ABDM 2073 Organisational

Behaviour
Ms Joanne Yim
Heads Office
Ground Floor, Block A
1

Briefing of Course Plan

Take note: CWK to be given to you in week 2
during tutorial. (only 1 CWK but with presentation)
Assessment 50% Course work AND 50% Final
Written Examinations at the end of Semester.
SECTION A --- 10 MCQ
SECTION B --- 4 QUESTIONS, CHOOSE & ANSWER 3
Text book - Organizational Behavior by Stephen P
Robbins and Timothy Judge (15th edition).
2

Organisational Behaviour
field of study that
investigates the impact that
A

individuals, groups, and

structure have on behaviour
within organisations, for the
purpose of applying such
knowledge toward improving

an organisations
effectiveness.
1-3

Approaches to Organisational
Behaviour
1.
Intuition

2.
Systemati
c Study

Gut feelings/ Own judgement through

observation
Not supported by research
Sometimes may not be accurate

Try to predicts behaviours and make

conclusions based on research and
scientific evidence
Look at relationships between
independent and dependent variables
Can be time consuming

e two are complementary means of predicting behavi

1-4

Approaches to Organisational
Behaviour
3. Evidence-Based Management (EBM)
- Basing managerial decisions on the best available
scientific evidence

Pose a
manageri
al
question
1-5

Search for
best
available
evidence

Apply
relevant
informati
on to
case

Note: Managers Should Use

All Three Approaches

Contributing Disciplines
Many behavioural sciences have
contributed to the development of
Organisational Behaviour. These
disciplines include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Psychology
Social Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
Political Science

See E X H I B I T 13 for details

See E X H I B I T 13 for details

1-6

Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and
sometimes change the behaviour of humans and
other animals.
Unit of Analysis:

Individual
Contributions to OB:
Motivation, attitude, personality, emotions, perception
Training, leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction
Individual decision making, performance appraisal
measurement
Employee selection, work design, and work stress
1-7

Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from
psychology and sociology and that focuses on the
influence of people on one another.
Unit of Analysis:

Group
Contributions to OB:
Behavioural change
Attitude change
Communication
Group processes
Group decision making
1-8

Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human
beings. Sociologists study the social system in which
individuals
Unit of Analysis:
fill their roles

Organisational System,
Group
--

Contributions to OB:

Group dynamics
Work teams
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup Behaviour

1-9

Formal organisation
theory
organisational
technology
organisational change
organisational culture

Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and
their activities.
Unit of Analysis:

Organisational System,
Group
--

Contributions to OB:
organisational culture
organisational
environment

1-10

Comparative values
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis

Political Science
The study of the behaviour of individuals and groups within a
political environment
Unit of Analysis:
Organisational System
Study areas: structuring of conflicts, allocations of
power, how people manipulate power for individual
self-interest

11

Contributing Disciplines

12

Developing an OB Model
A model is an abstraction of reality a
simplified representation of some real-world
phenomenon.
Our OB model has three levels of analysis
Each level is constructed on the previous
Group concepts grow out
level
of the foundation laid in
the individual section in
order to arrive at the
organisational level.

1-13

3 Levels of Organisation
1. The first level of analysis we
will look at is the individual
level. At this level we look
at individual behavior.
2. Next, recognizing that
individuals make up groups,
we analyse how group
behavior occurs.
3. Finally, organizations are
made up of groups of
individuals so we analyze
the organization at a
systems level.

1-14

Personality
Age
Motivation
Attitudes
Job Satisfaction
1-15

Group Cohesion
Group Functioning
Diversity of Work
Force

1-16

Productivity
Profitability
Good service
Organisation
Citizenship
Behaviour
1-17

Types of Study Variables

Independent Variable (X)
The factors which can
influence the dependent
variable (Y).
This is the variable that
OB researchers
manipulate to observe
the changes in Y.

Dependent Variable (Y)

The key factors that you
want to explain or predict
and that are affected by
some other factor.
The variable of interest,
the outcome that OB
study is interested in.

Examples of independent variables that can influence types of

dependent variables
Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Worker attitude

Absenteeism

Leadership

Turnover

Employee skill level

Productivity

1-18

The Independent Variables

The independent variable (X) can be at
any of these three levels in this model:
Individual
Biographical characteristics, personality and
emotions, values and attitudes, ability,
perception, motivation, individual learning,
and individual decision making
Eg, Workers attitude that is lazy and always
take sick leave may influence ___________.
1-19

The Independent Variables

Group
Communication, group decision making, leadership and
trust, group structure, conflict, power and politics, and
work teams
Eg, Conflict and misunderstandings in a team will
influence ____________

Organisation System
organisational culture, human resource policies and
practices, and organisational structure and design
organisational structure that is highly centralized (ie,
decisions made by only one person) may influence _______

1-20

Dependent Variables in OB
1. Productivity
Transforming inputs to outputs at lowest cost.
Includes the concepts of effectiveness
(achievement of goals) and efficiency
(meeting goals at a low cost).

2. Absenteeism
Failure to report to work a huge cost to
employers.

3. Turnover
Voluntary and involuntary permanent
withdrawal from an organisation.

4. Deviant Workplace Behaviour

Voluntary Behaviour that violates significant
organisational
1-21norms and thereby threatens

Dependent Variables in OB
5. Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)
Discretionary Behaviour that is not part of an
employees formal job requirements, but that
nevertheless promotes the effective functioning
of the organisation.

6. Job Satisfaction
A general attitude toward ones job; a positive
feeling of one's job resulting from an evaluation
of the job.

1-22

There are few absolutes truth) in OB

Situational factors that make the main relationship
between two variables changee.g., the relationship
may hold for one condition but not another.

1-23

24

Recap of p
revious lectureS
Organization Behavior (OB) is a field of
study that examine the impact of
individuals, group and structure have
on organization, and using these
knowledge in improving organizations
effectiveness.
There are 3 approaches to examining OB:
1.Intuition
2.Systematic study
3.Evidence Based Management
Copyright 2011 Pearson
Education, Inc. publishing as
Prentice Hall

14-25

Recap of previous lecture

There are 5 areas of studies which
contribute to OB
1.Psychology
2.Sociology
3.Social Psychology
4.Anthropology
5.Political Science
The OB model consists of 3 levels of
analysis:
6.Individual level
7.Group level
8.OrganizationalCopyright
level 2011 Pearson
Education, Inc. publishing as
Prentice Hall

14-26

Recap of previous lecture

There are 6 variables which OB is interested in:
Productivity, Absenteeism, Turnover, Deviant
Workplace Behavior, Organizational Citizenship
Behavior (OCB), Job satisfaction
Managers get things done through other people,
and interpersonal skills is very important to
them.
Fayol management functions Planning,
organizing, leading, controlling

Copyright 2011 Pearson

Education, Inc. publishing as
Prentice Hall

14-27

Recap of previous lecture

Mintzberg managerial roles Interpersonal
(Figurehead, Leader, Liaison), Informational
(Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson),
Decisional (Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler,
Resource allocator, Negotiotor)
Katz management skills Technical skills,
Human skills, Conceptual skills
Luthans managerial activities successful
managers and effective managers
Challenges and opportunities for OB
Copyright 2011 Pearson
Education, Inc. publishing as
Prentice Hall

14-28

Challenges and Opportunities for OB

Responding to Economic Pressures

Responding to Globalization
Managing Workforce Diversity
Improving Quality and Productivity
Improving Customer Service
Improving People Skills
Stimulating Innovation and Change
Coping with Temporariness
Working in Networked Organizations
Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts
Creating a Positive Work Environment
Improving Ethical Behaviour
1-29

OB Model

Three Levels

Dependent
Variables
(Y)

Independent
Variables
(X)