Chapter 1 – Organizational Behavior and Management
What are Organizations?
Social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort
Goal Accomplishment
The field of organizational behavior is concerned with how organizations can survive and adapt to change
Certain behaviors are necessary for survival and adaptation. People have to
Be motivated to join and remain in the organization
Carry out their basic work reliably, in terms of productivity, quality, and services
Be willing to continuously learn and upgrade their knowledge and skills
Be flexible and innovative
What is Organizational Behavior?
The attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations
The study of organizational behavior focuses on attitudes, and behaviors like cooperation, conflict, innovation, resignation, or ethical lapses
Managing Organizational Behavior
Management: the art of getting things accomplished in organizations through others
Early Prescriptions Concerning Management
The Classical View and Bureaucracy
Classical Viewpoint: An early prescription on management that advocated high specialization of labor, intensive coordination, and centralized decision making
Scientific Management: Fredrick Taylor’s system for using research to determine the optimum degree of specialization and standardization of work tasks
Bureaucracy: Max Weber’s ideal type of organization that included a strict chain of command, detailed rules, high specialization, centralized power, and selection and promotion based on technical competence
The Human Relations Movement and a Critique of Bureaucracy
Hawthorne Studies: Research conducted at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric near Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s that illustrated how psychological and social processes affect productivity and work adjustment
Human Relations Movement: A critique of classical management and bureaucracy that advocated management styles