Organizational Behavior PDF

Organizational Behavior Dr. Eman Aly  CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Organizational Behavior Chapter outline: Definition of organization The meaning of organizational behavior. Levels of analysis in organizational behavior and how they are interrelated. Major disciplines that...

Organizational Behavior Dr. Eman Aly  CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Organizational Behavior Chapter outline: Definition of organization The meaning of organizational behavior. Levels of analysis in organizational behavior and how they are interrelated. Major disciplines that contribute to the OB field Goals of organizational behavior. Origins of OB. Models of organizational behavior. Organizational behavior study methods. Challenges and opportunities for OB. What is an organization? An organization is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives. In another words, Organization is a social entity for accomplishing common goals through group effort. Key points of the definition: Social entity  the essential characteristic of an organization is the coordinated presence of people. not necessarily things. The field of organizational behavior is about understanding people and managing them to work effectively. Goal accomplishment  individuals are assembled into organizations for a reason or goal. Virtually, all organizations have survival as a goal. The field of organizational behavior is concerned with how organizations can survive and adapt to change. Group effort  organizations are based on the interaction and coordination among people to accomplish their goals. What Is Organizational Behavior (OB) ? Organizational behavior (OB) is the "The study of how people, groups, and organizations interact and have an impact on one another " According to Keith Davis, “Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within organizations. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively.” Levels of analysis in OB: 1. The individual level : concerned with understanding determinants of individual's behavior and performance level (e.g. motives, perceptions, attitudes, personality). 2. The group level : more concerned with the behavior of small groups including characteristics, group dynamics and relationships. 3. The organization level : concerned with organization design and its impact on organizational behavior.. Major disciplines that contribute to the OB field OB is a multidisciplinary field that derives knowledge from a wide variety of social science disciplines: i. Psychology  seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the human behavior. Early psychologists studied the problems of fatigue and other working conditions that could affect efficient work performance. Their contributions have expanded to include perception, learning, personality, emotions & stress, attitudes, and motivation. ii. Sociology  focuses on the people. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study communication, power, conflict. iii.Social psychology  blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on people’s influence on one another. One major contribution is the study of attitudes, group processes, group decision making and communication. iv.Anthropology  which is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Some of its major contributions are organizational culture, organizational environments, and differences in attitudes & behavior among national cultures. Major disciplines that contribute to the OB field Organizational Behavior Goals: The four goals of organizational behavior are to describe, understand, predict and control. 1. To describe: The first objective is to describe how people behave under various conditions. 2. To understand: The second goal of organizational behavior is to understand why people behave as they do. Managers have to understand the reasons behind a particular action. For example, as a manager, I must find out the reason why the junior officer is coming late and going earlier. 3. To predict: Predicting future behavior of employee is another goal of organizational behavior. For instance, Managers have to expect a certain employee behavior. 4. To control: The final goal of organizational behavior is to control and develop a friendly atmosphere for the organization. Since managers are responsible for the overall performance of an organization, they must develop workers’ teamwork, skill and commitment. Managers should take necessary action. In the above case, I can increase the financial benefits of the officer if it is not satisfactory for him or I can help him to solve his personal problem, or I can negotiate him to solve any organizational problem. The origins of Organizational Behavior : Stage 1: (before 1900) Management as a process was based on trial and error with little or no common body of knowledge or theory and no sharing of ideas and practices. Stage 2: Industrialization (beginning of modern management) A new industrial era began in the USA during the last 25 years of the 19th century. Large industrial manufacturing started to better plan, organize, and control the workforce. Stage 3: Scientific management Frederick Taylor (father of management), an American engineer who noticed the inefficient practices of workers at work and attempted to change them. Applied a scientific method of designing jobs for each element of an employee’s work to arrive at the “one best way” of performing a task. Set the scientific selection, training developing workers Emphasized the equal division of work and interdependence between managers and non-managers. Taylor was acknowledged to be the first person to carefully study human behavior at work. Stage 4: The behavioral school of management a) The human relations approach The human relations movement brought to the attention of management the important role played by individuals in determining the success or failure of an organization. It dealt with the task of compensating for some of the deficiencies in classical theory that was concerned mainly with the physical environment, and concentrated on the social environment surrounding the job. The Hawthorne studies, conducted by Elton Mayo, was one of the main contributions to the human relations movement. Baffled by the results, where productivity increased while expecting it to decrease upon the changes made in the physical environment (e.g. reducing the level of illumination), the researchers concluded that there are other factors that had effects on the worker productivity. They found that workers reacted to the social conditions at work such as informal group pressures, individual recognition, and participation in decision making. b) The behavioral science approach The Behavioral Science Approach is actually an extension of the Human Relations Approach. It gave value to attitudes, behavior and performance of people and groups within the organizations. The advocates of the behavioral science approach consider that humans are much more complex than the economic man description of the classical approach and the social man description of the human relations approach. This approach focuses on the nature of work, and the degree to which it will satisfy the human need to show skills and expertise. Abraham Maslow, Fredrick Herzberg, Douglas McGregor, etc., made significant contributions towards the behavioral science approach. Models of organizational behavior Different models of organizational behavior dominate management’s thought in each organization. The model that a manager holds usually begins with certain assumptions about people and leads to certain interpretations of events. The following four models of organizational behavior are discussed here: 1. Autocratic Model: The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal. 2. Custodial Model: The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive cooperation as employees are not strongly motivated. 3. Supportive Model: The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support. The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives to contribute and improve themselves. 4. Collegial Model: The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork. The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline. The employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is moderate enthusiasm NOTE: Although there are four separate models, almost no organization operates exclusively in one. There will usually be a predominate one, with one or more areas over-lapping in the other models Models of organizational behavior Organizational Behavior Study Methods Organizational behavior can be studied using a variety of methods to collect data: Surveys are a popular research method in organizational behavior research. They involve asking individuals to answer a set of questions, often using a Likert scale. The goal of the survey is to gather quantitative data on attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions related to a particular topic. In a similar manner, companies may perform interviews to gather data about individuals' experiences, attitudes, and perceptions. Companies can also gather data without directly interacting with study subjects. Observations involve watching individuals in real-life settings to gather data on their behaviors, interactions, and decision-making processes. Meanwhile, a company can perform case studies to perform an in-depth examination of a particular organization, group, or individual. Challenges and opportunities for OB (I) Responding to globalization: Globalization is the process of interconnecting the world’s people with respect to the cultural, economic, political, technological, and environmental aspects of their lives. International trade is the major driver of globalization, and multinational enterprises (MNEs) are its primary vehicles. MNEs are organizations that are headquartered in a single nation and have operations throughout various countries. One of the challenges resulting from the rise of MNEs that managers may face is managing the workforce diversity and dealing with people from different cultures. Managers must understand the culture shock expatriates may experience in their early days of work and know how to handle this period. - Expatriates (expats): who are citizens in one country but work & live in another country for some extended period of time. - Culture shock : the tendency for people working abroad to become confused and disoriented as they are faced with new cultures. They go through general stages to adjust to a foreign culture: 1-An initial period of optimism and excitement about the new culture. 2-Frustration and confusion about the new culture (culture shock). 3-Understanding, accepting and adjusting to the new culture (after about six months) (II) Responding to employees’ need for flexibility: Several practices that have gained popularity in recent years provide the flexibility to today’s employees’ needs: Flextime programs : making it easier for employees to adapt their work schedules to the demands of their personal lives: when to arrive at work and when to leave. Job sharing : a regular part-time work in which two or more employees share the duties of a single job, splitting the salary and benefits in proportion to the time worked. Voluntary reduced work time programs (V-time) : programs that allow employees to reduce the amount of time they work by a certain amount (10 or 20%) with a proportional reduction in pay.  Compressed workweeks : working fewer days each week but longer hours each day. Contingent workforce : people hired temporarily, to work as needed for finite periods of time. Telecommuting (teleworking) : allowing employees to use communication technology to perform work from remote locations, such as one’s home, with e- mail access. (III) Working in networked organizations: Networked organizations (also called virtual organizations) outsource outside firms around the globe to perform non- core functions. The virtual organization is a loosely connected cluster of separate organizations electronically connected to a central office and telecommute via computers for completing tasks and sharing information. In a networked organization, managers must develop new skills to motivate, lead, and make collaborative decisions online which require different techniques than when individuals are physically present in one location. Discussion Questions: 1-A structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives is a/an…. a. Organization b. University c. Hospital d. All of the above 2-Which of the following is NOT a level of analysis in OB? a. Individual level b. Group level c. Organization level d. Environmental level 3- The custodial model concentrate on ……………. a. managerial orientation of support. b. security and benefits and dependence on the organization c. being in a teamwork d. self-actualization 4- OB is a multidisciplinary field that derives knowledge from a wide variety of social science disciplines. a. True b. False 5-The Hawthorne studies was one of the main contributions to the Scientific Management movement a. True b. False Any Questions? Thank you