1. What is Organizational Behaviour?
Chapter 1
What is Organizational Behaviour?

2. Chapter 1 Outline Defining Organizational Behaviour
OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations
How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference?
Today’s Challenges in the Canadian Workplace
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada

3. What Is Organizational Behaviour?
Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology?
How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable?
What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada

4. Organizational Behaviour
a field of study that investigates how individuals, groups and structure affect and are affected by behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

5. Why Do We Study OB? To learn about yourself and others
To understand how the many organizations you encounter work.
To become familiar with team work
To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs
Chapter 1, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada

6. What is an Organization?.
What is an Organization?
A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals

7. Roles and Skills in the New Workplace
Flexibility
Mentor
Innovator
Facilitator
Broker
Internal Focus
External Focus
Monitor
Producer
Coordinator
Director
Control

8. How Companies are Changing
“Cool” Companies
Believe casual days are progressive
Believe titles are obsolete
Don't impose on employees' personal time
Allow staff to come and go as they please  
Offer all employees stock options
Let employees make decisions that affect their work
Offer assistance with childcare
Have minimal bureaucracy (red tape)
“Old” Companies
Think casual Fridays are pitiful
Charge employees for perks and incentives
Hold events on employee time
Have flex time: but only between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Hide financial results from their employees
Encourage employee input -- but rarely act on it
Employ rigid hierarchies (chain of command)
Stop at “open door” policies

9. Exhibit 1-1 Challenges Facing the Workplace
Organizational Level •
Productivity
Developing effective employees
Global competition
Managing in the global village
Group Level
Working with others
Workforce diversity
Individual Level
Job satisfaction
Empowerment
Behaving ethically

10. Today’s Challenges in the Canadian Workplace
Challenges at the Organizational Level
Productivity
Effectiveness
Efficiency

11. Developing Effective Employees
Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)
Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

12. Putting People First
committed workforce and positively affects the bottom line.
“more control and say in their work.”
How do you Put people first?

13. Global Competition
In recent years, Canadian businesses have faced tough international competition, as well as from other companies within our borders.
Reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.
This material is found in more detail on page 19.

14. Managing and Working in a Multicultural World
Managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures:

15. Exhibit 1-4 The Layers of OB
The Organization
Change
Organizational culture
Decision making
The Group
Leadership
Power and politics
Negotiation
Conflict
Communication
The Individual
Groups and teams
Groups and teams
Motivating self and others
Emotions
Values and attitudes
Perception
Personality

16. How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference?
For Managers
For Individuals

17. Exhibit 1-3 Toward an OB Discipline
Social psychology
Psychology
Behavioural
science
Contribution
Unit of
analysis
Output
Anthropology
Sociology
Political science
Study of
Organizational
Behaviour
Organization
system
Learning
Motivation
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Individual decision making
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress
Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Formal organization theory
Organizational technology
Organizational change
Organizational culture
Intraorganizational politics
Organizational environment
Behavioural change
Attitude change
Group processes
Group decision making
Group
Comparative values
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis
Individual

18. The Rigour of OB OB looks at consistencies
OB is more than common sense
OB has few absolutes
OB takes a contingency approach

19. Exhibit 1-2 Research Methods in OB
Source: J. R. Schermerhorn, J.G. Hunt, and R. N. Osborn, Organizational Behaviour, 9th Edition, 2005, p. 4. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20. Bottom Line: OB Is For Everyone
Organizational behaviour is not just for managers.
OB applies equally well to all situations in which you interact with others: on the basketball court, at the grocery store, in school, or in church.

21. Summary and Implications
OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within an organization.
OB focuses on improving productivity, reducing absenteeism and turnover, and increasing employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
OB uses systematic study to improve predictions of behaviour.