ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Working With people Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people&-&- as individuals and groups&-&-act in organizations. Its goals are to make mangers more effective at describing, understanding, predicting, and controlling human behavior. Key elements to consider are people, structure, technology, and the external environment. Previously known as human relations, organizational behavior has emerged as an interdisciplinary field of value to managers. It builds on anincreasingly solid research foundation that was begun in the 1920s, and it draws upon useful ideas and conceptual models from many of the behavioral sciences. Fundamental concepts of organizational behavior relate to the nature of people (individual differences, a whole person, motivated behavior, desire for involvement, perception, and value of the person) and to the nature of organizations (social system and mutual interest). Managerial actions should be oriented holistically to attain superordinate goals of interest to employees, the organization, and society. This can best be done by the understanding and use of human resource. contingency,productivity, and systems approaches.
Models of Organizational Behavior Every firm has an organizational behavior system. It includes the stated or unstated philosophy, values, visions and goals; the quality of leadership communications, and group dynamics; the nature of both the formal and informal organizations; and the influence of the social environment. These items combine to create a culture in which the personal attitudes of employees and situational factors can produce motivation and goal achievement. Four models of organizational behavior are the autocratic, custodial, supportive, and collegial. The supportive and collegial models are more consistent with contemporary employee needs and, therefore, will predictably obtain more effect results in many situations. Managers need to examine the model they are using, determine whether it is the most appropriate one, and remain flexible in their use of alternative and emerging models. The idea of organizational behavior models will be extended in Chapter 3, as we discuss social systems, roles, and status. Specifically, we will look at the creation and impact of organizational cultures which help employees sense which organizational behavior model is in use.
Social Systems and Organizational Culture When people join a work group, they become part of that organization's social system. It is the medium by which they relate to the world of work. The variables in an organizational system operate in a working balance called social equilibrium. Individuals make a psychological contract that defines their personal relationship with the system. When they contribute to the organization's success, we call their behavior functional. The broad environment that people live in is their social culture, and a major change in it can lead to cultural shock. People need to accept and appreciate the value that cultural differences can contribute to the success of an organization. Other important cultural factors include the work ethic and corporate attitudes toward social responsibility. Role is the patten of action expected of a person in activities involving others. Related ideas are role perceptions mentors, role conflict, and role ambiguity. Status is the social rank of a person in a group, and it leads to status systems and possibly status anxiety. Status symbols are sought as if they were magical herbs, because they often provide external evidence of status for their possessors. Organizational cultures reflect the assumptions and values that guide a firm. They are intangible but powerful influences on employee behavior. Participants learn about their organization's culture through the process of socialization and influence it through individualization.
Motivational Applications Three additional approaches to motivation presented in this chapter are the expectancy, equity, and attribution models. The expectancy model states that motivation is a product of how much one wants something and the probabilities that effort will lead to task accomplishments and reward. The formula is valence x expectancy x instrumentality = motivation. Valence is the strength of a person's preference for an outcome. Expectancy is the strength of belief that one's effort will be successful in accomplishing a task. Instrumentality is the strength of belief that successful performance will be followed by a reward. The other motivational models specifically relate to the employee's intellectual processes. The equity model has a double comparison in it&-a match between an employee's perceived inputs and outcomes, coupled with a comparison to some referent persons' rewards for their input Level. The attribution process examines the way people interpret behavior and assign cause to it. Attributions differ, depending on who is making the judgement and whether the behavior was successful or not. Four general attributions are made. Ability and effort are personal factors, while two situational explanations involve the difficulty of the task and luck. Cognitive models that focus on internal states and mental processes dominate thinking about motivational, but behavior modification, discussed in Chapter 5, also is useful. Most attention has been given to micromotivation, but in order to build a complete motivational environment, increased emphasis must be given to marcomotivation.