Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Lecture Notes
Chapter 1: What Is Organizational Behavior?
Learning Objectives
1.1: Define the concept of organizational behavior (OB).
1.2: List and give examples of the four sources of information used in evidence-based
management (EBM).
1.3: Define critical thinking and explain the critical thinking skills leaders need.
Chapter Summary
Chapter summary here.
Annotated Chapter Outline
I. A Crisis in Organizations?: Historically, CEOs are fired because of poor company
performance, but recently there is an increase in firing for ethical reasons.
A. Examples
i. Kevin Burns, CEO of Juul, was fired for poor financial performance after
media attention to Juul’s marketing practices, and increased pressure from
health regulators caused a dip in the company’s performance.
B. What is going on with CEO leadership?
i. Studies show increasing rates of CEO departure from the largest companies
(17.5% in 2018).
a. Most were planned retirements, but 20% of departures were forced.
ii. 2019 is on-pace to have historic levels of CEO departures.
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
iii. Future leaders must understand nuances of human behavior and honor
ethical principles.
iv. Organizational behavior (OB) addresses leadership challenges like these.
II. What Is Organizational Behavior?: A fairly new, multidisciplinary and multilevel study of
individuals and their behavior in the workplace.
A. Hawthorne Studies: Most agree that OB’s point of origin is the Hawthorne studies
of 1927-1932, conducted by psychologist Elton Mayo
ii. Mayo’s second study designed to investigate a new incentive system’s
effect on productivity produced unexpected results.
a. Peer pressure from social subgroups resulted in the informal
standards of production.
b. High-producing workers were expected to reduce production so pay
was more equal within the group.
iii. Hawthorne researchers realized that the human element of organizations
was more important than previously thought and that workers value
attention.
a. Ex: workers are grateful to employers when they provide gifts to
employees, known as empathy wages.
B. Disciplines Contributing to Organizational Behavior: OB is a multidisciplinary
applied field of study that uses ideas and research from multiple disciplines.
i. Examples
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
C. From Theory to Practice
i. Goals of Science
a. Description: what does the process look like?
b. Prediction: will the process occur again? When?
c. Explanation: why is this happening?
d. Control: can we change whether this happens?
ii. Example: Forecasting staffing changes during the holiday season requires
many considerations:
iii. Evidence-based management (EBM): translating research into
management practice
III. Evidence-Based Management: Improves a leader’s decisions by disciplined application
of most relevant and current information
A. Four sources of information:
i. Scientific evidence: such as OB research studies on why people quit their
jobs
ii. Organizational evidence: such as exit interviews with employees quitting
the organization
iii. Experiential evidence: such as other managers’ judgments as to why
employees leave
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
a. The ability: basic skills and competencies
b. The motivation: behavioral beliefs, behavioral control, and
normative beliefs
c. The opportunity: support that overcomes barriers to EBM
ii. Leaders must be involved at every level and collaborate with researchers.
C. Standards of EBM
i. Stop treating old ideas as if they were brand new
a. A cynical workforce may be sensitive to would-be innovations that
closely resemble older management fads (“empowerment” of the
1980s versus “engagement” today).
ii. Be suspicious of “breakthrough” studies and ideas
IV. What is Critical Thinking?: Persistent examination of any belief or knowledge in light of
evidence that supports it. It is a self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and
self-corrective way of thinking.
A. Three Parts of Critical Thinking
i. Elements of thought (reasoning)
C. Ian Mitroff’s Smart Thinking for Crazy Times: The Art of Solving the Right
Problems Basic Organizational Questions: Helps ensure the right problems are
answered.
i. What businesses are we in or should we be in?
ii. What is our mission or what should it be?
iii. Who are our prime customers or who should they be?
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
iv. How should we react to a major crisis, particularly if we are, or are
perceived to be, at fault?
v. Will others perceive our situation as we do? How will they perceive our
actions?
vi. Are our products and services ethical?
D. Applying Critical Thinking to Theories in Organizational Behavior
i. Based on The Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor
ii. Self-assessments like these are intended to challenge you to critically
examine your own thoughts and beliefs, which will enable you to adjust
your leadership style to influence important organizational outcomes.
V. Outcomes in Organizational Behavior
A. Performance
i. Productivity (job performance): one of the most important outcomes in
OB
a. Measured by objective performance via organizational records (e.g.,
number of forms correctly processed)
B. Attitudes
i. A person’s general disposition toward something
a. Measured with question and response scales (known as Likert
scales) often ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
ii. Job satisfaction: a common outcome variable, with measures dating back
to the 1930s
C. Employee Well-Being
i. Employee well-being: Outcomes such as emotional exhaustion,
psychosomatic health complaints, and physical health symptoms
a. Passive or underperforming leaders undermine well-being.
b. Being asked to do illegitimate tasks, or tasks outside one’s normal
job boundaries, predicts lower employee well-being.
D. Thriving
i. Thriving: “The psychological state in which individuals experience both a
sense of vitality and learning”
a. Vitality: a feeling of being alive
b. Learning: a sense of growth or improvement
ii. Reduces burnout and health problems
iii. Predictive of performance over other attitude measures such as job
satisfaction/organizational commitment
iv. Thriving is related to psychological safety, or employees feeling safe from
criticism if they offer innovative ideas.
E. Motivation
Instructor Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
iv. Absenteeism: Workers who are dissatisfied but have few alternative job
opportunities may not come to work.
VI. Levels of Analysis in Organizational Behavior
A. Four Different Levels of Analysis
i. Individual level: Dictated by the personality and experiences of a given
employee
a. Dyad/two-party level: between pairs of people such as mentor and
VII. How OB Research Increases Employee Performance
A. Development of OB Hypotheses
i. Can be developed at any level of analysis
ii. See Table 1.3 Examples of How Organizational Behavior Research
Relates to Performance
iii. Research at any level can help leaders improve employee performance.
VIII. Leadership Implications: Thinking Critically
A. Uses For This Course