Introduction to Organizational Behavior

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Introduction to Organizational Behavior

• January 11, 2014
• Robbins, chapter 1

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Announcements

• Chapters 1 and 2 tonight
• Begin chapter 3 and 4 on Tuesday
• First article review will be on Tuesday
• Shannon McNamara
• Articles reviews for Thursday, June 1
• Luke Kline
• Timothy Wheeler
• Jun Li
• Nadia Wendlandt
• Any News?

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What is Organizational Behavior?

• Systematic study of the actions and attitudes
  that people exhibit within organizations

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What is the Goal?

• The field of OB seeks to replace intuitive
  explanations with systematic study

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What is an Organization?

1. Consciously coordinated social unit
2. Composed of two or more people
3. Functions on a continuous basis to achieve a
   common goal
4. Characterized by formal roles that define the
   behavior of its members

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Contributing Disciplines
Sociology studies people in relation to their
fellow human beings
Psychology seeks to measure,explain, and change
behavior
Social psychologyfocuses on the influence of
peopleon one another
Political science is the study of the behavior
of individuals and groups within a political
environment
Anthropology is the study of societies to learn
about human beings and their activities
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Goals of Organizational Behavior

• Explain, predict, and control human behavior

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Challenges Facing Organizations

1. Globalization
2. Changing nature of competition
3. Demographic changes and diversity
4. Lack of interpersonal (people) skills
5. Changing nature of competitive advantage,
   including innovation

1. Managing change
2. Changes in the employee employer relationship,
   including declining loyalty
3. Increase in the number and severity of work/life
   conflicts
4. Importance of ethics