LECTURE NOTES 1. DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATION 1 According to Gary Johns, "Organizations are social inventions for accomplishing goals through ‘group efforts". There are three significant aspects in the above definition, which are as follows: + Social Inventions: Itis the people that primarily make up an organization. + Accomplishing Goals: All organizations have reasons for their existence. These reasons are the goals towards which all organizational efforts are directed. + Group Effort: Individuals in themselves have physical and intellectual limitations and these limitations can only be overcome by group efforts. 2 Organizational behavior is concerned with people's thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions in setting up a work. 2. GOALS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1 Describe-Describe systematically how people behave under a variety of conditions. 2. Understand-Understand why people behave as they do. 3 Predict~The managers would have the capacity to predict which employees might be dedicated and productive, or which ones might cause problems. 4 Control-Managers need to be able to improve results through the actions that they and their employees take, and organizational behavior can aid them in their pursuit of this goal, 3. IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1 Developing interpersonal skill Skills can be obtained through organizational behavior exposure. Organizational behavior exposes managers to highly-needed interpersonal skills, such as leading, motivating, analytical ability, decision-making skills and many others. 2 Personal development and understanding others through organizational behavior A person has to understand himself first before understanding others. Understanding others leads to personal development and can also lead to enhanced self-knowledge and self-insight. 3 Achieving organizational and individual effectiveness from inter-organization relationships Understanding organizational behavior aids managers to become better people-oriented managers. 4 Sharpening and refining our decisions and actions Organizational behavior sharpens and enlarges the domain of our common sense into making. good decisions executed in our actions.FORCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR People-People make up the internal social system in the organization. They consist of individuals and groups. Structure-Structure defines the formal relationship and use of people in the organization. Technology-Technology imparts the physical and economic conditions within which people work, Social System-The social system provides an external environment within which the organization operates. EVOLUTION OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Scientific Management Approach This theory supported the use of certain steps in scientifically studying each element of a job, selecting and training the best workers for the job and making sure that the workers follow the prescribed method of doing the job. Bureaucratic Approach Max Weber's idea of bureaucracy was logical, rational and efficient. He made the naive assumption that one structure would work best for all organizations. Hawthorne Studies ‘The findings of these studies were given a new name ‘human relations’. The workers are influenced by social factors and the behavior of the individual worker is determined by the group, BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MODELS ‘The Autocratie Model ‘The autocratic model depends on power. Those who are in command must have the power to demand ‘you do this-or else’, meaning that an employee who does not follow orders will be penalized. ‘The Custodial Model A successful custodial approach depends on economic resources. ‘The resulting managerial orientation is focused towards money to pay wages and benefits. ‘The Supportive Model ‘The supportive model depends on leadership instead of power or money. ‘The Collegial Model The collegial model depends on the management's building a feeling of partnership with employees. ‘The System Model Itis the result ofa strong search for higher meaning at work by many of today’s employees; they want more than justa pay check and security from their jobs. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Nature of People + Individual Differences: individuals are different in their physical and mental traits. +A Whole Person: This means that the individual does not only come with skills and intelligence, but also a personal life, needs and desires. ‘+ Motivated Behavior: Its the urge of the individual to satisfy a particular need that motivates him to do an act. + Human Dignity/Value of the Person: It stresses that people are to be treated with respect and dignity. Nature of Organizations + Social System: A system is a group of independent and interrelated elements comprising aunified whole. ‘+ Mutual Interest: Organizations need people and people in return need organizations. Organization needs employees to reach its objectives and people need organizations to help them reach individual needs and objectives. 3. Holistic Organizational Beha Holistic organizational behavior interprets people organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization and whole social system. 8. APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1 Human Resources Approach ‘The human resources approach is concerned with the growth and development of people towards higher levels of competency, creativity and fulfilment, because peopleare the central resource in any organization. 2 Contingeney Approach A contingency approach to organizational behavior implies that different situations require different behavioral practices for effectiveness, instead of following a traditional approach for all situations, Productivity Approach Productivity isa ratio that compares units of output with units of input. 4 Systems Approach system is an interrelated part of an organization or a society that interacts with everyone related to that organization or society and functions as a whole. Interdisciplinary Approach ‘The combination of people from different disciplines if managed properly will enhance productivity and work methods. 9. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, GLOBALIZATION AND DIVERSIFICATION 1 Social Conditions In many countries due to poorly developed resources, there is shortage of managerial personnel, scientists and technicians. Hence, the required skills must be temporarily imported from other countries, and training programs need to be developed to train the local workers, 2 Political Conditions ‘When the governmentis unstable, organizations become cautious about further investments. ‘This organizational instability leaves workers insecure and causes them to be passive and low in taking any initiatives, Economie Conditions ‘The most significant economic conditions in less developed nations are low per capita income and rapid inflation, Inflation makes the economic life of workers insecure when compared to developed countries. 4 Cultural Differences in an Organization Changes in the global marketplace have brought the need to think globally. For any company ‘competing in the global marketplace, it is essential to understand the diverse cultures of the individuals involved and develop cross-cultural sensitivity. 5 Workforce Diversification Whenever an organization expands its operations to other countries, it tends to become multicultural and will then face the challenge of blending various cultures together. 10. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTThe great benefit of technology is that it allows people to do more and better work, but it also restricts people in many ways—thus having both advantages and disadvantages. Each technological advancement places increased pressure on organizational behavior to maintain a delicate balance between technical and social systems.LECTURE NOTES 1, INTRODUCTION ‘An individual's personality constitutes the most important and noticeable parts of the individual's psychosomatic life. Our personalities determine how we act and react, as well as how we interact with and respond to the world. 2. DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY 1 Personality refers to individual differences in character, patterns of thinking, feelings and behavior. 2 Personality is also known as the combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual 3. Itis the sum of waysin which an individual reacts and interacts with each other. 3. PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS, 1 Brain ‘The brain is one of the most important factors of personality determinant: It is generally believed that the father and the child adopt almost the same type of brain stimulation and the later differences are the result of the environment in which the child has been growing up in. Howan individual thinks and reacts are usually aligned, 2 Physical Factors Physical features may involve the height of a person (short or tall), his skin colour (white or black), health status (fat or skinny) and beauty (handsome or ugly). These physical features will influence others while affecting the individual's self-conception. 3 Social Factors ‘The things that revolve and evolve around us on a regular basis determine our personality. 4 Cultural and Religious Factors ‘The culture in which an individual lives in is an important determinant of personality, and may involve traditional practices, norms, customs, procedures, rules and regulations, precedents and values. 5 Heredity Factors Research supports that traits such as shyness, fear and distress are most likely caused by inherited genetic characteristics.4. PERSONALITY TRAITS 1 The Myer-Briggs Type Indicator ‘The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator isa self-inventory test designed to identify a person's personality type, strengths and preferences. (@) Extraversion (E) - Introversion (1) (b) Sensing (S) - Intuition (N) (©) Thinking (T) - Feeling (F) (a) Judging () - Perceiving (P) 2 Big Five Model ‘The Big Five personality traits are five broad domains or dimensions of personality that are used to describe human personality. (@) Openness—This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests. (b) Conscientiousness—Common features of this dimension include high thoughtfulness levels, with good impulse control, organized, methodical, goal-directed behaviors and thoroughness. (6) Extraversion—This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. (4) Agreeableness—This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, sympathetic and other pro-social behaviors. (©) Neuroticism—Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness. 5. ATTRIBUTES OF PERSONALITY 1 Locus of Control Research has found the following trends: ‘+ Males tend to be more internal than females + People tend to become more internal as they age + People higher up in organizational structures tend to be more internal 2 Machiavellianism (@) Research has revealed that individuals who score high on Mach are good at manipulating others and try to win by any means. (b) They do not need to be persuaded to work but instead are able to successfully persuade others. 3 Self-esteem Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall emotional evaluation of his/her own worth. Itis a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. 4 Risk Taking Risk-taking refers to the tendency to engage in behaviors that have the potential to be harmfulor dangerous, yet at the same time provide the opportunity for some kind of outcome that can be perceived as positive. 5 Type A~Type B Personality ‘Type A personality is associated with time urgency, aggressiveness, hostility and competitiveness. ‘Type B personality, in contrast, is the one low on these traits. Generally, most people fall somewhere in between these two types, some leaning more towards one type than the other.6. ACHIEVING A PERSONALITY FIT Personality-Job Fit Theory Holland asserts that people of the same personality type working together in a job creates an environment that fits and rewards their type. Holland's theory is centered on the notion that most people fit into one of six personality types: 1 Realistic (Doer)—Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength and coordination Traitsinclude being genuine, stable, conforming and practical. Example professions include architect,farmer and engineer. 2 Investigative (Thinker)—Prefers working with theory and information, thinking, organizing and understanding. Traits include being analytical, curious and independent. Example professions include researcher, lawyer, mathematician and professor. 3. Artistic (Creator)—Prefers creative, original and unsystematic activities that allow creative Traits include being imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, emotional and impractical. Example professions include artist, musician and writer. 4 Social (Helper)—Prefers activities that involve helping, healing or developing others. Traits include being cooperative, friendly, sociable and understanding. Example professions include volunteer, counsellor, doctor and teacher. 5 Enterprising (Persuader)—Prefers competitive environments, leadership, influence, selling and status, Traits include being ambitious, domineering, energetic and self-confident. Example professions include motivational speaker, management, marketing and sales person 6 Conventional (Organizer)—Prefers precise, rule-regulated, orderly and unambiguous activities.Traits include being conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative and inflexible. Example professions include accountant, clerk and editor.