Introduction to

Organizational Behavior
The Field of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior studies the influence that individuals, groups and

structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying
such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness

• The study of organizational behavior includes areas of research dedicated to improving job performance, increasing
job satisfaction, promoting innovation, and encouraging leadership and is a foundation of corporate human resources.
• The Hawthorne Effect, which describes the way test subjects' behavior may change when they know they are being
observed, is the best-known study of organizational behavior.
• Organizational behavior is embedded in human resources such as employee retention, engagement, training, and
culture
• Organizational behavior is a subset of organizational theory which studies a more holistic way of structuring a
company and managing its resources
Three Levels of OB Analysis

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A Basic OB
Model
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field

Micro: Psychology
The Individual

Social Psychology

Sociology
Macro:
Groups &
Organizations Anthropology

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Contributing Disciplines
Psychology seeks to
Sociology studies
measure,explain,
people in relation to their
and change
fellow human beings
behavior
Social psychology
focuses on the
influence of people
on one another

Anthropology is the Political science is the

study of societies study of the
to learn about human behavior of individuals
beings and their activities and groups within
a political environment
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Challenges and Opportunities for OB
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 Responding to Economic Pressures

 Responding to Globalization
 Managing Workplace Diversity
 Improving Customer Service
 Improving People Skills
 Stimulating Innovation and Change
 Coping with “Temporariness”
 Working in Networked Organizations
 Helping Employees with Work-Life Conflicts
 Improving Ethical Behavior
Responding to Economic Pressures
• Effective
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management is especially important during tough economic
times.
• Employees look to their managers to provide security during the
instability of a recession.
Responding to Globalization
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• Increased foreign assignments

• Differing needs and aspirations in workforce
• Working with people from different cultures
• Domestic motivational techniques and managerial
styles may not work
• Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with
low-cost labor
 Managing Workforce Diversity

Workforce diversity:
organizations are becoming a more
heterogeneous mix of people in
terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity,
and sexual orientation

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 Diversity Implications
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“Managers have to shift their philosophy from

treating everyone alike to recognizing differences
and responding to those differences in ways that
ensure employee retention and greater
productivity while, at the same time, not
discriminating.”
Improving Customer Service & People Skills
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The majority of
employees in developed
nations work in service
jobs and they must know
how to please their
customers.
People skills are essential
to succeed in today’s
organizations.
Stimulating Innovation and Change
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Flexibility
Quality Improvement
Staying Competitive
Temporariness
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Jobs are constantly changing
Skills need to be updated for
workers to stay on target
Workers need to be able to
deal with change
Employees need to be able
to cope with flexibility,
spontaneity and
unpredictability
Working in Networked Organizations
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Managers must
adapt their skills
and communication
styles to succeed in
an online
environment
 Helping Employees Handle Work-life Conflict
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The line between work and non work

has blurred and managers are
increasingly dealing with conflicts that
arise between work and life away from
work.
 Thinking Positive
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• Creating a positive work environment can be a

competitive advantage
• Positive Organizational Scholarship (Positive OB):
• Examines how organizations develop human strengths,
foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
• Focus is on employee strengths, not their weaknesses.
 Improving Ethical Behavior
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• Ethical dilemmas and ethical choices

• Unethical practices – take bribes…

• Code of ethics
• Seminars, workshops and training programs

• Fair treatment of employees

• Ethically healthy climate
• Promote a strong ethical mission
 Implications for Managers
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• OB helps with:
• Insights to improve people skills
• Valuing of workforce diversity
• Empowering people and creating a positive work
environment
• Dealing with change in the workplace
• Coping in a world of temporariness
• Creating an ethically healthy work environment
 Keep in Mind…
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• OB’s goal is to understand and predict human behavior in

organizations.
• Fundamental consistencies underlie behavior.
• It is more important than ever to learn OB concepts.
• Both managers and employees must learn to cope with
temporariness.