Organizational Behavior: Managing

People and Organizations,

Ninth Edition
Gregory Moorhead, Ricky W. Griffin

Chapter 1

Introduction to
Organizational
Behavior
Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
• Define organizational behavior.
• Identify the functions that comprise the management
process and relate them to organizational behavior.
• Relate organizational behavior to basic managerial roles
and skills.
• Describe contemporary organizational behavior.
• Discuss contextual perspectives on organizational
behavior.

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–2

What is Organizational Behavior?
• Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of:
 Human behavior in organizational settings

 The interface between human behavior and the

organization
 The organization itself

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning

Stockbyte at Getty Images® 1–3
Figure 1.1 The Nature of Organizational Behavior

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The Importance of Organizational Behavior
• Organizations can have a powerful influence on
our lives:
 Most people are born and educated in organizations

 Most people acquire most of their material

possessions from organizations
 Most people die as members of organizations

 Many of our activities are regulated by governmental

organizations
 Most people spend most of their lives in organizations

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–5

Why Study OB?
• Studying organizational behavior can clarify
factors that affect how managers manage by:
 Describing the complex human context of
organizations
 Defining the associated opportunities, problems,
challenges, and issues
 Isolating important aspects of the manager’s job

 Offering specific perspectives on the human side of

management

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–6

Why Study OB? (cont’d)
• Studying OB helps managers understand:
 The behaviors of others in the organization
• Personal needs, motives, behaviors, feelings and career
dynamics
• Attitudinal processes, individual differences, group dynamics,
inter group dynamics, organization culture, power, and
political behavior

 Interactions with people outside of the organization

and other organizations
 The environment, technology, and global issues

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–7

 Organizational Behavior and
the Management Process
• Management • Resources Used by
Functions Managers
 Planning  Human
 Organizing  Financial
 Leading  Physical
 Controlling  Information

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–8

Functions of Management
Planning Determining an organization’s desired
future position and the best means of
getting there
Organizing Designing jobs, grouping jobs into units,
and establishing patterns of authority
between jobs and units
Leading Getting organizational members to work
together toward the organization’s goals
Controlling Monitoring and correcting the actions of
the organization and its members to keep
them directed toward their goals

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–9

Figure 1.2 Basic Managerial Functions

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 Organizational Behavior and
the Manager’s Job
• Basic Managerial Roles
 Interpersonal
 Informational
 Decision-Making

Stockbyte at Getty Images®

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–11

Table 1.1 Important Managerial Roles

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Critical Managerial Skills

Technical Skills necessary to accomplish

specific tasks within the organization
Interpersonal Skills used to communicate with,
understand, and motivate individuals
and groups
Conceptual Skills used in abstract thinking
Diagnostic Skills to understand cause-effect
relationships and to recognize optimal
solutions to problems

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Figure 1.3 Managerial Skills at Different Organizational Levels

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Contemporary Organizational Behavior
• Characteristics of the Field
 Interdisciplinary in focus

 Descriptive in nature

• Basic Concepts of the Field

1. Individual processes

2. Interpersonal processes

3. Organizational processes/characteristics

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Figure 1.4
The Framework
for Understanding
Organizational
Behavior

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 Contemporary Organizational Behavior

Systems
SystemsPerspective
Perspective

Situational
SituationalPerspective
Perspective
Contextual
Contextual
Perspectives
Perspectivesonon
Contingency
Organizational
Organizational Contingency
Behavior
Behavior
Interactional
Interactional

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The Systems Perspective
• System
 An interrelated set of elements that function as a
whole—inputs are combined/transformed by
managers into outputs from the system.
• Value of the Systems Perspective
 Underscores the importance of an organization’s
environment
 Conceptualizes the flow and interaction of various
elements of the organization.

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The Situational Perspective
• The Situational Perspective
 Recognizes that most organizational situations and
outcomes are influenced by other variables
• The Universal Model
 Presumes a direct cause-and-effect linkage between
variables
 Complexities of human behavior and organizational
settings make universal conclusions virtually
impossible

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Figure 1.5 The Systems Approach to Organizations

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Figure 1.6 Universal Versus Situational Approach

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Interactionalism: People and Situations
• Interactionalist Perspective
 Focuses on how individuals and situations interact
continuously to determine individuals’ behavior
 Attempts to explain how people select, interpret, and
change various situations.

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Figure 1.7 The Interactionalist Perspective on Behavior in Organizations

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Managing for Effectiveness
• Managers work toward accomplishing the
various goals (outcomes) that exist at specific
levels in an organization:
 Individual-level outcomes

 Group-level outcomes

 Organizational-level outcomes

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Figure 1.8 Managing for Effectiveness

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 Organizational Behavior in Action
• Based on your reading of the chapter opening
case:
 Why is employee morale at Microsoft so low despite
excellent pay, benefits, and working conditions?
 Which basic managerial roles and skills does
Microsoft’s Lisa Brummel need to use to convince her
fellow Microserfs that the organization really cares
about them?
 At which level in the Microsoft organization are the
most critical problems occurring?

© 2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning 1–26