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Organisational Behaviour

Welcome to Introductory lecture on OB

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Lecture plan

Structure of the course

Historical overview

Current trends and contextualrelevance (for OB)

Organizational Behaviour Subject,Scope and Competencies

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18-Week longOffice hours: Monday 3:30-4:30 in my office room

Assessment:

Class attendance/Participation

Tests

Coursework

Assignments

Any question?

Structure of the course

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SOME RECOMMENDED SOURCES

Organization StudiesOrganizational Science

Organization Behaviour

Human Relations

Harvard Business Review

Introduction to Organizational behaviour

Research in Organizational Behavior

Financial times, Economic Times,Economist, McKinsey Quarterly,

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The notion of an organisation as an imperative,

absolute entity, is the direct outcome of historicaltransformations occurred in Europe and North Americafrom the end of the 18th century onwards:

Before the 19th Century:

Experience ofArtisanwork (e.g. Ironsmith)

Technical skills, personal competence and craft prideconstitutive of the working process.

Industrial revolution in the 19th Century Close relationship between the subject of work and his/her

activity was lost

Historical overview

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Early 20th Century: Classical approach

Advent of scientific management (F.W. Taylor)

Aim: controlling labour through science

Far-reaching process of establishing control and surveillance:

to discipline the mind and body of the productive subject wasthe central concern.

Deconstruction of the task from within

Rigid control over time and body movements

Conception and execution as separate domains in hierarchical

relationships

Technology for social control

Historical overview

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1097/Mptv/1097/9463_0002.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Chaplin,%20Charleshttp://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1095/Mptv/1095/9463_0003.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Chaplin,%20Charles

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Historical overview

Hawthorne Studies and the Human Relations Movement (EltonMayo, 1923-1933)

Hawthorne studies: environment and productivity? Results: organizations are social systems, not just technical

economical systems Groups, teamwork, different job roles, human relations are of great

significance in organizations We are motivated by many needs Leadership should be modified to include concepts of human

relations

Note: University of Chicago economists John List & Steven Levitt, 2009A new discipline of human behaviour and, by extension,Organisational behaviour. (1960s)

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Exploring OB: Definitions

An entitative approach[to organisations] fails to

represent what it meansto be human,misrepresents thequalities of the relational

processes and, moregenerally, grossly distortsthe relationshipsbetween person andorganisation(Hoskings and

Morley 1991:IX)

The relationship between a person and a context involvesaccommodation (changing oneself) and assimilation(changing the context) people are both products of theircontexts and participants in the shaping of those contexts.(Hoskings and Morley, 1991:5)

A field of study that investigates

the impact that individuals, groups,

and structure have on behaviourwithin organizations, for thepurpose of applying suchknowledge toward improving an

organizations effectiveness

the study of human behaviour inorganizational contexts with a focuson individual and group processesand actions

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OB vis--vis OT, OD and HRM

THEORETICAL

APPLIED

OT (OrganizationTheory)

HRM (HumanResource

Management)

OD (OrganizationDevelopment)

OB (OrganizationalBehavior)

MICROMACRO

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OB tends to be more theoretically

oriented and at the micro level ofanalysis. Specifically, OB draws frommany theoretical frameworks of thebehavioral sciences that are focusedon understanding and explainingindividual and group behavior inorganizations. As with other sciences,

OB accumulates knowledge and testtheories by accepted scientificmethods of research.

In summary, organizational

behavior can be defined asthe understanding,prediction, andmanagement of humanbehavior in organizations.

OB vis--vis OT, OD and HRM

OrganizationalBehaviourResearch

Understandorganizational

events

Predictorganizational

events

Influenceorganizational

events

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Trends and Relevance of OB

Globalization

Business Ethics

InformationTechnology

WorkforceDiversity

Multiple Teams

Employment

Relationship

New org. structures || Different forms of communication ||Increasing competition, change, mergers, downsizing, stress ||

Need to be more sensitive to cultural differences

Primary and secondary diversity || More women in workforceand professions || Different needs of Generation-X and baby-boomers || Diversity has advantages, but firms need to adjust

Employability || Contingent work Telecommuting || Virtual teams

Affects howemployees interact: Virtual teams || Telecommutingorganizations are configured: Network structuresfirms relate to customers: Communication issues

Potentially more effective than employees working aloneConcern is when to assign tasks to teams rather than toindividuals

The study of moral principles or values that determinewhether actions are right or wrong and outcomes aregood or badWhat is unethical is not always obvious

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Organizational Behavior Anchors

OrganizationalBehaviourAnchors

Multidisciplinaryanchor

Systematicresearchanchor

Contingencyanchor

Open systemsanchor

Multiple levelsof analysisanchor

OB Should import knowledge frommany disciplines

OB should studyorganizations usingsystematic research methods

OB theory should recognizethat the effects of actions

often vary with the situation

OB knowledge should includethree levels of analysis:

Individual, team and organization

OB should vieworganizations as opensystems to interact with theirenvironment

l i di i li h

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Multi-disciplinary anchorDiscipline

(Traditional)

Relevant OB topics

Psychology Drives, perception, attitudes, personality, job stress, emotions, leadership

Sociology Team dynamics, roles, socialization, communication patterns, organizational power,organizational structure

Anthropology Corporate culture, org. rituals, cross-cultural dynamics, org. adaptation

Political Science Inter-group conflict, coalition formation, organizational power and politics, decision

making, organizational environments

Economics Decision making, negotiation, organizational power

Industrial Engg Job design, productivity, work measurement

(Emerging)

Communications Knowledge management, electronic mail, corporate culture, employee socialization

Info. systems Team dynamics, decision making, knowledge management

Marketing Knowledge management, creativity and decision making

Women studies Organizational power, perceptions

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Open System Anchor of OB

Feedback Feedback

OutputsInputs

SubsystemSubsystem

Subsystem Subsystem

Organization

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Earlier illustration meant the following:

The organization seen as an open socio-

technical system.

The existence of subsystems which interact

with one another.

Management is a distinct subsystem which isresponsible for direction and coordination of

all other subsystems.

Open System Anchor, a modern approach

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To explore in the course

BY INTRODUCINGDIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

TO THE UNDERSTANDING

OF PEOPLE AND

ORGANISATIONS, WE HOPE:

TO STIMULATE YOUR SEARCH

FOR NEW KNOWLEDGE,

CREATIVITY AND SKILLS AS

ORGANISATIONALPRACTITIONERS

Simple assignment:

Go through the introductorychapter on OrganizationalBehavior

Submit articles (make sure tomention the source and fullreference) or Write an own note onOrganizational behaviorphenomenon as understood /observed by you.

Please ensure to make references

or comments to their fitment to theestablished OB body of knowledge

G

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G ossaryVirtual teams: Cross functional teams that operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries with members who

communicate mainly through information technologies

Values: Stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important in a variety of situations, that guide our decisions and actions

Telecommuting: Working from home, usually with a computer connection to the office; also called tele-working

Stakeholders: Shareholders, customers, suppliers, governments, and any other groups with a vested interest in the

organizationScientific method: A set of principles and procedures that help researchers to systematically understand previously

unexplained events and conditions

Organizations: Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose

Organizational memory: The storage and preservation of intellectual capital

Organizational learning: The knowledge management process in which organizations acquire, share and use knowledge tosucceed

Organizational culture: The basic pattern of shared assumptions, values and beliefs governing the way employees within an

organization think about and act on problems and opportunitiesOpen systems: Organizations that take their sustenance from the environment and, in turn, affect that environment throughtheir output

Knowledge Management: Any structured activity that improves an organizations capacity to acquire, share and useknowledge in ways that improve its survival and success

Intellectual capital: The sum of organizations human capital, structural capital and relationship capital

Grounded theory: A process of developing theory through the constant interplay between data gathering and thedevelopment of theoretical concepts

Grafting: The process of acquiring knowledge by hiring individuals or buying entire companies

Globalization: Economic, social and cultural connectivity (and inter dependence) with people in other parts of the world

Ethics: The study of moral principles or values that determine whether the actions are right or wrong and outcomes are goodor bad

Employability: An employment relationship in which people perform a variety of work activities rather than hold specificjobs, and are expected to continuously learn skills that will keep them employed

Corporate Social Responsibility: CSR is an organizations obligation toward its stakeholders

Contingent work: Any job which the individual does not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment, orone in which the minimum hours of work can vary in a nonsystematic way.

Contingency approach: The idea that a particular action may have different consequences in different situations

C mm iti f P ti I f m l g b d t g th b h d ti d i f ti l ti it i t t