The first day of the course defines organizational behavior as the study of people’s behavior in the workplace. It examines how individuals, groups, and organizations interact with one another. The objectives of organizational behavior are to anticipate, explain, and manage behavior. This entails gaining insight into an organization’s functioning through its members’ behaviors. Organizational behavior adopts a more psychological approach than a purely mathematical one. The three levels of influence are individual, group, and organizational levels. Within an organization, every individual is included at the individual level. Each person behaves differently, which has an impact on the organization and group dynamics. Any groups inside a company are considered to be at the group level. A small group with one or two individuals can be as huge as a group with dozens or hundreds of people. The organization level comprises all levels of the organization.
The three components of attitudes are affect, cognition, and behavior. Attitudes are evaluations of a positive or negative fashion that includes these three elements. Affect is the emotional response to an attitude object. Cognition is the thought process involved in attitude formation and change. Behavior is the overt actions taken in response to an attitude. The strength of an attitude is always a predictor of behavior. The solid the attitude, the incredibly affect behavior. Therefore, attitude can strongly influence a person’s behavior. Our perception of reality can be evaluated through social comparison, and the social knowledge we learn from others can mold attitudes we like or respect. Additionally, inherited tendencies and highly heritable attitudes may be influenced by genetic variables. Finally, strong beliefs can be conviction or faith in something without proof or evidence.
The second day of the course discusses the different aspects of organizational behavior and how they affect the workplace. It first looks at personality and values and how they can impact an individual’s organizational behavior. It then looks at emotions and moods and how they affect an individual’s organizational performance. Finally, it looks at organizational diversity and how it can impact an individual’s ability to work in an organization. It explains how these factors can affect how people interact with each other and the organization. The article also discusses the importance of understanding and managing these factors to create a successful and productive workplace.
The five core personality qualities, such as neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to new experiences, are relatively stable personality traits that frequently persist throughout a person’s life. People with high levels of neuroticism are more likely to feel nervous and pessimistic about their future (Oshio, et al., 2018). In contrast, extroverted people are more extroverted than those with lower extraversion scores. People with high agreeableness ratings are more likely to get along with others, but those with high conscientiousness ratings are more likely to be cautious and persistent. People with high openness to experience scores tend to be more creative and have broader interests.
The organization affects the very thing it is trying to measure personality. It cites examples of how repetitive; monotonous work can lead to depressive personalities and how working somewhere with a fun and vibrant culture can make people more sociable. The reading also states that personality tests can ‘create’ personalities and that characteristics of the job, career phases, and the employee’s personality and mood largely determine the intensity of their emotions and reaction to events experienced at work. The reading concludes by explaining that OCBs are regarded as discretionary behaviors that go outside the scope of a job description yet are carried out by an employee out of personal choice. The overall effectiveness of the organization benefits from OCBs.
The third day of the course focuses on motivation, work teams, leadership, power, and politics. The motivation section covers different theories of how people are motivated to work, including Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and two-factor theory, theory X and theory Y, and McClelland’s theory of needs. The section on work teams discusses different types of teams and their advantages and disadvantages. The leadership section covers different leadership styles and how to be an effective leader. The power and politics section covers how power is used in organizations and the different types of political behavior that occur in organizations. The section on organizational structure covers the different types of organizational structures and how they can impact them.
Organizational structure has a significant impact on how an organization functions. It establishes the standard operating procedures and routines that the organization follows and determines which individuals have a say in the organization’s decision-making processes. Organizational structures include functional, divisional, matrix, and flat. Each structure has different advantages and disadvantages. Matrix Structure: Task forces are created to solve problems or projects in a matrix structure. A matrix organization is a structure with more than one line of reporting managers. Organizations with a variety of product lines and services use a matrix structure. It provides the organization with more flexibility and breaks up the routine.
Reference
Oshio, A., Taku, K., Hirano, M., & Saeed, G. (2018). Resilience and Big Five personality traits: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 127, 54-60.