E-Book Greenberg (061-062)

60 PART 1 • INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
States. For example, various employees of the New York State government have enjoyed having
professional careers, but with hours that make it possible for them to also meet their family obli-
gations. Not only does the state benefit from the money saved, but the employees also enjoy the
extra time they gain for nonwork pursuits.
Summary and Review of Learning Objectives

1. Define the concepts of organization and organizational behavior.
An organization is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working
together to meet some agreed-upon objectives. Organizational behavior is the field that
seeks knowledge of behavior in organizational settings by systematically studying individ-
ual, group, and organizational processes.
2. Describe the field of organizational behavior’s commitment to the scientific method
and the three levels of analysis it uses.
The field of OB seeks to develop a base of knowledge about behavior in organizations by
using an empirical, research-based approach. As such, it is based on systematic observation
and measurement of the behavior or phenomenon of interest. The field of OB uses three
levels of analysis—individuals, work groups, and entire organizations—all relying on the
scientific method.
3. Trace the historical developments and schools of thought leading up to the field of
organizational behavior today.
The earliest approaches to organizational behavior relied on scientific management, an
approach that essentially treated people like machines, emphasizing what it took to get the
most out of them. For example, this approach relied on time-and-motion study, a type of
applied research designed to find the most efficient way for people to perform their jobs. As
this approach grew unpopular, it was supplanted by the human relations movement, which
emphasized the importance of noneconomic, social forces in the workplace—an approach
that remains popular to this day. Such factors were demonstrated in the Hawthorne studies,
the first large-scale research project conducted in a work organization that demonstrated
the importance of social forces in determining productivity. In contrast with scientific man-
agement’s orientation toward organizing the work of individuals, proponents of classical
organizational theory developed ways of efficiently structuring the way work is done.
Weber’s concept of bureaucracy is a prime example of this approach. Contemporary OB is
characterized not by one best approach to management, but by systematic scientific
research inspired from several social science disciplines. It takes a contingency approach to
OB, recognizing that behavior may be influenced by a variety of different forces at once,
thereby rejecting the idea that there is any single most effective approach to managing
behavior in organizations.
4. Identify the fundamental assumptions of the field of organizational behavior.
The field of OB assumes: (1) that organizations can be made more productive while also
improving the quality of people’s work life, (2) that there is no one best approach to studying
behavior in organizations, and (3) that organizations are dynamic and ever-changing.
5. Describe how the field of organizational behavior today is being shaped by the global econ-
omy, increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce, and advances in technology.
The world’s economy is becoming increasingly global, a trend that is affecting the field of OB
in several distinct ways. For example, organizations are expanding overseas, requiring people to
live and work in different countries, requiring considerable adjustment. As this occurs, much of
what we thought we knew about managing people is proven to be limited by the culture in
which that knowledge was developed (U.S. culture, in most cases). Racial and ethnic diversity
in the workplace is in large part the result of shifting patterns of immigration that have brought
more foreign nationals into the workforce. It also is the result of changes in social values and the
economy that have made the presence of women common in today’s workplace. Also, thanks to
modern medicine, people are living longer, hence retiring from work later than ever before.
Because technology has made it possible for fewer people to do more work, many organizations
CHAPTER 1 • THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 61
have been growing smaller, downsizing. Furthermore, as technology becomes increasingly spe-
cialized, organizations have found it useful to hire other companies to do nonessential aspects of
their operations that they once performed themselves—a process known as outsourcing.
6. Explain how people’s changing expectations about the desire to be engaged in their work
and the need for flexibility in work have influenced the field of organizational behavior.
Both employers and employees benefit when they are highly engaged with one another—
that is, when they are highly committed to satisfying one another’s interests. This drives
organizations to follow various OB practices so as to avoid the extremely high costs of hav-
ing actively disengaged workers. Today’s employees also desire to have a high degree of
flexibility in their work arrangements. This takes several forms: using idiosyncratic work
arrangements, offering flexible hours, relying on contingent workers, using compressed
workweeks, job sharing, and voluntary reduced work time programs.
Points to Ponder
Questions for Review engaged employee, a not-engaged employee, or an
1. How can the field of organizational behavior con- actively disengaged employee. How did you respond
tribute to both the effective functioning of organiza- as a result?
tions and to the well-being of individuals? Are these Questions to Analyze
goals inconsistent? Why or why not?
1. Although only some people in an organization need to
2. What is the “contingency approach,” and why is it so
know about marketing or accounting or production,
popular in the field of OB today?
almost everyone benefits by knowing about organiza-
3. Explain how the field of organizational behavior
tional behavior. Do you agree with this statement? If
stands to benefit by taking a global perspective. What
not, why not? If so, exactly how can knowing OB help
would you say are the major challenges associated
you in your own work?
with such a perspective?
2. The practice of engineering is constantly evolving,
4. How has the growing quest for quality products and
but the basic rules of physics on which it rests remain
services affected your own work?
relatively unchanged. Do you think the same relation-
Experiential Questions ship exists between technology and OB? In other
1. Think about a person with whom you may have worked words, do the things that have made organizations
who happens to be very different from you, such as and individuals successful in yesterday’s low-tech era
someone of the opposite sex who also is a member of remain relevant today, or are they changing along
a different racial group and/or from a different country. with technology?
In what ways was this experience challenging for you? In 3. Although many employees enjoy the flexibility of
what ways did these differences prove to be beneficial? working lots of part-time jobs or working for a series
What insight do you believe the field of OB can give you of employees on a temporary basis, it comes at a cost:
with respect to this experience? Such employees often make low wages, have little
2. How have your own life and the lives of your family security, and cannot count on having fringe benefits.
members changed because of flexible new working How do you think this trend affects organizations?
arrangements that have become popular in recent years? How are companies helped and how are they harmed
3. Describe some ways in which you may have been by this trend? Do you think this trend has any adverse
treated by your boss that helped you become an effects on a company’s products?
Experiencing OB
Individual Exercise
How Much Do You Really Know About OB?
Because we’ve all done some kind of work and know other people who also work, it’s not sur-
prising that we assume various things about how people behave on the job. After all, it’s some-
thing we experience all the time. However, the things we may believe to be true about behavior
in organizations based on common sense or experience may be inconsistent with established

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60 PART 1 • INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Summary and Review of Learning Objectives

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