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Introduction to Organizational
Behavior

What do we know of human behavior at

work and how do we know it?

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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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Organizational
A field of study that
Behavior
investigates the impact
that individuals,
groups, and structure
have on behavior
within organizations,
for the purpose of
applying such
knowledge toward
improving an
organization’s
effectiveness.

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Analyze the situation and answer
the questions?
Sandhya has worked in your department for several years. Until
recently she has been a “model” employee. She has always been
on time, or early, for work, and stayed late whenever necessary
to get her to work done. She was upbeat, cheerful and worked
very hard. She frequently said that the company was the best
place she had ever worked, and that you were the perfect boss.

About six months ago, however, you began to see changes in

Sandhya’s behavior. She began to occasionally come in late, and
you cannot remember the last time she agreed to work past 5:00.
She also complains a lot . Other workers have started to avoid
her, because she is so negative all the time. You also suspect
that she may be looking for a new job. 
• Write a brief case with more information that explains why Sandhya’s behavior
has changed.
• Suggest means to resolve things with Sandhya.

 
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What is Organizational Behavior?

Insert Figure 1.1 here

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 OB studies what people do in an
organization and how that
behavior affects the performance
of the organization.

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 An Open Systems View of
Organizations and OB

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Components of an Organization

Task – an organization’s mission, purpose, or goal

for existing
People – the human resources of the organization
Structure – the manner in which an organization’s
work is designed at the micro level; how
departments, divisions, and the overall
organization are designed at the macro level
Technology – the tools, knowledge, and/or techniques
used to transform inputs into outputs

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 Organizations as Open Systems: Transformation
Task environment:
Competitors
Unions
Regulatory agencies/government
Clients

Structure
Inputs:
Material Outputs:
Capital Task Technology Products
Human Services
People
(Actors)
Organizational Boundary
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 Goals of
Organizational Behavior

Prediction Explanation Control

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Contributing Disciplines
Many behavioral sciences
have contributed to the
development of
Organizational
Behavior

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Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes
change the behavior of humans and other animals.

Unit of Analysis:
 Individual
Contributions to OB:
 Learning, motivation, personality, emotions, perception
 Training, leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction
 Individual decision making, performance appraisal attitude
measurement
 Employee selection, work design, and work stress

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Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from
psychology and sociology and that focuses on the
influence of people on one another.

Unit of Analysis:
 Group
Contributions to OB:
 Behavioral change
 Attitude change
 Communication
 Group processes
 Group decision making

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Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human
beings.
Unit of Analysis:
-- Organizational
System -- Group
Contributions to OB:
Group dynamics Formal organization
Work teams theory
Communication Organizational
Power technology
Conflict Organizational change
Intergroup behavior Organizational culture
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Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings
and their activities.

Unit of Analysis:
-- Organizational
System -- Group

Contributions to OB:
Organizational culture
Comparative values
Organizational
environment Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis

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Levels of OB Analysis

Individual Group
Level Level

Organization
System Level

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Three Levels of OB Analysis

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Organizational Behavior Case: Too Nice
to People
 Rohan has just graduated from the college of Business Administration and has joined
his family's small business, which employs 25 semiskilled workers. During the first
week on the job, his grandfather called him in and said: “Rohan, I’ve had a chance to
observe you working with our employees for the past two months and, although I hate
to, I feel I must they taught you that human behavior stuff at the university, but it just
doesn’t work here. I remember when we discussed the Hawthorne studies when I was
in school and everybody at the university seemed excited about them, but believe me,
there is more to managing people than just being nice to them.”

1. How would you react to your grandfather’s comments if you were Rohan?
2. Do you think he understands the significance of recent trends in the environment and
how the new paradigm will affect his business?
3. How would you explain to your grandfather the new perspective that is needed and
how the study of an evidence-based approach to organizational behavior will help the
business be successful in the new paradigm?

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Organizational Behavior Case: How
is This Stuff Going to Help Me?
 Jyoti wants to be a manager. She enjoyed her accounting, finance, and
marketing courses. Each of these provided her with some clear-cut answers.
Now the professor in her organizational behavior course is telling her that
there are really very few clear-cut answers when it comes to managing
people. The professor has discussed some of the emerging challenges and the
historical background and ways that behavioral science concepts play a big
role in the course. Jyoti is very perplexed. She came to school to get answers
on how to be an effective manager, but this course surely doesn’t see, to be
heading in that direction.
1. How would you relieve Jane’s anxiety? How is a course in better manager?
What implications does and evidence-based approach have?
2. Why did the professor start off with a brief overview of emerging challenges?
3. How does a course in organizational behavior differ from courses in fields
such as accounting, finance, or marketing.

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