model (3 of 3)
and survival

25
Outcomes: Individual

Employee attitudes are the evaluations employees make, ranging from

positive to negative, about objects, people, or events. For example, the
statement, “I really think my job is great,” is a positive job attitude, and “My
job is boring and tedious” is a negative job attitude.

Stress is an unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to

environmental pressures.
 Outcomes: Individual
• The combination of effectiveness and efficiency at doing your core job tasks is a reflection
of your level of task performance.
• Job performance consists of task performance and contextual performance
• On a general level, job performance describes the contribution of an individual to the
overall success of an organization.
• According to Borman & Motowidlo (1993), job performance consists of two main factors:
• Task performance describes the core job responsibilities of an employee. It is also
called "in-role prescribed behavior" (Koopmans et al. 2011) and is reflected in
specific work outcomes and deliverables as well as their quality and quantity.
• Contextual performance goes beyond formal job responsibilities. Also referred to as
"discretionary extra-role behavior" (Koopmans et al. 2011) contextual performance
is reflected in activities such as coaching coworkers, strengthening social networks
within an organization and going the extra mile for the organization.
Efficiency (input to output) vs effectiveness (reaching goals)

A) operating at the lowest possible cost while yielding a higher output

B) creating the highest customer satisfaction ratings

C) meeting the production schedule

D) obtaining the highest market share

E) maximizing diversity at lowest cost

Efficiency (input to output) vs effectiveness (reaching goals)

A) operating at the lowest possible cost while yielding a higher

output (efficient)

B) creating the highest customer satisfaction ratings (effective)

C) meeting the production schedule (effective)

D) obtaining the highest market share (effective)

E) maximizing diversity at lowest cost ( efficient)

 Outcomes: Individual
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
The discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, and that
contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace,
• Examples: Employees who engage in "good citizenship" behaviors, such as
helping others on their team, volunteering for extra work, avoiding
unnecessary conflicts, respecting the spirit as well as the letter of rules and
regulations, and gracefully tolerating occasional work-related impositions
and nuisances are demonstrating organizational citizenship, which isn't a
formal job requirement.

• Withdrawal behavior is the set of actions that employees take to separate themselves from
the organization. There are many forms of withdrawal, ranging from showing up late or
failing to attend meetings to absenteeism and turnover.
Outcome: Group

Group cohesion is the extent to which members of a

group support and validate one another at work. In other
words, a cohesive group is one that sticks together.

Group functioning refers to the quantity and quality of

a group’s work output.
Outcome: Organization

An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by

transforming inputs into outputs at the lowest cost. Thus
productivity requires both effectiveness and efficiency .

Organizational survival , which is simply evidence that

the organization can exist and grow over the long term.
A Basic OB Model (1 of 3)
Q&A
Which of the following is not a core
topic of organizational behavior?
A) B) attitude
motivation development

D) resource
C) conflict
allocation

E) work
design
 Myriam is analyzing the gender roles of men and women in
management in the United States compared to those of
management in Japan. She is surveying fifty men and fifty
women managers in each country to compare their daily
behavior. Myriam's study exemplifies how ________level is related
to organization behavior.
Which of the following is not a reason why OB is extremely relevant
today?

A) an aging workforce

B) a diverse workforce

C) changing employee practices

D) globalization

E) global warming
Which of the following statements is not true about
workforce diversity?

A) Workforce diversity is a global concern.

B) Managing workforce diversity presents many

challenges.

C) Workforce diversity focuses on differences within

a country.

D) Workforce diversity is a concern only in the U.S.

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