Chapter 1

An Overview of
Organizational
Behavior

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning Prepared by Charlie Cook

All rights reserved. The University of West Alabama
Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
1. Define organizational behavior.
2. Identify the functions that comprise the management process
and relate them to organizational behavior.
3. Relate organizational behavior to basic managerial roles and
skills.
4. Describe contemporary organizational behavior.
5. Discuss contextual perspectives on organizational behavior.
6. Describe the role of organizational behavior in managing for
effectiveness

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–2

 What is Organizational Behavior?

• Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of:

–Human behavior in organizational settings
–The interface between human behavior and the
organization
–The organization itself

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–3

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–4
 1.1 The Nature of Organizational Behavior

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–5

 The Importance of Organizational Behavior

• Organizations can have a powerful influence on

our lives:
–Most people are born and educated in organizations
–Most people acquire most of their material
possessions from organizations
–Most people die as members of organizations
–Many of our activities are regulated by governmental
organizations
–Most people spend most of their lives in organizations

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–6

 Why Study OB?

• Studying organizational behavior can clarify

factors that affect how managers manage by:
–Describing the complex human context of
organizations
–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

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–7

 Why Study OB? (cont’d)

• Studying OB helps managers understand:

–The behaviors of others in the organization
• Personal needs, motives, behaviors, feelings and career
dynamics
• Attitudinal processes, individual differences, group dynamics,
inter group dynamics, organization culture, power, and
political behavior

–Interactions with people outside of the organization

and other organizations
–The environment, technology, and global issues

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–8

 Organizational Behavior and
the Management Process

• Management • Resources Used

Functions by Managers
–Planning –Human
–Organizing –Financial
–Leading –Physical
–Controlling –Information

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–9

 Functions of Management
Planning Determining an organization’s desired
future position and the best means of
getting there
Organizing Designing jobs, grouping jobs into units,
and establishing patterns of authority
between jobs and units
Leading Getting organizational members to work
together toward the organization’s goals
Controlling Monitoring and correcting the actions of
the organization and its members to keep
them directed toward their goals

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–10

 1.2 Basic Managerial Functions

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–11

 Organizational Behavior and
the Manager’s Job

Basic Managerial Roles

Interpersonal Informational Decision-Making

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–12

 1.1 Important Managerial Roles

Category Role Example

Interpersonal Figurehead Attend employee retirement ceremony
Leader Encourage workers to increase productivity
Liaison Coordinate activities of two committees

Informational Monitor Scan business publications for information

about competition
Disseminator Send out memos outlining new policies
Spokesperson Hold press conference to announce new plant

Decision Making Entrepreneur Develop idea for new product and convince
others of its merit
Disturbance handler Resolve dispute
Resource allocator Allocate budget requests
Negotiator Settle new labor contract

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–13

 Critical Managerial Skills

Technical Skills necessary to accomplish

specific tasks within the organization
Interpersonal Skills used to communicate with,
understand, and motivate individuals
and groups
Conceptual Skills used in abstract thinking
Diagnostic Skills to understand cause-effect
relationships and to recognize optimal
solutions to problems

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–14

 1.3 Managerial Skills at Different Organizational Levels

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–15

 Contemporary Organizational Behavior

• Characteristics of the Field

– Interdisciplinary in focus
– Descriptive in nature

• Basic Concepts of the Field

1. Individual processes
2. Interpersonal processes
3. Organizational processes/characteristics

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–16

 Sociology
the science
Psychology of society
the science of Engineering
human behavior the applied science
of energy & matter
Interdisciplinary
Anthropology Influences on
the science of the Organizational Medicine
learned behavior
of human beings
Behavior the applied science of
healing or treatment of
diseases to enhance an
Management individual’s health and
the study of overseeing well-being
activities and supervising
people in organizations
© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–17
 1.4
The Framework
for Understanding
Organizational
Behavior

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–18

 Contemporary Organizational Behavior

Systems Perspective

Contextual
Situational Perspective
Perspectives
on
Organizational
Contingency
Behavior

Interactional

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–19

 The Systems Perspective

• System
–An interrelated set of elements that function as a
whole—inputs are combined/transformed by
managers into outputs from the system
• Value of the Systems Perspective
–Underscores the importance of an organization’s
environment
–Conceptualizes the flow and interaction of various
elements of the organization.

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–20

 The Situational Perspective

• The Situational Perspective

–Recognizes that most organizational situations and
outcomes are influenced by other variables
• The Universal Model
–Presumes a direct cause-and-effect linkage between
variables
–Complexities of human behavior and organizational
settings make universal conclusions virtually
impossible

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–21

 1.5 The Systems Approach to Organizations

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–22

 1.6 Universal Versus Situational Approach

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–23

 Interactionalism: People and Situations

• Interactionalist Perspective
–Focuses on how individuals and situations interact
continuously to determine individuals’ behavior
–Attempts to explain how people select, interpret, and
change various situations.

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–24

 1.7 The Interactionalist Perspective on Behavior in Organizations

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–25

 Managing for Effectiveness

• Managers work toward accomplishing the

various goals (outcomes) that exist at
specific levels in an organization:
–Individual-level outcomes
–Group-level outcomes
–Organizational-level outcomes

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–26

 1.8 Managing for Effectiveness

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–27

 Organizational Behavior in Action

• Based on your reading of the chapter opening

case:
–What is employee turnover so low at Wegmans?
–Which basic managerial roles and skills is Danny
Wegman using to show his employees that the
organization really cares about them?
–Why haven’t competitors adopted the Wegmans’
employee-focused strategy?

© 2012 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–28