Learning Outcomes

 Define organizational behavior

 Explain some of the differences in
organizations
 Understand the need for
systematic study of organizational
behavior
 Describe an organization
 Recognize OB depends on
contingencies
Copyright 2006, Vandeveer,
Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 1
 What is Organizational Behavior?
 Organizational Behavior is the study
of human behavior in the workplace,
the interaction between people and
the organization with the intent to
understand and predict human
behavior.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 2
 Why Study
Organizational Behavior?
 Success isn’t a destination – it’s a process. And the
margin between successes is often small. Learn the
principles of defining and achieving success in your
own life and begin the journey today.
 This journey begins with understanding the behaviors
between the leader, the followers, and the
organization.
 This is also a leadership course of study. To be
successful leader, one needs to understand the
behaviors of people, organizations, and the situation.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 3
 Organizational Behavior
 Is organizational behavior really just common sense ?

When employees are happy workers are more productive . (T/F)
 Friendly, trusting, and approachable bosses can motivate their workers.
(T/F)
 Leaders who exhibit a stable behavior, regardless of the situations faced,
make the best leaders. (T/F)
 Experiences have shown us that interviews where the interviewer leads with
“tell me about yourself” are very effective selection methods. (T/F)
 A challenging job appeals to everyone. (T/F)

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 4
 Organizational Behavior
 When people feel a little intimidated, they will work harder and do
their best. T/F
 Nonspecific goals allowing individuals to work at their own pace will
motivate individuals to work harder. T/F
 Money is a motivator for all employees. T/F
 Most people are much more concerned about their own salaries
than they are about the salaries of others. T/F
 Conflict has a negative effect on work group effectiveness. T/F

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 5
 Organizational Behavior
 Does organizational behavior (OB)
require a systematic study ?
 Many people think OB is just common
sense.
 Some would add OB is just intuition.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 6
 Intuition versus Common Sense
Common Sense Defined
The unreflective opinion of ordinary men and
women, unsophisticated judgment.

Intuition Defined
A feeling not necessarily supported by
research.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 7
 Organizational Behavior
 Does organizational behavior (OB)
require a systematic study?
 The answer is YES!!!

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 8
Consistency vs. Individual Differences

 Systematic Study
 Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute
causes and effects and drawing conclusions
based on scientific evidence.
 Behavior is generally predictable.

 There are differences between individuals.

 There are fundamental consistencies.

 There are rules (written & unwritten) in

almost every setting.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 9
 What is an Organization?
 This behavior occurs in
organizations.
 Organizations are simply groups
with two or more people that share
a certain set of goals and meet at
regular times.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 10
 Looking at the Big Picture
 The number one reason for failure
among executives of Fortune 500
companies is poor interpersonal skills.
In short, they don’t have a command
of the needed people skills and, as a
result, they come across as not really
caring about their people.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 11
 Organizations and OB
 What is changing that requires a more
systematic study?
 Organizations
 Diversity
 Global competition
 Technology’s influence on behavior
 Society – social changes
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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 12
 Looking at the Big Picture
 With strong interpersonal skills
through a study in organizational
behavior, we can begin to predict
how others will behave in a given
situation. What a valuable
leadership skill to have!

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 13
 Organizational Behavior
 Human behavior depends on
contingencies.
 Behavior can be predicted, but you
have to understand the circumstances.
 Understanding circumstances and
predicting behavior require a systematic
study.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 14
 Developing an OB Model

 Dependent variables
 Productivity
 Absenteeism
 Turnover
 Job Satisfaction

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 15
 Developing an OB Model
 Independent variables
 Individual-level variables (Chapters 1-6)
 Group-level variables (Chapters 7-13)
 Organizational systems-level variables
(Chapters 14-21)

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 16
 Basic OB Model
 Independent Variables  Dependent Variables

Organizational Level PRODUCTIVITY

Group Level ABSENTEESIM

TURNOVER
Individual Level
JOB SATISFACTION

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 17
 Summary

 Behavior can be predicted, but you

have to understand the
circumstances.

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Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 18
 Summary
 Organizations come in many shapes
and sizes – we need to study these.
 Behavior of organizations, groups, and
individuals, if studied, is predictable.
 To study Organizational Behavior, one
needs to move from an intuition and
common sense approach to a
systematic study.
Copyright 2006, Vandeveer,
Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 19
 Looking Forward – Chapter 2
 Personality, ability and learning
start our journey.
 Read it, work the self-assessments
and begin the discovery of your
own behaviors.
 Questions?
 Have a great day. . .
Copyright 2006, Vandeveer,
Chapter 1 Menefee, Sinclair 20