Chapter 1: What is Organizational Behavior?

Internal perspective 
Interpersonal Skills looks at workers’ minds to understand their
behavior.
Organizations benefit from attracting and retaining high-
performing employees by developing managers’ understand human behavior in terms of the
interpersonal skills.  thoughts, feelings, past experiences,  and needs of the
individual.
Managers
External perspective
Managers get things done through other
people.  focuses on factors outside the person to understand
behavior.
Organizations
understand human behavior in terms of the external
Consciously coordinated social unit, composed events, consequences, and environmental forces to
of two or more people that functions on a relatively which a person is subject.
continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of
goals.
Disciplines that contribute to the OB field:
Henri Fayol
1 Psychology
French industrialist who wrote that all managers perform
five management functions: planning, organizing, 2 Social psychology
commanding, coordinating, and controlling.
3 Sociology
Planning 
4 Anthropology
Encompasses defining an organization’s goals,
establishing an overall strategy for achieving those
goals, and developing a comprehensive set of plans to Psychology
integrate and coordinate activities.
seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the
Organizing behavior of humans and other animals. 

Designing an organization’s structure. It includes Social Psychology

determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do
A branch of psychology that blends concepts from both
them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to
psychology and sociology to focus on peoples’ influence
whom, and where decisions are to be made.
on one another. 
Leading
Change–A Major study in social psychology.
Direct and coordinate those people. They motivate
Sociology
employees. 
studies people in relation to their social environment or
Controlling
culture.
Monitoring, comparing, and potential correcting. 
Anthropology 
What do managers do?
is the study of societies to learn about human
They plan, organize, lead, and control.  beings and their activities.
Challenges and Opportunities for OB
Organizational Behavior
1 Responding to Economic Pressures
field of study that investigates the impact that
2 Responding to Globalization
individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior
within organizations.  2.1. Increased Foreign Assignments
Three determinants of behavior in organizations: 2.2 Working with People from Different
Cultures
1 Individuals
2.3 Overseeing Movement of Jobs to
2 Groups
Countries with Low-Cost Labor
3 Structure
2.4 Workforce Diversity
Two categories of human behavior models:
3 Improving Customer Service
1 Internal perspective
4 Stimulating Innovation and Change
2 External perspective
5 Coping with “Temporariness” 
 Demographic differences such as education, ethnicity,
regional background, and gender. 
Deep-Level
Responding to Economic Pressures
Personality and values
Managing employees well when times are tough is just
as hard as when times are good—if not
more so. Discrimination
Responding to Globalization To discriminate is to note a difference between things. 
Increased Foreign Assignments Types of Discrimination
If you’re a manager, you are increasingly likely 1 Discriminatory policies or practices
to find yourself in a
2 Sexual harassment
foreign assignment—transferred to your employer’s
operating division or subsidiary in another country. 3 Intimidation

Working with People from Different Cultures 4 Mockery and insults

Even in your own country, you’ll find yourself working 5 Exclusion

with bosses, peers, and other employees born and
6 Incivility
raised in different cultures.
Discriminatory policies or practices
Overseeing Movement of Jobs to Countries with
Low-Cost Labor Actions taken by representatives of the organization that
deny equal opportunity to perform or unequal rewards
In a global economy, jobs tend to flow where lower costs
for performance
give businesses a comparative advantage, though labor
groups, politicians, and local community leaders see the Sexual harassment
exporting of jobs as undermining the job market at
home. Unwanted sexual advances and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature that create a hostile or
Workforce Diversity offensive work environment
acknowledges a workforce of women and men; many Intimidation
racial and ethnic groups; individuals with a variety of
physical or psychological abilities; and people who differ Overt threats or bullying directed at members of specific
in age and sexual orientation. groups of employees

Improving Customer Service Mockery and insults

Management needs to create a customer-responsive Jokes or negative stereotypes; sometimes the result of
culture. jokes taken too far

Stimulating Innovation and Change Exclusion

The challenge for managers is to stimulate their Exclusion of certain people from job opportunities, social
employees’ creativity and tolerance for change. The field events, discussions, or informal mentoring; can occur
of OB provides a wealth of ideas and techniques to aid unintentionally
in realizing these goals.
Coping with “Temporariness”  Incivility

The study of OB can help you better understand Disrespectful treatment, including behaving in an
a work world of continual change, overcome resistance aggressive manner, interrupting the person, or ignoring
to change, and create an organizational culture that his or her opinions. 
thrives on change.
Biographical Characteristics

Chapter 2: Diversity in Organization Age, gender, race, disability and length of service are
some of the most obvious ways employees differ. 
Levels of Diversity
Age
1 Surface-level diversity
Sex
2 Deep-level diversity
Race and Ethnicity
Surface-Level
Disability
Tenure
 Religion
Sexual Orientation Tenure-Job Productivity
Gender Identity Positive relationship
Age Tenure-Absenteeism
Many employers recognize that older workers represent Negative relationship
a huge potential pool of high-quality applicants.
Tenure-Turnover

Advantages of older workers: Negative relationship

Experience Tenure-Job satisfaction

Judgment Positive relationship

Strong work ethic

Commitment to quality Religion 

Disadvantages of older workers: Faith can be an employment issue when religious beliefs
prohibit or encourage certain behaviors.
Lacking flexibility
Ability
Resisting new technology
An individual’s current capacity to perform the various
tasks in a job.
Age-Turnover Relationship
Intellectual abilities 
Negative. 
are abilities needed to perform mental activities
The older you get, the less likely you are to quit your — thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving.
job. 
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability
Age-Productivity Relationship
Number aptitude
Many believe productivity declines with age. However,
the evidence contradicts those assumptions. Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic

Sex Verbal comprehension

Psychological studies have found women are more Ability to understand what is read or heard and
agreeable and willing to conform to authority, whereas the relationship of words to each other
men are more aggressive and more likely to have Perceptual speed
expectations of success, but those differences are
minor. Ability to identify visual similarities and
differences quickly and accurately
No significant difference in job productivity between men
and women.  Inductive reasoning
Working mothers are more likely to prefer part-time Ability to identify a logical sequence in a
work. Women are more likely to turn over, have higher problem and then solve the problem
rates of absenteeism. 
Deductive reasoning
Regardless of sex, parents were rated lower in job
commitment than individuals without children.  Ability to use logic and assess the implications
of an argument
Race and Ethnicity
Spatial visualization
relate to employment outcomes such as hiring
decisions, performance evaluations, pay, and workplace Ability to imagine how an object would look if its
discrimination. position in space were changed

Disability Memory

Workers with disabilities receive higher performance Ability to retain and recall past
evaluations. They tend to encounter lower performance experiences
expectations and are less likely to be hired. This effect is
much stronger for individuals with mental disabilities.  Intelligence-Job satisfaction
Tenure Zero correlation between the two because although
Work experience intelligent people perform better and tend to have more
interesting jobs, they are also more critical when
evaluating their job conditions.
How do organizations manage diversity effectively?
1 They teach managers about the legal
Physical Abilities framework for equal employment opportunity
and encourage fair treatment of all people
Strength Factors regardless of their demographic characteristics.

1 Dynamic strength 2 Second, they teach managers

Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or how a diverse workforce will be better able to
continuously over time serve a diverse market of customers and clients.

2 Trunk strength  3 Third, they foster personal development

practices that bring out the skills and abilities of
Ability to exert muscular strength using the trunk all workers, acknowledging how differences in
(particularly abdominal) muscles perspective can be a valuable way to improve
performance for everyone.
3 Static strength 
Ability to exert force against external objects
Chapter 3: Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
4 Explosive strength
Attitude
Ability to expend a maximum of energy
in one or a series of explosive acts a psychological tendency expressed when we evaluate
a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.
Three Components of an Attitude
Flexibility Factors
Cognitive = evaluation
5 Extent flexibility
Affective = feeling
Ability to move the trunk and back muscles as
far as possible Behavioral = action

6 Dynamic flexibility
Ability to make rapid, repeated flexing Leon Festinger
movements A Researcher that argued attitudes follow behavior. 
Cognitive Dissonance
Other factors Any incompatibility an individual might perceive between
7 Body Coordination two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

Ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of Moderating Variables

different parts of the body The most powerful moderators of the attitude’s
8 Balance relationship are the importance of the attitude, its
correspondence to behavior, its accessibility, the
Ability to maintain equilibrium despite forces presence of social pressures, and whether a person has
pulling off balance direct experience with the attitude.

9 Stamina Specific attitudes tend to predict specific behaviors,

whereas general attitudes tend to best predict general
Ability to continue maximum effort requiring behaviors. 
prolonged effort over time
Attitudes that our memories can easily access are more
likely to predict our behavior. Interestingly, you’re more
likely to remember attitudes you frequently express. 
Does diversity help or hurt group performance?
Discrepancies between attitudes and behavior tend to
Yes. In some cases, diversity in traits can hurt team
occur when social pressures to behave in certain ways
performance, whereas in others it can facilitate it.
hold exceptional power, as in most organizations. 
Evidence also shows transformational leaders (who
Finally, the attitude-behavior      relationship is
emphasize higher-order goals and values in their
likely to be much stronger if an attitude refers to
leadership style) are more effective in managing diverse
something with which we have direct personal
teams.
experience. 
Two major influences on attitudes: 
 1 Direct experience 
Research has shown that attitudes from direct Job Description Index (JDI)
experience are stronger, held more confidently,
and more resistant to change than attitudes This index measures the specific facets of satisfaction
formed through indirect experience. by asking employees to respond “yes,” “no,” or “cannot
decide” to a series of statements describing their jobs.
2 Social learning
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
The family, peer groups, religious
organizations, and culture shape an individual’s This survey also asks employees to respond to
attitudes indirectly. statements about their jobs using a five-point scale that
ranges from very dissatisfied to very satisfied.
Major Job Attitudes Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect Framework
1.     Job Satisfaction Clarifies the consequences of dissatisfaction.

2.     Job Involvement

3.     Organizational Commitment Exit. The exit response directs behavior toward

leaving the organization, including looking for a
Job Satisfaction new position as well as resigning. 

         A positive feeling about a job, resulting from an Voice. The voice response includes actively and
evaluation of its characteristics. constructively attempting to improve conditions,
including suggesting improvements, discussing
Job Involvement problems with superiors, and undertaking some
forms of union activity. 
         Measures the degree to which people identify
Loyalty. The loyalty response means passively
psychologically with their job and consider their
but optimistically waiting for conditions to
perceived performance level important to self-worth.
improve, including speaking up for the
organization in the face of external criticism and
Psychological empowerment
trusting the organization and its management to
“do the right thing.” 
         Degree to which they influence their work
environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of Neglect. The neglect response passively allows
their job, and their perceived autonomy.  conditions to worsen and includes chronic
absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and
Organizational Commitment  increased error rate.

An employee identifies with a particular organization and

its goals and wishes to remain a member. 
Organizational Commitment–Job Productivity
Relationship
Positive relationship. Its relationship is strongest for new
employees and considerably weaker for more
experienced employees. 
Organizational Commitment–Absenteeism, Turnover Job Satisfaction–Job Performance
Negative relationship Positive relationship
Perceived Organizational Support Job Satisfaction–Organizational Citizenship
degree to which employees believe the organization Behavior (OCB)
values their contribution and cares about their well-being Positive relationship
Employee Engagement Satisfied employees would seem more likely to talk
It refers to an individual’s involvement with, satisfaction positively about the organization, help others, and go
with, and enthusiasm for, the work she does. beyond the normal expectations in their job, perhaps
because they want to reciprocate their positive
Job satisfaction  experiences. 
a pleasurable or positive emotional state Job Satisfaction–Customer Satisfaction
resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job
experiences Positive relationship
Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and
loyalty.
Job Satisfaction–Absenteeism
Negative relationship; moderate to weak
Job Satisfaction–Turnover
Negative relationship; stronger
The satisfaction–turnover relationship also is
affected by alternative job prospects.
Job Satisfaction–Workplace Deviance
Negative relationship
Deviant Behavior
Counterproductive behavior or employee withdrawal
If employees don’t like their work environment, they’ll
respond somehow, though it is not always easy to
forecast exactly how. 

Chapter 4: Emotions and Moods

Affect
a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings
people experience, including both emotions and moods.
Emotions 
are intense feelings directed at someone or
something.
Moods
are less intense feelings than emotions and
often (though not always) arise without a specific event
acting as stimulus.