MAN 6245: Organizational Behavior and Development

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MAN 6245 Organizational Behavior and Development

• Introduction to OB

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Outline

• Introduction to OB
• Syllabus
• Questions
• Introductions and Icebreaker
• 1st In-Class Exercise

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Introduction to OB
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Key Questions for Today

• What is Organizational Behavior?
• What Types of Questions Do We Ask in OB?
• What Model Will Guide This Course?
• Does OB Matter?
• IS OB Just Common Sense?

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Discussion Question

• In your experience, when you chat with a friend
  at a cocktail party, if s/he complains about
  his/her job what is usually the problem?

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What is Organizational Behavior?

• Organizational Behavior
• A field of study devoted to understanding,
  explaining, and ultimately improving the
  performance and attitudes of individuals and
  groups in organizations.
• Key aspects of definition
• Grounded in science
• Concerns individuals, groups, organizations
• Interdisciplinary orientation
• Focuses on organizational effectiveness and
  individual well-being

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Fields Associated with OB

• Psychology (e.g., attitudes and motivation)
• Sociology (e.g., group dynamics)
• Anthropology (e.g., leadership and culture)
• Political science (e.g., conflict and power)
• Economics (e.g., decision-making)
• Management science (e.g., technology and TQM)

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Skills in OB

• AACSB Foundations of Effective Management
• Analytic thinking
• Behavioral flexibility
• Decision making
• Leadership
• Written and oral communication
• Personal impact
• Planning and organizing
• Resistance to stress
• Self-objectivity
• Tolerance for ambiguity

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Comic
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What Types of Questions Do We Ask in OB?

• What factors influence organization-oriented
  behavior and attitudes?
• What can managers do to influence employee
  behavior and attitudes?
• Do assumptions about work translate across
  organization, across culture?
• What are the most influential predictors of job
  performance and organizational commitment?

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What Types of Questions Do We Ask in OB? (Ctd.)

• What leadership behaviors are most effective?
• What factors influence whether employees feel
  fairly treated?
• What are some of the best approaches to managing
  job performance?
• Do personal or group/organizational
  characteristics have a stronger influence on
  performance?

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Management Conundrum

• At the same time that a manager is held
  accountable by higher level superiors for work
  unit results, the manager is dependent on the
  efforts of others to make these results possible.

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What Model Will Guide This Course?
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Does OB Matter?

• Why should you care about this class and
  OB-related issues in your career?

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Executive Development Programs

• General management 84
• Leadership/motivation/communication 78
• Human resource management 60
• Organizational change and development 60
• Corporate/business strategy and development 58
• Finance 58
• Marketing 55
• Strategy implementation 48
• Executive decision making 47
• Sales management 44
• Global business environment 38
• Production/operations management 37
• Information/decision support systems 34
• Accounting 32

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OB Skills and AACSB Standards

• A study of business school curricula by the
  American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
  Business (AACSB) concluded
• Corporate respondents showed the overwhelming
  view that behaviorally oriented subject matter
  should receive more attention in the curriculum.
• Deans and faculty members themselves perceive a
  gap between how much soft skills are currently
  emphasized in the curriculum versus how much
  there should be.
• Further, the corporate sector gives business
  school graduates relatively low ratings in terms
  of the strength (or lack thereof) of their
  leadership and interpersonal skills.

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Recent WSJ Poll

• Percentage of recruiters in a recent WSJ poll
  (published 09/20/06) who rated the following
  attributes of applicants as very important
• Communication and interpersonal Skills 89
• Ability to work well within a team 87
• Personal ethics and integrity 86
• Analytical and problem-solving skills 84
• Leadership potential 73
• Strategic thinking 67

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Comic
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OB Matters

• Key is in how managers think about employees
• Are people costs to be reduced?
• Are employees opportunistic, free riders,
  untrustworthy, require close supervision?
• OR
• Are employees intelligent, motivated, trustworthy
• Are employees fundamental resources that provide
  a competitive advantage

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First, Break All The Rules Key Questions
(Buckingham Coffman, 1999)

• Do I know what is expected of me at work?
• Do I have the materials and equipment I need to
  do my work right?
• At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I
  do best every day?
• In the last 7 days, have I received recognition
  or praise for good work?
• Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to
  care about me as a person?
• Is there someone at work who encourages my
  development?

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First, Break All The Rules Key Questions (Ctd.)

• At work, do my opinions seem to count?
• Does the mission/purpose of my company make me
  feel my job is important?
• Are my co-workers committed to doing quality
  work?
• Do I have a best friend at work?
• In the last six months, has someone at work
  talked to me about my progress?
• This last year, have I had opportunities at work
  to learn and grow?

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First, Break All The Rules Findings

• Six of these twelve items that related a healthy
  workplace most strongly with positive performance
  (productivity, profitability, retention, and
  customer satisfaction)
• Do I know what is expected of me at work?
• Do I have the materials and equipment I need to
  do my work right?
• At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I
  do best every day?
• In the last 7 days, have I received recognition
  or praise for good work?
• Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to
  care about me as a person?
• Is there someone at work who encourages my
  development?
• Found that managers trump companies. (You might
  join IBM. What keeps you there, and performing,
  is your immediate supervisor.)

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IS OB Just Common Sense?

• Think about the following statements.
• Birds of a feather flock together.
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
• Look before you leap.
• Better safe than sorry.
• Many hands make light work.
• Two heads are better than one.

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OB Skills Can Be Taught

• OB is not just common sense
• Why make decisions about people in a manner any
  different from other resources?
• Whenever Ive taken risks, its been after
  satisfying myself that the research and the
  market studies supported my instincts. I may act
  on my intuition--but only if my hunches are
  supported by the facts.
• Lee Iacocca
• OB training inoculation against fads
• The person who embraces a popular management
  approach without adequate understanding creates a
  good deal of heat, but very little light

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Take-Home Points

• Understand what OB entails
• Aware of types of questions in OB
• Know what model we will follow
• Believe that OB does matter
• Realize that OB is more than common sense

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Syllabus
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Course/Instructor Information

• Instructor Dr. David Mayer
• Office Business Administration I Office 340
• Office Hours Tuesdays from 430 PM-530 PM or by
  appointment
• E-mail dmayer_at_bus.ucf.edu (best way to contact
  me)
• Phone [phone]

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Summary of Contents in Syllabus

• I. General Course Information
• II. Expectations of Students
• III. Expectations of Instructor
• IV. Classroom Climate
• V. Course Requirements and Grades
• VI. OB Resources
• VII. Class Schedule, Topics, and Important Dates

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I. General Course Information

• Required Text
• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Course Format
• Web Site

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II. Expectations of Students

• Attendance and Participation
• Assigned Readings
• Academic Integrity

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III. Expectations of Instructor

• Preparation before class
• Attempt to make the classroom environment fun and
  interesting
• Variety of instructional methods to go along with
  the lectures
• Cases
• Videos
• In-class activities
• Opportunity to provide feedback
• Fair, easy-to-understand grading system

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IV. Classroom Climate

• Climate
• Supportive
• Inclusive
• Conducive for learning
• Respect
• Students with special needs
• Religious observances

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V. Course Requirements and Grades

• Exams (400 points total)
• Team Project (300 points total)
• Class Participation (200 points total)
• Out-of-Class Modules (100 points)

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V. Course Requirements and Grades (Ctd.)

• Deadlines and Make-Up Exams
• Challenging a Grade
• Grades

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VI. OB Resources

• Web Sites
• Journals

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VII. Class Schedule, Topics, and Important Dates

• See Syllabus

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Questions
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Introductions and Icebreaker

• Introductions please!
• Are you a good liar?

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1st In-Class Exercise

• Who the heck are you?