ADMS 2400 Chapter 1

Organizational Behavior & Management

Organizational Behavior

 The attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.

Goals of Organization Behavior

 Predict
o What is going to happen in future events?
 Explain
o Why events have happened the way they did.
 Manage
o If you can predict + explain, this can help get things accomplished.

History of the field and evolution of management

 Classical Viewpoint and Bureaucracy (early 1900s)

o Aim to improve organizational efficiency by introducing structure, hierarchy and
systemics.
 Example: think of a factory where workers specialize in specific tasks, and
there’s a clear hierarchy of supervisors, managers, and executives.
 Keynote specializes specific tasks to workers to “improve”
efficiency.
 Human Relations Movement (1930’s-50’s)
o Focuses on people, making sure employee’s relationships are strong that people
are satisfied and motivated to maximize organizational efficiency and success.
 Example: social needs, informal groups, communication, motivation and
morales.
 Contingency Approach (1960’s)
o The contingency approach is like saying, “there’s no one right way to manage all
situations.” It suggests that the best way to manage depends on the specific
circumstances or context.
Evidence-Based Management (EBM)

 Evidence-Based Management means using reliable facts, data, and research to guide
decision-making and organizational practices, rather than relying on decision making
based on intuition or traditions.
 Example: imagine a company deciding whether to implement new employee
training program. Instead of relying on assumptions or gut feelings, evidence-
 based management would involve looking at data on the effectiveness of similar
programs, conducting surveys, and analyzing performance metrics to make a
informed decision.
Rigor of OB as a Science

 Lies in the systematic and evidence-based approach to understanding and explaining

how people behave within organizations.
 The steps of organizational behavior scientific method
o Observation
o Theory
o Hypothesis
o Data
o Verification
o Repeat

How Do We Study OB
1. Formulate Hypothesis
2. Design Study
3. Collect Data
4. Analyze Results
5. Confirm/Reject Hypothesis
Conducting Research: Study Design

 Correlational
 Focuses on observing and measuring naturally occurring phenomena. Does not
introduce change into researching setting.
 Example: Methods include  Surveys, interviews, archival data, etc.
 Experimental
 The method is used to investigate cause and effect relationships between
variables. In simpler terms, it involves manipulating one or more factors to
observe