Chapter 1

Introduction:Organizational
Behavior in the 1990s
Nelson & Quick
 Organizational Behavior

The study of individual behavior and group

dynamics in organizational settings
Organizational Variables

Organizational Design
Performance appraisal Work design
Communications

Human Behavior

Organizational Structure Jobs

Organizational Vs Individual Point of View

Clockworks or Snake pit?

Human Behavior
in the
Organization
 Internal/External Perspective of
Human Behavior
Internal Perspective External Perspective
Understand Thoughts,feelings, External events,
human behavior past experiences, behavioral consequences,
in terms of and needs & external forces

Explain human Individuals’ history & Surrounding external

behavior by personal value events & environmental
examining system forces

Each Perspective has produced

motivational & leadership theories.
theories
 Sociology
the science
Psychology of society
the science of Engineering
human behavior the applied science
of energy & matter

Interdisciplinary
Anthropology
Influences on
the science of the
Organizational Medicine
learned behavior
Behavior the applied science of
of human beings
healing or treatment of
diseases to enhance an
Management individual’s health and
the study of overseeing well-being
activities and supervising
people in organizations
 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, & the overall organization are designed at
the macro level
Technology - the intellectual and mechanical processes
used by an organization to transform inputs into
products or services that meet organizational goals
(ch02)
 Organizations
Task environment:
as Systems Competitors
Unions
Regulatory agencies
Clients

Structure
Inputs:
Material Outputs:
Capital Task Technology Products
Human Services
People
(Actors)

Organizational Boundary
Based on Harold Levitt, “Applied Organizational Change in
Industry: Structural, Technological, and Humanistic Approaches,” in J.G.
March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1965,
p. 1145. Reprinted by permission of James G. March
Formal vs Informal Organization
Formal Organization - the part of the
organization that has legitimacy and
official recognition
Informal Organization - the unofficial part
of the organization

Hawthorne Studies: studies conducted

during the 1920’s and 1930’s that
discovered the existence of the
informal organization
Formal & Formal organization
Informal (overt)
Goals & objectives
Elements of Policies & procedures
Job descriptions
Organizations Financial resources Social
Surface
Informal organization
(covert)
Beliefs & assumptions about
people, work, the organization
Perceptions & attitudes
Values
Feelings, such as fear,
rage, despair, &
hope
Group norms
U.S. Gross Domestic Product

Total 15% 6%12%

$8.1 Trillion
8%
40% 19%

Federal purchases State/local purchases

Personal durable goods Personal nondurable goods
Service Fixed investments
 Six Focus Organizations
• Ford
• Gateway 2000
• Southwest Airlines
• Starbucks
• Harpo Entertainment
• American Red Cross
 Change
• Too much change = chaos
• Too little change = stagnation

How do you view change?

Threat Opportunity
 International Competition in
Business
Thurow: the next several decades in business will
be characterized by intense competition between
the U.S., Japan, and Europe in core industries.

Success will require:

• positive response to the competition in the
international marketplace
• responsiveness to ethnic, religious, and
gender diversity in the workforce
 Quality
• A potential means for giving organizations in viable
industries a competitive edge in international
competition
• A rubric for products and services that are of high
status
• A customer-oriented philosophy of management
with implications for all aspects of organizational
behavior
• A cultural value embedded in successful
organizations
 Cannot be optimized

Quality Is not a fad

Is not an end in itself

Three key questions in evaluating quality-improvement ideas

1. Does the idea improve customer response?
2. Does the idea accelerate results?
3. Does the idea raise the effectiveness of resources?

YES means the idea should improve overall quality

 Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management -

the total dedication to continuous
improvement and to customers so
that the customers’ needs are met
and their expectations exceeded

Total Quality is NOT

- a panacea for all organizations
- a guarantee of unqualified success
CEOs Advance Total Quality by:
• Engaging in participative management
• Being willing to change everything
• Focusing quality efforts on customer service
• Including quality as a criterion in reward
systems
• Improving the flow of information regarding
quality improvement successes or failures
• Being actively & personally involved in quality
efforts
Seven Categories in the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award Examination
• Leadership
• Information and analysis
• Strategic quality planning
• Human resource utilization
• Quality assurance of products & services
• Quality results
• Customer satisfaction
 Challenges to Managing
Organizational Behavior
1. Increasing globalization of organizations’
operating territory
2. Increasing diversity of organizational
workforces
3. Continuing technological innovation with its
companion need for skill enhancement
4. Continuing demand for higher levels of moral
& ethical behavior at work
 Learning about Organizational
Behavior

Mastery of Development of Application

basic objective specific skills** of knowledge
knowledge* and abilities and skills

* Objective knowledge ** Skill development

knowledge that results the mastery of abilities
from research and essential to successful
scholarly activities functioning in organizations
The Organizational Behavior
Student is
a critical consumer of knowledge
related to organizational behavior--
one who is able to intelligently
question the latest research results
and distinguish plausible, sound
new approaches from fads that lack
substance or adequate foundation.
 Learning from Structured Activity
Individual or group
structured activity
(e.g. group decision
New or modified activity) Systematic review
knowledge or skills of the structured
(e.g., consensus activity (e.g.,
group decisions are compare individual
better) & group results)
Conclusions based
on the systematic
review (e.g., the
group did better)
Three Assumptions Required for
Learning from Structured Activity

• Each student must accept responsibility for

his/her own behavior, actions, & learning
• Each student must actively participate in the
individual/group structured learning activity
• Each student must be open to new
information, new skills, new ideas, and
experimentation
 Skills Identified by
U.S. Department of Labor
• Resource management skills
• Information management skills
• Personal interaction skills
• Systems behavior & performance
skills
• Technology utilization skills
Watchwords for Organizations
in These Changing Times