ORGANISATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR AND
DESIGN(OB)
BSMGT 205
LECTURER:MS (MUSIIWA)
COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the semester the students should be able to;

1. To have an understanding of meaning and nature of organisational behaviour and the

main theories underpinning the discipline.
2. To understand the contribution of perception, personality, attitudes and values t
organisational performance
3. To know the influence of individuals and groups to organisation behaviour.
4. To use leadership skills to manage organisational politics, conflict and change in
organizations
5. To create sustainable organisational culture through defining appropriate behaviours
in organisations.
6. To design organisations that promote employee performance
7. To develop knowledge on managing cultural diversity
8. To show their creativity by presenting a competitive idea of an organisation they
aspire to start ,borrowing from the concepts learned
Chapter 1: Objectives

 After completing this chapter, you should be able to;

1. Define organisational Behavior (OB)
2.Explain the value of the systematic study of OB
3.Identify the contributions made to OB by major behavioral science disciplines
4. Describe how OB concepts can help make organisations more productive
5.List the major challenges and opportunities for managers to use OB concepts
6.Identify the three levels of analysis in OB
Definition of OB

 An organisation is a group of people who work interdependently toward some

purpose
 OB studies the influence that individuals, groups and structure have on
behavior within organisations
 A field of study devoted to understanding , explaining and ultimately
improving the behaviors of individuals and groups in organisations
 It is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organisations
 Is the study of human behavior in organisations.
 It is a multi disciplinary field devoted to understanding individual and group
behavior, interpersonal processes , and organisational dynamics
Definition continued

 John A Wagner 111 and John R Hollenbeck describe organisational behavior as,
“a field of study that endeavors to understand, explain, predict and change
human behavior as it occurs in the organisational context”.
This definition is based on three important considerations. These are:
 Organisational behavior focuses on observable behavior such as talking to co-
workers, running equipment or preparing a report.
 It also deals with internal states such as thinking, perceiving, and deciding that
accompany the actions that are taken.
 Organisational behavior involves the analysis of how people behave, both as
individuals and as members of groups and organisations.
 Organisational behavior also assesses the “behavior” of groups and organisations
per se.
Aspects of OB

 Definition of OB highlights on its several aspects

1. Way of thinking –requires clearly identifying the level of analysis ( individual, group, organisational),
hence OB is analyzed in three levels
2. Multi-disciplinary –draws, theories, and models from psychology (is the scientific study of the mind
and behavior), sociology ( is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and
consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and
societies and how people interact within these contexts)and cultural anthropology(Anthropology is
the study of what makes us human. Anthropologists take a broad approach to understanding the many
different aspects of the human experience, which we call holism. They consider the past, through
archaeology, to see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what was
important to them.) Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study
of cultural variation among humans.
3. Humanistic orientation- assumes that individual feelings, attitudes, perceptions, goals e.t.c, are
important to the organisation
4. Performance –oriented –focusing on whether and why individual /group/organisation performance is
high, moderate, or low
Importance of OB

 Workplace success depends on:

 Respect for people
 Understanding of human behavior in complex organisational systems
 Individual commitment to flexibility, creativity and learning
 Individual willingness to change
 The need for organisations to achieve high performance and high quality of
life
 The need to embrace ethics and social responsibility as well as respect the
vast potential of demographic and cultural diversity among people.
 The need to recognize the impact of globalization
Organisations as work settings, Open
Systems view of OB, Focal Points of OB
 Job
 Work
 Absenteeism
 Employment turnover
 Productivity
 Human performance
 Management
Why studying OB

 Helps us to test personal theories

 Influence behavior
 OB improves an organisation’s financial health
 Help clarify factors that affect how managers manage by:
 Describing the complex human context of organisations
 Defining the associated opportunities , problems ,challenges and issues
 Isolating important aspects of the manager’s job
 Offering specific perspectives on the human side of management
Why Study OB

In order to understand the ;

 Behaviors of others in the organisations
 Personal needs, motives, behaviors, feelings and career dynamics
 Attitudinal processes, individual differences, group dynamics , inter group
dynamics, organisation culture, power, and political behavior
 Interactions with people outside of the organisation and other organisations
 The environment , technology and global issues
Nature of the organisation

Farnham and Horton define organisations as: …social constructs created by

groups in society to achieve specific purposes by means of planned and
coordinated activities
Organisations exist in order to achieve objectives to provide satisfaction for their
members. Organizations enable objectives to be achieved that could not be
achieved by efforts of individuals on their own. Organisations are structures of
people. Through cooperative action, members of an organization can provide a
synergistic effect
An organisation is made up of with people who are concerned about
interpersonal relationships
Examples of organisations

 Organizations come in all different forms shapes and sizes. Examples of

organisations include;
 Firm of accountants (ACCA, Ernest and Young, Deloitte etc)
 Hotel ( Holiday Inn, Cresta Oasis,etc)
 Schools & Universities
 Retail shop ( OK, Pick ‘n Pay ,Food World)
 Local authority ( Give examples)
 State owned enterprises/Parastatals( Give examples)
 Motor car manufacturers ( Give examples)

 Banks( Give examples)

 People bring to their work organisations their hopes and dreams as well as
their fears and frustrations. They also bring in their different perceptions,
attitudes and personalities which are products of their socio-cultural
upbringing and experiences.
 Management need to understand and predict these differences to enable
them to channel them into positive behaviors which can bring about harmony
and enhance productivity in the organisation.
 In order for organisations to achieve their objectives ,it is therefore
important to understand the various aspects that influence behavior of
employees including among them, workforce diversity, differences in
abilities, personalities and motives, group dynamics, employee attitudes
towards work, leadership behavior, organisational change etc.
The interrelationship of people, objectives and structure, together with the efficient
use of available non-human and human resources will determine the success or failure
of the organization and the extent of its effectiveness. This is directed and controlled
by management
The field of organisational behaviour relies on research to derive valuable information
about organisations and the complex processes operating within them. Such
knowledge is used as a basis for helping solve a wide range of organisational problems.
N.B. The application of OB theories to practical experiences in organisations is the
very essence of this course
Questions that OB tries to tackle include

Among the questions that organisational behavior tries to tackle are:

What can be done to make people more productive and more satisfied in their jobs?
When and how should people be organized into teams?
How should jobs and organisations be designed so that people best fit into areas assigned
to them and effectively adapt to changes in the environment?
 D.S. Pugh defines the study of organisational behavior as “ the study of the way in
which organisations are designed and function . The way in which organisations are
designed and function affect a number of important factors, from personal happiness,
through organisational performance to wider social and economic conditions.
 Organisational Behaviour, as a field, involves the study of Behavioral Sciences.
Behavioural sciences are concerned with human thoughts and actions.
Conclusive remarks to understanding the
field of OB and Design
 From the definitions above ,it can be concluded that individual and group behaviour are the primary
concerns in the study of OB, however organizational variables such as jobs, their design and organizational
structure are also important in this field as these are the context in which human behavior occurs
 Organisational Behaviour therefore involves the understanding, prediction and control of human behaviour
and factors which influence the performance of people as members of the organisation.

 People bring to their work organisations their hopes and dreams as well as their fears and frustrations. They
also bring in their different perceptions, attitudes and personalities which are products of their socio-
cultural upbringing and experiences. Management need to understand and predict these differences to
enable them to channel them into positive behaviors which can bring about harmony and enhance
productivity in the organisation.

 Organisations are made up of groups of people, individuals who interact with each other in carrying out the
objectives of the organisation.
 These interactions are fundamental to the functioning of the organisation and as such it is important to
understand the discipline of organisational behavior
 The study of organisational behaviour therefore entails an understanding of

 • The behaviour of people

 • The process of management

 • The organisational context in which the process of management takes place

 • Organisational processes and the execution of work and

 • Interactions with the external environment of which the organisation is part.

The organization and the environment
 The structure, management and functioning of an organization is not only
determined by internal considerations and choices, but is also strongly
influenced by a range of volatile, external environmental factors.
 The business organization is an open system. That means that it is open to,
and in continual interaction with the external environment of which it is part.
 In terms of the open system model, the business organization takes in
resources such as people, finance, raw materials and information from its
environment; transforms or converts these and returns them to the environment
in various forms of outputs such as goods produced, services provided,
completed processes or procedures in order to achieve certain goals such as
profit, market standing, level of sales or consumer satisfaction
An example of the open systems model

Environmental influences
General economic health of national industry
Opportunity of pollution control legislation
Threat of same legislation
Competition
Shareholders
Culture

Inputs Transformation or Output Organisational

 Company conversion process  Invoiced goals
products  Comfortable sales  Market
 Staff and safe  Satified leadership
 Technology environment and  Growth
 Finance  Design of commited  Profitability
 Subcontactors system staff  To be the
for installation,  Selling of  Reputation best in our
wiring and systems for field
commissioning expertise excellence  To invest in
 Customers  Providing  Installation our people
customer with s that are and view
quality service fit for them as our
 Staff purpose greatest
development asset
 Project  To be
management professional
of customer and honest in
order our business
 Site pressure dealings
 Innovation
 Internal and
external
communicatio
n
 Management
commitment to
customers and
staff
 Provide
solution to
customer
problems

Measure of achievement
 Repeat business
 Customer questionnaires
 Budgets (expenditure, cash flow, profit, etc.)
 Margin performance
 Staff appraisal and general feedback
 Free of charge work
PESTEL Analysis

 A PESTEL Analysis is a strategic business tool used by organisations to discuss,

evaluate, organize, and track macro-economic factors which impact business’
current activities and also future ones.

POLITICAL

LEGAL ECONOMIC

ORGANISATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL

TECHNOLOGICAL
POLITICAL FACTORS

 Political parties and alignments at local national and regional trading level
 Relations between government and the organisation
 Government ownership of industry and attitude to competitors
ECONOMIC FACTORS

Economic factors these are determinants of a certain economy’s performance.

These factors may have a direct or indirect long term impact on a company since it
affects the purchasing power of consumers and could possibly change the demand,
supply models and also the way companies price their products and services in the
economy.
The factors includes elements such as Inflation, Interest rates, Growth,
Unemployment Rates and Exchange Rates.
Unemployment Rates
High level of unemployment rate in a country would mean that there is a greater
supply of jobs than demand, meaning people will be willing to work for a lower
wage , which would lower the expenditures of organisations( Suggest the negatives
of high unemployment rates and explain how this affects organisational behaviour)
Interest Rates
Interest Rates in a country would affect how much individuals are willing to
borrow and invest. Higher rates would result in greater investments that would
mean more growth for organisations .
Exchange rate
ER of currencies impact the profitability of Delta. The stability of the currency is
also important whereas an unstable currency discourages international investors.
( Show the link of this to organisational behaviour)
Inflation
A general increase in the price level will affect organisations due to customer
change in spending. ( What is the implication of this to OB & Design)
Technology

Technology implies the use of tools, machines and new science in industry to
make new products or to expand on the existing products
Implications
Identified new research initiatives
 New patents and products
 Speed of change and adoption of new technology
 Level of expenditure on research and development by organisation’s rivals
Legal

 Competition, law and government policy

 Employment and safety law
 Product safety issues
 Discrimination Laws
 Health and Safety Law
Environmental

 Green issues that affect the environment

 Level and type of energy consumed-renewable energy?
 Rubbish, waste and its disposal
 Weather
 Climate
 Environmental policies
 Climate change
 Natural disasters
 Air pollution
 Recycling standards
Socio cultural

 Shifts in values and culture

 Attitudes to work and leisure
 Education and health
 Demographic change
 Distribution of finance
 Consumer attitudes
 Lifestyle trends
 Events and influences
 Education and healthy
 Media views
 Job Insecurity
General implications of the external
environment to the field of OB
 Do people understand the context in which they operate and the competitive
threats and challenges the business faces?
 Are employees confident about the ability of the organisation to adapt?
 Are they involved in the decisions about themselves and the organisation?
 Are there authentic human relationships and humanization of organizations as
crucibles for personal growth and development
The Psychological Contract

 One significant aspect of organizational behavior and relationship between the

individual and organisation is the concept of psychological contract.
 This is not a written document, but implies a series of mutual expectations and
satisfaction of needs arising from the people-organisation relationship.
 It involves a process of giving and receiving by individual and by the organisation.
 The psychological contract covers a range of expectations of rights and privileges,
duties and obligations which do not form part of a formal agreement but still have
an important influence on people’s behavior.
 These unwritten needs are usually seen when they become unmet or violated.
Failure to meet the employees unwritten needs may result in a negative
psychological contract which may also have a negative impact on the motivation
and morale of employees in an organisation.
Individuals’ expectations of the
organisation
 Provide a safe and hygienic working environment
 Make every effort to provide job security
 Attempt to provide challenging and satisfying jobs and reduce alienating aspects of work
 Adopt equitable human resource management policies and procedures
 Respect the role of trade union officials and staff representatives
 Consult fully with staff and allow genuine participation in decisions that affect them
 Implement best practice in equal opportunity policies and procedures
 Reward all staff fairly according to their contribution and performance
 Provide reasonable opportunities for personal development and career progression
 Treat members of staff with respect

 Demonstrate an understanding and considerate attitude towards personal problems of staff

Organisational expectations of the
individual
 Uphold the ideology of the organisation and the corporate image
 Work diligently in pursuit of organizational objectives
 Adhere to the rules, policies and procedures of the organization
 Respect the reasonable authority of senior members of staff
 Not take advantage of goodwill shown by management
 Be responsive to leadership influence
Balancing the unwritten needs of the
employees with the needs of the organization

 Exercise
 DISCUSS HOW SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE
UNWRITTEN NEEDS OF EMPLOYEES WITH THE NEEDS OF THE COMPANY