Chapter 1 An Overview of Organizational Behavior

Difficult Transitions

Tony Stark had just finished his first week at Reece Enterprises and decided to drive upstate to a small lakefront
lodge for some fishing and relaxation. Tony had worked for the previous ten years for the O’Grady Company, but
O’Grady had been through some hard times of late and had recently shut down several of its operating groups,
including Tony’s, to cut costs. Fortunately, Tony’s experience and recommendations had made finding another
position fairly easy. As he drove the interstate, he reflected on the past ten years and the apparent situation at
Reece.

At O’Grady, things had been great. Tony had been part of the team from day one. The job had met his personal
goals and expectations perfectly, and Tony believed he had grown greatly as a person. His work was appreciated
and recognized; he had received three promotions and many more pay increases.

Tony had also liked the company itself. The firm was decentralized, allowing its managers considerable autonomy
and freedom. The corporate Culture was easygoing. Communication was open. It seemed that everyone knew what
was going on at all times, and if you didn’t know about something, it was easy to find out.

The people had been another plus. Tony and three other managers went to lunch often and played golf every
Saturday. They got along well both personally and professionally and truly worked together as a team. Their boss
had been very supportive, giving them the help they needed but also staying out of the way and letting them work.

When word about the shutdown came down, Tony was devastated. He was sure that nothing could replace
O’Grady. After the final closing was announced, he spent only a few weeks looking around before he found a
comparable position at Reece Enterprises.

As Tony drove, he reflected that "comparable" probably was the wrong word. Indeed, Reece and O’Grady were
about as different as you could get. Top managers at Reece apparently didn’t worry too much about who did a good
job and who didn’t. They seemed to promote and reward people based on how long they had been there and how
well they played the never-ending political games.

Maybe this stemmed from the organization itself, Tony pondered. Reece was a bigger organization than O’Grady
and was structured much more bureaucratically. It seemed that no one was allowed to make any sort of decision
without getting three signatures from higher up. Those signatures, though, were hard to get. All the top managers
usually were too busy to see anyone, and interoffice memos apparently had very low priority.

Tony also had had some problems fitting in. His peers treated him with polite indifference. He sensed that a couple
of them resented that he, an outsider, had been brought right in at their level after they had had to work themselves
up the ladder. On Tuesday he had asked two colleagues about playing golf. They had politely declined, saying that
they did not play often. But later in the week, he had overheard them making arrangements to play that very
Saturday.

It was at that point that Tony had decided to go fishing. As he steered his car off the interstate to get gas, he
wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake in accepting the Reece offer without finding out more about what he
was getting into.
Case Questions

 Identify several concepts and characteristics from the field of organizational behavior that this case illustrates.

 What advice can you give Tony? How would this advice be supported or tempered by behavioral concepts and
processes?

 Is it possible to find an "ideal" place to work? Explain.

Additional Case Studies

Chapter 11 Group Dynamics

A Difficult Task Force

José has been appointed chair of a steering task force to design the primary product line for a new joint venture
between companies from Japan, the United States, and South America. The new joint venture company will make,
sell, and service pet caskets (coffins) for the burial of beloved pets, mostly dogs and cats. One month earlier, each
company had assigned personnel to the task force:

 From the Japanese company, Furuay Masahiko from Yokohama, assistant to the president of the
Japanese company; Hamada Isao from Tokyo, director of marketing from its technology group; and Noto
Takeshi from Tokyo, assistant director of its financial management department.
 From the United States company, Thomas Boone from Chicago, the top purchasing manager from its
lumber and forest lands group; Richard Maret from Buffalo, the codirector of the company’s information
systems group; and Billy Bob "Tex" Johnson from Arizona, the former CEO, now retired and a consultant
for the company.
 From the South American company, Mariana Preus from Argentina, the head of product design for that
company’s specialty animal products group; Hector Bonilla from their Mexico City division, an expert in
automated systems design for wood products; and Mauricio Gomes, in charge of design and construction
for the plant, which will be located in southern Chile to take advantage of the vast forest there.

These members were chosen for their expertise in various areas and were taking valuable time away from their
normal assignments to participate in the joint venture.

As chair of the task force, José had scheduled an initial meeting for 10:00 A.M. José started the meeting by
reviewing the history of the development of the joint venture and how the three company presidents had decided to
create it. Then, José reviewed the market for the new high-end, designer pet coffins, stressing that this task force
was to develop the initial design parameters for the new product to meet increasing demand around the world. He
then opened the meeting for comments and suggestions.

Mariana Preus spoke first: "In my opinion, the current designs that we have in production in our Argentina plant are
just fine. They are topnotch designs, using the latest technology for processing. They use the best woods available
and they should sell great. I don’t see why we have to design a whole new product line." Noto Takeshi agreed and
urged the committee to recommend that the current designs were good enough and should be immediately
incorporated into the plans for the new manufacturing plant. José interrupted the discussion: "Look, the council of
presidents put this joint venture together to completely revolutionize the product and its manufacture based on solid
evidence and industry data. We are to redesign the product and its manufacturing systems. That is our job, so let’s
get started." José knew that the presidents had considered using existing designs but had rejected the idea because
the designs were too old and not easily manufacturable at costs low enough to make a significant impact on the
market. He told the group this and reminded them that the purpose of the committee was to design a new product.

The members then began discussing possible new design elements, but the discussion always returned to the
benefits of using the existing designs. Finally, Tex spoke up: "I think we ought to do what Mariana suggested earlier.
It makes no sense to me to design new caskets when the existing designs are good enough to do the job." The
others nodded their heads in agreement. José again reminded them of the task force’s purpose and said such a
recommendation would not be well received by the council of presidents. Nevertheless, the group insisted that José
write a memo to the council of presidents with the recommendation to use existing designs and to begin immediately
to design the plant and the manufacturing system. The meeting adjourned and the members headed to the golf
course at 10:45 A.M.

José returned to his computer and started to write the memo, but he knew it would anger the presidents. He hoped
he would not be held responsible for the actions of the task force, even though he was its chair. He wondered what
had gone wrong and what he could have done to prevent it.
Case Questions

 Which characteristics of group behavior discussed in the chapter can you identify in this case?

 How did the diverse nature of the group affect the committee’s actions?

 If you were in Jose’s position, what would you have done differently? What would you do now?

Chapter 8 Goal Setting, Performance Management, and Rewards

No More Dawdling Over Dishes

Andy Davis was proud of his restaurant, The Golden Bow. Its location was perfect, its decor tasteful, its clientele
generous and distinguished. When he first took over the business a year ago, Davis had worried that the local labor
shortage might make it difficult to hire good workers. But he had made some contacts at a local college and hired a
group of servers who worked well with customers and with one another. The only problem he still had not solved
was the dishwasher.

At first Davis felt lucky when he found Eddie Munz, a local high school dropout who had some experience washing
dishes. Davis could not afford to pay a dishwasher more than $4 an hour, but Eddie did not seem to mind that.
Moreover, Eddie seemed to get the dishes clean. But he was so slow! Davis originally thought Eddie just was not
quick about anything, but he changed his mind as he observed his behavior in the kitchen. Eddie loved to talk to the
cooks, often turning his back on the dishes for minutes at a time to chitchat. He also nibbled desserts off of dirty
plates and sprayed the servers with water whenever they got near him. The kitchen was always a mess, and so
many dishes piled up that often two hours after closing time, when everything else was ready for the next clay, Eddie
would still be scraping and squirting and talking. Davis began to wonder if there was a method to Eddie’s madness:
He was getting paid by the hour, so why should he work faster? But Davis did not like having a constantly sloppy
kitchen, so he determined to have a talk with Eddie.

Davis figured out that Eddie had been making $28 on his reasonably efficient nights and then met with Eddie and
made him a proposal. First he asked Eddie how soon he thought he could finish after the last customer left. Eddie
said an hour and a quarter. When Davis asked if he would be interested in getting off forty-five minutes earlier than
he had been, Eddie seemed excited. And when he offered to pay Eddie the $28 for a complete job every night,
regardless of when he finished, Eddie could hardly contain himself. It turned out he did not like to work until 2:00
a.m., but he needed every dollar he could get.

The next week, a new chalkboard appeared next to the kitchen door leading out to the dining room. On top it read,
"Eddie’s Goal for a Record Time." By the end of the first week, Davis had printed on the bottom "l." Davis began
inspecting the dishes more often than usual, but he found no decrease in the quality of Eddie’s work. So on Sunday,
he said to Eddie, "Let’s try for an hour."

A month later, the board read "42 minutes." The situation in the kitchen had changed radically. The former "Eddie
the Slob" had become "Eddie the Perfectionist." His area was spotless, he was often waiting when someone came
from the dining room with a stack of dirty plates, and he took it as a personal affront if anyone found a spot on a
plate he had washed. Instead of complaining about Eddie squirting them, the servers kidded him about what a
worker he had become, and they stacked the plates and separated the silver to help him break his record. And the
first time Eddie got done at 12:42, they all went out for an hour on the town together.

Case Questions

 What did Andy Davis do to change Eddie’s behavior?

 Which elements of total quality management and performance management did Andy Davis use?

 Could Davis have used a different system of rewards to get the same results from Eddie Munz?

The Ohio Connection

Janey worked as an executive assistant to a product manager at her

company: Ohio Connection. Overall, she loved her job; she was happy
to work with a company that provided great benefits, and she and
found enjoyment in her day-to-day work. She had the same product
manager boss for years, but last year, her manager left Ohio
Connection and retired. Recently her new manager has been treating
her unfairly and showcasing bullying behavior.

Yesterday, Janey came into work, and her boss decided to use their
power as her manager and her “superior” to demand that she stay late
to cover for him, correct reports that he had made mistakes on, and
would not pay her overtime. She was going to be late to pick up her
son from soccer practice if she stayed late; she told him this, and he
was not happy.

Over subsequent days, her boss consistently would make comments

about her performance, even though she had always had good remarks
on reviews, and created a very negative work environment. The next
time she was asked to stay late, she complied for fear of losing her job
or having other negative impacts on her job. Janey’s situation was not
ideal, but she didn’t feel she had a choice.

Questions:
 1. What type of power did Janey’s boss employ to get her to do the
things that he wanted her to do?
2. What negative consequences are apparent in this situation and
other situations where power is not balanced in the workplace?
3. What steps should Janey take do to counteract the power
struggle that is occurring with her new manager?

Sources: A. Morin, “How to Prevent a Workplace Bully from taking Your

Power,” Inc., June 25, 2018, https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/how-to-
prevent-a-workplace-bully-from-taking-your-power.html; V. Giang, “The
7 Types Of Power That Shape The Workplace,” Business Insider, July
31, 2013, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-types-of-power-that-
shape-the-workplace-2013-7; B. Weinstein, “10 Tips for Dealing with a
Bully Boss,” CIO, accessed October 13, 2018,
https://www.cio.com.au/article/198499/10_tips_dealing_bully_boss/.

Textbook Site for:

Organizational Behavior , Sixth Edition

Gregory Moorhead, Arizona State University
Ricky W. Griffin, Texas A & M University

Additional Case Studies

Chapter 11 Group Dynamics

A Difficult Task Force

José has been appointed chair of a steering task force to design the primary product line for a new joint
venture between companies from Japan, the United States, and South America. The new joint venture
company will make, sell, and service pet caskets (coffins) for the burial of beloved pets, mostly dogs and cats.
One month earlier, each company had assigned personnel to the task force:

 From the Japanese company, Furuay Masahiko from Yokohama, assistant to the president of the
Japanese company; Hamada Isao from Tokyo, director of marketing from its technology group; and
Noto Takeshi from Tokyo, assistant director of its financial management department.
 From the United States company, Thomas Boone from Chicago, the top purchasing manager from
its lumber and forest lands group; Richard Maret from Buffalo, the codirector of the company’s
information systems group; and Billy Bob "Tex" Johnson from Arizona, the former CEO, now retired
and a consultant for the company.
 From the South American company, Mariana Preus from Argentina, the head of product design for
that company’s specialty animal products group; Hector Bonilla from their Mexico City division, an
expert in automated systems design for wood products; and Mauricio Gomes, in charge of design
and construction for the plant, which will be located in southern Chile to take advantage of the vast
 forest there.

These members were chosen for their expertise in various areas and were taking valuable time away from
their normal assignments to participate in the joint venture.

As chair of the task force, José had scheduled an initial meeting for 10:00 A.M. José started the meeting by
reviewing the history of the development of the joint venture and how the three company presidents had
decided to create it. Then, José reviewed the market for the new high-end, designer pet coffins, stressing that
this task force was to develop the initial design parameters for the new product to meet increasing demand
around the world. He then opened the meeting for comments and suggestions.

Mariana Preus spoke first: "In my opinion, the current designs that we have in production in our Argentina
plant are just fine. They are topnotch designs, using the latest technology for processing. They use the best
woods available and they should sell great. I don’t see why we have to design a whole new product line." Noto
Takeshi agreed and urged the committee to recommend that the current designs were good enough and
should be immediately incorporated into the plans for the new manufacturing plant. José interrupted the
discussion: "Look, the council of presidents put this joint venture together to completely revolutionize the
product and its manufacture based on solid evidence and industry data. We are to redesign the product and
its manufacturing systems. That is our job, so let’s get started." José knew that the presidents had considered
using existing designs but had rejected the idea because the designs were too old and not easily
manufacturable at costs low enough to make a significant impact on the market. He told the group this and
reminded them that the purpose of the committee was to design a new product.

The members then began discussing possible new design elements, but the discussion always returned to the
benefits of using the existing designs. Finally, Tex spoke up: "I think we ought to do what Mariana suggested
earlier. It makes no sense to me to design new caskets when the existing designs are good enough to do the
job." The others nodded their heads in agreement. José again reminded them of the task force’s purpose and
said such a recommendation would not be well received by the council of presidents. Nevertheless, the group
insisted that José write a memo to the council of presidents with the recommendation to use existing designs
and to begin immediately to design the plant and the manufacturing system. The meeting adjourned and the
members headed to the golf course at 10:45 A.M.

José returned to his computer and started to write the memo, but he knew it would anger the presidents. He
hoped he would not be held responsible for the actions of the task force, even though he was its chair. He
wondered what had gone wrong and what he could have done to prevent it.

Case Questions

 Which characteristics of group behavior discussed in the chapter can you identify in this case?

 How did the diverse nature of the group affect the committee’s actions?

 If you were in Jose’s position, what would you have done differently? What would you do now?
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