EXPLAIN

The Field of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior studies the influence that individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within organizations.

Its chief goal is to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

Focal Points of OB

Jobs
Work
Absenteeism
Employment turnover
Productivity
Human performance
Management

Complementing Intuition with Systematic Study

Intuition: your “gut feeling” explanation of behavior.
Systematic study improves ability to accurately predict behavior.
- Assumes behavior is not random.
- Fundamental consistencies underlie behavior.
- These can be identified and modified to reflect individual differences.

Systematic Study

Examines relationships.
Attempts to attribute causes and effects.
Bases conclusions on scientific evidence:
- On data gathered under controlled conditions.
- Data is measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner.

Evidence-Based Management

Complements systematic study.
Bases decisions on the best available scientific evidence.
Forces managers to become more scientific in their thinking.

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field

Challenges and Opportunities for OB

Responding to Economic Pressures
Responding to Globalization
Managing Workplace Diversity
Improving Customer Service
Improving People Skills
Stimulating Innovation and Change
Coping with “Temporariness”
Working in Networked Organizations
Helping Employees with Work-Life Conflicts
Improving Ethical Behavior

Responding to Economic Pressures

Effective management is especially important during tough economic times.
Employees look to their managers to provide security during the instability of a recession.

Responding to Globalization

Increased foreign assignments
- Differing needs and aspirations in workforce
Working with people from different cultures
- Domestic motivational techniques and managerial styles may not work
Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor

Workforce diversity:

organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation

Diversity Implications

“Managers have to shift their philosophy from treating everyone alike to recognizing differences and responding to those differences in ways that ensure employee retention and greater productivity while, at the same time, not discriminating.”

Improving Customer Service & People Skills

The majority of employees in developed nations work in service jobs and they must know how to please their customers.
People skills are essential to succeed in today’s organizations.

Stimulating Innovation and Change

Flexibility
Quality Improvement
Staying Competitive

Temporariness

Jobs are constantly changing
Skills need to be updated for workers to stay on target
Workers need to be able to deal with change
Employees need to be able to cope with flexibility, spontaneity and unpredictability

Working in Networked Organizations

Managers must adapt their skills and communication styles to succeed in an online environment

Helping Employees handle work-life conflict

The line between work and non-work has blurred and managers are increasingly dealing with conflicts that arise between work and life away from work.

Thinking Positive

Creating a positive work environment can be a competitive advantage
Positive Organizational Scholarship (Positive OB):

Examines how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
Focus is on employee strengths, not their weaknesses.

Implications for Managers

OB helps with:
- Insights to improve people skills
- Valuing of workforce diversity
- Empowering people and creating a positive work environment
- Dealing with change in the workplace
- Coping in a world of temporariness
- Creating an ethically healthy work environment

Keep in Mind
- OB’s goal is to understand and predict human behavior in organizations.
- Fundamental consistencies underlie behavior.
- It is more important than ever to learn OB concepts.
- Both managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness.

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What field or area of organization becomes exciting and complex as you stay longer in the organization?

Please watch this video on youtube: Professional Behaviour at Work

what have you learned from this video

Importance of understanding Organization Behavior (OB)

◦With its complexity, study of OB is therefore important

1.People are born and educated in the organization

2.Acquire material possessions from organization

3.Die as member of organizations

Individual roles or identities in the organization:

1.Consumers

2.Employees

3.Suppliers

4.Competitors

5.Owners

6.Investors

Kindly share what have you learned in the Explore Phase. What topic struck you the most and why?