ORGANIZATIONAL

CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR

Syed Muhammad Raza.

Aneesh Kumar.
BSCS-3-E.

Submitted to:
Ma’am Sehrish Bukhari.
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Importance of OCB 3
Literature review 4
Organizational concerns 5
Dimensions of OCB 5
Dimensions of OCBI 5
Altruism 5
Courtesy 6
Dimensions of OCBO 6
Sportsmanship 6
Conscientiousness 6
Civic virtue 6
Antecedents of OCB 7
Job satisfaction 7
Organizational commitment 7
HR practices 7
OCB and job performance 8
Managerial implications 9
Conclusion 11
References 12

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Introduction and Background:

Organizational citizenship behavior is a phrase that encompasses

anything positive and productive that employees do, of their own desire,
that benefits the company. Employees who regularly perform OCB are not
always the top performers but they are known for going the second mile or
going above and beyond the minimum efforts required to do an acceptable
job.

"Organizations want and need employees who will do those things that
aren't in any job description. Evidence indicates that those organizations
that have such employees outperform those that don't "(Podsakoff, N. P.,
Blume, B. D., Whiting, S. W., & Podsakoff, P. M. (2009).

Employees are called the backbone of any organization by offering their

trust and support in exchange for a shared passion. OCB will empower each
employee to go above and beyond their responsibilities without seeking or
expecting any credit. Nowadays, some studies are looking at organizational
citizenship behavior (OCB) as a dependent variable. OCB guarantees a more
significant sense of purpose and work meaning for employees. This means
that employees feel their work is essential and useful to the company.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior allows employees to feel they have
greater control over the work they do, and how they do it. Workers get the
opportunity to decide what they want to put more time into, and how they
want to accomplish it. It also leads to increased productivity and high-
quality work.

The concept of organizational citizenship behavior has attracted the

interest of several scholars and continues to be one of the most popular
topics in organizational behavior research. Since 1983, the concept of OCB
has gathered interest from several different disciplines such as
psychology, sociology, economics, and anthropology. Researchers have become
increasingly focused on investigating OCB within the group context. For
example, when the differences between members of a team in their
willingness to help each other are too great, this negatively affects the
overall performance of that team. The OCB composition among group members
such as the minimum and average levels of helping behavior exhibited by
members of a team also affected member effectiveness via the group helping
norm. According to Choi and Sy, social perceptions of group members can
influence employee actions. As a result, research consistently finds that
the differing levels of OCB among teams in an organization can have a major
impact on organizational success.

Although Katz and Kahn (1966) were the first to observe employees’
extra-role behavior in the workplace, it was Bateman and Organ (1983)
coined the term “organizational citizenship behavior” (OCB). Organ (1988)
concretely defined OCB as “individual behavior that is discretionary, not

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directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in
the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization.”
Organ's definition of OCB includes three critical aspects that are central
to this construct. First, OCBs are thought of as discretionary behaviors,
which are not part of the job description, and are performed by the
employee as a result of personal choice. Second, OCBs go above and beyond
that which is an enforceable requirement of the job description. Finally,
OCBs contribute positively to overall organizational effectiveness Organ's
definition is key for understanding OCB as it pertains to employees.
According to Podsakoff (2000) and Cinar (2013), this definition was drawn
from Barnard’s (1938) concept of individuals’ “willingness to
cooperate” and Katz’s (1964) differentiation between one’s reliable
performance of work functions and “innovative and spontaneous behaviors.”
Organ (1997) later on redefined the concept, referring to OCB as any
discretionary work-related behavior that goes beyond routine duties and
supports one’s social or psychological environment. Organ and his
colleagues’ work on OCB became the foundation upon which succeeding
authors based their studies. Although there have been some attempts to
define OCB in their terms, these definitions still share essentially the
same meaning with Organ and colleagues. Neuhoff and Moorman (1993), for
instance, stated that OCBs are behaviors not formally required of
employees. On the other hand, Van Dyne (1994) took OCB to mean a concept
that encompasses an individual’s positive behaviors that are relevant to
the organization. Organ and his colleagues continue to influence the field.

Importance of OCB:

Many researchers agree that the importance of OCB lies in its ability
to contribute to an organization's performance. The importance of OCB comes
from the fact that it contributes to improving total performance by
creating exchangeable relationships among employees through which they can
exchange information, ideas, and resources. By doing this, organizations
can reduce the need for rare resources for maintenance and maintain
cohesion, unity, and cohesiveness in their organization. Furthermore, by
allowing managers and colleagues more time for efficient planning,
scheduling, and problem-solving (Netemeyer 1997; Motowidlo 1991), they can
improve their capability to implement tasks effectively. Moreover,
organizational culture is considered a force-casting factor for OCB in
organizations and companies.

• OCB helps to direct the resources in a greater size towards the

accomplishment of productive goals.

• OCB enhances the productivity of managers and employees.

• OCB contributes to coordinating the activities among work groups better.

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• OCB enhances the capability of the organization to better recruit
employees and attain them by making the organization an attractive
workplace (Podaskoff,1997, 2000).

Literature review:

According to Bernard's writings in (1983), organizational citizens

can be motivated by their desire to perform well, their need for
recognition and praise, and their desire to maintain relationships with co-
workers. In 1964, Katz determined three principal types of the motivating
basis of organizational citizenship (Katz, 1964). In the late 1970s, Organ
proposed the term "Organizational Citizenship Behavior" (OCB) to describe
self-initiative behavior through relationships between job satisfaction and
performance.

As organizational citizenship behavior is defined as helping behavior

that goes beyond the job description or task performance, so it is
important to differentiate between the OCB and the task performance. Borman
(2004) clarified that there are two differences between task performance
and OCB. First, the tasks that comprise a job are exclusive to each job.
Individuals in the same position might achieve different tasks at different
organizations. OCB usually is behavior that is general and applies across
jobs. A behavior that helps an organization in one job probably will help
an organization in another job. For example, volunteering and putting in
the extra effort will contribute to every organization’s success. Second,
the predictors for task performance and OCB are different. An employee’s
characteristics and commitment will predict OCB; an employee’s knowledge,
skills, and abilities will predict their task performance. The idea is that
those with knowledge skills and abilities that are closely suited for a job
will have higher task performance than will those without closely matched
knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Organizational Concerns:

The organizational concern is the desire to improve one's standing

within an organization by helping the organization to grow and succeed.
This often results in a sense of responsibility on the part of the employee
towards the company and its employees. The theory behind this motivation
comes from social exchange theory, which suggests that individuals engage
in OCB because the organization has given them a good job and treats them
fairly. These individuals feel obligated to give back to the organization
that has given them so much. The employees feel that they owe the
organization and they attempt to pay back the organization through
performing OCB. The organizational concern is comprised of two elements:
first, an individual wants to help the organization because he or she
associates with it; second, he or she believes that by affecting positively

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on other people within an organization he or she also affects positively on
himself or herself (Halbesleben, 2010).

Dimensions of OCB:

Organ (1988) identified five dimensions of OCB which will become the
bases for other dimensions that will be created in the future. There are
various ways the employees of a company can show citizenship, but these
five principles are what the employees can demonstrate when engaging in
OCB.

The dimensions of OCB are categorized into behaviors that are directed
toward the individual (OCBI) and behavior that is directed toward the
organization (OCBO). Individual-level of OCB consists of altruism, and
courtesy which is directed towards individuals. OCBI includes the helping
behavior and the courtesy dimensions. Organizational-level of OCB behavior
is directed towards the benefit of the organization consisting of
Conscientiousness, civic virtue, and sportsmanship are included in this
category.

Dimensions of OCBI:
1. Altruism

This type of Organizational Citizenship Behavior involves a person

making an effort to help someone else without expecting anything in return.
A business setting would likely take this form if a worker chooses to help
a co-worker finish a project or set of tasks even though the work doesn't
directly relate to what they need to get done in their regular workday.

2. Courtesy

This is when a worker is considerate and polite to those around them.

This could look like a worker stopping to make sure their noise levels are
appropriate if they need to speak on the phone with clients or check in
with co-workers about a troubling personal issue that could impact their
performance.

Dimensions of OCBO:

1. Sportsmanship

The principle of a positive attitude means that an employee will

remain positive and optimistic even when things do not go their way,
or when something creates a considerable amount of annoyance or
frustration. In a regular business setting, it might be exemplified by

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 the worker refraining from complaining or gossiping about a rejected
project proposal.

2. Conscientiousness

Employees who go above and beyond in the workplace can demonstrate

a high level of conscientiousness. Coming into work early to finish a
project, working to ensure team goals are exceeded, and developing a
new way to approach a process or procedure even when this duty is not
outlined in their job description are all ways that workers can
exemplify this trait.

3. Civic Virtue

This is when a worker represents the company they are associated

with in a positive light. This could occur within or outside of the
business. Employees should engage in Organizational Citizenship
Behavior by speaking favorably about the organization to those
outsides of it, participating in charity projects the company
participates in, and planning or attending company-sanctioned social
events.

Antecedents/determinants of OCB:

 Job satisfaction

Bateman and Organ (1983) argue that there are two bases for
thinking that job satisfaction affects OCB. First, social exchange
theory implies that people want to respond to conditions that benefit
them. If the person does not have the ability or opportunity to
respond with greater work output, he responds via OCB. It is the
result of the fact that OCB is less likely than in-role performance
to be limited by ability or work process (Organ and Ryan, 1995), and
it is more likely to be under a person's control (Bateman and Organ,
1983). The meta-analytic review of Organ and Ryan (1995) provided
evidence that the relationship between OCB and job satisfaction is
stronger than the relationship between in-role performance and job
satisfaction among non-managerial and non-professional groups.
According to this argument, job satisfaction reflects a positive mood
state, and people who are satisfied display citizenship behaviors
(Bateman and Organ, 1983; Organ and Konovsky, 1989). Barnard's
conceptualization of the OCB concept also suggests that the
individual's satisfaction affects his willingness to continue
engaging in those behaviors.

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  Organizational commitment

Scholl (1981) and Wiener (1982) have both provided support for the
possible link between organizational commitment and OCB. According to
Scholl's model, commitment may be a determinant of OCB if there is
little expectation of formal organizational rewards for performance.
Wiener similarly argues that commitment is the determinant of behaviors
that reflect personal sacrifice made for the sake of the organization;
do not depend primarily on environmental controls such as
reinforcements or punishments; and indicate a personal preoccupation
with the organization, such as giving a great deal of personal time to
organization-related actions and thoughts.

 HR practices

In today's highly competitive business environment, employees are

considered a source of competitive advantage. Researchers have looked
into HR practices as predictors of organizational citizenship
behaviors (OCBs). Shaw (2009) declared that superior organizational
performance depends on how workers exert effort in performing their
in-role and extra-role requirements. In connection with this, a
strong line of research agrees that adopting high-performance HR
practices will pave the way for employees to display OCB.
Nevertheless, how organizations reward and recognize employees is a
matter that needs to be addressed at the individual level. According
to Wilchez-Alzate (2009) and Lomoya (2015), individuals may have
varying perceptions about the way their organization handles its
rewards and recognition practices. This could impact employees' OCB
behaviors.

OCB and Job Performance:

Employees’ organizational citizenship behavior will positively

predict their overall performance, performance quality, and efficiency and
with the increase in competition among companies, managers realized the
importance of employees’ performance at work. And if we talk about job
performance many forms of job performance indicate how well an individual
performs the job, role, task, or responsibility and one of the forms of
performance is employee productivity. It has been found that effective
functioning and productivity of organizations are promoted by
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), which is a work-related behavior
that is discretionary and not related to the formal organizational reward
system. Since the customer is always king, and the happier they are, the
more the organization gets productive. Therefore, the organization should
strive to satisfy the employees, customers, and management, so that the
organization can be more productive and grow. This is also achieved by the

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organization utilizing the capacity of human resources for more
productivity. As a result, employees will be happier and healthier means
that the employees are satisfied, which will result in the citizenship
behavior of the employees, they will do more than their job and go the
extra mile which will increase the productivity of the organization.

We know that Altruism is one type of OBC that refers to the

employee's effort to help his colleagues. To be effective, employees must
learn to care about the well-being of others. that is, behaviors motivated
by concern for others rather than self-interest. They can do this by
helping colleagues with heavy workloads and by being mindful of how their
behavior affects others’ jobs. Employees who have socially driven values
that emphasize the group over individual concerns are likely to encourage
altruistic behaviors benefiting the group. In addition to being altruistic,
Robbins (2000) stated that an increase in job productivity will be achieved
from friendly and supportive co-workers. Employees enjoy considerate,
honest, fair, and competent supervisors who make decisions with their input
and reward those who contribute to the company's success.

Courtesy is another dimension of OCB when a worker is considerate and

polite to those around them. Foote (2005) asserts that polite employees
avoid inter-group conflict by avoiding creating problems for co-workers,
thus reducing managers' time spent handling crises and improving
productivity.

Podsakoff (2000) suggested that employees displaying sportsmanship,

(which is another dimension of OCB), were willing to sacrifice their
personal interest for the good of the workgroup, maintaining a positive
attitude and enduring personal inconveniences without complaint to conserve
organizational resources, thus improving job productivity. Organ (2006)
further argued that productivity will be improved when employees abide by
the organization even if they do not like or agree with the changes that
are occurring. By reducing the number of complaints from employees that
administrators have to deal with, sportsmanship conserves time and energy,
which can be used to do activities that improve productivity.

Baker (2005) explains civic virtue (dimension of OCB) as a responsible

and constructive involvement in the political processes of the
organization, improving job performance. This behavior monitors the
organization’s environment for threats and opportunities; it shows a
willingness to participate actively in managerial events, and it looks out
for the organization’s best interest. Employee performance is improved by
such behaviors that reflect an employee’s recognition of being part of the
organization. Podsakoff (2000) asserts that employee performance is
improved by these behaviors because they reflect an employee’s recognition
of being part of the organization.

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Managerial Implications

To create an environment that is effective and efficient, it is

necessary to cultivate a climate where the seniors will feel free to
lead juniors to solve work-related problems. As well as find more
efficient ways of performing their jobs.

In addition, less experienced employees should be inspired to

help co-workers and participate in voluntary functions. Over time,
both senior and junior staff will be willing to actively engage in
OCB—which should in turn create a stable organizational culture. At
the same time as they raise their levels of performance, staff will
deliver a high level of efficiency for the entire organization.

Encouraging employees to engage in positive organizational

citizenship behavior (OCB) can reduce managerial costs, increase
group cohesiveness, and lead to better organizational effectiveness.

Management should think about how it can make employees more

enthusiastic about activities that benefit the company. For example,
the connection between OCB and job performance can be made explicit
in training programs and evaluation of OCB-related activities can be
included in performance appraisals.

Supervisors should set an example by engaging in OCB activities

as well as encouraging their subordinates to volunteer for some of
the activities of experienced employees even if these pertain to
personal benefits rather than company ones. This will encourage more
people to engage in relevant extra-role behaviors such as
volunteering for community service projects or simply doing random
acts of kindness around the office.

Employee-friendly management practices should be adopted in

organizations that facilitate the formation of network-building
social capital which serves as an asset to organizations and creates
a competitive advantage.

Managers need to give a better performance rating to workers

who engage in OCB, for example, award pay rise, promotions, and give
bonuses. This will be a motivating factor for employees to exhibit
more OCB.

The organization needs to promote the welfare of co-workers and

work groups so that they can surpass the minimum role required and
expected by the organization.

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Conclusion

The concept of OCB was introduced in the late 1970s and officially
defined in the 1980s. OCB is generally regarded as a relatively new
construct and has become one of the biggest subjects studied in the
literature. The concept has reached far and wide into the business world,
supporting the fact that employees’ well-being and behaviors can greatly
affect organizations’ effectiveness and performance.

The concept of organizational citizenship behavior has attracted the

interest of several scholars and continues to be one of the most popular
topics in organizational behavior research. Organ and his colleagues and
their work on OCB became the foundation upon which succeeding authors based
their studies. Moreover, citizenship behavior has significant importance in
organizations it can increase work performance and work quality it also
enhances productivity, and help the organization to be an attractive
workplace. Moving forward it is also important to differentiate between OCB
and the most important difference is that the antecedents of OCB and task
performance are different; an employee’s characteristics and commitment
will predict OCB; an employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities will
predict their task performance.

There are different ways of organizing the OCB construct was proposed
by Williams and Anderson (1991). They divided up the OCB into two different
types based on whom the behaviors were directed at. Organizational
citizenship behavior–individuals (OCBI) include behaviors that are aimed
at other individuals in the workplace while organizational citizenship
behavior-organizational (OCBO) includes behaviors directed at the
organization as a whole. Altruism and courtesy are actions aimed at other
employees and thus fall under the umbrella of OCBIs. Conscientiousness,
civic virtue, and sportsmanship are behaviors intended for the benefit of
the organization and can subsequently be considered OCBOs. Those dimensions
are widely used in organizational behavior studies.

Also, there are a lot of antecedents of OCB and the most important
antecedents of OCB also have been explained in this report. Commonly
studied antecedents of OCB are job satisfaction, perceptions of
organizational justice, organizational commitment, personality
characteristics, task characteristics, and leadership behavior. These
antecedents have been analyzed at both the overall and individual OCB
levels. One of the most intuitive antecedents of OCB is job satisfaction.
Organ and Ryan (1995) conducted a meta-analysis of 28 studies and found a
modest relationship between job satisfaction and OCB. This relationship was
stronger than the relationship between job satisfaction and in-role
performance. Other attitudinal measures, perceived fairness and
organizational commitment are found to correlate with OCB at about the same
rate as satisfaction.
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 This report also shows that organizational citizenship behavior
exhibited by employees improves employee productivity. although OCB is not
salaried by the organization, it can be beneficial to the organization by
contributing to productivity. It is also good for an organization or a
group to be successful, OCB can be used as a vital factor. So,
organizations should try to improve their employee’s citizenship behavior
by providing a good environment for work and by giving better performance
ratings to the employees who engage in OCB.

References:

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
222056649_Implications_of_OCB_and_Contextual_Performance_for_Human_Reso
urce_Management

 https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/1/61

 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Organizational-Citizenship-
Behavior-%28OCB%29%3A-A-Review-Azmi-Desai/
e44f5650cdc435f5d57d316154d08d0869b2d387

 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-04-2017-0136/
full/html

 https://www.aihr.com/blog/organizational-citizenship-behavior/

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
341377546_ANALYSIS_OF_ORGANIZATIONAL_COMMITMENT_THROUGH_OCB_ON_EMPLOYEE
_PERFORMANCE

 https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1159/

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