COMM 292: Chapter 1

What are the fundamentals of OB?

1. Considers the multiples levels in an organization: individual, group and organizational. 2. Built from the wisdom and research of multiple disciplines. 3. Takes a systematic approach to the study of organizational phenomena. It is research based. 4. Takes a contingency approach to the consideration of organization phenomena. Recommendations depend on the situation.

Why do we study OB?

1. To learn about yourself and others. 2. To understand how the organizations you encounter work. 3. To become familiar with team work. 4. To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs.

What does the people-first strategy generate?

A committed workforce and an effect on the bottom line. More successful organizations.

What is an organization?

A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of a group of people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

What is organizational behaviour?

A field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups, and structure on behaviour within organizations.

What is productivity?

A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency.

What does OB provide for us?

A systematic approach to the study of behaviour in organizations. Allows other business disciplines to employ these OB concepts.

What are some of the skills that form the foundation for a high quality workforce?

Ability to communicate, think and solve problems, learn continuously and work with others. Ability to demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours and take responsibility for one's actions. Team building and priority management.

What is the contingency approach?

An approach taken by OB that considers behaviour within the context in which it occurs.

What is positive organizational scholarship/behaviour?

An area of OB research that concerns how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.

What is evidence based management (ERM)?

Approach that complements systematic study. Basing managerial decisions on the best scientific evidence.

What are employees also known as now?

Associates or teammates.

What does the changing and global competitive environment force organizations to do?

Be more flexible. Learn how to adjust to shifts in demand, technology and economy.

Why does workforce diversity arise?

Because organizations are becoming more heterogeneous, employing a greater variety of people.

Why is the use of contingent (temporary) workers a challenge?

Because temporary workers lack security and stability, they don't always identify with the organization or display the commitment of other employees. Organizations struggle to motivate employees who do not feel connected to the organization.

What does social psychology do?

Blend concepts from both psychology and sociology. Focuses on people's influence on one another.

What does productivity imply a concern for?

Both effectiveness and efficiency.

Why is global competition a challenge?

Canadian businesses have tough competition with global companies. To survive they had to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.

Why is it important to create a positive work environment?

Challenges researcher to look at OB in a new lens by looking at the good parts of the organization and not just the bad.

What is one major area that has received much attention from social psychologists?

Change. How to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance.

What are some examples of contributions by social psychology?

Change: behavioural and attitude. Communication. Building trust. Group behaviour. Power. Conflict.

What are some words that are used in place of "manager" nowadays?

Coaches, advisers, sponsors, or facilitators.

Why does this this complaint exist?

Creation of global organizations- world never sleeps. Communication technology- bring work home. Asking employees to work longer hours.

What do anthropologists work on?

Cultures and environments. Helping us to understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes and behaviours between people in different countries and within different organizations.

Why are ethics a challenge?

Cutbacks, expectations of increasing worker productivity and touch competition in the marketplace cause employees to feel pressured to cut corners, break rules and do other questionable practices.

What is another way of phrasing contingency approach?

Depend upon the situation.

What does much of the success in any job involve?

Developing good interpersonal skills.

What is 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.

How are these three levels related?

Each level is constructed upon the previous level. Like building blocks.

Why is helping employees with work-life balance a challenge?

Employees complain that the lines between work and private life have blurred, creating personal conflicts and stress.

What do employers and managers need to do to stay employed despite global competition?

Employees need to continually update their knowledge and skills to meet new job requirements. Managers and employees have to learn to live with flexibility spontaneity, uncertainty and unpredictability.

Why is looking at consistencies helpful?

Everyone is different and they don't act the same in similar situations. BUT there are certain fundamental consistencies underlying the behaviour of all individuals.

Who is OB for?

Everyone, not just for leaders, managers and employees.

Why is positive organization scholarship important?

Focus is placed on how to exploit employee strengths rather than to dwell on their limitations.

What is being asked of managers?

Give employee satisfaction and happiness while sharing more of their power with employees.

What is the basic OB model?

Goes from the individual level to group level to organization systems level.

What are some examples of contributions by sociology?

Group dynamics, design of work teams. Organizational culture. Formal organizational theory and structure. Organizational technology. Communication. Power. Conflict.

What does ubuntu show us?

How behaviour and expectations are different across the world.

Why is developing effective employees a challenge?

How to engage employees effectively so that they are committed to the organization. Organizations want and need employees who will do things that are not in the job description because these organizations outperform those that don't.

Why does OB have few absolutes?

Human beings are complex and unique. They are not alike which limits our abilities to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations (not everyone will act the same in the same situation and even one person's behaviour changes in different situations).

Why can diversity be a good and bad thing?

If positively managed, can increase creativity and innovation in organizations and improve decision making by providing different perspectives. If not, potential for higher turnover, miscommunication and interpersonal conflict.

Why is improving quality and productivity a challenge?

Increased competition forces reduced costs but at the same time improved quality of products and services and productivity.

What are the challenges in the Canadian workplace at the individual level?

Individual differences, job satisfaction, motivation, empowerment, and behaving ethically.

What do systematic studies and ERM add to?

Intuition.

Why is job satisfaction a challenge?

It is negatively related to absenteeism and turnover which costs organizations lots of money. Satisfied employees are productive. Satisfaction is the objective of the organization by providing employees with challenging and intrinsically rewarding jobs.

What is the importance of interpersonal skills?

Keeping the high performing employees. Creating a pleasant workplace makes good economic sense.

What are some examples of contributions by psychology?

Learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employee selection techniques, job design and work stress.

What is the rigour of OB?

Looking at consistencies, looking beyond common sense, having few absolutes and taking a contingency approach.

What is a systematic study?

Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.

How does OB look at consistencies?

Looking at what is common about behaviour to help make accurate predictions.

What kind of contributions are the social psychology, sociology, and anthropology?

Macro concepts such as group processes and organization.

What kind of contributions are psychology?

Mainly at the individual, or micro, level of analysis.

What are examples of "good citizenship" behaviours by employees that are needed by organizations?

Making constructive statements about their work group and organization. Helping others on their team. Volunteering for extra job activities. Avoiding unnecessary conflicts. Showing care for organizational property. Respecting the spirit and rules and regulations. Tolerating the occasional work related impositions and nuisances.

Why is managing and working in a multicultural world a challenge?

Managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures as multinational corporations are developing worldwide, companies are developing joint ventures with foreign partners and workers are pursuing job opportunities across national borders.

What is empowerment?

Managers are giving employees more responsibility for what they do.

Why is empowerment a challenge?

Managers learn to give up control and employees learn how to take responsibility for their work and make appropriate decisions.

What needs to happen to management practices because of workforce diversity?

Managers need to shift their philosophy from treating everyone alike to recognizing differences. Need to respond to difference in ways that will ensure employee retention and greater productivity.

Which business discipline is most closely related to OB? Why?

Marketing because it tries to predict consumer behaviour with is similar to predicting employee behaviour. Both need understanding of dynamics and underlying causes of human behaviour.

Why is working with others a challenge?

Neither managers nor employees can succeed on their technical skills alone. Important to develop these people skills.

What's happened with the roles of managers and employees?

Now blurred as the responsibilities of employees have grown. Decision making is pushed down to the operating level where employees solve work related problems and are given more freedom about schedules and procedures.

Why does OB take a contingency approach?

OB must consider behaviour within the context in which it occurs because people behave differently at different times.

Why is putting people first a challenge?

Organizations need to help develop their employees. People work harder if the feel they have more control and say in their work. They work smarter if they are encouraged to build skills and competence. They work responsibly when responsibility is placed in the hands of employees farther down in the organization.

Why are individual differences a challenge?

People have different personality characteristics, perception, values and attitudes that can influence their behaviour in the workplace.

How do we put people first?

Provide employment security. Hire well. Create self-managed teams. Pay well. Provide extensive training. Reduce status differences. Share information about organizational performance.

What are the building blocks of OB?

Psychology. Social Psychology. Sociology. Anthropology.

What is an example of this being a challenge?

Research shows 40% of managers leave or stop performing within 18 months because they cannot develop relationships with bosses, colleagues, or subordinates.

Why must organizations help employees find a work-life balance?

Risk losing key employees and future candidates.

What does psychology focus on?

Seeks to measure, explain and sometimes change the behaviour of humans.

What is ubuntu?

South African concept of humaneness that guides management activity in that country. Concept that emphasizes group well-being and social harmony.

What does sociology do?

Studies people in relation to their social environment or culture.

What is the main area sociologists have made their main contribution?

Study of group behaviour in organizations (formal and complex organizations).

What have we come to understand about people skills?

That technical skills are necessary but they are not enough to succeed in the workplace today. Individuals now need to have good people skills to keep up in the competitive and demanding workplace.

Why is workforce diversity a challenge?

The ability to adapt to many different people is one of the most important and broad based challenges facing organizations.

What is effectiveness?

The achievement of goals.

What do we do now because of this recognition?

The challenge is to accommodate diverse groups of people by addressing their different lifestyle, family needs and work styles. Need to understand someone's culture and how it has shaped them and learn to adapt your interaction style to work effectively with different people.

What is intuition?

The gut feeling not necessarily supported by research.

What is a challenge regarding Canadian workforce diversity?

The mix of generations (Elders, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y). Different life experiences so they bring different values and expectations.

What is workforce diversity?

The mix of people in organizations in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age, and demographic characteristics (such as eduction and socio-economic status).

What is the recognition of the importance of developing interpersonal skills tied with?

The need for organizations to get and keep high performing employees.

What is the major reason that people like their jobs or stay with an employer?

The quality of the employee's job and the supportiveness of the work environment. Not just the wages and benefits.

What is efficiency?

The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.

What are ethics?

The study of moral values or principles that guide our behaviour and inform us whether actions are right or wrong.

What is anthropology?

The study of societies to learn about human beings and their actives.

What does it mean when it says that OB has few absolutes?

There are few simple and universal principles that explain organization behaviour.

What do we recognize with employees now?

They do not set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when they go to work.

What do some Canadian businesses do because of global competition?

They find it necessary to merge to survive. Some employers start to outsource jobs to other countries where labour costs are lower.

How do organizations and people make the changes that need to be made due to global competition?

They must be committed to learning new skills, new ways of thinking and new ways of doing business.

What the is purpose of OB?

To apply the knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness.

What does behaviour refer to?

To what people do in an organization and how they perform.

What do systematic approaches do?

Uncovers important facts and relationships that will provide a base from which more accurate predictions of behaviour can be made.

What are the challenges at the organizational level?

Use of temporary employees, improving quality and productivity, developing effective employees, putting people first, helping employees with work-life balance, creating a positive work environment, global competition and managing and working in a multicultural world.

Why are systematic approaches important?

Using it means believing that behaviour is not random but there are certain fundamental consistencies that underlie all human behaviour. Fundamental consistencies allow for predictability.

Why is intuition sometimes a problem?

We are making decisions with incomplete information. Relying on intuition because we tend to overestimate the accuracy of what we think we know.

How does OB look beyond common sense?

With systematic studies.

What are the challenges at the group level?

Working with others and workforce diversity.