Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior
P A R T 1 UNDERSTANDING THE WORKPLACE
CHAPTER 1
What Is Organizational Behaviour?
An organization decides it will hire people with few skills and job experience. What challenges might its managers face?
1 2 3 4
What is organizational behaviour? Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable?
What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?
W
innipeg-based
Inner
City
Renovation (ICR) does renovation and construction work on
rundown inner city residential and commercial buildings, with the aim of revitalizing the area.1 As part of its mission, the
company employs and trains low-income residents of the inner city. ICR is a forprofit company that was created by five not-for-profit joint venture partners: North End Housing Project (NEHP), Winnipeg Partners in Housing (WPH), Spence Neighbourhood Association (SNA), West Broadway Development Corporation (WBDC), and Community Ownership Solutions (COS). ICR has completed over 50 residential and commercial projects since opening its doors in August 2002. Because ICR hires a number of employees who have few skills and little job experience, managers must teach the employees how to perform the role of employee. Managers must also teach employees about teamwork and leadership while working side by side with them on construction projects. Can a company like ICR survive as well as a company not as committed to social values? The challenges that the managers at ICR face in running a successful organization and getting people to work well together illustrate several concepts you will find as you study the field of organizational behaviour. Let’s take a look, then, at what organizational behaviour is.
DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organizational behaviour (often abbreviated as OB) is a field of study that investigates how individuals,
CHAPTER 1
What Is Organizational Behaviour?
An organization decides it will hire people with few skills and job experience. What challenges might its managers face?
1 2 3 4
What is organizational behaviour? Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? How does knowing about organizational behaviour make work and life more understandable?
What challenges do managers and employees face in the workplace of the twenty-first century?
W
innipeg-based
Inner
City
Renovation (ICR) does renovation and construction work on
rundown inner city residential and commercial buildings, with the aim of revitalizing the area.1 As part of its mission, the
company employs and trains low-income residents of the inner city. ICR is a forprofit company that was created by five not-for-profit joint venture partners: North End Housing Project (NEHP), Winnipeg Partners in Housing (WPH), Spence Neighbourhood Association (SNA), West Broadway Development Corporation (WBDC), and Community Ownership Solutions (COS). ICR has completed over 50 residential and commercial projects since opening its doors in August 2002. Because ICR hires a number of employees who have few skills and little job experience, managers must teach the employees how to perform the role of employee. Managers must also teach employees about teamwork and leadership while working side by side with them on construction projects. Can a company like ICR survive as well as a company not as committed to social values? The challenges that the managers at ICR face in running a successful organization and getting people to work well together illustrate several concepts you will find as you study the field of organizational behaviour. Let’s take a look, then, at what organizational behaviour is.
DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organizational behaviour (often abbreviated as OB) is a field of study that investigates how individuals,