Organizational Behavior And Management

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Organizational Behaviour and Management

organizations: social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort * social inventions: coordinated presence of people * goal accomplishment: 4 behaviours necessary for survival + adaptation: * motivation to join + remain in organization * carrying out basic work reliably in terms of productivity, quality, and service * be willing to continuously learn + upgrade their knowledge + skills * be flexible + innovative * group effort: organizations depend on interaction + coordination among people to accomplish their goals

organizational behaviour: attitudes + behaviours of individuals + groups in organizations (behaviours such as cooperation, conflict, resignation, etc.) * we should study organizational behaviour because it is: * interesting – OB is all about people + human nature * important – impact of OB extends to customers, managers, employees, etc. * makes a difference – e.g. management practices (e.g. competitive advantage + organizational effectiveness) that improve employee + customer satisfaction

Goals of Organizational Behaviour
1) Predicting OB * permits prediction of its future occurrence but is not always accurate

2) Explaining OB * determining why people are more/less motivated, satisfied or prone to resign

3) Managing OB * management: the art of getting things accomplished in organizations through acquiring, allocating and utilizing physical and human resources

Early Prescriptions Concerning Management

The Classical View and Bureaucracy

classical viewpoint: advocated very high degree of specialization of labour and a very high degree of coordination * each department tended to own affairs with centralized decision making from upper management providing coordination

scientific management: Frederick Taylor’s system for using research to determine the optimum degree of specialization and standardization of work tasks

bureaucracy: Max Weber’s ideal type of organization that include the following qualities: * a strict chain of command; everyone reports to a single superior * selection + promotion based on technical skills rather than favouritism * detailed rules, regulations and procedures * strict specialization that matched duties with technical competence * centralization of power at top of organization

The Humans Relation Movement and a Critique of Bureaucracy

Hawthorne Studies: research conducted at Hawthorne plant (1920 – 1930) that illustrated how psychological + social processes affect productivity and work adjustment * impact suggested there could be dysfunctional aspects to how work was organized e.g. resistance to management

human relations movement: critique of classical management + bureaucracy that advocated more management styles that were more participative + oriented toward employee needs * strict specialization is incompatible with growth and achievement * strong centralization fails to include creativity * strict rules leads to minimum acceptable levels of performance * strong specialization causes employees to lose sight of the overall goals of the organization – “red-tape mentality”

The Contingency Approach * recognizes that there is no one best way to manage and that an appropriate management style depends on the demands of the situation

Managerial Roles

1) Interpersonal Roles * figurehead role: serving as symbols of the organization (e.g. signing legal documents) * leadership role: managers select, mentor, reward and discipline employees * liaison role: managers maintain horizontal contacts inside and outside the organization

2) Informational Roles * monitor role: managers scan internal + external environments of firm * disseminator role: managers send info on facts and preferences to others * spokesperson role: sending messages into the