LESSON 1: Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior – is the study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations.
Organizations - are groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose
Importance of this field of inquiry?
- It helps people get things done in organizations
- Provides knowledge and tools to interact with others more effectively
- Build a high-performance team
- Motivating coworkers,
- Handling workplace conflicts
- Influencing your boss
- Changing employee behavior
Organizational Features
1. Are collective entities
2. Members have collective sense of purpose
Organizational Effectiveness
- A broad concept represented by several perspectives, including the organization’s fit with the external environment, internal
subsystems configuration for high performance, emphasis on organizational learning, and ability to satisfy the needs of key
stakeholders.
- is considered the “Ultimate Dependent Variable”
 Types of Organizational Effectiveness
Organizational Learning High Performance Work
Open Systems Stakeholders
Perspective Practices Perspective
Perspective Perspective
“Knowledge management” HPWP
Definition A perspective which A perspective which holds A perspective which holds - Personalizes the
holds that that organizational that effective open systems
organizations depend effectiveness depends on organizations incorporate perspective
on the external the organizations several workplace
environment for capacity to acquire, practices that leverage Stakeholders
resources, affect that share, use, and store the potential of human - Individuals,
environment through valuable knowledge. capital. organizations, or
their output, and consist other entities that
of internal subsystems - Views knowledge as affect, or are
that transform inputs to the main driver of affected by, the
outputs. competitive advantage organization’s
objectives and
actions.
Open systems – I. INTELLECTUAL 4 WORK PRACTICES I. VALUES, ETHICS,
permeable relationships CAPITAL: THE STOCK 1. Employee AND CORPORATE
Close systems – operate OF ORGANIZATIONAL involvement SOCIAL
without dependence on KNOWLEDGE 2. Job Autonomy RESPONSIBILITY
external environment 3. Employee
FORMS OF Competence Values
INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL 4. Performance/Skill- - Are relatively
I. ORGANIZATION- 1. Human Capital based rewards stable, evaluative
ENVIRONMENT FIT - Stock of beliefs that guide
(STRATEGIES) knowledge, WHY HPWP IMPROVE a person’s
1. Anticipating skills, and ORGANIZATIONAL preferences for
change in the abilities among EFFECTIVENESS outcomes or
 environment and employees that 1. Build human courses of action
Reconfiguring provide capital in a variety of
Subsystems economic value 2. Superior human situations.
2. Actively managing to the capital may
external organization. improve Values-driven
environment 2. Structural Capital adaptability to Organization Model
Move into different - Knowledge rapidly change - Employees
environment if it gets too embedded in environments decisions and
challenging an 3. Strengthen behavior are
organization’s employees guided by the
INTERNAL systems and motivation toward company’s
SUBSYSTEMS structures employer espoused values
EFFECTIVENESS 3. Relationship rather than by
Organizational Capital expensive and
Efficiency - Value derived often demoralizing
- A.k.a productivity from an command-and-
- The amount of organization’s control
outputs relative to relationships management
inputs in the with
organization’s customers, Ethics
transformation suppliers, and - The study of moral
process. other principles or
II. ORGANIZATIONAL values that
LEARNING determine whether
PROCESSES actions are right
or wrong and
1. Knowledge outcomes are good
Acquisition or bad.
- Includes extracting
information and Corporate Social
ideas from the Responsibility (CSR)
external - Consist of
environment, as organizational
well as through activities intended
insight to benefit society
and the
- Ex. Individual environment
learning, beyond the firm’s
environmental immediate
scanning, grafting, financial interests
experimentation or legal
2. Knowledge Sharing obligations.
- Involves
distributing
knowledge to others
across the
organization
- Ex.
Communication,
Training,
Information
systems,
Observation
3. Knowledge Use
- Applying knowledge
in ways that add
value to the
organization
- Employees must
realize that the
knowledge is
available and that
they have enough
autonomy to apply
it.
- Ex. Knowledge
awareness, Sense
making, Autonomy,
Empowerment
4. Knowledge Storage
- Includes any means
by which knowledge
 is held for later
retrieval.
- It is the process
that creates
organizational
memory
- Ex. Human
memory,
Documentation,
Practices/Habits,
Databases

III. ABSORPTIVE
CAPACITY
- The ability to
recognize the value
of new information,
assimilate it, and
use it for value-
added activities.
- Is the amount and
quality of
knowledge already
held within the
organization

IV. ORGANIZATIONAL
MEMORY AND
UNLEARNING
- Corporate leaders
are the keepers of
organizational
memory
(STRATEGIES to retain
intellectual capital)
 1. Keeping
knowledgeable
employees

2. Systematically
transfer knowledge
to employees

3. Transfer knowledge
to structural capital

(UNLEARNING)
1. Replacing
dysfunctional
policies,
procedures,

2. Erase attitudes,
beliefs, and
assumptions

LO3: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES FOR ORGANIZATIONS

I. Globalization – refers to economic, social and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world.
II. Increasing Workforce Diversity
Surface-level diversity – the observable demographic or physiological differences in people, such as their race, ethnicity,
gender, age, and physical disabilities
Deep-level diversity – Differences in the psychological characteristics of employees, including personalities, beliefs,
values, and attitudes.
i. Consequences of Diversity
- Communication problems
- Source of conflict
 III. Emerging Employment Relationships
Work-life balance – The degree to which a person minimizes conflict between work and nonwork demands
Virtual work – work performed away from the traditional physical workplace by using information technology.

LO4: ANCHORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR KNOWLEDGE

OB should study organizations

Systematic Research Anchor using systematic research
methods.

OB should import knowledge

Multidisciplinary Anchor from other disciplines, not just
create its own knowledge.

OB theory should recognize that

Contingency Anchor the effects of actions often vary
with the situation.

OB events should be understood

Multiple Levels of Analysis from three levels of analysis:
Anchor Individual, Team, and
Organization

I. SYSTEMIC RESEARCH ANCHOR

Evidence-based management – the practice of making decisions and taking actions based on research evidence.

II. MULTIDISCIPLINARY ANCHOR

 Organizational behavior is anchored around the idea that the field should welcome theories and knowledge in other
disciplines, not just from its own isolated research base.

III. CONTINGENCY ANCHOR

IV. MULTIPLE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS ANCHOR

LESSON 2: INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR, PERSONALITY, AND VALUES

LO1: MARS Model of Individual Behavior and Performance

LO2: Types of Individual Behavior
LO3: Personality in Organizations
LO4: Values in the Workplace
LO5: Ethical Values and Behavior
LO6: Value Across Cultures