PART ONE
C H A P T E R O N E
The Field of
Organizational
Behavior 1
Lecture Outline
The Field of Organizational Behavior:
What is it All About?
OB: Its Dening Characteristics of
OB
Three Levels of Analysis
Multidisciplinary
Improving Organizational
E&ectiveness and Quality of
Life at Work
OB Assumes No “One Best”
Approach
Why Does OB Matter?
OB is Responsive to Socioeconomic
Conditions
Dynamic Nature of Organizations
OB Is Responsive to Advances in
Technology
OB Takes a Global Perspective
OB Embraces the Trend Toward
Diversity
Historical Overview of the Field of OB
Scientic Management
The Human Relations Movement
Classical Organizational Theory
Organizational Behavior in the
Modern Era
Organizational Behavior Today
The chapter introduces Organizational Behavior (OB) as
an important eld of study. OB has ve essential
characteristics: (1) the use of the scientic method that
informs research; (2) a focus on three levels of
analysis; (3) a multidisciplinary perspective that
borrows from psychology, sociology, and quality
management; (4) an orientation toward improving
organizational e&ectiveness and the quality of life at
work; and (5) the contingency approach to
understanding and studying human behavior. Theory X
and Theory Y are discussed as philosophies of
management. Theory X is an older style of
management philosophy that holds that workers are
inherently lazy, try to avoid work, and need close
supervision. Theory Y is commonly found in today’s
organizations and assumes that people have a
psychological need for work and desire responsibility
and achievement. OB is guided by the basic
assumption that organizations are dynamic in nature
and respond to socioeconomic conditions. Historically,
OB has evolved as a eld of study with its origins
rooted in the scientic management approach of
Fredrick Winslow Taylor, Elton Mayo’s human relations
movement (with a focus on the famous Hawthorne
Studies), and classical organizational theory
(characterized by Max Weber’s analysis of
bureaucracy). The traditional areas of inquiry continue
in OB. However, the eld is rapidly expanding by
including topics such as diversity in the workplace,
cross-cultural aspects of behavior, alternative work
arrangements, ethics in the workplace, and advances
in technology. The dynamic nature of organizations and
signicant environmental forces have given rise to
rapidly developing topics that promise to ensure that
OB will continue to be an interesting eld of study.
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1. THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
A. Organizational behavior: its dening characteristics
1. Organizational Behavior is the multidisciplinary eld that seeks
knowledge of behavior in organizational settings by systematically
studying individual, group, and organizational processes.
a. OB applies the scientic method to practical managerial
problems.
b. OB focuses on three levels of analysis:
1. Individuals
2. Groups
3. Organizations
c. OB is multidisciplinary.
d. OB seeks to improve organizational e&ectiveness and the
quality of life at work.
1. Theory X – assumes people are lazy, dislike work, need
direction, and must have tight controls
2. Theory Y – assumes people are willing to work.
e. OB assumes that there is no “one best” approach.
Self-Assessment Exercise Testing Your Assumptions about People at
Work: Theory X or Theory Y
Students should consider the following upon completion of the exercise.
1. Which perspective did this questionnaire indicate that you more strongly endorsed,
Theory X or Theory Y? Is this consistent with your own intuitive conclusion?
2. Do you tend to manage others in ways consistent with Theory X or Theory Y ideas?
3. Can you recall any experiences that may have been crucial in dening or reinforcing
your Theory X or Theory Y philosophies?
B. Why does OB matter?
1. Assists managers to understand what motivates employees, maintain
job satisfaction, design jobs more e&ectively, and communicate fairly.
2. Helps organizations lower costs, increase productivity, retain
employees, reduce losses from theft, and reduce illness on the job.
2. OB IS RESPONSIVE TO SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS
A. OB recognizes the dynamic nature of organizations
1. Dynamic nature of organizations.
a. The organization is dened as a structured social system
consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet
some agreed-upon objectives.
b. Organizations are “open systems.” Self-sustaining systems
that use energy to transform inputs (raw materials) into outputs
(products and services).
c. Organizations are constantly changing.
B. OB responds to advances in technology
1. Automation is the process of replacing people with machines.
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2
2. Rapidly reducing the number of employees needed to operate
e&ectively is downsizing or rightsizing.
3. Hiring outside rms to perform functions is outsourcing
a Outsourcing allows organizations to focus on their core
competency.
b. O0shoring occurs when jobs are shifted to foreign nations.
c. Virtual corporations are highly Fexible, temporary
organizations formed by a group of companies that join forces
to exploit a specic opportunity.
d. Telecommuting, also known as teleworking, uses
communication technology to enable work to be performed
from remote locations.
1. Distributed work
2. OGce hoteling
3. Co-working spaces
4. Jelly
C. Ob takes a global perspective
1. Globalization allows for the world’s countries to be inFuenced by one
another.
2. Globalization is driven by multinational enterprises (MNEs)
a. Expatriates
b. Cultures
c. Culture shock
d. Repatriation
D. OB embraces the trend toward diversity
1. More women are in the workforce than ever before.
2. Racial and ethnic diversity is reality.
3. People are living and working longer than ever before.
Winning
Practices
Feeling Sick? Your Doctor Probably Has An App for That.
Use Winning Practices Case for Class Discussion.
3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE FIELD OF OB
The importance of understanding the behavior of people at work has not
always been as recognized as it is today.
A. Scientic management: the roots of organizational behavior
1. Scienti3c management:
a. Frederick Winslow Taylor
b. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
1. Time and motion studies
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 3
B. The human relations movement and the Hawthorne studies
1. Elton W. Mayo
2. Human relations movement is a management philosophy that
rejects the primarily economic orientation of scientic management,
and focuses, instead, on the noneconomic, social factors operating in
the workplace.
a. Task performance is greatly inFuenced by social conditions that
exist in organizations.
C. Classical organizational theory
1. Classical organizational theory focused on the eGcient structuring
of organizations.
a. Henri Fayol ― managerial principles
1. Division of labor
b. Max Weber
1. Organizational structure based on bureaucracy
D. Organizational behavior in the modern era
1. First doctoral degrees granted in 1940s
2. Early growth of the eld uneven
3. Late 1950s and early 1960s rise of OB as a going concern
4. Multifaceted and interdisciplinary eld
You Be the Consultant Suggested Answers
1. What specific research method do you think would best provide and answer? Explain
your answer.
Student answers will vary. Key points are presented in bullet form.
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4
2. How would managers adopting the Theory X philosophy differ from those adopting the
Theory Y philosophy in approaching this issue?
3. What would be the major approach of Taylor’s scientific management orientation to this
matter?
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 5