Behavior and communication in
organizations
Ch 1
Each of us needs to accept the challenge to do a better job at creating and
maintaining people-centered organizations, whatever our role in society.
ORGANIZATION: system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of 2 or more people.
Organizations are a social invention helping us to achieve things collectively that we could not
achieve alone.
4 common characteristics:
1. Coordination of effort
2. Common goal
3. Division of labor (not all individuals have the same tasks)
4. Clear hierarchy of authority (to make sure that everybody does the right thing at the right
time)
ES. MEDICAL FACILITIES, SCHOOLS...
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (OB): an interdisciplinary field dedicated to better
understanding and managing people at work. It is both research and application oriented.
The 3 basic levels of analysis in OB are: individual/ group/ organizational.
Is it really interdisciplinary? Though it is true that it uses knowledge from different disciplines, the
field of research is not so much interdisciplinary, people do their own research within their own
field, it’s not so much coordinated.
Historical perspective of OB
1. Scientific management 1880-1930: in this period, they tried to use systematic
observations, experiments or reasoning to improve organizational efficiency. It is
associated with mass production, assembly lines, and negative perception of work. It
was groundbreaking because individuals began to be trained for specific tasks so that
everybody would have their own. (Taylorism--> Frederik Taylor).
2. Human relations movement 1930-1970: we go from a negative to a positive set of
assumptions about workers. More appreciation of people, more attention to the “human
“factor, people are committed to their job, they should be rewarded if they do well...
(legalization of union-management collective).
- McGregor’s Theory X and Y: he formulated two contrasting sets of assumptions
about human nature. In theory X the assumptions were pessimistic and negative,
and they reflected the way in w hich at that time managers perceived employees.
Theory Y on the contrary tries to help managers break with this negative perception
and suggests a modern and positive set of assumptions about people (ex.
Employees are capable of commitment, self -control, creativity etc..). Sadly, Theory
Y is still a distant vision.
, 3. Quality Movement 1980s: organization shifted the attention to customers, how to improve
customer satisfaction, and it has profound practical implications for managing people
today.
TMQ= Total Quality management--> an organizational culture dedicated to training, continuous
improvement, and customer satisfaction. “Continuous customer-centered, employee-driven
improvement”. It is possible to identify 4 common TQM principles:
• Do it right the first time to eliminate rework;
• Listen and learn from customers and employees;
• Make continuous improvement an everyday matter;
• Build teamwork, trust and mutual respect.
4. The internet and social media movement 1990s: virtual organizations became more and
more common: organizations where people work partly independent of location,
supported by ICT; people want more freedom and flexibility. Ex. It started with teleworking
in connection to the central office/ 2005 Bill Gates/ working from home during the
pandemic.
E-business: running an entire business via internet and managing virtual teams.
5. The age of human and social capital:
People, individually and collectively, are the key to organizational success.
• HUMAN CAPITAL: the productive potential of one’s knowledge and actions;
• SOCIAL CAPITAL: the productive potential of strong, trusting and cooperative
relationships.
The managerial context: getting things done with/through others
Management: process of working with and through others to achieve organizational
objectives, efficiently and ethically, amid constant change. Quality of management can make
a big difference for employees and customers alike.
Skills:
1. Clarifying goals and objectives;
2. Encouraging participation;
3. Planning and organizing;
4. Having technical and administrative expertise;
5. Facilitating work through team building, training...;
6. Providing feedback;
7. Keeping things moving thanks to schedules/ deadlines...;
8. Controlling details;
9. Appling reasonable pressure for goals accomplishment;
10. Empowering and delegating;
11. Recognizing good performance with rewards and positive reinforcements.
21 -century managers: more flexible, cooperation, long-life learning, multilingual and multicultural,
st
team members, joint decision making, etc.
Contingency approach to management: using management tools and techniques in a
situationally appropriate manner; avoiding the one size fits all mentality. This approach
encourages managers to view organizational behavior within a situational context.
,Ethics challenge
Ethics: study of moral issues and choices.
- CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY (CSR): degree to which an organization
shows concern for the broader impact of its activities, on its employees as well as
on the community and the environment in which these activities take place.
- Carroll’s Global Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid
- Unethical behavior is pervasive and occurs at all organizational levels, but there are
differences across different nations that should always be taken into account (ex.
Pressure to look good in front of your boss).
- 7 GENERAL MORAL PRINCIPLES, Hodgson (these overlap with what in psychology is
called moral foundations) --> the goal for managers should be to rely on moral
principles so that their decisions are principled, appropriate and defensible.
• Dignity of human life: people's lives must be respected;
• Autonomy: everyone is intrinsically valuable and has the right to self-determination;
• Honesty: speaking and acting in a way that mirrors reality;
• Loyalty: promises should be honored;
• Fairness: treating people justly;
• Humaneness: do good to others and us;
• The common good: greatest good for the greatest number.
- IMPROVE ORGANIZATION’S ETHICAL CLIMATE: in the end ethics comes down to the
individual. Individuals first must be morally attentive: always consider the ethical
implications of their actions.
OB research
Theory-->research-->practice.
1. Meta-analysis: pools the results of many studies through statistical procedure;
2. Field study: examination in real-life settings;
3. Laboratory study: manipulation and control of variables in contrived situations;
4. Sample survey: questionnaires responses from samples of people;
5. Case study: in-depth study of a person/group/organization.
Ch2
Diversity
Diversity: the multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people, it
is a characteristic of groups of 2 or more individuals. It usually refers to demographical
differences (differences in background) between a group:
• Gender;
• Ethnicity;
• Religion;
• Nationality;
• Education;
• Social status.
, Effectively managing diversity is important because it affects employees’ satisfaction, productivity,
turnover and safety. Managing diversity is a sensitive and sometimes uncomfortable issue, yet
managers are required to deal with it for the survival of the organization.
It is based on 4 layers:
1. Personality
2. Internal dimensions (surface-level): age/gender/race/sexual orientation... not in our
control
3. External dimensions: income/ religion/work experience/ habits...
4. Organizational dimensions: work field/ location/ position/department...
Why should we strive and care for diversity? Different opinions, open-mindness, prevent group
thinking, etc.
- Business case: diversity is the SMART thing to do, because diversity can lead to better
performance, productivity, and profit;
- Moral case: diversity is the RIGHT thing to do, equal opportunities for everyone.
Positive effects: higher performance/ more creativity/ more
flexibility... Negative
effects
Increasing diversity in the workforce
Workforce demographics: statistical profiles of adult
workers.
- Women and minorities experience the so-called GLASS
CEILING--> an invisible barrier that prevents/blocks
women and minorities from advancing to higher-level
positions or management positions.
- There's a mismatch between educational attainment and
occupational requirements that has both shot term and long-term implications for
organizations and countries alike.
- Generational differences in an aging workforce: life expectancy is increasing, and this
creates a gap between the Baby-boomer generation and the following, which will probably
lead to a loss of knowledge, skills, experience and relationships within the workforce. Older
employees can make valuable contributions to today’s organizations. Shortage of qualified
people in technical fields.
Regardless of sexual orientation, age, gender, race, all organizations need to hire, retain and
develop a diverse workforce that provides a deeper pool of talent and unique perspectives that
help the organization identify and meet the needs of a diverse customer base.
Positive effects of diversity
INFORMATION/DECISION MAKING THEORY: diversity leads to better task-relevant
processes and decision making, because diverse groups:
• Are better at early stages of problem solving by using their diverse backgrounds to
generate a more comprehensive view of a problem;
• Uncover more alternatives during problem solving activities;
