MGT301Unit1-Organizational

Behavior: an introduction
 What is Organizational behavior?
Definitions
• OB is the study of individual behavior and group dynamics in
organizations.
• OB investigates the impact of individuals, groups & structure on
behavior within org-s for the purpose of improving effectiveness.
• Determinants of behavior are:
– Individuals
– Groups
– Structure.
• OB is the study of what peo do in an org and how their behavior
affects the org’s performance.

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Moorhead and Griffin(2007)Definition of OB

• OB is the Study of Human Behavior in

organizational settings,
• the interface between the Individual and
the organization,
• and the organization itself and its environment
• It emphasizes behavior as related to concerns of
jobs and their design, work performance,
absenteeism, labor turnover and management.

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Derek Pugh(1971) Definition of OB
• OB is the study of structure, functioning and performance of
organizations, and the behavior of groups and individuals within them
• It refers to:
– Activities and interactions of people in the organization
– both as individuals and as groups
• It is multidisciplinary and draws from such fields as:
– Psychology
– Sociology
– Economics
– Law
– Biology
– Engineering
– Anthropology, especially on culture and the env.

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 Organizations are:
• Social arrangements for achieving controlled
performance in pursuit of collective goals.
• Ubiquitous(are everywhere) and they
• influence our lives powerfully.

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 Organizational Stakeholders:
• Investors/Shareholders
• Employees
• Lenders/ Creditors
• Suppliers
• Customers
• The Government and its agencies
• Public/Community

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 Behavior
• Is the term given to the “things that people do
that can be directly observed by others”
• Their typical activities such as smiling(joyful
type), cooperating(cooperative) and or
competing(competitive).
• We are not interested in random events that
only happen rarely or ones in a while.

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 There are a few absolutes in OB
• Laws in the natural sciences allow scientists to come up
with universal rules that consistently apply in a wide
range of situations.
• But human beings are unique and more complex and do
not lend themselves easily to universal rules or
principles to explain their behaviour
• Peo react differently to the same situation and
• Individual behaviour changes over time.
• We are motivated by different things.
• We want different things from org- s.
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 What do managers do?
• Managers get things done thru other people.
• They make decisions, allocate resources and
direct activities of others to achieve orgl goals.
• According to Henry Fayol(French Industrialist) all
managers perform the four functions of:
– Planning
– Organizing
– Leading
– Controlling
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Henry Mintzberg’s Managerial roles

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 Interpersonal Roles
• Figurehead roles: These roles are ceremonial
and symbolic in nature. e.g. representing their
org at a graduation ceremony
• Leadership: they motivate and direct their
subordinate’s efforts
• Liaison: They connect or link their org to the
external env.

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 Informational roles
• Monitor: they have to study what is happening
internally and externally in the market and
share relevant changes with their subordinates.
• Disseminator: transmits information received
from outsiders or other employees to relevant
stakeholders
• Spokesperson: when they represent their unit
or speak on its behalf to outsiders

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 Decisional roles
• Entrepreneur: initiates and supervises new
projects that will improve the org’s performance
• Disturbance handler: takes corrective action in
response to problems encountered
• Resource allocator: allocate human, physical and
monetary resources to different activities
• Negotiator: they bargain with other units to gain
advantages for their own unit.

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 Management skills
• Technical: need to be able to apply specialised
knowledge or expertise in their area of operations to
guide and direct their subordinates.
• Human: ability to understand and communicate,
motivate and support other peo both individually and in
groups.
• Conceptual: mental ability to analyse and diagnose
complex situations. Should be able to identify problems,
evaluate alternative solutions to correct those problems.
N.B. They get things done thru other peo.

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 Challenges and opportunities for OB
• Economic pressures leading to orgl downsizing and
liquidation of some. Orgs have to be mean and lean
to survive nowadays.
• Responding to Globalization: Orgs are no longer
confined to their national boundaries and are affected
by what is happening from all over the world.
– Increased foreign assignments necessary
– Working with peo from different cultures
– Movement of jobs to low cost countries
– Adapting to different cultural and regulatory norms

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 Challenges and opps ctd.
• Managing workforce diversity
– The workforce is more heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, disability and other diverse groups.
• Improve customer service
• Improve employee skills to get superior results from them
• Networked orgs: more and more employees have to cooperate and work
with colleagues from all over the world e.g. software programmers
• Enhancing employee wellbeing at work: the line between work and non
work time has become blurred creating conflict and stress for employees.
• Ethical dilemmas and ethical choices: employees need to be aware that
ethical practices are the only way to achieve long-term profitability and
survival.
End of Unit 1.

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