The Essentials of Organizational Behavior
An Evidence-Based Approach
Anna Jobse
,Chapter 1: What is OB?
1.1 Define the concept of OB
OB is defined as the study of individuals and their behaviors at work. Multidisciplinary and multilevel
research area from psychology, cultural anthropology, communication and sociology.
OB is a relatively young field. Scientific management by Taylor was the earliest management theory,
explaining how the production process could be more efficient. Most scholars agree that OB
emerged with the human relations movement, which involved the Hawthorne studies conducted by
Mayo.
The Hawthorne effect is the positive response in attitudes and performance when researchers pay
attention to a particular group of workers. The researchers concluded that the human element in
organizations was more important than previously thought. The human relations movement
followed in 1950s.
Applied social psychology is the study of how people interact in groups. The goal of OB as a field is to
improve the functioning of the organization and how employees experience their work.
The goals of science are:
- Description
- Prediction
- Explanation
- Control
Evidence-based management (EBM) is the ability to translate research to practice.
Google did research on the effectiveness of managers. The team discovered that there was less
turnover on teams with the best managers. There was a relationship between high-scoring
managers’ behaviors and employee satisfaction. A high-scoring manager is a good coach, empowers,
expresses interest, is productive and result-oriented, is a good communicator, helps with career
development, has a clear vision and has technical skills.
1.2 List and give examples of the four sources of information used in evidence-based management
(EBM)
EBM improves a leader’s decisions by disciplined application of the most relevant and current
scientific evidence. EBM means making decisions about the management of employees, teams, or
organizations through conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of four sources of information;
- The best available scientific evidence
- The best available organizational evidence
- The best available experiential evidence
- Organizational values and stakeholders’ concern
Leaders must have the ability, motivation and opportunity to practice EBM.
These standards might be applied by leaders to challenge their thinking about their organizations;
- Stop treating old ideas as if they were brand new
- Be suspicious of breakthrough studies and ideas
- Develop and celebrate collective brilliance
- Emphasize drawbacks as well as virtues
, - Use success (and failures) stories to illustrate sound practices but not in place of a valid
research method.
- Adopt a neutral stance toward ideologies and theories
Critical thinking is essential to get the right information. It is defined as the objective analysis and
evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement. It began during the times of ancient Greeks.
1.3 Define critical thinking, and explain the critical thinking skills leaders need
Critical thinking is also defined as the persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of
knowledge in the light of evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. It
has four parts
- The elements of thought
- The intellectual standards that applied to the elements of reasoning
- The intellectual traits
Critical thinking involves using justification; recognizing relationships; evaluating the credibility of
sources; looking at reasons or evidence; drawing inferences; identifying alternatives, logical
deductions, sequences, and order; and defending an idea.
Self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective. It requires rigorous standards of
problem solving and a commitment to overcome the inclination to think that we have all of the
answers.
Pathways to error
- Picking the wrong stakeholders by not paying attention to who really cares about the
problem
- Selecting too narrow a set of options by overlooking better, more creative options.
- Phrasing a problem incorrectly by failing to consider at least one technical and one human
variation in stating a problem
- Setting the boundaries of a problem too narrowly by ignoring the system the problem is
embedded in
- Failing to think systematically by ignoring the connection between parts of the problem and
its whole.
1.4 Describe the scientific method used in OB research
Problem stating à reviewing available knowledge à hypotheses forming à collect observations à
hypotheses testing.
1.5 Discuss five types of outcome variables studied in OB
Five broad groups of outcome variables in OB:
- Performance. Productivity (or job performance; performance can be actual performance as
collected in organizational records or it may be rated by supervisors and/or peers) is one of
the most important outcomes in OB. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is considered
to be performance beyond the expectations of a person’s job description (extra role
performance). It predicts employee performance, reward-allocation decisions, and
withdrawal-related criteria.
- Work related attitudes. Job satisfaction is how content an individual is with his/her job,
whether or not they like the job or aspects of it such as the nature of the work or
supervision. Organizational commitment is an employee’s desire to remain a member of an
, organization. One of the strongest predictors of turnover. Employee engagement is defined
as a relatively enduring state of mind referring to the simultaneous investment of personal
energies in the experience or performance of work.
- Employee well-being. Employee well-being is the lack of emotional exhaustion,
psychosomatic health complains, and physical health symptoms. Leaders not doing their job
undermines employee well-being. Besides being passive, giving your employees
inappropriate tasks will affect them negatively.
- Motivation. Extrinsic motivation is based on the rewards from the organization’s pay and
bonusses. Intrinsic motivation relates to the value of the work itself. Prosocial motivation
related to the degree to which employees behave that benefits society.
- Employee withdrawal. Turnover intentions are employees’ thoughts about quitting their
jobs. These intentions might come from job dissatisfaction. Another form is absenteeism.
1.6 Compare the levels of analysis in OB research
Individual behavior in an organization is influenced on three levels;
- Individual level (the most basic level); e.g. personality. Dyad (two-party level, e.g. mentor
and protégé.)
- Team level
- Organizational level (e.g. marines)
- Industry level
1.7 Develop plans for using OB research to improve employee job performance
Understanding behavior in organizations is every manager’s job. Influencing positively is important,
because it, unconsciously, affects your employees.
1.8 Compare and contrast Theory X and Theory Y assumptions
McGregor presents the idea that leader behaviors are influenced by fundamental assumptions and
beliefs about human nature. Theory X assumes that leaders assume that people are basically lazy,
don’t like to work, and avoid responsibility. Theory Y assumes that leaders assume that people are
internally motivated, like to work, and will accept responsibility. Relates to satisfaction but not
necessarily to commitment and performance. Has been criticized as it is too simple and do not
consider the situation leaders and followers find themselves in.
The evidence-based approach is integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available
external clinical evidence from systematic research.
Chapter 2: Understanding Individuals in Organizations
2.1 Define personality, and discuss the role of heredity
Personality is relatively stable over the life course, so managers must not try to change personality
but adapt to it instead. ‘regularities in feelings, thought and action that are characteristic of an
individual’.
In the Minnesota Twin studies, it was found that 50% of the variation in occupational choice is due to
heredity. 40% of the variance in values related to work motivation is due to heredity.
2.2 Discuss the benefits and limitations of using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in organizations
