Chapter 1, Robbins & Judge.Pdf
Part I: Prologue
C H A P T E R
1
Introduction to Organizational Behavior
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Define organizational behavior (OB). 2. Explain the value of the systematic study of OB. 3. Identify the contributions made to OB by major behavioral science disciplines. 4. Describe how OB concepts can help make organizations more productive. 5. List the major challenges and opportunities for managers to use OB concepts. 6. Identify the three levels of analysis in OB.
I
f you ask managers to describe their most frequent or troublesome problems, the answers you get tend to exhibit a common theme. The managers most often describe people problems. They talk about their bosses’ poor communication skills, employees’ lack of motivation, conflicts between team members, overcoming employee resistance to a company reorganization, and similar concerns. It may surprise you to learn, therefore, that it’s only recently that courses in people skills have become an important part of business school programs. Although practicing managers have long understood the importance of interpersonal skills to managerial effectiveness, business schools have been slower to get the message. Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects of management, specifically focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques. Course work in human behavior and people skills received minimal attention relative to the technical aspects of management. Over the past two decades, however, 1
2
Part I Prologue business faculty have come to realize the importance that an understanding of human behavior plays in determining a manager’s effectiveness, and required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula. As the director of leadership at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management recently put it, “M.B.A. students may get by on their technical and quantitative
C H A P T E R
1
Introduction to Organizational Behavior
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Define organizational behavior (OB). 2. Explain the value of the systematic study of OB. 3. Identify the contributions made to OB by major behavioral science disciplines. 4. Describe how OB concepts can help make organizations more productive. 5. List the major challenges and opportunities for managers to use OB concepts. 6. Identify the three levels of analysis in OB.
I
f you ask managers to describe their most frequent or troublesome problems, the answers you get tend to exhibit a common theme. The managers most often describe people problems. They talk about their bosses’ poor communication skills, employees’ lack of motivation, conflicts between team members, overcoming employee resistance to a company reorganization, and similar concerns. It may surprise you to learn, therefore, that it’s only recently that courses in people skills have become an important part of business school programs. Although practicing managers have long understood the importance of interpersonal skills to managerial effectiveness, business schools have been slower to get the message. Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects of management, specifically focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques. Course work in human behavior and people skills received minimal attention relative to the technical aspects of management. Over the past two decades, however, 1
2
Part I Prologue business faculty have come to realize the importance that an understanding of human behavior plays in determining a manager’s effectiveness, and required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula. As the director of leadership at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management recently put it, “M.B.A. students may get by on their technical and quantitative