Mhr 405
Chapter ONE
Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Define organizational behaviour. • Identify three reasons for studying organizational behaviour. • List six emerging trends in organizational behaviour. • Identify the five anchors on which organizational behaviour is based. • Diagram an organization from an open systems view. • Define knowledge management and intellectual capital. • Identify three common ways that organizations acquire knowledge.
Left: Reprinted with permission from the Globe & Mail (T. Kolley) Right: Dave Chan. The Ottawa Citizen.
CEO John Roth (left) has leveraged the power of organizational behaviour to make Nortel Networks one of the world’s leading hightechnology companies. Mary Young (right) and other Nortel employees say they are ready to move at "Web speed."
I
n just two years, Nortel Networks has become one of the hottest developers of fibre optic Internet gear. CEO John Roth removed layers of management, decentralized decision making, outsourced or sold off its Old Economy telephone equipment plants, and spent billions of dollars acquiring several Net-savvy businesses. To succeed in this hyperfast Internet world, Roth is quickly replacing Nortel’s bureaucratic corporate culture with what he calls a “culture of speed.” Many Nortel employees have already adapted. “I like the pace,” says Mary Young, a microchip engineer at one of Nortel’s research centres in Ottawa. “The pace is hectic and I like that. I’m not good at sitting still.” Nortel’s emerging culture also values knowledge, competencies, and communication. “Nortel runs on talent,” says Nortel vice-president Rosemary McCarney. The company’s headquarters in Brampton, Ontario, is designed as an open cityscape to encourage communication and teamwork. Nortel also uses technology to connect employees who work at home and other places away from the office. Further afield, 2000 Nortel
Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Define organizational behaviour. • Identify three reasons for studying organizational behaviour. • List six emerging trends in organizational behaviour. • Identify the five anchors on which organizational behaviour is based. • Diagram an organization from an open systems view. • Define knowledge management and intellectual capital. • Identify three common ways that organizations acquire knowledge.
Left: Reprinted with permission from the Globe & Mail (T. Kolley) Right: Dave Chan. The Ottawa Citizen.
CEO John Roth (left) has leveraged the power of organizational behaviour to make Nortel Networks one of the world’s leading hightechnology companies. Mary Young (right) and other Nortel employees say they are ready to move at "Web speed."
I
n just two years, Nortel Networks has become one of the hottest developers of fibre optic Internet gear. CEO John Roth removed layers of management, decentralized decision making, outsourced or sold off its Old Economy telephone equipment plants, and spent billions of dollars acquiring several Net-savvy businesses. To succeed in this hyperfast Internet world, Roth is quickly replacing Nortel’s bureaucratic corporate culture with what he calls a “culture of speed.” Many Nortel employees have already adapted. “I like the pace,” says Mary Young, a microchip engineer at one of Nortel’s research centres in Ottawa. “The pace is hectic and I like that. I’m not good at sitting still.” Nortel’s emerging culture also values knowledge, competencies, and communication. “Nortel runs on talent,” says Nortel vice-president Rosemary McCarney. The company’s headquarters in Brampton, Ontario, is designed as an open cityscape to encourage communication and teamwork. Nortel also uses technology to connect employees who work at home and other places away from the office. Further afield, 2000 Nortel