Chapter 1

What Is Organizational Behaviour?

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Chapter 1 Outline
Defining Organizational Behaviour OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference? Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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What Is Organizational Behaviour?

1. What is organizational behaviour? 2. Isnt organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? 3. How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable? 4. What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Organizational Behaviour
A field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups, and structure on behaviour within organizations; the aim is to apply such knowledge toward improving organizational effectiveness.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Why Do We Study OB?

To learn about yourself and others To understand how the many organizations you encounter work. To become familiar with team work To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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What Is an Organization?
A consciously coordinated social unit:
composed of a group of people functioning on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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The Building Blocks of OB

Psychology Sociology Social Psychology Anthropology Political Science

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-1 Toward an OB Discipline

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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The Rigour of OB
OB Looks at Consistencies
What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?

OB Looks Beyond Common Sense

Systematic study, based on scientific evidence

OB Has Few Absolutes OB Takes a Contingency Approach

Considers behaviour in context
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-2 Research Methods in OB

Source: J. R. Schermerhorn, J.G. Hunt, and R. N. Osborn, Organizational Behaviour, 9th Edition, 2005, p. 4. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference?

For Managers
Knowing organizational behaviour can help you manage well and makes for better corporations. Managing people well leads to greater organizational commitment. Finally, managing well may improve organizational citizenship.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference?

For Individuals
What if Im not going to work in a large organization? The theories generally apply to organizations of any size. What if I dont want to be a manager? To some extent, the roles of managers and employees are becoming blurred in many organizations. While self-employed individuals often do not act as managers, they certainly interact with other individuals and organizations as part of their work.
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Bottom Line: OB Is For Everyone

Organizational behaviour is not just for managers.
The roles of managers and employees are becoming blurred in many organizations. Managers are increasingly asking employees to share in their decision-making processes rather than simply follow orders.

OB applies equally well to all situations in which you interact with others: on the basketball court, at the grocery store, in school, or in church.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-4 Basic OB Model

Organization systems level Group level

Individual level

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Challenges at the Individual Level
Individual Differences Job Satisfaction Motivation Empowerment Behaving Ethically

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Challenges at the Group Level
Working With Others Workforce Diversity

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Challenges at the Organizational Level
Productivity Developing Effective Employees Putting People First Global Competition Managing and Working in a Multicultural World

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Todays Challenges in the Canadian Workplace

Challenges at the Organizational Level
Productivity A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness The achievement of goals. Efficiency The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Developing Effective Employees

Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)
Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employees formal job requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Putting People First

Putting people first generates a committed workforce and positively affects the bottom line. People will work harder when they feel they have more control and say in their work.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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How to Put People First

Provide employment security. Hire well. Create self-managed teams. Pay well. Provide extensive training. Reduce status differences. Share information about organizational performance.
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Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Global Competition
In recent years, Canadian businesses have faced tough competition from the United States, Europe, Japan, and even China, as well as from other companies within our borders. To survive, they have had to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.
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Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Managing and Working in a Multicultural World

Managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures:
Multinational corporations are developing operations worldwide. Companies are developing joint ventures with foreign partners. Workers are pursuing job opportunities across national borders.
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Summary and Implications

1. What is organizational behaviour? OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within an organization. 2. Isnt organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology?
OB is built on contributions from a number of behavioural disciplines, including psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science. It goes beyond common sense.
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Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Summary and Implications

3. How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable? OB helps people manage well, and managing well can lead to greater organizational commitment by employees. 4. What challenges do managers and employees face in todays workplace? Each level of analysisthe individual, the group, and the organizationpresents challenges.
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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OB at Work

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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For Review
1. 2. 3. 4. Define organizational behaviour. What is an organization? Is the family unit an organization? Explain. Behaviour is generally predictable, so there is no need to formally study OB. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? What does it mean to say that OB takes a contingency approach in its analysis of behaviour? What are the three levels of analysis in our OB model? Are they related? If so, how? What are some of the challenges and opportunities that managers face in todays workplace? Why is job satisfaction an important consideration for OB? What are effectiveness and efficiency, and how are they related to OB?
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5.
6. 7. 8.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

For Critical Thinking

1. 2. OB is for everyone. Build an argument to support this statement. Why do you think the subject of OB might be criticized as being only common sense, when we would rarely hear such a criticism of a course in physics or statistics? Do you think this criticism of OB is fair? On a scale of 1 to 10 measuring the sophistication of a scientific discipline in predicting phenomena, mathematical physics would probably be a 10. Where do you think OB would fall on the scale? Why? Can empowerment lead to greater job satisfaction?
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3.

4.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Learning About Yourself Exercise

1. 2. 3. 4. Taking initiative Goal setting Delegating effectively Personal productivity and motivation 5. Motivating others 6. Time and stress management 7. Planning 8. Organizing 9. Controlling 10. Receiving and organizing information 11. Evaluating routine information 12. Responding to routine information 13. Understanding yourself and others 14. Interpersonal communication 15. Developing subordinates 16. Team building 17. Participative decision making 18. Conflict management 19. Living with change 20. Creative thinking 21. Managing change 22. Building and maintaining a power base 23. Negotiating agreement and commitment 24. Negotiating and selling ideas
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Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Learning About Yourself

Scoring Key
Director: 1, 2, 3 Producer: 4, 5, 6 Coordinator: 7, 8, 9 Monitor: 10, 11, 12 Mentor: 13, 14, 15 Facilitator: 16, 17, 18 Innovator: 19, 20, 21 Broker: 22, 23, 24

Source: Created based on material from R. E. Quinn, S. R. Faerman, M. P. Thompson, and M. R. McGrath, Becoming A Master Manager: A Competency Framework (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1990), Chapter 1.

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Breakout Group Exercises

Form small groups to discuss the following topics:
1. Consider a group situation in which you have worked. To what extent did the group rely on the technical skills of the group members vs. their interpersonal skills? Which skills seemed most important in helping the group function well? Identify some examples of worst jobs. What conditions of these jobs made them unpleasant? To what extent were these conditions related to behaviours of individuals?

2.

3.

Develop a list of organizational puzzles, that is, behaviour youve observed in organizations that seemed to make little sense. As the term progresses, see if you can begin to explain these puzzles, using your knowledge of OB.
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Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Working With Others Exercise

This exercise asks you to consider the skills outlined in the Competing Values Framework to develop an understanding of managerial expertise. Steps 14 can be completed in 1520 minutes. 1. Using the skills listed in Learning About Yourself, identify the 4 skills that you think all managers should have. 2. Identify the 4 skills that you think are least important for managers to have. 3. In groups of 57, reach a consensus on the most-needed and leastneeded skills identified in Steps 1 and 2. 4. Using Exhibit 1-6, determine whether your ideal managers would have trouble managing in some dimensions of organizational demands.
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-5 Competing Values Framework

Flexibility

Internal Focus

Source: Adapted from K. Cameron and R. E. Quinn, Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Longman, 1999).

External Focus

Control
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Competing Values Framework

Internal-External Dimension
Inwardly, toward employee needs and concerns and/or production processes and internal systems or Outwardly, toward such factors as the marketplace, government regulations, and the changing social, environmental, and technological conditions of the future

Flexibility-Control Dimension
Flexible and dynamic, allowing more teamwork and participation; seeking new opportunities for products and services or Controlling or stable, maintaining the status quo and exhibiting less change
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exhibit 1-6 Skills for Mastery in the New Workplace

Flexibility
1. Understanding yourself and others 2. Interpersonal communication 3. Developing subordinates 1. Team building 2. Participative decision making 3. Conflict management 1. Living with change 2. Creative thinking 3. Managing change 1. Building and maintaining a power base 2. Negotiating agreement and commitment 3. Negotiating and selling ideas

Mentor Innovator

Facilitator Monitor

Broker Producer

Internal
1. Receiving and organizing information 2. Evaluating routine information 3. Responding to routine information

External
1. Personal productivity and motivation 2. Motivating others 3. Time and stress management

Coordinator Director

1. Planning 2. Organizing 3. Controlling

1. Taking initiative 2. Goal setting 3. Delegating effectively

Control
Source: R.E. Quinn. Beyond Rational Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1988, p. 86. Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Supplemental Material

Slides for activities I do in my own classroom

Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Exercise
In groups of 6
Introduce yourselves. Pick an interviewer. Decide on questions or topics you want interviewer to ask me.

The interview
Introduce interviewer to me and the class. Ask one question from your list (we will go around the groups with one question at a time).
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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