Ob 1,2,3
Ob 1,2,3
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
AND MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading Chapter 1, students should be able to:
1- Define organizations and describe their basic characteristics.
2- Explain the concept of organizational behaviour and describe the
goals of the field.
3- Define management and describe what managers do to accomplish
goals.
4- Contrast the classical viewpoint of management with that
advocated by the human relations movement.
5- Describe the contingency approach to management.
6- Explain what managers do — their roles, activities, agendas for
action, and thought processes.
7- Describe the four contemporary management concerns facing
organizations and how organizational behaviour can help
organizations understand and manage these concerns.
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND TEACHING NOTES
This first chapter introduces several basic concepts that provide students
with a frame of reference upon which to integrate the more complex
topics to come. It is useful to spend some time explaining just what
organizational behavior is, since students may have some difficulty in
grasping the meaning of this wholly qualitative term. It is also helpful to
and explain the differences and relations between organizational
behaviour and human resources management.
What Are Organizations?
Organizations are social inventions for accomplishing common goals
through group effort. There are three important elements of this definition
highlighted in the chapter.
Social inventions
There is a fundamental requirement for a coordinated presence of people
which is the essential characteristic of organizations as social inventions.
The field of organizational behaviour is about understanding people and
managing them to work effectively.
Goal Accomplishment
The reason organizations exist is to achieve goals. Survival is the
overriding goal of all organizations. The field of organizational behaviour
is concerned with how organizations can survive and adapt to change.
Group Effort
Individuals who function in an organization must be coordinated to
achieve goals efficiently. This coordination is accomplished through
group effort. The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with how
to get people to practise effective teamwork.
What Is Organizational Behaviour?
Organizational behaviour refers to the attitudes and behaviours of
individuals and groups in organizations. The field of organizational
behaviour involves the systematic study of these attitudes and behaviours.
Why Study Organizational Behaviour?
There are three good reasons to study organizational behaviour.
Organizational Behaviour Is Interesting
We see the subject matter every day, although we may not understand it
completely. Organizational behaviour is interesting because it is about
people and human nature.
Organizational Behaviour Is Important
Organizational behaviour is important to managers, employees, and
consumers and understanding it can make us more effective managers,
employees, or consumers and improve organizational effectiveness and
efficiency.
Organizational Behaviour Makes a Difference
Effective management and organizational behaviour can provide an
organization with a competitive advantage. Today, the main factor that
differentiates organizations is their workforce or human capital and the
most successful organizations are those that effectively manage their
employees. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that management
practices and organizational behaviour not only influence employee
attitudes and behaviour, but also have an effect on an organization’s
effectiveness. Research shows that the best companies to work for are
also among the best performing companies. Thus, organizational
behaviour makes a difference in terms of good management and
organizational performance and competitiveness.
Goals of Organizational Behaviour
There are three goals of organizational behaviour.
Predicting Organizational Behaviour
Predicting the behaviour of others is an essential requirement of everyday
life. Although some prediction about future behaviour in organizations is
possible because of the very regularity of much behaviour, its accuracy
requires systematic study. Through systematic study, the field of
organizational behaviour provides a scientific foundation that helps
improve predictions of organizational events.
Explaining Organizational Behaviour
A second goal of organizational behaviour is to explain events in
organizations and why they occur. It is usually more difficult to explain a
behaviour than to predict it, since a given behaviour may have multiple
causes, and the reasons people do things tend to change over time and
circumstances. The ability to understand behaviour is a necessary
prerequisite for effectively managing it.
Managing Organizational Behaviour
Management is defined as the art of getting things accomplished in
organizations through others. If behaviour can be predicted and
explained, it can often be managed. If prediction and explanation
constitute analysis, then management constitutes action. Responding to
the information gathered through prediction and explanation helps to
influence organizational behaviour.
Punishment
Punishment involves the application of an aversive stimulus following
some behaviour designed to decrease the probability of that behaviour. It
decreases the probability of some unwanted behaviour by the application
or addition of a negative stimulus to the situation in question.
Observational Learning
Observational learning is the process of imitating the behaviour of
others. It is a form of learning that occurs by observing or imagining the
behaviour of others rather than by direct personal experience. With
observational learning, self-reinforcement often shapes the behaviour of
the learner. The best models for observing are attractive, credible,
competent, and of high status. Vivid, memorable behaviour is most often
imitated. The extent of observational learning as a means of learning in
organizations suggests that managers should pay more attention to the
process.
Self-Efficacy Beliefs
Self-efficacy beliefs refer to beliefs people have about their ability to
successfully perform a specific task. It is a cognitive belief that is task
specific and is the result of four sources of information: experience and
success performing the task; observation of others performing the task;
verbal persuasion and encouragement; and one’s physiological or
emotional state. Self-efficacy influences the activities people choose to
perform, the amount of effort and persistence devoted to a task, affective
and stress reactions, and job performance.
Organizational Learning Practices
Organizations employ a number of practices to enhance employee
learning. These practices include organizational behaviour modification,
employee recognition programs, and training and development programs.
Organizational Behaviour Modification
Organizational behavior modification (O.B. Mod) involves the
systematic use of learning principles to influence organizational
behaviour. The example in the text describes a program to improve safe
working practices. Research supports the effectiveness of organizational
behaviour modification. O.B. Mod programs have also been used to
improve work attendance and task performance. The effects on task
performance tend to be stronger in manufacturing than in service
organizations. Although money has been found to have stronger effects
on performance than social recognition and performance feedback, the
use of all three together has the strongest effect on task performance.