1. Microsoft® PowerPoint Presentation to Accompany
Organizational Behavior
SEVENTH EDITION
Gregory Moorhead and Ricky W. Griffin

2. An Overview of Organizational Behavior
Chapter 1
An Overview of Organizational Behavior

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Learning Objectives
Describe the field of organizational behavior and explain its importance.
Trace the historical roots of the field of organizational behavior.
Discuss the emergence of contemporary organizational behavior, including its precursors, the Hawthorne studies, and the human relations perspective.
Explain the characteristics and concepts of contemporary organizational behavior.
Identify and discuss contextual perspectives on organizational behavior.
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4. The Meaning of Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior (OB)
The study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and of the organization itself.
The Importance of Organizational Behavior
People as organizations
People as resources
People as people
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5. Figure 1.1 The Nature of Organizational Behavior
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6. The Historical Roots of Organizational Behavior
Scientific Management Era (early 1900s)
Frederick W. Taylor
Studied the efficiency and productivity of individual workers.
Systematically studied jobs to eliminate soldiering.
Promoted standardized job performance methods.
Implemented piece-rate based incentive pay systems.
Taylor’s innovations boosted productivity markedly.
Other Pioneers
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
Henry Gantt
Harrington Emerson
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7. Scientific Management
Positive Attributes
Facilitated job specialization and mass production.
Demonstrated to managers their role in enhancing performance and productivity.
Negative Attributes
Labor opposed scientific management because its explicit goal was to get more output from workers.
Critics argued that Taylor’s methods and ideas would dehumanize the workplace and reduce workers to little more than drones.
Theorists later argued that Taylor’s views of employee motivation were inadequate and narrow.
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8. The Historical Roots of Organizational Behavior
Classical Organization Theory
This perspective was concerned with structuring organizations effectively.
Whereas scientific management studied how individual workers could be made more efficient, organization theory focused on how a large number of workers and managers could be organized most effectively into an overall structure.
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9. Major Contributors to Classical Organization Theory
Henri Fayol
French executive and engineer.
Lyndall Urwick
British executive.
Max Weber
German Sociologist.
Proposed a “bureaucratic” form of structure based on logic, rationality, and efficiency that was assumed to be the most efficient (universal) approach to structuring for all organizations.
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10. Table 1.1 Elements of Weber’s Ideal Bureaucracy
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11. The Emergence of Organizational Behavior
Legacy of Scientific Management and Classical Organizational Theory
Rationality, efficiency, and standardization were the central themes of both scientific management and classic organization theory.
The roles of individuals and groups in organizations were either ignored or given only minimal attention.
The Hawthorne Studies (1927–1932)
Focused attention on the role of human behavior in the workplace.
Led directly to the emergence of organizational behavior as a field of study.
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12. The Hawthorne Studies 1927–1932
Involved two studies conducted by Elton Mayo at Western Electric’s plant near Chicago:
The effects of lighting on productivity.
The effectiveness of a piecework incentive system.
The studies yielded surprising results:
In the lighting study, productivity went up because the workers were singled out for special treatment.
In the incentive system experiment, social pressures caused the workers to vary their work rates.
As a result of the Hawthorne studies, researchers concluded that the human element in the workplace was more important than previously thought.
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13. The Emergence of Organizational Behavior
The Human Relations Movement
People respond primarily to their social environment.
Motivation depends on social, not economic needs.
Satisfied employees work harder than dissatisfied employees.
Douglas McGregor – Theory X and Theory Y
Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of needs
Toward Organizational Behavior: The Value of People
Organizational behavior reached maturity as a field of study in the late 1950s .
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14. Table 1.2 Theory X and Theory Y
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15. Contemporary Organizational Behavior
Characteristics of the Field
An Interdisciplinary Focus
Synthesizes psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, engineering, and medicine.
A Descriptive Nature
OB’s primary goal is describing the relationship between behavioral variables (e.g., pay satisfaction and job performance).
OB cannot predict with certainty due to:
Immaturity of the OB field.
The complexities of studying human behavior.
Lack of universally established definitions and measures.
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Figure 1.2 Basic Concepts of the Field: The Framework for Understanding Organizational Behavior
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17. Contextual Perspectives on Organizational Behavior
The Systems Perspective
A system is an interrelated set of elements that function as a whole.
The Systems Approach
Provides a framework for understanding how the elements of an organization interact among themselves and with their environment.
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18. Contextual Perspectives on Organizational Behavior
The Universal Perspective
Suggests that whenever a manager encounters a problem, a universal approach exists that will lead to the desired outcome.
The Contingency Perspective
Suggests that whenever a manager encounters a problem, the approach to use is contingent on other variables.
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19. Figure 1.3 The Systems Approach to Organizations
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20. Contextual Perspectives on Organizational Behavior
Interactionalism: People and Situations
First presented in terms of interactional psychology, this view assumes that individual behavior results from a continuous and multidirectional interaction between the characteristics of the person and the characteristics of the situation.
Interactionalism attempts to explain how people select, interpret, and change various situations
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21. Figure 1.4 Universal versus Contingency Approach
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22. Contemporary Applied Perspectives
“You are what you read” — Martha Finney, business writer
Ouchi — Theory Z
Peters and Waterman — In Search of Excellence
Deal and Kennedy — Corporate Cultures
Senge — The Fifth Discipline
Covey — The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Porter — The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Adams — Dilbert
Reference: Martha Finney, “Books That Changed Careers,” HRMagazine, June 1997, p.141
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