Introduction to OB

The Nature of OB
Organizational behavior (OB) is the study
of what people think, feel, and do in and
around organizations.
The study of OB provides a set of tools
concepts and theoriesthat help people
to understand, analyze, and describe what
goes on in organizations and why.
The Nature of OB
The nature, reasons, aims and features of
behavioral processes are dealt with.
Behavioral sciences is not normative but
descriptive

The Levels of OB
It is study of,
individual,
team, and
organizational-level characteristics that
influence behavior within work settings.
Basic OB Model
Model
An abstraction of reality.
A simplified representation
of some real-world
phenomenon.
OB at Individual Level
Characteristics of individuals (such as
personality, feeling, and motivation) affect how
well people do their jobs.
whether they like what they do, whether they get
along with the people they work with, and so on.
personality and ability; attitudes, values, and
moods; perception and attribution; learning;
motivation; and stress and work-life linkages
OB at Group Level
A group is two or more people who
interact to achieve their goals.
A team is a group in which members work
together intensively and develop team-
specific routines to achieve a common
group goal.


OB at Group Level
number of members in a group,
the type and diversity of team members,
the tasks they perform,
and the attractiveness of a group,

to its members all influence both behaviors
of group as a whole and individuals within
the group.
OB at Organizational Level
Characteristics of the organization as a whole
(such as its culture and the design of an
organizations structure) have important effects
on the behavior of individuals and groups.
The values and beliefs in an organizations
culture influence how people, groups, and
managers interact with each other and with
people (such as customers or suppliers) outside
the organization.
An organizations structure controls how people
and groups cooperate and interact to achieve
organizational goals.
Its Relations to Other Disciplines
Various disciplines exist within the field of behavioral
sciences, especially:
Psychology-deals with personality systems and peoples
actions. Its aim is understand, predict and control
behavior. Subfileds are experimental, development and
industrial psychology.
Sociology- deals with social group behaviors and social
processes. The units of study in sociology are societies,
organizations, groups.
Social-Psychology- deals with the socialization process of
human being.
Anthropology- deals with the cultural roots of societies.


Contributing Disciplines
to the OB Field
Psychology
Social Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
Micro:
The
Individual
Macro:
Groups &
Organizations
Contributing Disciplines to the
OB Field
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes
change the behavior of humans.
Contributing Disciplines to the
OB Field (contd)
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Contributing Disciplines to the
OB Field (contd)
Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology
and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one
another.
Contributing Disciplines to the
OB Field (contd)
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their
activities.
Organizational Behavior
One of the the subfield of behavioral
sciences is organizational behavior that is
related to also manegarial sciences.
Replacing Intuition with
Systematic Study
Systematic study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute
causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based
on scientific evidence.
Provides a means to predict behaviors.
Intuition
A feeling not necessarily supported by research.
Challenges and Opportunities
for OB
Responding to Globalization
Increased foreign assignments
Working with people from different cultures
Coping with anti-capitalism backlash
Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-
cost labor
Managing Workforce Diversity
Embracing diversity
Changing demographics
Implications for managers
Recognizing and responding to differences
Domestic
Partners
Major Workforce Diversity
Categories
Race
Non-Christian
National
Origin
Age
Disability
Gender
Challenges and Opportunities
for OB (contd)
Improving Quality and Productivity
Quality management (QM)
Process reengineering
Responding to the Labor Shortage
Changing work force demographics
Fewer skilled laborers
Early retirements and older workers
Improving Customer Service
Increased expectation of service quality
Customer-responsive cultures
Challenges and Opportunity for
OB (contd)
Improving People Skills
Empowering People
Stimulating Innovation and Change
Coping with Temporariness
Working in Networked Organizations
Helping Employees Balance
Work/Life Conflicts
Improving Ethical Behavior
Implications for Managers
OB helps with:
Insights to improve people skills
Valuing of workforce diversity
Empowering people and creating a
positive work environment
Dealing with labor shortages
Coping in a world of temporariness
Creating an ethically healthy work
environment