Organizational Behavior MBA B600

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Organizational BehaviorMBA B600

• Class 1

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What is Organizational Behavior?

• The study of how people think, feel, and act
  together and in groups
• We will learn
• Why do some people get promoted even though they
  are not very smart or productive?
• How can you motivate someone to work harder?
• How can you make decisions that are fair to
  everyone?
• Why do employees lie, cheat, or steal? Can you
  tell if they are lying? How should you confront
  them?
• What makes a good negotiator? How can you get a
  better deal?
• What makes a good leader? What makes a fantastic
  leader?

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Why is Organizational Behavior useful?

• If you know why most people behave a certain way,
  then you can predict what certain individuals
  will do
• Implement your best ideas
• accounting, finance, marketing, operations, etc.
• Accelerate your career learning curve

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What is the difference between OB and HR (Human
Resources)?

• Performance ability x motivation
• HR focuses on improving employees ability (e.g.,
  training, selection, assessment, recruitment)
• OB focuses on getting the best work from your
  employees
• Both are useful if you would like to be a manager
• If your company has an HR department, they can
  offer you guidance on HR issues (e.g., legal)
  but your company will assume you know OB

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Whats this course like?

• Evidence-based management
• Similar to evidence-based medicine
• Uses up-to-date research findings
• Use underlying principles to help us make better
  decisions
• Why dont we just focus on what managers at
  certain companies do (e.g., Google?)
• Sometimes a company that looks like a good
  example to follow turns out to not be so good
  after all (e.g., RIM).
• What worked for them in the past wont
  necessarily work now
• What works for them wont always work for YOU

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What do we get to do in this class?

• In class
• Less and less lecturing as the term goes on
• More and more simulations, exercises, mini-cases,
  discussions, etc.
• Prepare to deal with ambiguity, be a manager
• Participation, Assignments, Homework, Final Exam

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Provide me with a photo and name card
Name on Class List Harriet S. Smith
Cholmondeley Prefer to be called Siobahn
Cholmondeley Pronounced Shi-VON
Chum-lee Class Tuesdays, 230 to
530 Undergraduate degree Electrical
Engineering (math minor) Work experience Ten
years at Initech (TPS manager)
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How to find me

• Contact info
• Email connell_at_mcmaster.ca
• profs.degroote.mcmaster.ca/business/connell/2012_B
  600.html.
• Office phone [phone] x 23954
• Office DSB 418 / RJC 222
• Office hours Tuesdays 100 - 230 or by
  appointment
• Skype is ok too (email me in advance)
• Classes
• Tuesdays 230 RJC 214
• Wednesdays 230 RJC 214
• 3 other sections taught by Dr. Yousofpourfard

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Participation (5)
Amount of participation
Excellent! Thanks!!
Why do some people not Participate very
much? What about the Dunning-Kruger effect?
Uh oh
Insightfulness
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One-Page Reports (5 x 2)

• Work by yourself or with a friend
• Choose five articles in your courseware
• Answer the following five questions
• What is the article saying?
• What do I agree with?
• What do I disagree with?
• What else should the author(s) have included?
• What is my overall recommendation?

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One-page Reports

• Purpose
• Get a different perspective than the textbook
• Sharpen your critical thinking and writing skills
• Prepare for your final project
• Avoid being dependent on consultants and others
  to tell you what approaches are best

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One-Page Reports

• I can send you the article the week before it is
  due. Make sure I have your usual email address.
• You might prefer to use the courseware
• IF you dont like one of the articles (they are
  all very different)
• Wait and do another one (you only have to do 5)
• Find another article to summarize and submit
  instead (check with me first but I will probably
  say ok)
• One of the articles is actually two TED talks
  you have to do both
• The schedule is in the last page of your course
  outline

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Project 1 (20)

• Interview someone with an interesting job
• Identify 3 OB concepts, and explain how your
  subject is an example of these
• See course outline for marking scheme and more
  specific details
• Sample questions to ask
• Sample email to contact the potential interviewee

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Project 2 (30)

• Evaluate a popular management book
• Read any book about how to be a good manager
• I will assign you to a group
• 3 ideas in the book discuss if they are accurate
  from an OB perspective
• Bibliography Include at least ten different
  sources, other than the course notes or textbook.
• See course outline for marking scheme and details
• Report (15) Outline (5) Presentation (5)
  Self-Assessment (5)

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Final Exam 35

• December date TBA
• all material covered in the course
• NO multiple choice
• We will do some practice questions together
  beforehand

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Questions?
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Performance
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Question

• When it comes to employees productivity, the
  only thing that really matters is whether or not
  they do whats in their job descriptions.
• True? False?
• What do you think?
• Why?

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Desirable Employee Behaviors

• Less absenteeism
• Lower turnover
• Less counterproductive behavior
• More organizational citizenship behavior

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Individual Exercise

• Think back to your favorite job.
• Did you ever do something particularly helpful
  for your organization, that wasnt really in your
  job description?
• What did you do? Why?
• Write down a short description of what it was
  (choose something you dont mind sharing)

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Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs)

• Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an
  employees formal job requirements BUT improve
  the context where the work takes place
• Entirely up to the employee if they do it or not
• May or may not be implicitly rewarded
• Must be intended to help the organization or its
  members

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Loyal Boosterism

• Positively representing the organization to
  outsiders
• Defends the organization when other employees or
  outsiders criticize it
• Actively promotes the organizations products and
  services to potential users
• Focus the organization

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Civic Virtue

• Participates in the companys operations
  above-and-beyond the expectations
• Attending all voluntary meetings and functions
• Keeping up with all organizational announcements
  and news that affects the company
• Perfect attendance even when he/she has a
  legitimate reason for being absent
• Focus the organization

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Voice

• Speaks up to offer constructive suggestions for
  change
• Tries to change bad policies or procedures
• Encourages other colleagues to speak up
• For issues that may have serious consequences,
  expresses opinions honestly even when others may
  disagree
• Focus the organization

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Interpersonal Helping

• Helps co-workers in their jobs when such help is
  needed
• Goes out of his/her way to help co-workers learn
  new tasks
• Helps coworkers who have heavy workloads
• Voluntarily helps new employees settle into the
  job
• Focus Individuals within the organization

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Courtesy

• Is mindful about how his/her behavior affects
  other peoples jobs
• Keeps coworkers informed about relevant matters
• Tries to avoid creating problems for coworkers
• Does not exercise every right at the expense of
  others rights.
• Focus Individuals within the organization

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Sportsmanship

• Maintains a good attitude with coworkers
• Avoids complaining even when annoyed by something
  (e.g., not a squeaky wheel)
• Doesnt make a big deal about trivial problems
• Tries to focus on the positive side as well as
  possible problems in the company
• Focus Individuals within the organization

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Questions?
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Group Activity

• Form groups of 4 people
• Classify each persons earlier OCB as
• Sportsmanship
• Courtesy
• Interpersonal Helping
• Voice
• Civic Virtue
• Loyal Boosterism
• Choose your best example be prepared to report
  back to the class

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Benefits of worker OCBs

• Firm performance
• Job descriptions cant be exhaustive
• Cooperation vs. compliance
• Enhance workers productivity (esp. teams)
• Decrease turnover
• Alert organization to opportunities and threats
• Enhance managers productivity

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Impression Management

• The process by which individuals attempt to
  control the impression others form of them
• Looking good instead of doing good
• 5 different dimensions
• Different than OCBs
• Not altruistic
• Not always positive
• Goal is to benefit the perpetrator, not the
  organization or its members

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Ingratiation

• Individuals seek to be viewed as likable
• I do personal favors for other people in the
  organization to show them that I am friendly
• Waxing your bosss car, buying people presents
• I compliment other workers so that they will see
  me as likeable
• Have you lost weight?, youre a great golfer!
• Advantages? Disadvantages?

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Self-promotion

• Individuals seek to be viewed as competent
• I let other workers know that I am a valuable
  member of the organization
• I am so great. I did this and this and this. You
  wouldnt last five minutes without me
• I talk proudly about my past accomplishments
  that might help the organization to be
  successful
• I am really good at this. I went to Harvard. I
  won the Nobel prize in economics I also have a
  Fields medal Im an Olympic triple jump
  champion blah blah blah
• Advantages? Disadvantages?

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Exemplification

• Individuals seek to be viewed as dedicated
• I try to appear like I have been very busy
  working on my tasks
• e.g., conveying urgency and importance
• I let others know that I have been putting in a
  lot of effort into my work
• e.g., bragging, pretending to be at work
• Advantages? Disadvantages?

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Supplication

• Individuals seek to be viewed as in need of
  assistance
• I pretend not to understand how to do some
  things in order to avoid having to work on
  undesirable tasks
• e.g., note-taking, coffee-making
• I act like I know less than I really do so that
  other workers will help me out.
• Advantages? Disadvantages?

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Intimidation

• Individuals seek to appear dangerous or
  threatening
• I let other workers know that I am not willing
  to be pushed around or dictated to.
• Can be related to body language, choice of
  language, tone, etc.
• I speak strongly or forcefully to get other
  group members to agree to do things the way I
  think they should be done
• Advantages? Disadvantages?

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Outcomes of impression management

• Workers
• May be rewarded (goal attainment)
• May be punished (targets react with disdain)
• Managers
• Difficulty accurately measuring attitudes and
  behaviors of subordinates
• Interpersonal conflict between subordinates

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Questions?
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Mortgage Broker Mini-Case Who gets promoted?

• Allan high performer, comes early to meetings,
  always friendly, helps other employees, never
  complains, says nice things about the company to
  outsiders, works hard to improve performance.
• Bob average performer, sometimes comes in late,
  makes fun of other employees, always complains,
  tries to avoid boring tasks, acts like some work
  is beneath him, slow to reply to emails, and gets
  defensive when his performance is corrected.

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Mortgage Broker Mini-Case

• Conrad average performer, nice, brings in coffee
  for everyone on Fridays, always dresses
  professionally, tells you how hard he is working,
  never complains, tells you about the good things
  he told your boss about you, says that he wants
  to be just like you.
• David average performer, friendly, complains
  sometimes, other employees seek his help, wants
  to go on an expensive training course, is
  sometimes late to work, some complaints from
  clients about professionalism.

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Summary

• As a manager you will need to distinguish between
  behaviors that help your organization and
  behaviors that only look that way.
• OCBs will improve the organizations performance
  (and yours as a manager) and are an implicit
  criterion for promotion
• The rest of the course will help you to increase
  your subordinates OCBs (and decrease the less
  positive behaviors).

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Next Class

• First one-page report homework is due
• Remember to bring your nameplate AND your
  photo card
• I will be using your photo card to assign you to
  a group!!!

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Course Texts

• Colquitt, LePine, Wesson Gellatly (2010).
  Organizational Behaviour Improving Performance
  and Commitment in the Workplace. 1st Canadian
  edition, McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
• Courseware
• Contains all the readings for the homework
  assignments, in a convenient format
• If unavailable, buy a rain check