Organizational Behavior

Integrating Individuals, Groups, and Organizations

Joseph E. Champoux

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000033137
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Comportamento organizzativo
• Index: Business

The new edition of this essential resource in organizational behavior provides a balanced framework to understand the impact of increasing dynamism and complexity, the importance of collaboration, and the implications for organizational strategy.

Covering both psychological and sociological perspectives on organizational behavior, this clearly written and presented textbook offers a comprehensive review of classic organizational behavior theories and approaches, illustrated with updated case studies. The sixth edition includes new material on ethical considerations; international contexts, with renewed attention to Africa and Asia; environmental pressures and responses; groups and intergroup processes; and the vital importance of building change readiness in any organization.

Upper-level business and technology students, as well as professionals in executive education courses, will find the book a useful guide to all facets of organizational behavior.

A companion website, featuring an instructor manual, test bank, and PowerPoint slides, provides additional support for students and instructors.

Part 1

INTRODUCTION: THE CONTEXT OF MODERN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT

Part 1 Introduction: The Context of Modern Organizational Behavior and Management

Part 2 Individual Processes in Organizations

Part 3 Group and Interpersonal Processes in Organizations

Part 4 Organizational Processes

Part 5 Organizational Design and Organizational Change

Chapter 1 Introduction and Historical Background

Chapter 2 The Context of Modern Organizations (Diversity, Quality, Technology, International)

Chapter 3 Ethics and Behavior in Organizations

Chapter 4 Organizational Culture

Part 1 introduces you to organizations and discusses some major issues that form the context of modern organizational behavior and management. It also discusses ethics, organizational behavior, and organizational culture.

Chapter 1, “Introduction and Historical Background,” introduces you to the world of organizations. This chapter defines an organization and introduces you to theories and concepts. The chapter also describes the historical background of modern thinking about organizations and management.

Chapter 2, “The Context of Modern Organizations (Diversity, Quality, Technology, International),” focuses on four major issues that can affect modern organizations and their management. Those issues are workforce diversity, managing for quality, technology, and the global environment of organizations. Projected changes in the demographic makeup of the domestic civilian workforce will make the workforce of the future more diverse, presenting managers with both opportunities and problems. Managing for quality helps organizations become more competitive and meet the needs of increasingly demanding consumers. The third issue, technology, will have sweeping effects on organizations and their managers well into the future. The global environment of organizations adds still another dimension of diversity, opportunity, and problems. Today’s managers can no longer assume their markets and competitors are only within their home country’s boundary.

Much behavior and many decisions in organizations involve ethical issues. Chapter 3, “Ethics and Behavior in Organizations,” examines ethics and ethical behavior in detail. The chapter first considers the social responsibility of modern organizations and then compares ethical and unethical behavior in organizations. It next describes the sources of ethics for both societies and individuals and reviews several theories of ethics. Finally, the chapter addresses how managers can promote ethical behavior and considers the implications the increasingly global environment of organizations has on ethical behavior.

Chapter 4, “Organizational Culture,” describes many aspects of organizational culture and its effects on organization members. The chapter offers several ways of viewing organizational cultures. It describes the functions and dysfunctions of cultures, explains how to diagnose an organization’s culture, and discusses the relationship between an organization’s culture and its performance. The chapter discusses some international aspects of organizational culture and several ethical issues.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe the concept of an organization.

Distinguish between organizational behavior and organizational theory.

Explain the role of theory and concepts in analyzing behavioral issues and problems.

Analyze the consequences of behavior in organizations.

Discuss the historical foundations of modern organizational behavior and management.

Chapter Overview

What is an Organization?

Organizational Behavior and Organizational Theory

Theories and Concepts

Theory

Theories and Concepts as Lenses

Functional Analysis

Historical Foundations

Division of Labor: Adam Smith (1776)

Scientific Management: Frederick W. Taylor (1911)

Toward a Theory of Administration: Henri Fayol (1919)

Bureaucracy: Max Weber (1922)

Mary Parker Follett’s Observations on Organizations and Management (1925)

The Functions of the Executive: Chester I. Barnard (1938)

The Hawthorne Studies (1939)

Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor (1960)

Management Guru: Peter F. Drucker (1995)

Modern organizations face simultaneous pressures for change and stability. Many organization members view these opposing pressures as paradoxical and difficult to understand.¹ Successful organizations constantly evolve and thrive on change. Managers and nonmanagers in this system must repeatedly innovate to stay competitive.² Many employees find these systems exhilarating. Others view them as a source of stress.

Organizations extensively use technology for many organizational processes and interactions. A company’s intranet helps manage internal interactions wherever they occur in the world. Organizations use the Internet to manage external interactions with suppliers, customers, and partners. Such technologies help managers sustain the global focus needed for success. Many employees telecommute, working from their homes or other locations using computer technology.³

Technology also changes many aspects of organizational form and function. Electronic groups saw extensive development since the 1980s. Group members interact over a network using group-support technology. Group members can be anywhere: in the same room or across the globe.⁴

An emerging organization form called the virtual organization has become increasingly common. These networks of organizations and individuals coordinate their activities electronically. They can span the globe and feature diverse cultures, yet they stay focused on specific goals.⁵

Strategic changes have become the norm.⁶ This is the area that will see the greatest pressure for stability and change. Pressure for stability comes from managers who believe they have a successful strategy. Pressure for change comes from managers who believe a new strategy is essential. Electronic business (e-commerce) is a source of continuing pressure. The strategic decisions focus on whether to have traditional outlets for products and services (bricks and mortar) or electronic outlets over the Internet (or both).

Welcome to the modern organizational world! You possibly have experienced much of what this introduction described. If you have not, there is a high probability that you will in the future. This book discusses all the topics mentioned and gives you well-grounded information to let you function successfully in this modern environment.

This chapter starts with the definitions of some basic concepts that underlie all other chapters. It then summarizes some historical foundation writings that are enduring classical observations on organizations and management. These observations, made many years ago, apply to many issues about modern organizations.⁷

WHAT IS AN ORGANIZATION?

An organization is a system of two or more persons, engaged in cooperative action, trying to reach a purpose.⁸ Organizations are bounded systems of structured social interaction featuring authority relations, communication systems, and the use of incentives. They usually have a hierarchical form, whether steep or shallow. Organizations have formal legal status and are recognized by state and federal governments. Examples of organizations include businesses, hospitals, colleges, retail stores, and prisons.⁹

We are all part of organizations. You are part of an organization at your college or university. In your daily activities, you move from one organization to another. You might shop at a store, deal with a government agency, or go to work. Understanding organizations and their management can give you significant insights into systems that...