Ob Chapter 1
- 1. Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour
- 2. What Are Organizations? Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose Structured patterns of interaction Coordinated tasks Work toward some purpose Courtesy of Dofasco
- 3. Why Study Organizational Behaviour? Why study organizational behaviour? Understand organizational events Predict organizational events Influence organizational events
- 4. Trends: Globalization Economic, social, and cultural connectivity (and interdependence) with people in other parts of the world Effects of globalization on organizations: New organizational structures Different forms of communication More diverse workforce More competition, mergers, work intensification and demands for work flexibility
- 5. Trends: Changing Workforce Workforce has increasing diversity along several dimensions Primary categories gender, age, ethnicity, etc. Secondary categories some control over (eg. education, marital status)
- 6. Trends: Changing Workforce Current trends Increased racial and ethnic diversity More women in workforce Generational diversity New age cohorts (eg. Gen-X, Gen-Y) Implications Leverage diversity advantage Adjust to the new workforce
- 7. Trends: Employment Relationships Work/life balance Number one indicator of career success Priority for Canadians looking for new jobs Employability “ New deal” employment relationship Continuously learn new skills Contingent work No explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment, or minimum hours of work can vary in a nonsystematic way
- 8. Employability vs. Job Security Job Security Lifetime job security Jobs are permanent Company manages career Low emphasis on skill development Employability Limited job security Jobs are temporary Career self-management High emphasis on skill development
- 9. Trends: Virtual Work Using information technology to perform one’s job away from the traditional physical workplace. Telework (telecommuting) working from home, usually Internet connection to office Virtual teams operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries with members who communicate mainly through electronic technologies
- 10. Trends: Workplace Values/Ethics Values Long-lasting beliefs about what is important in a variety of situations Define right versus wrong – guide our decisions Values increasingly important due to Need to guide employee decisions and actions Globalization increases awareness of different values Increasing emphasis on applying ethical values Ethics S tudy of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad
- 11. Organizational Behaviour Anchors Organizational Behaviour Anchors Multidisciplinary Anchor Systematic Research Anchor Contingency Anchor Open Systems Anchor Multiple Levels of Analysis Anchor
- 12. Organizational Behaviour Anchors Multidisciplinary anchor Many OB concepts adopted from other disciplines OB is developing its own models and theories, but also needs to scan other fields for ideas Systematic research anchor OB researchers rely on scientific method OB also adopting grounded theory and similar qualitative approaches to knowledge
- 13. Organizational Behaviour Anchors Contingency anchor A particular action may have different consequences in different situations Need to diagnose the situation and select best strategy under those conditions Multiple levels of analysis anchor OB issues can be studied from individual, team, and/or organizational level Topics usually relate to all three levels
- 14. Open Systems Anchor Need to monitor and adapt to environment External environment – natural and social conditions outside the organization Receive inputs from environment; transform them into outputs back to the environment Stakeholders – anyone with a vested interest in the organization Organizations consist of interdependent parts (subsystems) that need to coordinate
- 15. Open Systems Anchor Feedback Feedback Feedback Feedback Environment
- 16. Knowledge Management Defined Any structured activity that improves an organization’s capacity to acquire, share, and use knowledge for its survival and success
- 17. Intellectual Capital Structural Capital Relationship Capital Knowledge captured in systems and structures Values derived from satisfied customers, reliable suppliers, etc. Human Capital Knowledge that people possess and generate
- 18. Knowledge Management Processes Awareness Freedom to apply Communication Communities of practice Grafting Individual learning Experimentation Knowledge acquisition Knowledge sharing Knowledge use
- 19. Organizational Memory The storage and preservation of intellectual capital Retain intellectual capital by Keeping knowledgeable employees Transferring knowledge to others Transferring human capital to structural capital Successful companies also unlearn