ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AT WORK

SOCIAL SYSTEM AND

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Chapter 4
 SOCIAL SYSTEM
 Socialsystem is a “complex” set of human
relationships interacting in many ways.
 UNDERSTANDING A SOCIAL SYSTEM
 Within a single organization, the social system includes all the
people in it and their relationships to one another and to the
outside world.
 Consequently, members of a system should be aware
of the nature of their environments and their impact
on other members both within and outside their own
social system.
 This social system awareness is increasingly
important in the twenty-first century, as global trade
and international marketplaces for a firm’s products
and services vastly expand the need for organizations
and their employees to anticipate and react to
changes in their competitive environments.
 WHY COMPLEX?
 Behaviour of one affects the behaviour of others.
 It is an “open system”
 SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM
 A system is said to be in social equilibrium when its
interdependent parts are in dynamic working balance. 

 Equilibrium is a dynamic concept, not a static one. Despite

constant change and movement in every organization, the
system’s working balance can still be retained. 
SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM/DISEQUILIBRIUM
Equilibrium Disequilibrium

 when there is a  When the

dynamic working interdependent parts
balance among its system are working
interdependent parts against each other
 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC
CONTRACTS
 ECONOMIC CONTRACT- where time, talent, energy are exchanged
for wages, hours and reasonable working conditions.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT– the conditions of each employee’s
psychological involvement-both contributions and expectations-
with the social system
 THE RESULT OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTRACT & THE ECONOMIC CONTRACT
Employee:
Employee: If expectations are met:
 Expected Gains  Job satisfaction
 High performance
 Intended Psychological
 Loyalty
Contributions Contract
If expectations are not met:
 Low job satisfaction
 Low performance
 Possible separation

Employer:
Employer: If expectations are met:
 Expected Gains  Employee retention
 Rewards offered Economic  Possible promotion
Contract If expectations are not met:
 Corrective Action; discipline
 Possible separation
 SOCIAL CULTURE
 An environment of human-created beliefs, customs,
knowledge and practices
 SOCIAL is the behaviour of people when they act in
accordance with the expectations of others
 CULTURE is the conventional behaviour of her society
and it influences all her actions even though it seldom
enters her conscious thoughts
 CULTURE DIFFERENCES
Some of the ways in which culture differ includes:
 Patterns of decision making

 Respect for authority

 Treatment for females

 Accepted leadership styles

**Manager’s must know

 CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Non job related-

Job related-(organizationally
created) (arise primarily from
individual’s personal
background)

 Types of work  Ethnicity

 Rank  Culture

 Physical proximity to  Socioeconomic

one another  Sex

 race
 EEO LAWS
 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is the provision of equal
opportunities to secure jobs and earn rewards in them, regardless
of conditions unrelated to job performance.
 EEO Laws was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964.
 Equal Employment Opportunities is the right of all people to
work and to advance on the basis of merit, ability and potential.
 EEO LAWS
 This cultural diversity or rich variety of differences among
people at work, raises the issue of fair treatment for workers
who are not in positions of authority.
 Problems may persist because of a key difference in this
context between Discrimination And prejudice.
 SOCIAL CULTURE VALUES
Work ethics
 Views work as very
important thing in life
 Views work as a desirable
goal
 Likes work and is satisfied
with it
Social Responsibility
 Is the recognition that
organizations have significant
influence on the social system
and that influence must be
properly considered and
balanced in all organizational
actions.
 WORK ETHICS
 The importance of developing a strong work ethic and how the
work ethic you develop will impact your future as an employee.
 Work Ethics a standard of conduct and values for job
performance
 ROLE
 Role is a pattern of expected actions
 It reflects a person’s position with its accompanying
 Rights and obligations

 Power and responsibility

Function of Role in Social System:

“To anticipate other’s behaviour”

ROLES PERFORM BY AN EMPLOYEE
A leader An adviser A staff person

A Committee A specialist A golfer

chairperson

A follower A worker A club president

A stockholder A consumer An accountant

A spouse A subordinate A student

A parent A musician And more!!

 THINGS TO KNOW
 Role Perception
 Role Flexibility
 Role conflict
 Role ambiguity
 Importance of mentorship program
 STATUS
 Status is the social rank of a person in a group.
 The amount of the recognition, honour, esteem, and acceptance
given to a person

Terms to remember
 Status System/hierarchy
 Status anxiety
 Status deprivation
 STATUS RELATIONSHIP
(EFFECT OF STATUS)
High status people
 More influential
 Received more privileges
 More participative in group activities
 Interact more
 Opportunities for a better role in an organization
 SOURCES OF STATUS
 Person’s abilities
 Job skills

 Type of work also

 Amount of pay

 Seniority

 Age

 stock options
 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
 Organizational Culture is the set of shared values and norms that
characterise a particular organization.
 Organizational Culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that
guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining
appropriate behaviour for various situations. (Ravasi and Schultz
(2006)
 IMPORTANCE OF
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
 Gives an organizational identity to employee
 Provides a sense of security to its members

 Helps newer employees interpret what goes on inside the

organization
 Helps stimulate employees enthusiasm for their tasks
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES
 Distinctive  Integrated

 Stable  Accepted

 Implicit  A reflectionof top

 Symbolic management
 No  Subcultures
one type is best
 Of varying strength
 FOUR COMBINATIONS OF
SOCIALIZATION AND
INDIVIDUALIZATION
High

Creative
Socialization Conformity Individualism
(Impact of organizational
culture on employee
acceptance of norms)

Isolation Rebellion
Low

Low High
Individualization
(Impact of employee on organizational
culture deviation from norms)