BCO Summary + Notes
Chapter 1
Social identity
blue and red cap
voorkeur voor de mensen met dezelfde kleur pet, ondanks de random aanwijzing
has effect op thinking and behavior → example: describing people with a cap (positive about people with the same color
and negatively about people with a different color cap)
Error management
people will make mistakes, but you have to make sure that they don’t get hurt
mistake/error: something you didn’t do on purpose
violations: something you did on purpose
consequences: consequences of the error
headache when you bumped your head
managers can confuse mistakes for violations
Error culture on Everest
BCO Summary + Notes 1
, Organization behavior (OB)= “A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, goups, and structure have
on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s
effectivess.”
And where an organization is: “A consiously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on
a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common set goal or set of goals.”
What’s what & who’s who?
Worker: an individual who contributes to the accomplishment of work goals
Why not employee? → ‘the gig economy’
gig economy → changes in the worker industry, such as financial instability, job insecurity, autonomy, career
path uncertainty, the transience of work, and physical and relational separation. These changes have led to
many challenges for gig workers. They navigate a new world where they come to grips with their emo- tions,
identity, and relationships; struggle to structure work to stay in business; and compete to remain viable.
e.g., temporary, freelance and/or flexible work
Manager: an individual who achieves goals through other people
sometimes called ‘administrators’ in nonprofit organizations
What about leaders?
e.g., formal and informal leaders
leader doesn’t have to be the formally appointed manager, part of the managing job is leading
Organization: “A […] coordinated social unit of two or more people […] to achieve common goal(s).”
e.g., ‘network organization’
In sum: these terms are chosen because they capture [the meaning?] better: nuance, common ground & special cases
Managers’ work can be categorized:
1. planning: a process that includes defining goals. establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities
2. organizing: determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to
whom, and where decisions are to be made → design their work unit’s structure
BCO Summary + Notes 2
, 3. leading: a function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication
channels, and resolving conflicts
4. controlling: monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant
deviations
Management roles
Interpersonal Roles:
Managers engage in ceremonial and symbolic duties, such as acting as figureheads in events like commencements. They also
assume leadership roles involving hiring, training, motivating, and disciplining employees. Additionally, managers perform
liaison roles, establishing relationships internally and externally for valuable information exchange.
Informational Roles:
Managers collect information from external sources through media and discussions to stay informed about public preferences
and competitors' plans. They play the monitor role in tracking external changes, act as disseminators by transmitting
information within the organization, and serve as spokespersons when representing the organization to outsiders.
Decisional Roles:
Mintzberg identified four decision-making roles for managers. In the entrepreneur role, managers initiate and oversee
projects to enhance organizational performance. As disturbance handlers, they address unforeseen problems. Managers also
act as resource allocators, responsible for distributing human, physical, and monetary resources. Lastly, managers perform
negotiator roles, engaging in discussions and bargaining with internal or external units to secure advantages for their own
unit.
Management skills
Skills that differentiate effective from ineffective workers and managers:
technical skills: the ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise
people skills: the ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups
conceptual skills: the mental ability to analuze and diagnose complex situations
BCO Summary + Notes 3
, Managerial activities
Do managers who move up quickly in an organizatoin do the same activities and with the same emphasis as managers who
do the best job?
traditional management
decision making, planning & controlling
communication
exchanging & processing info
HR leadership
motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing & training
networking
socializing, politicking & interaction with outsiders
The allocation of time among various managerial activities varies significantly among individuals, with an "average"
manager spending 32% on traditional management, 29% on communication, 20% on HR management, and 19% on
networking. Successful managers, defined by timely promotions, prioritize networking over other activities, while effective
managers, measured by performance and employee satisfaction, emphasize communication. This challenges the traditional
belief that promotions are solely based on performance, highlighting the significance of networking and political skills in
career advancement within organizations.
Evidence based management
People have assumptions → influence the decisions that they make
Behavior is generally predictable, and the systematic study of behavior is a way to make reasonably accurate predictions.
When we use the term systematic study, we mean looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and
basing our conclusions on scientific evidence. That is, we base our predictions on data gathered under controlled conditions
and measured and interpreted rigorously.
eg: test which one is better: half of the people were told that it’s okay to make mistakes → they were more successful,
made less mistakes
Evidence-based management (EBM):
complements systematic study by basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence
argues that managers should think more scientifically about management problems
Systematic study and EBM add to intuition or gut feelings about what makes others (and ourselves) ‘tick’
BCO Summary + Notes 4
