MHR 3200 Exam 1IntroductionOrganization: consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, functions on a continuous basis to achieve a common goal, characterized by formal roles that define the behavior of its membersContributing Disciplines to Organizational Behavior- Psychology: seeks to measure, explain, and change behavior- Social psychology: focuses on the influence of people on one another- Sociology: studies people in groups, in relation to their fellow human beings- Anthropology: studies societies to learn about human beings and their activities- Political science: studies the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environmentThree Basic Levels within an Organization: individual, group/team, organizationContext of Strategy- Organizational Behavior: focuses on organizational culture, individual differences, motivation, job satisfaction/engagement, team dynamics, leadership, organization change- Human Resource Management: focuses on recruitment, selection and placement, training and development, performance management, human resource planning, compensationTop “Derailers” That Cause One to Fail- Insensitivity to others- Poor working relations- Inability to build or lead a team- Authoritarianism- Inability to change and adaptK&F Chapter 1: Strategy and Strategic Organizational BehaviorOrganizational Behavior: an interdisciplinary field dedicated to better understanding and managing people at workThe Evolution of OB can be explained by:1. The Human Relations Movement and the Contingency Approach- Increasing number of studies/writings from behavior scientists focusing on the “human” factor- Hawthorne studies: done to manipulate a variety of workplace factors and measure the effects of worker performance – results showed that employee performance can be improved by attending to individual needs, supportive supervision, and group dynamics- Writings of Mayo and Follett: “The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization” and telling managers to motivate job performance instead of demanding it, a “pull” rather than “push” strategy- McGregor’s “Theory Y”: a modern and positive set of assumptions about people at work, as opposed to “Theory X”: assumptions that were pessimisticand negative about people at work- The Contingency Approach: calls for using management concepts and techniques in a situationally appropriate manner, instead of trying to rely on “one best way.” – encourages managers to view organizational behavior within a situational context2. The Age of Human and Social Capital- Human capital: the productive potential of an individual’s knowledge and actions- Social capital: the productive potential resulting from strong relationships, goodwill, trust, and cooperative effort- What makes human capital a source of competitive advantage? Value, rareness, not easily imitated, not easily substituted or replaced, and organizationable to successfully utilize the resource3. The Emerging Area of Positive Organizational Behavior- The positive psychology movement: recommended focusing on human strengths and potential as a way to possibly prevent mental and behavioral problems and improve the general quality of life; focuses on well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past), hope and optimism (for the future), and flow and happiness (in the present)- Positive Organizational Behavior: the study and application of positively oriented human resource strength and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace4. E-Business and Implications for OB and Managing People- E-business: using information communication technologies to facilitate every aspect of running a business- Large proportions or even all trades on most exchanges around the globe are made computer to computer – this change requires people to play different roles and to possess different personalities and skill setsStrategic Management- Critical to an organization’s success- Addresses the competitive challenges faced by the organization- A plan for integrating goals, tactics, policies, and actions into a meaningful whole- Has two primary elements: strategy formulation & strategy implementationStrategy Formulation Model External Analysis (opportunities, threats)Vision Mission Goals Strategic Plan Internal Analysis (strengths, weaknesses)Strategy Implementation Model (Galbraith’s Star Model)Strategy StructurePeople Metrics & Rewards Systems & Processes- All elements need to be aligned for organization to succeedCorporate Social Responsibility: corporations have obligations to others, beyond shareholders and beyond the bounds of law or contract; there are four levels in order of increasing responsibility:1. Make a profit consistent with expectations for international businesses to fulfill economic responsibility2. Obey the law of host countries as well as international law to fulfill legal responsibility3. Act ethically by considering both host country and global standards to fulfill ethical responsibility4. Be a good corporate citizen as defined by the host country’s expectations to fulfill philanthropic responsibilityHow to improve the organization’s ethical climate1. Behave ethically yourself (managers are role models)2. Screen potential employees3. Develop a meaningful code of ethics4. Provide ethics training5. Reinforce ethical behavior6. Create positions, units, and other structural mechanisms to deal with ethicsWhistle-blowing: occurs when an employee reports a perceived unethical and/or illegal activity to a third party such as government agencies, news media, or public-interest groups; organizations can reduce the need for whistle blowing by encouraging free and open expression of dissenting viewpoints and giving employees a voice through fair grievance procedures and/or anonymous ethics hot linesFive sources of OB research insights:- Meta-analysis: a statistical pooling technique that permits behavioral scientists to draw general conclusions about certain variables from many different studies- Field studies: probes individual or group processes in an organizational setting- Laboratory studies: variables are manipulated and measured in contrived situations- Sample surveys:
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