Lesson 1

• Organizational behavior

  The study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizational settings
• Organizational behavior


  • It is primarily concerned with the psychosocial, interpersonal, and behavioral dynamics in organizations
  • Organizational variables that affect human behavior at work are also relevant to the study of organizational behavior (e.g. jobs, design of work, performance appraisal, organizational design, organizational structure)
• Organizational behavior


  It helps explain and predict how people and groups interpret events, react, and behave in organizations and describe the role of organizational systems, structures, and process in shaping behavior
• Nature of organizational behavior

  • Each individual brings to an organization a unique set of personal characteristics, background, and experiences
  • Individuals do not work in isolation, they come in contact with other people in the organization in variety of ways, and over time individuals and the organization change and interact
• 2 Basic Categories of Theories and Models of Human Behavior

  • Internal perspective
  • External perspective
• Internal perspective


  It looks at workers' minds to understand their behavior, it understands human behavior in terms of the thoughts, feelings, past experiences, and needs of the individual
• External perspective


  It focuses on factors outside the person to understand behavior, human behavior is understood in terms of events, consequences, and environmental forces to which a person is subject
• The internal and external perspectives offer alternative explanations for human behavior
• Organizational context


  A complete understanding of organizational behavior requires an understanding of both human behavior and of the organizational context (setting) within which behavior is acted out
• Organizations as open systems

  • Organizations are strongly influenced by their environment, they regularly exchange feedback with their external environment (suppliers, customers, regulations)
  • Organizations have 4 major internal components: task, people, technology, structure
• Formal organization


  The official, legitimate, and most visible part of the system that enables people to think of organizations in logical and rational ways
• Informal organization


  The unofficial and less visible part of the system
• Organizational behavior always occurs in the context of a specific organizational setting, most attempts at explaining or predicting organizational behavior rely heavily on factors within the organization and less weight on external environmental considerations
• Large and small organizations operate in each sector of the economy (private, government, nonprofit), they contribute to the economic health and human welfare of a nation
• Importance of studying organizational behavior

  It gives everyone the knowledge and tools they need to be effective at any organizational level, it helps organizations achieve goals like better communication, comfortable work environment, influencing management style, building a winning people strategy, influencing HR strategies, and conflict resolution
• Basic management functions

  • Planning, organizing, leading, controlling
• There is no "organizational behavior manager", understanding OB provides a set of insights and tools that all managers can use to carry out their jobs more effectively
• Planning


  It is future-oriented and determines an organization's direction, it involves studying the environment, deciding on goals, outlining strategies, and developing tactics
• Organizing


  It requires a formal structure of authority and the direction and flow of such authority through which work subdivisions are defined, arranged, and coordinated
• Leading (Directing)


  It is the process of motivating members of the organization to work together toward the organization's goals, it involves leadership, communication, motivation, and supervision
• Controlling


  It is the process of monitoring and correcting the actions of the organization and its people to keep them headed toward the goal/s
• 5 Critical Management Skills

  • Technical skill
  • Conceptual skill
  • Interpersonal and communication skills
  • Decision-making skill
  • Diagnostic and analytical skills
• Technical skill

  Knowledge of and proficiency in activities involving methods, processes, and procedures
• Conceptual skill


  The ability to see the "big picture", to recognize significant elements in a situation and to understand the relationships among the elements
• Interpersonal and communication skills


  The ability to effectively communicate with, understand, and motivate individuals, and groups
• Decision making skill


  The skill that makes a manager able to recognize opportunities and threats and then select an appropriate course of action
• Diagnostic and analytical skills


  Allow managers to better understand cause-and-effect relationships and to recognize the optimal solutions to problems
• Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior

  OB is especially relevant to human resource management, HRM can be used as a tool for shaping organizational behavior