Organizational Behavior Session 1

Organizational behavior OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization ’ s effectiveness. Organizational behavior (page 38-45)

Importance Implementation of most managerial decisions requires understanding how people behave and react to different issues.

Management skills According to Robert Katz, essential management skills are: Technical skills Human skills Conceptual skills Human skills are essential for all kinds of managerial positions.

Management skills and levels Management (page 4-7)

Main topics Interaction between values, beliefs, and perceptions and behaviors; Motivation theories; Group and team behaviors; Communication; Leadership theories; Power and politics; Conflict management; Organizational culture and structure.

Important approaches of the course Multilevel approach Level 3 Organizational level Organizational performance Organizational culture Strategies, Structure Level 2 Group level Group performance, Cooperation Group learning, Cohesion Level 1 Individual level Individual performance, Personality Beliefs, Attitudes Essentials of daft (page 14-16)

Important approaches of the course (continued) Cross-cultural approach Cultural influences on individuals; Cultural differences and cross-cultural management; Culture and management theories. Organizational behavior page 50

Organizational Behavior Session 2

Scientific foundations of OB Psychology Social Psychology Cognitive Psychology I/O Psychology Sociology Anthropology Political science Organizational behavior page 47

Some definitions Perception: is the process of acquiring, selecting, interpreting, and organizing sensory information; Belief: is a conviction of the truth of a statement or existence of a phenomenon (e.g., beliefs about one’s capabilities, beliefs about organizational culture); Attitudes: are positive or negative views about a person, behaviour, or event.(e.g., job satisfaction, attitude toward teamwork); Value: is a term that express the concept of worth (e.g., job values); Norm: is a rule that is socially enforced (e.g., respect to elders).

Social cognitive theory (Albert Bandura) Triadic reciprocal causation P B E P: personal factors B: behavioral factors E: environmental factors (Bandura, 1997, p. 6)

Ladder of inference

Examples of ladder of inference

Organizational trust

Theory of Planned Behavior/ Reasoned Action (Ajzen and Fishbein( The theory of planned behavior is a theory which predicts deliberate behavior. Attitudes Norms Intention Behavior Perceived behavioral control

Assignment 2 Discuss various factors that may influence an employee’s cooperation with his/her other project team members from other departments using theories described in the class.