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Managing Organizational Behavior

Moorhead & Griffin

Introduction to Organizational

Behavior

Chapter 1

Islamic Azad University

Lecturer: Dr. Ehsan Sadeh

Ph.D. in Management / Asst. Professor

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What is Organizational Behavior?

• Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of:

–Human behavior in organizational settings

–The interface between human behavior and the

organization

–The organization itself

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1.1 The Nature of Organizational Behavior

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The Importance of Organizational Behavior

• Organizations can have a powerful influence on

our lives:

–Most people are born and educated in organizations

–Most people achieve most of their material

possessions from organizations

–Most people die as members of organizations

–Many of our activities are regulated by governmental

organizations

–Most people spend most of their lives in organizations

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Why Study OB?

• Studying organizational behavior can clarify

factors that affect how managers manage by:

–Describing the complex human context of

organizations

–Defining the associated opportunities, problems,

challenges, and issues

–Isolating important aspects of the manager’s job

–Offering specific perspectives on the human side of

management

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Why Study OB? (cont’d)

• Studying OB helps managers understand:

–The behaviors of others in the organization

• Personal needs, motivations, behaviors, feelings and career

dynamics

• Individual differences, group dynamics, inter group dynamics,

organization culture, power, and political behavior

–Interactions with people outside of the organization

and other organizations

–The environment, technology, and global issues

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Organizational Behavior and

the Management Process

• Management

Functions

–Planning

–Organizing

–Leading

–Controlling

• Resources Used

by Managers

–Human

–Financial

–Physical

–Information

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Functions of Management

Planning Determining an organization’s desired

future position and the best means of

getting there

Organizing Designing jobs, grouping jobs into units,

and establishing patterns of authority

between jobs and units

Leading Getting organizational members to work

together toward the organization’s goals

Controlling Monitoring and correcting the actions of

the organization and its members to keep

them directed toward their goals

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1.2 Basic Managerial Functions

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Organizational Behavior and

the Manager’s Job

Interpersonal Informational Decision-Making

Basic Managerial Roles

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1.1 Important Managerial Roles

Category Role Example

Interpersonal Figurehead Attend employee retirement ceremony

Leader Encourage workers to increase productivity

Liaison / connector Coordinate activities of two committees

Informational Monitor Scan business publications for information

about competition

Disseminator Send out new policies

Spokesperson announce

Decision Making Entrepreneur Develop idea for new product

Disturbance handler Resolve problems

Resource allocator Allocate budget requests

Negotiator Settle new labor contract

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Critical Managerial Skills

Technical Skills necessary to accomplish

specific tasks within the organization

Interpersonal Skills used to communicate with,

understand, and motivate individuals

and groups

Conceptual Skills used in abstract thinking

Diagnostic Skills to understand cause-effect

relationships and to recognize optimal

solutions to problems

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1.3 Managerial Skills at Different Organizational Levels

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Contemporary Organizational Behavior

Perspectives

on

Organizational

Behavior

Systems Perspective

Situational Perspective

Interactional

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The Systems Perspective

• System

–An interrelated set of elements that function as a

whole—inputs are combined/transformed by

managers into outputs from the system

• Value of the Systems Perspective

–Highlights the importance of an organization’s

environment

–Conceptualizes the flow and interaction of various

elements of the organization.

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The Situational Perspective

• The Situational Perspective

–Recognizes that most organizational situations and

outcomes are influenced by other variables

• The Universal Model

–Assumes a direct cause-and-effect linkage between

variables

–Complexities of human behavior and organizational

settings make universal conclusions impossible

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1.5 The Systems Approach to Organizations

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1.6 Universal Versus Situational Approach

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Interactionalism: People and Situations

• Interactionalist Perspective

–Focuses on how individuals and situations interact

continuously to determine individuals’ behavior

–Attempts to explain how people select, interpret, and

change various situations.

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1.7 The Interactionalist Perspective on Behavior in Organizations

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Managing for Effectiveness

• Managers work toward accomplishing the

various goals (outcomes) that exist at

specific levels in an organization:

–Individual-level outcomes

–Group-level outcomes

–Organizational-level outcomes

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1.8 Managing for Effectiveness