Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior

McGraw-Hill/Irwin McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e

Copyright 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pixar Animation Studios

OB practices have helped Pixar Animation Studios to become the worlds most successful animation studio
Employee competencies People-centered Teamwork and org learning Constructive conflict

John Lassiter Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Disney

1-2

Organizational Behavior and Organizations

Organizational behavior
The study of what people think,

feel, and do in and around organizations

Organizations
Groups of people who work

interdependently toward some purpose

John Lassiter Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Disney

1-3

OB Foundations
Distinct field around the 1940s OB concepts discussed for more than 2,000 years Some pivotal scholars before OB formed include:

Max Weber Frederick Winslow Taylor Elton Mayo Chester Barnard (shown) Mary Parker Follett

Chester Barnard
1-4

Why Study OB?

Satisfy the need to understand and predict Helps us to test personal theories Influence behavior get things done OB improves an organizations financial health OB is for everyone

1-5

Old Perspective of Organizational Effectiveness

Goal oriented -- Effective firms achieve their stated objectives No longer accepted as indicator of org effectiveness

Could set easy goals Some goals too abstract to

evaluate Company might achieve wrong goals

1-6

Four Perspectives of Organizational Effectiveness

Open Systems Perspective Organizational Learning Perspective High-Performance WP Perspective Stakeholder Perspective
NOTE: Need to consider all four perspectives when assessing a companys effectiveness

1-7

Open Systems Perspective

Organizations are complex systems that live within (and depend upon) the external environment Effective organizations
Maintain a close fit with changing conditions Transform inputs to outputs efficiently and flexibly

Open systems perspective lays the foundation for the other three perspectives or organizational effectiveness

1-8

Open Systems Perspective

Environment
Feedback Feedback

Feedback

Feedback

1-9

Organizational Learning Perspective

An organizations capacity to acquire, share, use, and store valuable knowledge Need to consider both stock and flow of knowledge
Stock: intellectual capital Flow: org learning processes of acquisition,

sharing, and use

1-10

Intellectual Capital
Human Capital
Knowledge that people possess and generate

Structural Capital

Knowledge captured in systems and structures

Relationship Capital

Value derived from satisfied customers, reliable suppliers, etc.

1-11

Organizational Learning Processes

KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
Extracting information and ideas from its environment as well as through insight

KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Distributing knowledge throughout the organization

KNOWLEDGE USE
Applying knowledge to organizational processes in ways that improves the organizations effectiveness Giving staff freedom to try out ideas

Examples in practice
Hiring skilled staff Posting case studies on intranet

1-12

Organizational Memory

The storage and preservation of intellectual capital Retain intellectual capital by:
Keeping knowledgeable employees Transferring knowledge to others Transferring human capital to structural

capital

Successful companies also unlearn

1-13

High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs)

HPWPs are internal systems and structures that are associated with successful companies
1. Employees are competitive advantage 2. Value of employees increased through specific practices. 3. Maximum benefit when org practices are bundled

1-14

High Performance Work Practices

No consensus, but HPWPs include:
Employee involvement and job autonomy

(and their combination as self-directed teams).

Employee competence (training, selection,

etc.).
Performance-based rewards

1-15

Stakeholder Perspective

Stakeholders: any entity who affects or is affected by the firms objectives and actions Personalizes the open systems perspective Challenges with stakeholder perspective:
Stakeholders have conflicting interests Firms have limited resources
1-16

Stakeholder Perspective

Lockheed Martin is rated by engineering students as an ideal employer

Pays attention to its many

stakeholders Relies on values and ethics to guide decisions Strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility (e.g. photo shows clean-up after hurricane Katrina)

Lockheed Martin

1-17

Stakeholders: Values and Ethics

Values and ethics prioritize stakeholder interests Values

Stable, evaluative beliefs, guide

preferences for outcomes or courses of action in various situations

Ethics
Moral principles/values,

determine whether actions are right/wrong and outcomes are good or bad
Lockheed Martin

1-18

Stakeholders and CSR

Stakeholder perspective includes corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Benefit society and environment

beyond the firms immediate financial interests or legal obligations Organizations contract with society

Triple bottom line

Economy, society, environment
Lockheed Martin

1-19

Types of Individual Behavior

Task Performance Goal-directed behaviors under persons control

Organizational Citizenship

Contextual performance cooperation and helpfulness beyond required job duties

more
1-20

Types of Individual Behavior

(cont)

Counterproductive Work Behaviors

Voluntary behaviors that potentially harm the organization

Joining/staying with the Organization

Agreeing to employment relationship; remaining in that relationship

Maintaining Work Attendance

Attending work at required times

1-21

Globalization

Economic, social, and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world Effects of globalization on organizations
New structures Increasing diversity Increasing competitive pressures,

intensification

1-22

Increasing Workforce Diversity

Surface-level diversity
Observable demographic and other overt differences

in people (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, age)

Deep-level diversity
Differences in psychological characteristics (e.g.

personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes) Example: Differences across age cohorts (e.g. Gen-Y)

Implications
Leveraging the diversity advantage Also diversity challenges (e.g. teams, conflict) Ethical imperative of diversity

1-23

Employment Relationships

Work/life balance
Minimizing conflict between work and nonwork

demands number one indicator of career success

Virtual work
Using information technology to perform ones job away

from the traditional physical workplace Telework issues of replacing face time, clarifying employment expectations

1-24

Organizational Behavior Anchors

Multidisciplinary anchor
Many OB concepts adopted from other disciplines OB develops its own theories, but scans other fields

Systematic research anchor

OB researchers rely on scientific method Should apply evidence-based management, but - Bombarded with theories and models - Challenge translating general theories to specific situations - Swayed by consultant marketing - Perceptual biases -- ignoring evidence contrary to our beliefs

1-25

Organizational Behavior Anchors

(cont)

Contingency anchor
A particular action may have different consequences

in different situations Need to diagnose the situation and select best strategy under those conditions

Multiple levels of analysis anchor

Individual, team, organizational level of analysis OB topics usually relevant at all three levels of

analysis

1-26

Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior

McGraw-Hill/Irwin McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e

Copyright 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1-27