chapter 1 what is organizational...

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-1

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR?

CHAPTER OUTLINE Defining Organizational Behaviour

OB Is for Everyone The Importance of Interpersonal Skills What Do We Mean by Organization?

OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations The Building Blocks of OB The Rigour of OB

OB Looks at Consistencies OB Looks Beyond Common Sense OB Has Few Absolutes OB Takes a Contingency Approach

How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference? In the Workplace For You as an Individual

What if I'm "Just" a Student? What if I'm Not Going to Work in a Large Organization? What if I Do Not Want to Be a Manager?

Today's Challenges in the Canadian Workplace Challenges at the Individual Level

Individual Differences Job Satisfaction Motivation Empowerment Behaving Ethically

Challenges at the Group Level Working with Others Workforce Diversity

Challenges at the Organizational Level Improving Customer Service Stimulating Innovation and Change The Use of Temporary (Contingent) Employees Improving Quality and Productivity Developing Effective Employees Helping Employees with Work–Life Balance Creating a Positive Work Environment Responding to Globalization

OB in Summary Summary and Implications OB at Work



LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. What is organizational behaviour? 2. Isn't organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? 3. How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable? 4. What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?

CHAPTER SYNOPSIS This chapter demonstrates the practical value of OB concepts, defines the field, and identifies current topics in OB. The chapter begins by citing evidence that the Canadian workplace of the twenty-first century requires individuals who will take on more responsibility and who also want more out of their jobs. The chapter also cites evidence showing that managing well makes a difference. The authors discuss how the systematic study of OB uses scientific evidence to attribute causes and effects. OB studies individuals, groups, and structure to understand human behaviour and its link to organizational effectiveness. Topics such as workforce diversity, empowerment, and developing effective employees are introduced. The chapter also includes an overview of the contingency approach to OB. STUDY QUESTIONS It is impossible to cover all the material contained in the chapter during one or two lectures. To deal with this problem, I present my students with a list of study questions to indicate what material they will be responsible for on exams. I tell them that they will be responsible for these, even if the material is not covered in class. I have found that this reduces anxiety overall, and I find it helps to make students aware that not everything in a chapter is required material. I realize instructors vary in their approach, so this is simply my approach. My study questions for this chapter are as follows:

What is OB? What are the challenges for OB in the twenty-first century? How does OB make sense of behaviour? What does it mean to say that OB takes a contingency approach? Skills for the new workplace What is the "Competing Values Framework"? What kinds of skills does the Competing Values Framework suggest are useful for individuals to

have? How do these skills link to the activities and needs of today's organizations?

SUGGESTED TEACHING PLAN I spend two days covering this material. On the opening day of class, I mainly take the students through the syllabus, outlining topics, expectations, and test (and other important) dates. I introduce them to the basics of OB. I then ask the students to form groups of about six. These small groups are instructed to develop interview questions that they will then pose to me. After giving the students 15 minutes to develop their questions, the interviews begin. Each group asks one question, and when all of the groups have asked one question, round two begins. Students are told that they may ask any and all questions about anything, and I will try



to answer. We continue the rounds until the questions run out. The students ask a mixture of course-related and "personal" questions, though they have always been respectful. I like the exercise because it signals openness at the very start of the term. I remind them the next day that no one fainted when they asked questions, so they should continue to participate in class. On the second day of class, I continue with the introduction to OB material, emphasizing the Competing Values Framework, which is covered in From Concepts to Skills at the end of the chapter. Half of my class time would be devoted to doing the two exercises (Learning about Yourself and Working with Others) to help students understand the Competing Values Framework. I do this to highlight the importance of acquiring interpersonal skills to be a successful employee. Our course has a defined interpersonal skills component to it, thus the emphasis at the beginning of the course on why these skills are important. The video "Foundations of Control at TerraCycle" can be used to illustrate the challenges that young people face when they create their own organizations. Be sure to examine "Exploring Topics on the Web" in the supplemental section following this chapter’s notes for possible additional ideas to cover in class or assign for homework. ANNOTATED LECTURE OUTLINE A. Defining Organizational Behaviour – Organizational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations; its purpose is to apply such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

– OB is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how that behaviour affects the performance of the organization.

Teaching Tip: Spend some time with the students trying to explain why studying this material is important to them. I do this by reminding them they will be working in groups during the term and that they will learn a variety of concepts that will help them deal with group issues. I also remind them that almost everything they do—school, church, work, volunteer activities—gives them opportunities to see OB in action. 1. OB Is for Everyone As employees are asked to move beyond their traditional function of

providing labour and play a more proactive role in achieving organizational success, the roles of managers and employees are becoming blurred in many organizations.

Managers are increasingly asking employees to share in their decision-making processes rather than simply follow orders. Therefore, organizational behaviour is not just for employees or managers.

OB applies equally well to all situations in which you interact with others: on the basketball court, at the grocery store, in school, or in church.

Notes:



Teaching Tip: This text emphasizes in all kinds of ways that OB is not just for managers but for everyone. I take this approach because I once asked my second-year OB students on the first day of class how many wanted to be managers "when they grew up.” Few raised their hands. All of a sudden I realized that the reason their eyes glazed over every time I explained something as "when you're a manager you're going to want to...” was that they never pictured themselves as managers. Instead, I frame the material in terms of things like “when you're working with team members,” or “while working at your job, these are things that are helpful because they will make you a more skilled and informed group member or employee.” 2. The Importance of Interpersonal Skills In today’s increasingly competitive and demanding workplace, individuals

need to have good people skills as technical skills alone do not guarantee organizational effectiveness. Managers may get by on their technical skills for a while, but leadership and communication skills affect career success.

Organizations that invest in the development of employees’ interpersonal skills are more likely to attract and keep high performers. Social relationships among co-workers and supervisors are strongly related to overall job satisfaction.

Succeeding in the workplace takes good people skills. Teaching Tip: To learn more about the kinds of skills needed in the workplace, students can complete the Working with Others Exercise on page 26. Students can also use the Learning about Yourself Exercise on page 25 to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of their own people skills. 3. What Do We Mean by Organization? – A consciously coordinated social unit composed of a group of people, which

functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

Manufacturing and service firms are organizations, and so are schools, hospitals, churches, military units, retail stores, police departments, volunteer organizations, start-ups, and municipal, provincial, and federal government agencies.

Organizations can be located in the public sector or the private sector, they can be unionized or not, they can be publicly traded or they can be privately held.

If organizations are publicly traded, senior managers typically are responsible to a board of directors, which may or may not take an active role in the how the firm is run.

Firms can also operate in the for-profit or the non-profit sector.

If the firm is privately held, it may be run by the owners, or managers who report to the owners.



The examples in this textbook present various types of firms, small or large, and for the most part OB topics apply across the broad spectrum of organizations.

Teaching Tip: The main point you want to make here is that when students think of organizations, they're often thinking of large organizations. But the material applies to organizations of any size, and most people work in small organizations. B. OB: Making Sense of Behaviour in Organizations 1. The Building Blocks of OB A variety of disciplines have contributed to the study of OB.

(See Exhibit 1-1 Toward an OB Discipline).

Psychology

Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behaviour of humans and other animals. Psychologists concern themselves with studying and attempting to understand individual behaviour.

Social Psychology

Social psychology is an area within psychology, but it blends concepts from psychology and sociology. It focuses on the influence of people on one another.

Sociology

Psychologists focus on the individual, whereas sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles. That is, sociology studies people in relation to other human beings.

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Anthropologists’ work on cultures and environments, for instance, has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between people in different countries and within different organizations.

2. The Rigour of OB OB Looks at Consistencies

There are differences among individuals. Placed in similar situations, all people don’t act exactly alike. However, there are certain fundamental consistencies underlying the behaviour of all individuals that can be identified and then modified to reflect individual differences.

Behaviour is predictable, and the systematic study of behaviour is a means to making reasonably accurate predictions.



OB Looks Beyond Common Sense

(See Exhibit 1-2 Research Methods in OB)

Systematic study, based on scientific evidence, can improve predictability of behaviour.

OB looks at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence. This means data are gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner, rather than relying on common sense.

Evidence-based management (EBM) complements systematic study by basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence.

People often rely on intuition and overestimate the accuracy of analyzing behaviour. Adding systematic study and EBM to intuition improves predictability of behaviour.

Teaching Tip: To illustrate the point about common sense, you may want to have students take the "How Much Do You Know about Human Behaviour?" quiz at the end of this supplemental material. Alternatively, this would also be a good place to get students' views on questions such as the following: (1) Are happy workers always productive workers? (2) Are individuals always more productive when their boss is a real "people person"? (3) Does everyone want a challenging job? Then you can tell them that, in fact, the research is not definitive and that the answer is closer to "it depends." You want to emphasize that rather than this making OB a weaker field, its emphasis on uncovering when the material applies strengthens its predictions. You might also want to introduce the Point/Counterpoint discussion at this point, which looks at whether OB is a "quick fix" or a discipline of rigorous investigation. OB Has Few Absolutes

There are few simple and universal principles that explain organizational behaviour.

Human beings are very complex. They are not alike, which limits the ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations.

Teaching Tip: Students can be uncomfortable with the notion that there are few absolutes. You might remind them that this is true of most aspects of life. If they had siblings, did the parents treat each child exactly the same, or was there some adjustment due to situation, age, personality, etc. This is no different, really, than what is suggested when OB researchers note that the context is an important variable. OB Takes a Contingency Approach

OB considers behaviour in the context in which it occurs.

OB concepts must reflect situational or contingency conditions, and hence predictions about human behaviour are at best probabilistic, not absolute.



– That is, X is likely to lead to Y, but only under conditions specified in

Z (the contingency variables).

The Point/Counterpoint debates at the end of each chapter underscore the fact that there is significant disagreement about many of the concepts in this developing field.

C. How Will Knowing OB Make a Difference? 1. In the Workplace From a management point of view, knowing organizational behaviour can

help you manage well. The evidence indicates that managing people well makes for better corporations overall.

At Report on Business magazine's best companies to work for, turnover is low and employees want to stay with their firms, even when they are offered higher-paying jobs by other companies. Employees at the 50 best places to work don't mention money. Instead, they note that the company recognizes their performance in other ways that make the difference.

Managing people well leads to greater organizational commitment. Organizational commitment refers to an employee's emotional attachment to the organization, resulting in identification and involvement with the organization.

This type of commitment is often called affective commitment and represents the attitude of managers and employees who go beyond expected behaviour to provide extra service, extra insight, or whatever else is needed to get the job done.

2. For You as an Individual What if I'm Just a Student?

The concepts of OB apply to teamwork, something faced by all students. It's helpful to understand how personality will affect group processes, and students may want to motivate team members.

What if I'm Not Going to Work in a Large Organization?

Throughout your life you will work with a variety of organizations, and OB will help you better understand how those organizations function.

Teaching Tip: The main point you want to make here is that when students think of organizations, they're often thinking of large organizations. But the material applies to organizations of any size, and most people work in small organizations. What if I Do Not Want to Be a Manager?

To some extent, in today’s organizations the roles of managers and employees are becoming blurred and employees are asked to take on more responsibility related to their work.



While self-employed individuals often do not act as managers, they certainly interact with other individuals and organizations as part of their work.

Teaching Tip: To illustrate the point about the importance of organizational behaviour, have students reflect on situations in organizations that puzzled them (people acting irrationally, managers screaming at employees, etc. Have them think of positive experiences as well.) How might they explain this? Is it clear to them that not all people really know how to behave appropriately with others? You could also ask them to reflect on team experiences, which will be covered more extensively later in the term. What problems did they have? What skills did they wish they had that might have made things better? D. Today's Challenges in the Canadian Workplace Organizations are made up of levels from the individual to the group to the

entire organizational structure. Each level builds from the previous level, and each has challenges that can affect how the other levels might operate.

(See Exhibit 1-3 Basic OB Model)

1. Challenges at the Individual Level Individual Differences

People in workplaces differ according to personality characteristics, perception, values, and attitudes. All of these have an impact on behaviour.

Job Satisfaction

Employees increasingly demand job satisfaction from the work they do.

The belief that satisfied employees are more productive than dissatisfied employees is a basic assumption among managers.

Job satisfaction is also of concern because it is directly related to absenteeism and turnover, which cost organizations considerable amounts of money annually.

Motivation

In a recent survey, 22 percent of Canadian employees expressed decreased loyalty to their companies. Employers are facing a demotivated workforce.

Rewarding employees is important in overall motivation of workers. Employees often feel that they do not feel they receive fair or reasonable rewards for the work they do.

Teaching Tip: This could be a good place to introduce the Case Incident: How a UPS Manager Cut Turnover on page 27.



Empowerment

Empowerment means managers are giving employees more responsibility for what they do. Employees are becoming associates or teammates.

The roles for both managers and employees are changing, often without much guidance on how to perform these new roles.

Managers are having to learn how to give up control, and employees are having to learn how to take responsibility for their work and make appropriate decisions.

Behaving Ethically

In an organizational world characterized by cutbacks, expectations of increasing worker productivity, and tough competition in the marketplace, it is not surprising that many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and engage in other forms of questionable practices.

Employees face ethical dilemmas and ethical choices where they have to identify right and wrong conduct.

Ethics is the study of moral values or principles that guide behaviour, and it informs us whether actions are right or wrong. Ethical principles help us “do the right thing.”

Teaching Tip: Students can analyze aspects of ethics in the Ethical Dilemma Exercise on page 26. 2. Challenges at the Group Level Few people work entirely alone and more and more organizations are using

teams to accomplish work. Most individuals interact with others during the course of their work.

Working with Others

Success in any job involves developing good interpersonal or people skills.

Key skills in a high-quality workforce include the ability to communicate, work with others, and participate in projects and tasks. Team building and priority management are considered to be additional important skills.

Teaching Tip: To learn more about the interpersonal skills needed in today’s workplace, introduce From Concepts to Skills on page 28. Workforce Diversity

The workplace is made up of people from a variety of different backgrounds; men and women, racial and ethnic groups, variety of ages and abilities. Learning how to work with people from different backgrounds has become more important.

The mix of generations in the workplace creates challenges because of different life experiences, values, and expectations. To work effectively



with different people you need to understand their background and learn to adapt your interaction style.

People do not set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when they come to work. The challenge to employers is to understand how diversity affects the workplace.

3. Challenges at the Organizational Level Canadian businesses face many challenges in the twenty-first century. The

need to develop effective, committed employees is critical because businesses face wider competition due to the global economy.

Improving Customer Service

Many organizations have failed because their employees failed to please customers. The challenge for managers is to create a customer-responsive culture.

OB can provide guidance in creating cultures where employees are friendly and courteous, accessible, knowledgeable, prompt in responding to customer needs, and willing to do what is necessary to please the customer.

Stimulating Innovation and Change

Today’s successful organization must maintain flexibility, continually improve quality, and beat their competition in the marketplace with innovative products and services.

The challenge for managers is to stimulate employees’ creativity and tolerance for change.

The Use of Contemporary (Contingent) Employees

Downsizing has eliminated millions of “permanent” jobs, and the number of openings for nonpermanent workers has increased.

Because contingent employees lack the security and stability that permanent employees have, they don’t always identify with the organization or display the commitment of other employees.

Improving Quality and Productivity

Increased competition is forcing managers to reduce costs, enhance the quality of their products and services, and improve productivity.

An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by transferring inputs (labour and raw materials) to outputs (finished goods or services) at the lowest cost.

Productivity: A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency

Effectiveness: Achievement of goals

Efficiency: The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.



Developing Effective Employees

One of the major challenges facing organizations in the twenty-first century is how to manage their human resources effectively. The issues include absenteeism and turnover, which add to loss of productivity and increasing costs for organizations.

Successful organizations need employees who will go beyond their usual job duties, providing performance that is beyond expectations through organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB).

Organizational citizenship behaviour is discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but which is helpful to the organization.

Examples of OCB include making constructive statements about the organization, helping others on their team, volunteering for extra job activities, avoiding unnecessary conflicts, showing care for organizational property, etc.

Teaching Tip: This could be a good place to remind students of the Case Incident: How a UPS Manager Cut Turnover. It asks individuals to think about some of the causes of turnover and also how to address the needs of part-time workers. Helping Employees with Work–Life Balance

Employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work and nonwork time has become blurred, creating personal conflicts and stress.

Recent studies suggest that employees want jobs that give them flexibility in their work schedules so they can better manage work–life conflicts.

Organizations that do not address this challenge will find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain the most capable and motivated employees.

Creating a Positive Work Environment

Instead of responding to competitive pressures by “turning up the heat,” some organizations are trying to realize a competitive advantage by fostering a positive work environment.

This focuses on how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential by recognizing that we all have strengths that should be exploited.

Responding to Globalization

In recent years, Canadian businesses have faced tough competition from the United States, Europe, Japan, and even China, as well as from other companies within our borders. To survive, they have had to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve quality.

As multinational corporations develop operations worldwide, as companies develop joint ventures with foreign partners, and as workers increasingly pursue job opportunities across national borders, managers and employees must become capable of working with people from different cultures.



4. OB in Summary

(See Exhibit 1-4 The Fundamentals of OB)

OB considers the multiple levels in an organization: individual, group, and organizational.

OB is built from the wisdom and research of multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, social psychology, and anthropology.

OB takes a systematic approach to the study of organizational phenomena. It is research based.

OB takes a contingency approach to the consideration of organizational phenomena. Recommendations depend on the situation.

Teaching Tip: This could be a good place to reintroduce the From Concepts to Skills material (and the related Learning about Yourself and Working with Others Exercises). I use these to emphasize to students that organizations have lots of different things to consider (internal dynamics and external conditions, how much flexibility and control they want). Consequently, their members need a variety of skills. The Competing Values model helps identify the skills for different conditions faced by organizations.

E. Summary and Implications 1. What is organizational behaviour? OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within an organization. 2. Isn't organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? OB uses systematic study to improve predictions of behaviour and is built on various behavioural sciences including psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science. OB provides a systematic approach to improving predictions about behaviour than could be made from common sense alone. 3. How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable? From a manager's perspective, OB can help a person manage better. From an individual perspective, OB can help a person understand how the workplace functions. 4. What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century? OB considers three levels of analysis—the individual, the group, and the organization. Each level has different challenges. At the individual level, job satisfaction and motivation have become important issues in today's organizations. Empowerment and behaving ethically are also major concerns. At the group level, individuals are increasingly expected to work in teams, which means that they need to do so effectively. At the organizational level, Canadian businesses face many challenges in the twenty-first century, including ongoing competition at home and from US businesses, as well as growing competition from the global marketplace.



OB AT WORK: FOR REVIEW (Note to instructors: The answers here are starting points for discussion, not absolutes!) 1. Define organizational behaviour. Organizational behaviour studies the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness. OB is best understood as a tool in the skills repertoire of both employees and managers. 2. What is an organization? Is the family unit an organization? Explain. An organization is a consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or more people that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals. General Motors is an organization. Greenpeace is an organization. A sorority is an organization. Technically, the family unit is an organization. OB research, however, has tended to focus on formal, work-related organizations. 3. "Behaviour is generally predictable, so there is no need to formally study OB." Do you agree or

disagree? Explain. A better statement might be that, given situational variables, human behaviour is predictable with some probability of certainty. Although OB represents substantial progress in predicting behaviour, it cannot yet consistently and perfectly predict behaviour. There are many questions that remain unanswered. There is also some research that is inconsistent and even controversial. Recent trends in research, however, have made tremendous gains in knowledge. 4. What does it mean to say OB takes a contingency approach in its analysis of behaviour? OB looks at the situation and recognizes that in different situations, different ways to behave may be more appropriate. For example, there is no one right way to lead; much depends on such things as the needs of the followers. A contingency approach to OB is preferred because we are unable to make unequivocal statements that can explain and predict the behaviour of every individual in every situation. There are individual differences as well as group and organizational variables that moderate the "if X, then Y" statement. The contingency approach should lead to more accurate, though complex, predictions and explanations of behaviour. 5. What are the three levels of analysis of our OB model? Are they related? If so, how? The OB model proposes that there are three levels of analysis in OB and that as we move from the individual level through the group level to the organization-systems level, we add systematically to our understanding of behaviour in organizations. The three basic levels are analogous to building blocks, each level constructed upon the previous level. Group concepts grow out of the foundation laid in the individual section; we overlay structural constraints on the individual and group in order to arrive at organizational behaviour. 6. What are some of the challenges and opportunities that managers face as we move into the twenty-

first century? The workplace that both employees and managers face today differs in some fairly fundamental ways from the workplace that we faced 20 years ago. Some of the challenges facing today's workplace include loss of respect, changing expectations, sharing power, managing in a changing and competitive environment, globalization, and workplace diversity.



7. Why is job satisfaction an important consideration for OB? Some researchers argue that satisfaction is a legitimate objective of an organization, which should provide employees with jobs that are challenging and intrinsically rewarding. Job satisfaction is a concern because it is negatively related to absenteeism and turnover, which cost organizations considerable amounts of money annually. 8. What are effectiveness and efficiency, and how are they related to OB? Productivity is a performance measure including both effectiveness and efficiency. The first is the achievement of goals; the second is the ratio of output to input required to achieve goals. Goals are part of OB motivational models. As we will see in Chapters 5 and 6, motivation theories and practices are directly related to both effectiveness and efficiency. OB AT WORK: FOR CRITICAL THINKING (Note to instructors: The answers here are starting points for discussion, not absolutes!) 1. "OB is for everyone." Build an argument to support this statement. Managers are asking employees to take more responsibility in the workplace. This means that understanding how the workplace operates is essential for employees. Moreover, OB tells us how individuals interact with each other in a variety of situations, and thus familiarity with OB can be applied in a variety of settings, from the workplace to playing basketball with a group of friends.

2. Why do you think the subject of OB might be criticized as being "only common sense" when one would rarely hear such a criticism of a course in physics or statistics? Do you think this criticism of OB is fair?

Many behavioural concepts—for instance, personality, learning, motivation, leadership, communication—have been read about, reflected upon, and discussed by students since their early years. They assume, therefore, that they are knowledgeable on these topics. When research is presented that confirms what they already know, they call it common sense. Before taking a course like statistics, however, students often don't know concepts like regression coefficients, analysis of variance, or standard deviation, so few of the concepts are familiar and hence are not labelled as common sense. This criticism is not fair, as OB is founded on a solid base of research, as the Focus on Research sections in the textbook illustrate. 3. On a scale of 1 to 10 measuring the sophistication of a scientific discipline in predicting phenomena,

mathematical physics would probably be a 10. Where do you think OB would fall on the scale? Why? OB would probably fall around 6 or 7. In some cases, the predictions are quite high, based on studies that yield correlations of 0.7 or more. In other cases, however, the predictive capability is lower. 4. Can empowerment lead to greater job satisfaction? Empowerment, when fully implemented, allows individuals to make decisions as they arise. Being able to solve problems, particularly customer-related problems, "on the spot" should lead to greater satisfaction.



POINT/COUNTERPOINT SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS Summary Point: Find the Quick Fix to OB Issues Organizations are always looking for leaders. Managers and prospective managers are continually looking for ways to hone their leadership skills. Publishers have produced a myriad of leadership titles that proclaim to provide insights into the complex subject of leadership. If you take a walk into your local bookstore, you will undoubtedly find a large section of books devoted to management and managing human behaviour. Often, however, these books are not based on substantive research. Nor do they take into consideration contingency factors that influence why leadership actions in one situation won't work in others. These popular books represent a singular 'take" on leadership. The strategies they present may or may not be applied to the wide variety of situations that practising managers face. People often think that there are "shortcuts" to leadership success and that books like these can provide insights into the secrets of leadership that they can quickly learn and apply. Counterpoint: Beware of the Quick Fix! We all want to find the quick and simple solution to our complex problems. Beware of the quick fix, however. Problems in organizations are far too complex to be successfully handled though quick and simple solutions. These solutions are often wrong because they fail to consider diversity among organizations, situations, and individuals. Simplistic ideas are not in short supply. Books on leadership and other organizational topics often have cute titles but can be dangerous. They make the job of managing people seem much simpler than it really is. When it comes to managing people at work, there is clearly a need for valid and reliable insights to guide managers. However, most of the offerings available at your local bookstore tend to be overly simplistic solutions. To the degree that people buy these books and expect them to provide secrets to effective management they do a disservice to themselves and to those they are trying to manage. Teaching Notes Choose two teams of 3–5 students; the remainder of the class can act as the jury. Select one or two of the titles listed in the exercise. Have one team defend the "lessons" taken from the selected reading; the other team will prepare an argument as to why the "lessons" from the readings may not be appropriate from an OB perspective. Give each team adequate time to present their case to the remainder of the class. After each team has presented their arguments, the remainder of the class should ask probing questions based on their understanding of the OB concepts covered in this first chapter. The class acting as jury can then vote on which team provided the most compelling arguments. COMMENTS ON LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF EXERCISE: The Competing Values Framework: Identifying Your Interpersonal Skills I have used this exercise quite effectively to help students identify their areas of strengths and weaknesses. By tying these to specific needs of companies (flexibility vs. control, internal vs. external), students begin to see that employees and managers need to have a variety of skills to work effectively. Both this and the Working with Others Exercise below provide vehicles to highlight the importance of interpersonal skills. By linking the skills to actual needs of the organization (flexibility vs. control, internal



vs. external focus) students become more aware of how and why these skills are important in the workplace. In debriefing the exercise, have students indicate their areas of strength and weakness. Help them to understand how these strengths and weaknesses apply to situations that they might face in the workplace. Suggest to them that they consider skills training in areas where they feel least strong. Relate the necessity of having a strong skill set to being a productive and successful employee. COMMENTS ON BREAKOUT GROUP EXERCISES (Note to instructors: The answers here are starting points for discussion, not absolutes!) 1. Consider a group situation in which you have worked. To what extent did the group rely on the

technical skills of the group members vs. their interpersonal skills? Which skills seemed most important in helping the group function well?

Students will likely comment on how technical skills were often just a small part of the necessary skills needed to get the task done. They may also note that it was the interpersonal issues that caused them the most difficulty. 2. Identify some examples of "worst jobs." What conditions of these jobs made them unpleasant? To

what extent were these conditions related to behaviours of individuals? Help students to distinguish between bad working conditions, such as hot, dirty workplaces, and bad leadership. Students usually identify a much longer list of leadership and interpersonal problems than the list of unpleasant physical surroundings. 3. Develop a list of "organizational puzzles," that is, behaviour you've observed in organizations that

seemed to make little sense. As the term progresses, see if you can begin to explain these puzzles using your knowledge of organizational behaviour.

This exercise challenges the students to think about the workplace and observations they have made of it. Often students encounter strange things in the workplace, but they have no way to make sense of what is happening. By developing the list and then analyzing it over the term, students can become more familiar with understanding the workplace. COMMENTS ON WORKING WITH OTHERS EXERCISE: Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace In debriefing this exercise, I put up a list of all the skills on the overhead, and then ask each group to report the four "must have" skills and the four "less important skills." I have included an overhead master at the end of this chapter for this purpose. Tell students not to try to rank the skills. There is generally a fair amount of consensus on the must haves. There is less consensus on the less important ones. Remind students that the less important tasks can be delegated. Using their counts I point out that they have identified managers who will be good in some (limited areas) and who would be very weak in some other important areas of managing. I then conduct a more general discussion of the importance of a broad range of interpersonal skills and how these are linked to a wide variety of issues and problems that both managers and individuals face.



For further elaboration and discussion, here are more notes on the skills as they relate to managerial activities. For those concerned with the managerial emphasis of the descriptions, do not let this dismay you. During this exercise I point out that more employees are expected to act, at least sometimes, like managers because of the move toward empowerment. Thus, employees might be expected to motivate others, set goals, engage in team building, deal with conflict, etc. Control-External

1. DIRECTOR: Managers are expected to clarify expectations through processes such as planning and goal setting. Managers are decisive initiators who define problems, establish objectives, define roles and tasks, generate rules and policies, and give instructions. SKILLS 1, 2, 3 in the Learning about Yourself Exercise.

2. PRODUCER: Managers are expected to be task oriented, work focused, and highly interested in the task at hand. Managers are expected to exhibit high degrees of motivation, energy, and personal drive. In this role managers are supposed to encourage subordinates to accept responsibility, complete assignments, and maintain high productivity. SKILLS 4, 5, 6.

Control-Internal

1. COORDINATOR: Managers should make sure that work flows smoothly, that activities are carried out according to their relative importance, and that there is little conflict. Managers must make sure that the necessary tools are available for the work to be done. Behaviours include protecting continuity, minimizing disruptions, doing paper work, reviewing and evaluating reports, writing budgets, and writing and coordinating plans and proposals. SKILLS 7, 8, 9.

2. MONITOR: Managers must keep track of all work being done by the work unit. Managers must be able to keep track of the facts, analyze them, and decide which are important, that is, track the details. SKILLS 10, 11, 12.

Flexible-Internal

1. MENTOR: Managers should be helpful, considerate, sensitive, approachable, open, and fair. Managers should try to understand, value, and develop their employees. In acting out this role, the manager listens, supports legitimate requests, conveys appreciation, and gives compliments and credit. The manager provides training opportunities and helps people develop plans for their own individual development. SKILLS 13, 14, 15.

2. FACILITATOR: Managers should promote collective efforts, build cohesion and morale, and manage interpersonal conflict. Managers should balance individual needs with group needs to create and maintain a positive climate in the work group. Expected behaviours include mediating interpersonal disputes, using conflict reduction techniques, developing cohesion and morale, obtaining input and participation, and facilitating group problem solving. SKILLS 16, 17, 18.

Flexible-External

1. INNOVATOR: Managers should be concerned with innovation and change. Managers should be flexible and open to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new challenges. This manager needs to be creative, see the future, envision innovations, and package them in inviting ways. SKILLS 19, 20, 21.

2. BROKER: Managers should build and maintain power bases. Managers should negotiate agreement and commitment. The broker is particularly concerned with maintaining external legitimacy and obtaining resources. The manager is expected to meet with people from outside the unit; represent, negotiate, market, act as a liaison and spokesperson; and acquire resources. SKILLS 22, 23, 24.



ETHICAL DILEMMA EXERCISE: Lying in Business Summary

This exercise raises many questions about the dilemma of lying in business. Examples come from a court case against an organization that withheld crucial information from an employee, as well as mentioning Martha Stewart as an example of an executive caught lying for her own benefit. Is “omitting facts” lying? Does achieving a positive end result justify lying. Discussion could start with the questions at the end of the exercise and proceed to identifying acceptable and unacceptable situations where telling the truth may not be in the best interest of those involved.

Instructor Note

The following questions, from the end of the case incident, can be used as a group Q & A in class, or students could be assigned the questions as a journal entry or short homework assignment.

Questions

1 In a business context, is it ever okay to lie? 2 Do you think it’s fair to fire an employee who lies, no matter what the nature of the lie? 3 Is withholding information for your own advantage the same as lying? Why or why not? 4 If you were CEO, what responsibility do you think you have to help your employees understand

the ethics of lying or truth telling?

Students’ responses to these questions will vary. CASE INCIDENT: How a UPS Manager Cut Turnover Summary In 1998, Jennifer Shroeger was promoted to district manager for UPS's operations in Buffalo, NY. When she took over, she faced a serious problem: turnover was out of control. Part-time workers, who account for half of the Buffalo facility's workforce, were leaving at the rate of 50 percent a year. Her highest priority was to reduce this turnover rate. The entire UPS organization relies heavily on a part-time workforce. Shroeger modified the hiring process to screen out people who essentially wanted full-time jobs. Given that it typically took new part-timers six years to work up to a full-time job, it made sense to try to identify people who actually preferred part-time work. Shroeger expanded training so that supervisors had the skills to handle increased empowerment. Recognizing that her supervisors were the ones best equipped to understand the needs of part-time employees, supervisors learned how to assess difficult management situations, how to communicate in different ways, and how to identify the different needs of people. Supervisors learned to demonstrate interest in their workers as individuals. By 2002, Shroeger's program was showing impressive results. The attrition rate had dropped from 50 percent to 6 percent. Questions 1. In dollars-and-sense terms, why did Jennifer Shroeger want to reduce turnover? Turnover is associated with increased costs such as recruiting, hiring, and training. Reduced turnover improves productivity, thus lowering costs. Reduced turnover reflects more motivated employees who are more safety conscious, thus lowering the costs associated with lost-time accidents.



2. What are the implications from this case for motivating part-time employees?

Matching people's needs and expectations relative to the job is of primary importance. Recognizing that individuals have differing needs helps a manager provide the appropriate feedback and environment to enhance motivation. Part-time employees' needs and expectations may be significantly different than those of full-time employees.

3. What are the implications from this case for managing in future years when there may be a severe

labour shortage? Organizations that put people first will have a better chance of attracting and retaining workers. Focusing on the people-skills aspect of management may provide a competitive advantage. 4. Is it unethical to teach supervisors "to demonstrate interest in their employees as individuals"?

Explain. No. Each individual has different needs, wants, and desires. The diversity in any work organization makes it important for supervisors to get to know workers as individuals. It would be unethical not to be interested in workers as individuals. 5. What facts in this case support the argument that OB should be approached from a contingency

perspective? There are five distinct groups of employees with different characteristics and different needs (for example, college students working at UPS as a group were interested in building skills that could later be applied in their careers). Prior to the turnover reduction program, the turnover rate was 50 percent. After implementing the changes in hiring, communication, and supervisory training, the turnover rate was slashed to 6 percent. FROM CONCEPTS TO SKILLS: Developing Interpersonal Skills The module for this chapter focuses on interpersonal skills. The concepts segment discusses the Competing Values Framework and identifies the broad range of skills managers need to lead their organization. The model outlines two dimensions: internal vs. external focus and flexibility vs. control. These four segments require different skills to manage well. The chapter’s Learning about Yourself and Working with Others exercises are used with this segment to help students identify key skills that managers need.

Practising Skills The case shows an example of how knowledge of organizational behaviour skills is not just necessary where one works, but in other situations as well. The unpaid, voluntary board members of the daycare centre found themselves facing a unionization crisis that may have been avoided had there been better communication. Board members are now faced with a crisis in handling workers who take care of their children. Questions (Note to instructors: The answers here are starting points for discussion, not absolutes!) 1. If you were either a board member or a parent, how would you know that the employees taking care

of your children were unhappy with their jobs?



The main thing would be to talk with them and ask them about job satisfaction and any concerns that they have. Beyond that, you might consider observing their behaviour, such as absenteeism or lateness, as well as their general attitudes. In observing the situation, you may want to consider whether the employees are doing just the bare minimum or whether they are trying to be innovative and creative as part of their job. 2. What might you do if you learned about their unhappiness? If I was on the board, I would take their concerns to the board and either try to get them resolved or sit down with the unhappy employees and explain why we couldn't accommodate their demands. I would also seek to find a compromise with the employees so that they would feel that I was trying to meet their needs. If I were a parent who was not on the board, I would alert the board to whatever concerns had been raised. 3. What might Rogers have done differently as president of the board? Rogers probably should have interviewed all of the employees at least once during the year, or requested that Emma Reynaud provide him with details about how the workers were doing and whether there were any problems. Given that Rogers and the other board members were surprised by the unionization attempt, it would appear that no one had tried to collect information from the employees during the year. 4. In what ways does this case illustrate that knowledge of organizational behaviour can be applied

beyond your own workplace? The daycare centre is not part of the board members workplace, but it is an organization with which they interact on a daily basis. Moreover, the children of the board members belong to the organization in question. Had board members applied such organizational behaviour skills as communication, negotiation, and motivation within the context of the daycare centre, they might have learned more about the distress the employees were feeling. Reinforcing Skills The purpose of these exercises is to encourage students to apply material from the chapter in various ways. The suggested activities encourage students to think about skills necessary to be an employee, a team member, and a manager. While OB is more than skills, I often find it useful to have students think about concrete applications to better appreciate the conceptual material. KEY TERMS Affective commitment - The strength of an individual's emotional attachment to, identification with, and

involvement in the organization.

Contingency approach - An approach taken in OB that considers behaviour within the context in which it occurs.

Effectiveness - The achievement of goals.

Efficiency - The ratio of effective work output to the input required to produce the work.

Empowerment - Giving employees responsibility for what they do.

Ethical dilemmas and ethical choices - Situations in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct.

Ethics - The study of moral values or principles that guide our behaviour and inform us whether actions are right or wrong.



Evidence–based management (EBM) - Basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence.

Intuition - A gut feeling not necessarily supported by research

Job satisfaction - A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.

Organization - A consciously coordinated social unit made up of a group of people who work together on common goals on a relatively continuous basis.

Organizational behaviour - A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations; its purpose is to apply such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness.

Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) - Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employee's formal job requirements but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization.

Organizational commitment - The degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and wishes to remain with the organization

Positive organizational scholarship - An area of OB research that concerns how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.

Productivity - A performance measure including effectiveness and efficiency.

Systematic study - Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.

Workforce diversity - The mix of people in organizations in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual preference, age, and demographic characteristics such as education and socioeconomic status.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Exploring Topics on the Web An additional Learning about Yourself Exercise: What Do You Know about Human Behaviour? Additional Exercise: Using the movie Crimson Tide to analyze OB concepts An overhead master to debrief the Working with Others Exercise

EXPLORING TOPICS ON THE WEB 1. Using the World Wide Web (www) to locate information can be a useful tool to the student (or

manager) interested in exploring topics in OB. Search engines are our navigational tool to explore the web. Some commonly used search engines include:

www.excite.com www.google.com

www.yahoo.com www.lycos.com

www.hotbot.com www.looksmart.com

For this first exercise, go to www.searchenginewatch.com to learn more about what search engines and metacrawlers do and how they differ. Visit http://searchenginewatch.com/2156221. This page presents an overview of the major engines and how best to use them. Do not forget to look at other topics at SearchEngineWatch.com that are interesting to you.

Now perform a search on “Organizational Behaviour” using three different search engines. Do the



results differ or are they the same? If they differ, why do you think they are different?

Write a paragraph or two answering these questions based on what you learned from researching search engines. Include another paragraph providing examples or reasons of when you would use choose one Search Engine over another.

2. The text tells us that OB replaces intuition with systematic study. Where do scholars prepare for a career researching OB topics? Additionally, what if you decide at some point to pursue graduate study in OB. Where would you go?

Perform a search to identify two to three graduate programs in OB and print out the home page with the descriptions of these programs and bring them to class. Note that different schools have programs in different departments and disciplines that show the diverse thinking about OB in these programs. If you need ideas about where to start, try the following:

Harvard - www.hbs.edu/units/ob/

Official website of the Organizational Behaviour Division of the Academy of Management - www.obweb.org

If time allows, we will discuss as a class the information you found on the general areas of study and the types of courses required in graduate work in OB.

3. The field of OB is closely linked to human resource management (HRM). Go to the Society for Human Resource Management website (www.shrm.org) and answer the following questions:

As you read the SHRM homepage, identify OB topics and list them on a separate sheet of paper. Try to find as many as possible. Compare your list with a classmate and note the ones you missed.

Choose one of the topics and on a separate sheet of paper write three questions you have on the topic. Click on the topics or web links on the SHRM home page and try to find the answers. If you find what you are looking for, write the answers next to your original questions. If you are unsuccessful in finding the answers, write a short paragraph describing what your strategy would be to find the answers you want.

4. Find an organization that directly addresses the cost of absenteeism or turnover on its website. What, if anything, is that organization doing to reduce those costs? What did your search tell you in terms of the importance of these costs to organizations? In class we will meet in small groups to discuss the strategies organizations are using. Once you have found an organization, check with me to make certain that we do not have too many in the class researching the same company. Be prepared to talk about your organization’s strategy to the group and possibly the class.

5. Try some advanced searching. Go to www.google.com and click on advanced search. In the “exact phrase” box, key in “organizational behaviour,” and in the “at least one of these words” box, key in “globalization.” On the drop-down menu for Language choose English. Scroll through the pages to determine if there is a pattern to the types of web pages returned.

Go back to the advanced search page (use your back button or retype the URL). This time in the “exact phrase” box, key in “globalization,” and in the “at least one of these words” box, key in “employ*” (the * is a wildcard symbol that will bring up any word that begins with “employ,” such as “employee”).

What types of pages were returned this time? Which would be more useful to a scholar researching OB and globalization? Why? Now, repeat the above process choosing an OB topic of your choice instead of “globalization.” Did you find similar patterns of web page returns with your first and second try? Prepare a paragraph or two telling what you learned about researching OB topics on the World Wide Web.



LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF EXERCISE

What Do You Know about Human Behaviour?

You might use this exercise to explore student’s perceptions of the world, and to demonstrate that not everything is “common sense.” The answer key is provided with the questions below.

A handout master to be distributed to students is included at the end of this chapter.

True or False?

__T__ 01. People who graduate in the upper third of their college class tend to make more money during their careers than do average students.

__F__ 02. Exceptionally intelligent people tend to be physically weak and frail.

__F__ 03. Most great athletes are of below-average intelligence.

__F__ 04. All people in Canada are born equal in capacity for achievement.

__F__ 05. On average, women are slightly more intelligent than men.

__F__ 06. People are definitely either introverted or extroverted.

__T__ 07. After you learn something, you forget more of it in the next few hours than in the next several days.

__F__ 08. In small doses, alcohol facilitates learning.

__F__ 09. Women are more intuitive than men.

__T__ 10. Smokers take more sick days per year than do nonsmokers.

__F__ 11. Forty-year-old people are more intelligent than twenty-year-olds.

__T__ 12. If you have to reprimand someone for a misdeed, it is best to do so immediately after the misdeed occurs.

__F__ 13. People who do poorly in academic work are superior in mechanical ability.

__F__ 14. High-achieving people are high risk-takers.

__F__ 15. Highly cohesive groups are also highly productive.

__T__ 16. When people are frustrated, they frequently become aggressive.

__T__ 17. Experiences as an infant tend to determine behaviour in later life.

__F__ 18. Successful top managers have a greater need for money than for power.

__F__ 19. Most people who work for the federal government are low risk-takers.

__F__ 20. Most managers are highly democratic in the way they supervise people.



USING A MOVIE TO ANALYZE OB Assignment or Case Study Activity: Crimson Tide: A Study in Organizational Behaviour (Handout master at end of this section) The movie Crimson Tide is an excellent additional teaching tool to illustrate most of the OB concepts covered in this book. I have used it successfully as an assignment and as an example in classroom discussions. Direct students to find a copy of the movie (this might be a challenge as it is an older movie) and watch it at least once; preferably twice. Alternatively I show the movie in class (available from Amazon). First I show the full length movie so that the students get the complete story. I often show the movie a second time but fast forward through the parts that do not apply to the assignment or OB topics. I focus on the scenes where the two main characters interact with each other or with other crew members. It takes a bit of practise to be able to find the exact scenes. This takes approximately 1 ¼ hr. Assignment Using Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of your textbook, answer and analyze in detail the following:

1. Explain how the submarine is an organization. An organization is a consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or more people who work on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal. One aspect that students often forget is who “consciously coordinated” this mission and the crew? The common goal of course is to prevent the Russian rebels from launching the nuclear missiles.

2. Analyze what skills and roles Captain Ramsay and Executive Officer Hunter exhibit. Use critical thinking here and do not try to match every skill and every role to each person. Be selective and focus on skills and roles that best match each character in this situation.

Students will use the Competing Values Framework here. Although it is easy to say that both Ramsay and Hunter exemplify all the roles and all the skills, I direct students to use critical thinking and deeply analyze the roles and skills that make the two different in this particular situation. There are no firm right answers here as analysis can be done in a variety of ways. Ramsay is more on the control dimension and is a director, a coordinator, and a broker. His skills could include taking initiative, goal setting, delegating effectively, organizing, controlling, building and maintaining a power base. Hunter is more on the flexibility and internal dimensions. He could be a mentor, a monitor, and a facilitator. His obvious skills are understanding himself and others, interpersonal communication, developing subordinates, team building, conflict management, evaluating information, creative thinking.

3. Explain if/how personality, values, and emotions have an impact on the conflict between the two main characters. Give detailed examples of each topic for each person. Be clear in how the topics relate to each person.



Personality: Ramsay: Big Five: high consciousness, extravert, low in agreeableness; Machiavellian, Type A, risk-taker, high core self-evaluation, perhaps a bit narcissistic. Hunter: Big Five: high consciousness, introvert, high in agreeableness, open to experiences; Type B, risk-taker, high core self-evaluation, self-monitoring, proactive. Values: Ramsay – terminal value: security of his country Hunter – terminal value: world peace, happy family Emotions: Ramsay – surface acting, displayed emotions; low emotional intelligence Hunter – deep acting, felt emotions; higher emotional intelligence In your analysis you must show a clear relationship between OB theory and the examples you choose from the movie. Other OB topics that are clearly portrayed in this movie and can be used in class discussions or further assignments:

Leadership Decision making Conflict Communication Perception Teamwork Motivation Power Politics Organizational culture



Masters for Chapter 1 1) Handout master for Working with Others Exercise "Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace" (can be

used as an overhead to tally up suggestions from students) 2) Handout master for Supplementary Learning about Yourself Exercise "What Do You Know about

Human Behaviour?"

3) Handout master for Supplementary Activity on the Movie Crimson Tide: A Study in Organizational Behaviour.



Working with Others Exercise “Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace”

Most Important

Least Important

Director

1. Taking initiative

2. Goal setting

3. Delegating effectively

Producer

4. Personal productivity and motivation

5. Motivating others

6. Time and stress management

Coordinator

7. Planning

8. Organizing

9. Controlling

Monitor

10. Receiving and organizing information

11. Evaluating routine information

12. Responding to routine information

Mentor

13. Understanding yourself and others

14. Interpersonal communication

15. Developing subordinates

Facilitator

16. Team building

17. Participative decision making

18. Conflict management

Innovator

19. Living with change

20. Creative thinking

21. Managing change

Broker

22. Building and maintaining a power base

23. Negotiating agreement and commitment

24. Negotiating and selling ideas



What Do You Know about Human Behaviour? Much of what we "know" about the world is based on intuition. We have opinions, biases, hunches, and misinformation that we use both in making statements about others and in deciding what we do. These twenty questions are designed to provide you with some feedback regarding what you "know" about behaviour. Read each statement and mark it with either a T (true) or an F (false). True or False? _____ 01 People who graduate in the upper third of their college class tend to make more money

during their careers than do average students.

_____ 02 Exceptionally intelligent people tend to be physically weak and frail.

_____ 03 Most great athletes are of below-average intelligence.

_____ 04 All people in Canada are born equal in capacity for achievement.

_____ 05 On average, women are slightly more intelligent than men.

_____ 06 People are definitely either introverted or extroverted.

_____ 07 After you learn something, you forget more of it in the next few hours than in the next

several days.

_____ 08 In small doses, alcohol facilitates learning.

_____ 09 Women are more intuitive than men.

_____ 10 Smokers take more sick days per year than do nonsmokers.

_____ 11 Forty-year-old people are more intelligent than twenty-year-olds.

_____ 12 If you have to reprimand someone for a misdeed, it is best to do so immediately after the

misdeed occurs.

_____ 13 People who do poorly in academic work are superior in mechanical ability.

_____ 14 High-achieving people are high risk-takers.

_____ 15 Highly cohesive groups are also highly productive.

_____ 16 When people are frustrated, they frequently become aggressive.

_____ 17 Experiences as an infant tend to determine behaviour in later life.

_____ 18 Successful top managers have a greater need for money than for power.

_____ 19 Most people who work for the federal government are low risk-takers.

_____ 20 Most managers are highly democratic in the way they supervise people.



Crimson Tide: A Study in Organizational Behavior Synopsis: A splinter group within Russia has rebelled, rallying behind a charismatic new leader and making threats about Russian sovereignty. A portion of the Russian military has defected to join this new leader's cause. The group has quickly seized some nuclear missile silos in the Far East and is refueling them for a possible strike against the United States. Alarmed by the prospect of a rebel strike, the United States sends the USS Alabama, a nuclear ballistic submarine, to watch over the base and retaliate in case the Russian rebels launch. Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter is a naval officer drafted by Captain Frank Ramsey to be the first officer aboard the USS Alabama. As the American boat drifts closer and closer toward the Asian mainland, tensions rise, especially when the Alabama encounters a Russian AKULA-class submarine. About this time, Captain Ramsey receives an Emergency Action Message (EAM) from the United States, letting him know that, in the absence of contravening orders, he is to launch his missiles at Russia. The Alabama is attacked and the radio systems are knocked out after an evasive dive takes the crew out of communications range. Hunter insists that the Alabama must use any means necessary to confirm the EAM message. After all, as he points out rather succinctly, the price of an error is a toll no one wishes to pay—a nuclear war. It is over this issue and proper military protocol in a nuclear situation that these two iron-willed combatants clash. The fate of the world may hang in the balance. The conflict escalates into mutiny as Ramsey and Hunter fight for control of the Alabama's nuclear missiles. The central conflict of the movie is Captain Ramsey's decision to follow protocol when Executive Officer Hunter knows that doing so marks the irrevocable start of World War III. Who is right, or are they both right? Cast: Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter, Executive Officer (ExO) Captain Frank Ramsey Lieutenant Roy Zimmer, Communications Officer Chief of the boat (COB), Mr. Cob Lieutenant Peter Ince, Weapons Officer (Weps) Lieutenant Bobby Dougherty, Supply Officer Lieutenant Darik Westergard Officer of the Deck Mr. Mahoney Chief of the Watch Mr. Hunsicker T.S.O. Billy Linkletter Petty Officer First Class Danny Rivetti Petty Officer Third Class Russell Vossler

As you watch the movie try to note some issues related to OB:

– Personality – Values – Motivation – Leadership – Teamwork – Decision making – Conflict – Leadership



Assignment: Using Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of your textbook, answer and analyze in detail the following:

1. Explain how the submarine is an organization.

2. Analyze what skills and roles Captain Ramsay and Executive Officer Hunter exhibit. Use critical thinking here and do not try to match every skill and every role to each person. Be selective and focus on skills and roles that best match each character in this situation.

3. Explain if/how personality, values, and attitudes have an impact on the conflict between the two

main characters. Give detailed examples of each topic for each person. Be clear in how the topics relate to each person.

In your analysis you must show a clear relationship between OB theory and the examples you choose from the movie.

chapter 1 what is organizational...

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