Module One Organizational Behavior and Sustainable Work Systems

Module One Organizational Behavior and Sustainable Work Systems 1

Learning Objectives After completing this module, you should be able to • 1. Briefly describe what is meant by the terms organization, sustainable work systems, and sustainable development • 2. Define the field of organizational behavior. • 3. Identify and briefly describe the four evolutionary clusters in the development of the organizational behavior field of study. • 4. Briefly describe the systems approach to understanding and effectively managing people in organizations. • 5. Explain the relationship between rationality and irrationality in management. 2

Today’s Agenda 1. Overview of Organizational Behavior ü ü An exercise What is organizational behavior (OB)? What is a sustainable work system? How can understanding OB aid my career? 2. Syllabus and Course Requirements 3. Administrative Issues (i. e. , Good ol’ role call, student information sheets, name tags, picture taking) * Plan to be here through the whole class session 3

Activity 1– 1 Learning From Experience: Defining Organizational Behavior 4

DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1. CAPTURE AN EXPERIENCE THAT ILLUSTATES SOMETHING ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATION 2. EXPERIENCE THAT ILLUSTRATES A DIFFICULT PROBLEM YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED WHILE WORKING 3. CAPTURE AN EXPERIENCE THAT ILLUSTRATES GOOD MANAGEMENT 5

Exercise 1 - 1 Student 1 st Five Minutes 2 nd Five Minutes 3 rd Five Minutes A Teller Observer Listener B Listener Teller Observer C Observer Listener Teller 6

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: A WORKING DEFINITION • ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (OB), BROADLY DEFINED, IS THE UTILIZATION OF THEORY AND METHODS OF MULTIPLE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES (SUCH AS ANTHROPOLOGY, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY) FOR UNDERSTANDING AND INFUENCING THE BEHAVIOR OF PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATIONS • OB IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF STUDY • OB FOCUSES ON THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR IN THE CONTEXT OF WORK AND, AS SUCH, INCLUDES FOUR LEVELS OF BEHAVIOR, INDIVIDUAL, GROUP, INTERGROUP AND ORGANIZATIONAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS 7

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: A WORKING DEFINITION Cont’d • OB COVERS A LARGE VARIETY OF TOPICS, SUCH AS: EXPECTATIONS, PERSONALITY, MOTIVATION, PERCEPTION, COMMUNICATION, LEARNING LEADERSHIP, CONFLICT, CREATIVITY, GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING, GROUP DEVELOPMENT AND DYNAMICS, TEAM EFFECTIVENESS, WORK AND ORGANIZATION DESIGN, ORGANIZATION CULTURE, ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, …. , 8

What is Organizational Behavior? • Organizational behavior is the study of individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting, as well as the nature of the organizations themselves. – Whenever people interact in an organized setting, many factors come into play. Organizational behavior attempts to understand model these factors. • A key question in the field is: How do you get a group of people to work toward a common goal effectively? • More generally, we ask what factors influence how people behave in organized settings? 9

What is Organizational Behavior? • A class about people in the context of work within organizations • An application of social sciences; mainly psychology and sociology • Should provide you with perspectives that can help you be more effective when interacting with people in organizations 10

Welcome to Organizational Behavior • One key recurring theme in this class is… Ø The importance of being proactive—rather than reactive—in shaping your team, your career, and, more generally, your life. Ø Often, we fail to be proactive and then blame our circumstances (e. g. , other people) rather than attributing some responsibility for what happens to us on our own actions. 11

Organizational Behavior: Levels of Analysis Individual Team Organization Environment 12

The Study of Organizational Behavior: A Roadmap (Option 1) The Organizational Behavior Context and Learning Community Managing Individual Processes Managing Interpersonal Processes Managing Organizational Processes 13

The Organizational Behavior Context and Learning Community 1. Organizational Behavior: An Overview 2. Expectations, Learning and Appreciative Inquiry 3. Learning-in. Action Managing Individual Processes 4. A Psychodynamics Perspective of Human Behavior 5. Motivation Managing Interpersonal Processes 8. Leaders and Leaderships 9. Mentoring 11. Work Teams And Effectiveness Managing Organizational Processes 13. Work and Organization Design 14. Creativity and Innovation 7. Communication 12. Team Dynamics and Performance 15. Organizational Culture 17 W. Stress and The Management of Stress 10. Negotiation And Conflict Management 16. Organizational Change, Development and Learning 14 6. Perception

The Study of Organizational Behavior: A Roadmap (Option 2) The Organization al Behavior Context and Learning Community Managing Interpersonal Processes Managing Individual Processess Managing Organizational Processes 15

The Organizational Behavior Context and Learning Community 1. Organizational Behavior: An Overview 2. Expectations, Learning and Appreciative Inquiry 3. Learning-in. Action Managing Interpersonal Processes 8. Leaders and Leaderships 9. Mentoring 11. Work Teams And Effectiveness 12. Team Dynamics and Performance 10. Negotiation And Conflict Management Understanding and Managing Individuals Managing Organizational Processes 4. A Psychodynamics Perspective of Human Behavior 13. Organization and Work Design 5. Motivation 14. Creativity and Innovation 6. Perception 7. Communication 17 W. Stress and the Management of Stress 15. Organizational Culture 16. Organizational Change, Development and Learning 16

The Study of Organizational Behavior: A Roadmap (Option 3) 17

Rationality/Irrationality The world of rationality Logic Purpose Objectivity Reasonableness Practicality The world of less rationality or irrationality Emotions Stress Reactions Creativity “Good common sense” Feelings Needs Conformity forces Impulsiveness Energy Loyalties Groupthink 18

Historical Evolution of Management Thought: A Brief Roadmap Period Prescientific, pre-1880 s Emerging schools of thought • Basic principles for nature and Focus/ society emphasis • The position of authority and order in society • Economic rationale • Division of labor (early development) Scholars • • • Jethro (Moses’s father-in-law) Sun Tzu Socrates, Aristotle Xenophon Machiavelli Adam Smith Classical, 1880 -1930 s • Scientific management • Administrative school • Structuralist school • Basic principles of organizing and managing the most effective firm • The basic functions of managers • Characteristics of “the ideal type of an organization • • Taylor Fayol Gulick Weber 19

Historical Evolution of Management Thought: A Brief Roadmap Neoclassical, 1930 -1960 s Period Modern, 1960 -present Emerging schools of thought • Human relations school • Behavior schools: • Group dynamics • Leadership • Decision making • • • Focus/ emphasis • Organizations are cooperative systems • Informal roles and norms influence individual performance • Work group dynamics influence individual and group performance • Leadership styles affect individual and group behavior • Decision making styles influence performance • Organization is a system composed of subsystems • Organization is an open system composed of social, technological, and environmental subsystems • Use of quantitative methods to solve organization and management issues • Exploration of alternative org’l design configurations and mgr’l actions for changing situations Scholars • • • Berbard Roethlisberger Lewin Mc. Gregor Maslow Systems school Sociotechnical system school Management science school Contingency school Self-Designing school Bertalanffy Katz and Kahn Emery and Trist Thompson Lorsch and Lawrence Galbraith 20

Alternative Course Designs for Using this Text Plan A Complete the activities and readings with classroom discussion Plan B Complete plan “A” and add One Major outside-of-class team task project. Plan C Complete plan “A” and additional team activities/tasks outside-of-class. 21

SUSTAINABLE WORK SYSTEMS: Three Basic Questions 1. 2. 3. What do we want to sustain? What do we mean by sustainability? What do we mean by sustainable development? 22

SUSTAINABLE WORK – TOWARDS A DEFINITION (1) • Sustainability is a complex subject • For many people sustainability translates into being “environmentally friendly” • The term originally applied to natural resource situations, where the long term was the focus. • Today, it applies to many disciplines, including economic development, environment, food production, management, energy, and lifestyle. • Basically, sustainability calls our attention to the fact that today's decisions are made with a consideration of sustaining our activities into the long term future. 23

SUSTAINABLE WORK – TOWARDS A DEFINITION (2) A sustainable work system can be defined as a dynamic work system that enables all people to realize their potential and improve their quality of life while simultaneously regenerate human resources and protect/enhance the environment. 24

1. What do we want to sustain? • This is a choice that organizations need to make. . . • For example, we can decide to sustain the capability that will allow the organization to respond to challenges and opportunities in the context of its business environment… 25

2. What do we mean by sustainability? • Following the decision of what to sustain, an articulation of what is meant by sustainability is needed. . • For example, if the objective is sustaining capability to respond to challenges and opportunities, sustainability will mean developing the mechanisms (structures, processes and resources) that center on adaptable capability. . 26

3. What do we mean by sustainable development? • This question focuses on two elements: – the change process, namely, how does the organization becomes “a sustainable organization”? – what are some of the mechanisms (structures and processes) that will facilitate continuous change 27

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF WORK AND ORGANIZATION • Sustainability is an important concept at the individual, team, organizational and societal levels. – At the individual and team levels, sustainability can mean possibilities for renewal, development, gaining new skills and knowledge and quality of working life – At the organizational level, sustainability can mean potential for long-term economic success – sustaining competitive advantage, developing adaptive capacity for future challenges, sustaining innovation and creativity 28

The meaning (and nature) of sustainability at work (1) • Sustainability can be designed and managed in many ways • Sustainability is about choices in regards to degrees of collaboration • Sustainability is about action-reflection cycles 29

The meaning (and nature) of sustainability at work (2) • Sustainability requires – Developing an alternative way of thinking and acting in the context of work (the development of new paradigm) – Developing a clear Strategic Vision and alignment of the business strategy with the appropriate organizational design configurations – Creating new spaces for dialogue and collaborative inquiry – Focusing on the quality of relationships (partnership) between actors – Balancing between • Conflicting demands, goals and visions • Economic performance, social well being, organizational prosperity and environmental protection • Knowledge creation and problem solving 30

Sustainability at Work: Emerging Direction for Future Research Emerging research directions connects sustainability at work to the following themes: – Developing new organizational capabilities • i. e. , Mohrman at el, 2006 – Developing sustainable leaders • i. e. , Boyatzis at el, 2006 – Developing continuous innovation – Developing learning mechanisms – Developing holistic and on going planned change orientation • i. e. , Beer at el, 2006; Stebbins at el 31

DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE LEADERS • Leadership requires the exercise of influence or power • Leaders are under a steady flow of stress related to the exercise of power and its responsibility • For leaders to sustain themselves, the human response to stress must be ameliorated. • To sustain their effectiveness leaders should emphasize coaching (with compassion) as a key part of their role and behavioral habits (Boyatzis et al, 2006) 32