Dr.

BHAWANA PANDE
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

BABU BANARASI DAS

UNIVERSITY
LUCKNOW
 Introduction to
Organizational Behavior

C O U R S E : O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L B E H AV I O U R
MBA4104
SEMESTER-1
MBA
 What are organizations

A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two

or more people, that functions on a relatively
continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of
goals.
Manufacturing and service firms are organizations, and
so are schools, hospitals, churches, military units, retail
stores, police departments, and local, state government
agencies.
Organizations are not necessarily buildings or government
registered entities. Eg. any religious congregation, charity
work or unions are also organizations.
 Define OB

 OB is a field of study that investigates the impact of

individuals, groups and structures on behavior within
organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge
toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

 Systematic study- looking at relationships, attempting to

attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based
on scientific evidence.

 Organizational Behavior can be defined as the

understanding, prediction and management of
human behavior in organizations.
 Disciplines that contribute to the OB field

Psychology- is the science that seeks to measure, explain and sometimes

change the behavior of humans and other animals. Its contribution
includes learning, perception, personality, emotions etc
Social Psychology- focuses on people’s influence on one another. The
discipline contributes to the study of group behavior, conflict, bringing
change.
Political science- this branch deals with politics in theory and practice
and analysis of various political systems and political behaviors. It helps
in understanding the dynamics of power and politics within
organizations.
Sociology- sociology studies people in relation to their social
environment or culture. It has contributed to organizational culture,
organization theory and structure, power, conflict and communication
Anthropology- is the study of societies to learn about human beings
and their activities. Its contribution is in understanding differences in
national cultures.
 Dramatic changes in organizations:

• Responding to globalization: globalization refers to economic,

social and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world.
 Responding to economic pressure: handling lay off, job loss is
difficult
 Workforce diversity managing a workforce that is likely to be
different in needs, aspirations and attitudes.
 Working with people from different cultures- even at home to
work effectively with people from different cultures, you need to
understand how their culture, geography and religion have shaped
them and how to suit our style to their differences.
 Adapting to different cultural and regulatory norms: In
some countries employees enjoy long holidays. Managers also need to
know the financial and legal regulations.
 CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
Responding to Economic Pressures

 During difficult economic times, when layoffs and job losses

are widespread, and those who survive accept pay cuts,
effective management is often at a premium.

 OB approaches sometimes differ. In good times,

understanding how to reward, satisfy, and retain employees
is at a premium. In bad times, issues like stress, decision
making, and coping come to the fore.
 Responding to Globalization

Organizations are no longer constrained by national

borders.
 Increased Foreign Assignments
 Working with People from Different Cultures Even in
your own country you’ll find yourself working with bosses, peers,
and other employees born and raised in different cultures.
 Overseeing Movement of Jobs to Countries with Low-
Cost Labor. Managers face the difficult task of balancing the
interests of their organization with their responsibilities to the
communities in which they operate.
OB can help managers understand the differences
in national cultures and economic values.
 Managing Workforce Diversity

 Workforce diversity acknowledges a workforce of women and men;

many racial and ethnic groups; individuals with a variety of physical or
psychological abilities; and people who differ in age and sexual
orientation.
 It presents great opportunities and poses challenging questions for
managers and employees in all countries

 OB can help managers in shifting their philosophy from treating

everyone alike to recognizing individual differences and
responding to those differences in ways that will ensure employee
retention and greater productivity. If diversity is not managed properly
and showed biases to favor only a few categories of employees, there is
potential for higher turnover, more difficulty in communicating and more
interpersonal conflicts.
 Coping with “Temporariness”

 Globalization, expanded capacity, and advances in technology have

required organizations to be fast and flexible if they are to survive.

 Workers must continually update their knowledge and skills to

perform new job requirements. In the past, employees were assigned to a
specific work group, gaining a considerable amount of security
working with the same people day in and day out. Finally,
organizations themselves are in a state of flux.

 The study of OB can help you better understand a work world of

continual change, overcome resistance to change, and create an
organizational culture that thrives on change
 Improving Customer Service

 Service jobs include technical support representatives, sales person,

nurses, consultants, financial planners, and flight attendants. The
common characteristic of these jobs is substantial interaction with an
organization’s customers.
 Organizations cannot exist without customers—management needs to
ensure employees do what it takes to please customers.

 OB can help by showing managers how employee attitudes and

behavior are associated with customer satisfaction. OB can provide
considerable guidance in helping managers create a customer-
responsive culture—in which employees are friendly and courteous,
accessible, knowledgeable, prompt in responding to customer needs,
and willing to do what’s necessary to please the customer.
 Improving Skills of the People
 Technological changes, structural changes, environmental changes are
accelerating at a faster rate in business field. Unless employees and
executives are equipped to possess the required skills to adapt those
changes, the achievement of the targeted goals cannot be achieved in
time.

 OB can provide insights to the managers into designing an effective

integrated performance appraisal system with built-in training
facilities to upgrade the skills of the employees. These skills can be
enhanced by organizing a series of training and development
programmes, career development programmes, induction and
socialization etc.
 Working in Networked Organizations
 Networked organizations allow people to communicate and work
together even though they are far apart. Motivating and leading people
and making collaborative decisions online requires different
techniques.

 The manager’s job is different in a networked organization.

Motivating and leading people and making collaborative decisions
online requires different techniques than when individuals are
physically present. Managers must develop new skills. OB can provide
insights in honing those skills.
 Helping Employees Balance Work–Life
Conflicts
 Studies show that employees show signs of burnout, fatigue
and stress as they are always on work or virtual work. They
now want jobs that give them flexibility in work schedules
to manage work-life balance.

 OB offers a number of suggestions to managers in

designing workplaces and jobs that can help employees
deal with work-life conflict like flexibility, telecommuting,
Autonomy at work and different job designing
approaches.
Creating a Positive Work Environment
 Organizations are trying to realize competitive advantage by fostering a
positive work environment- perks, modern workstations, high
performance expectations, developing human strengths and unlocking
potential.

 OB pushes organizations to look through new lens and exploit

employees strengths rather than dwell on limitations. OB concepts like
positive organizational behavior, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence
are helpful in this regard.
 Improving Ethical Behavior

 In an organizational world characterized by cutbacks, expectations of

increasing productivity, and tough competition, it’s not surprising
many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and engage
in other questionable practices.

 OB provides insight to managers on responding to the problem by

evolving code of ethics to guide employees through ethical
dilemmas. Organizing seminars, workshops, training programs will
help improve ethical behavior of employees. Retaining consultants,
lawyers, voluntary service organizations to assist the company in
dealing with ethical issues will ensure positive ethical behavior.
Managers need to create an ethically healthy climate for his
employees where they can do their work productively and confront a
minimal degree of ambiguity regarding what constitutes right and
wrong behavior.