P A R T 1 UNDERSTANDING THE WORKPLACE

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  Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology? How does know ing about organizational behaviour make w ork and life more understandable? What challenges do managers and employees face in the w orkplace of the tw enty-first century? CH A PTER 1

  What Is Organizat ional Behaviour?

  An organization decides it w ill hire people w ith few skills and job experience. What

challenges might its managers face?

  P A R T 1 UN DERSTA N DIN G THE W ORKPLACE

4 What is organizational behaviour?

  innipeg-based Inner City Renovation (ICR) does renova- tion and construction work on

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  rundown inner city residential and com- mercial buildings, with the aim of revital-

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  izing the area. As part of its mission, the company employs and trains low-income residents of the inner city. ICR is a for- profit company that was created by five not-for-profit joint venture partners: North End Housing Project (NEHP), Winnipeg Partners in Housing (WPH), Spence Neighbourhood Association (SNA), West Broadw ay Development Corporation (WBDC), and Community Ow nership Solutions (COS). ICR has completed over 50 residential and commercial projects since opening its doors in August 2002.

  Because ICR hires a number of employees who have The challenges that the managers at ICR face in few skills and little job experience, managers must teach running a successful organization and getting people the employees how to perform the role of employee. to w ork w ell together illustrate several concepts you M anagers must also teach employees about teamw ork w ill find as you study the field of organizational behav- and leadership w hile w orking side by side w ith them on iour. Let’s take a look, then, at w hat organizational construction projects. Can a company like ICR survive as behaviour is. w ell as a company not as committed to social values?

  EFINING RGANIZATIONAL EHAVIOUR D O B

  1 What is organizational

  ( o ften abbreviated as O B) is a field o f study that investi-

  Organizatio nal behavio ur behaviour?

  gates ho w individuals, gro ups, and structure affect and are affected by behavio ur within

  organizational behaviour A field

  o rganizatio ns. Behavio ur refers to what peo ple do in the o rganizatio n, ho w they per-

  of study that investigates the impact

  fo rm, and what their attitudes are. Because the o rganizatio ns studied are o ften business

  of individuals, groups, and structure

  o rganizatio ns, O B is frequently applied to address wo rkplace issues such as absenteeism,

  on behaviour within organizations;

  turno ver, pro ductivity, mo tivatio n, wo rking in gro ups, and jo b satisfactio n. Managers

  the aim is to apply such knowledge toward improving organizational

  o ften apply the kno wledge gained fro m O B research to help them manage their o rgan- effectiveness. izatio ns mo re effectively.

  O B I S FO R EV ERY O N E

  4 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  OB I s for Everyone

  It may seem natural to think that the study o f O B is fo r lead-

  ers and managers o f o rganizatio ns. After all, they o ften set

• Why do some

  pe ople do we ll in the agenda fo r everyo ne else. Ho wever, O B is fo r everyo ne. organizational

  Fo r instance, m any em plo yees have info rm al leadership

  settings while othe rs

  ro les. They are o ften expected to mo ve beyo nd simply pro -

  have difficulty?

  viding labo ur to playing a mo re pro active ro le in achieving o rganizatio nal success. As well, managers are increasingly

  

asking emplo yees to share in their decisio n-making pro cesses rather than simply fo llo w

   o rders. Fo r instance, emplo yees in so me retail sto res can make decisio ns abo ut when to accept returned item s o n their o wn, witho ut invo lving the m anager. Thus, in m any

  2 o rganizatio ns, the ro les o f managers and emplo yees have beco me blurred.

  O B is no t just fo r managers and emplo yees. Entrepreneurs and self-emplo yed indi- viduals may no t act as managers, but they certainly interact with o ther individuals and o rganizatio ns as part o f their wo rk. In fact, much o f OB is relevant beyo nd the wo rkplace.

  O B applies equally well to all situatio ns in which yo u interact with o thers. In fact, O B is relevant anywhere that peo ple co me to gether and share experiences, wo rk o n go als, o r meet to so lve pro blems. The study o f O B can shed light o n the interactio ns amo ng fam ily m em bers, the vo luntary gro up that co m es to gether to do so m ething abo ut reviving the do wnto wn area, students wo rking as a team o n a class pro ject, the parents

  What is organizational behaviour? It’s a field of study that focuses on three levels of behaviour in organ- izations. One level is the individ- ual, such as the Wal-M art greeter handing out smiley balloons. Another level is the group, such as the three employees of Praxair, a distributor of bottled industrial gases, w ho meet to discuss their w ork. The third level is structure, w hich is depict ed here by employees w orking in cubicles at Bloomberg, a f inancial media company.

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

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  who sit o n the bo ard o f their child’s daycare centre, o r even the members o f a lunchtime pickup basketball team. Thro ugho ut the textbo o k, a feature called O B in the Street will help yo u understand these bro ader co nnectio ns.

  What Do We M ean b y Organization?

  An o rganizatio n is a co nscio usly co o rdinated so cial unit, made up o f a gro up o f peo ple, organization A consciously

  coordinated social unit, made up of a

  who wo rk to gether o n co mmo n go als o n a relatively co ntinuo us basis. Manufacturing and

  group of people, that functions on a

  service firms are o rganizatio ns, and so are scho o ls, ho spitals, churches, military units,

  relatively continuous basis to achieve

  retail sto res, po lice departments, vo lunteer o rganizatio ns, start-ups, and lo cal, pro vin- common goals. cial, and federal go vernment agencies. Inner City Reno vatio n, which we discussed in the o pening vignette, is a fo r-pro fit o rganizatio n, but its partners are no npro fit o rganiza- tio ns. Thus, when we say “o rganizatio n” thro ugho ut this textbo o k, we are referring no t o nly to large manufacturing firms but also to small mo m-and-po p sto res, as well as to the variety o f o ther fo rms o f o rganizatio n that exist. Small businesses make up a significant

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  part o f the eco no my. Businesses that employ no mo re than 20 peo ple are respo nsible fo r abo ut o ne-quarter o f all Canadian jo bs. Small businesses emplo ying 50 o r fewer peo ple make up 24 percent o f Canada’s gro ss natio nal pro duct. Micro businesses ( co mpanies with 5 o r fewer emplo yees managed by an o wner/ o perato r, o ften as so le pro prieto r- ships) acco unt fo r abo ut 8 percent o f the emplo yment in this co untry.

  The examples in this textbo o k present vario us o rgani- zatio ns so that yo u gain a better understanding o f the

  many types that exist. Tho ugh yo u might no t have co n-

• Do you know

  what a “ typical”

  sidered this befo re, the co llege o r university yo u attend is

  organization looks

  every bit as much a “real” o rganizatio n as is Hudso n’s Bay

  like ?

  Co mpany o r Air Canada o r the To ro nto Rapto rs. A small, fo r-pro fit o rganizatio n that hires peo ple with limited skills to reno vate and build in the inner city o f Winnipeg is as much a real o rganizatio n as is Lo ndo n, O ntario -based EllisDo n, o ne o f No rth America’s largest co nstructio n co mpanies. Therefo re, the theo ries we co ver sho uld be co nsidered in light o f the variety o f o rganizatio ns yo u may enco unter. We try to po int o ut instances where the theo ry may be less applicable ( o r especially applicable) to a particular type o f o rganizatio n. Fo r the mo st part, ho wever, yo u sho uld expect that the discussio ns in this textbo o k apply acro ss the bro ad spectrum o f o rganizatio ns. Thro ugho ut, we highlight applicatio ns to a variety o f o rganizatio ns in o ur feature O B in the Workplace.

  AKING ENSE OF EHAVIOUR IN OB: M S B RGANIZATIONS O The managers at Inner City Renovation (ICR) quickly noticed that some of their employees had special challenges, such as their unemployment rates, their inconsistent job records, and their

  4 low education levels. M anagers interview ed employees about their career interests and their needs for skill development. In addition, employees have had one-on-one meetings with the ICR president and the employee support w orker. Interview s and meetings are w ays to collect data about employee behaviour. While ICR managers are not researchers, they understand the need

  6 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  The Buil d ing Blo c k s of OB

  O B is an applied behavio ural science that is built upo n co ntributio ns fro m a number o f behavio ural disciplines. The main areas are psycho lo gy, so cio lo gy, so cial psycho lo gy,

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  anthro po lo gy, and po litical science. As we will learn, psycho lo gy’s co ntributio ns have been mainly at the individual o r micro -level o f analysis. The o ther fo ur disciplines have co n- tributed to o ur understanding o f macro co ncepts, such as gro up pro cesses and o rgani- zatio n. Exhibit 1-1 presents an o verview o f the majo r co ntributio ns to the study o f O B.

  EXHIBIT 1-1 Tow ard an OB Discipline

Behavioural Contribution Unit of Output

science analysis Learning M otivation Personality Emotions Perception Training Leadership effectiveness Psychology Job satisfaction Individual decision making Performance appraisal Attitude measurement Employee selection Work design Work stress Individual Group dynamics Work teams Communication Pow er Conflict Intergroup behaviour Sociology Formal organization theory Study of Organizational technology Organizational Group Organizational change Behaviour Organizational culture Behavioural change Attitude change Social psychology Communication Group processes Group decision making Organization system Comparative values Comparative attitudes Cross-cultural analysis Anthropology Organizational culture Organizational environment

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

  7 The Rigour of OB

  Whether yo u want to respo nd to the challenges o f the Canadian wo rkplace, which we discuss later in the chapter, manage well, guarantee satisfying and rewarding employment fo r yo urself, o r kno w ho w to wo rk better in gro ups and teams, it pays to understand o rganizatio nal behavio ur. O B pro vides a systematic appro ach to the study o f behav- io ur in o rganizatio ns, as well as gro ups and teams. Underlying this systematic appro ach is the belief that behavio ur is no t rando m. Thus research studies are co nducted and are the basis fo r all o f the claims made in this textbo o k.

  OB Lo o ks at Co nsistencies

  Certainly there are differences amo ng individuals. Placed in similar situatio ns, peo ple do n’t all act exactly alike. Ho wever, there are certain fundamental co nsistencies under- lying the behavio ur o f mo st individuals that can be identified and then mo dified to reflect individual differences.

  These fundamental co nsistencies are very impo rtant because they allo w predictabil- ity. Fo r instance, when yo u get into yo ur car, yo u make so me definite and usually highly accurate predictio ns abo ut ho w o ther peo ple will behave.

  What may be less o bvio us is that there are rules ( written and unwritten) in almo st every setting. Thus, it can be argued that it’s po ssible to predict behavio ur ( undo ubtedly, no t always with 100-percent accuracy) in supermarkets, classro o ms, do cto rs’ o ffices, elevato rs, and in mo st structured situatio ns. Fo r instance, do yo u turn aro und and face the do o rs when yo u get into an elevato r? Almo st everyo ne do es. Is there a sign inside the elevato r that tells yo u to do this? Pro bably no t! Just as we make predictio ns abo ut driv- ers, where there are definite rules o f the ro ad, so we can make predictio ns abo ut the behavio ur o f peo ple in elevato rs, where there are few written rules. This example sup- po rts a majo r fo undatio n o f this textbo o k: Behavio ur is generally predictable, and the systematic study o f behavio ur is a means to making reaso nably accurate predictio ns.

  OB Lo o ks Beyo nd Co mmo n Sense

  When we use the phrase systematic study , we mean lo o king at relatio nships, attempt- systematic study The examina-

  tion of behaviour in order to draw

  ing to attribute causes and effects, and basing o ur co nclusio ns o n scientific evidence—

  conclusions, based on scientific evi-

  that is, o n data gathered under co ntro lled co nditio ns, and measured and interpreted

  dence, about causes and effects in

  in a reaso nably rigo ro us manner— rather than relying o n co mmo n sense. O B uses sci- relationships. entific research to uncover how behavio ur wo rks in o rganizatio ns. Exhibit 1-2 o n page 8 illustrates the co mmo n metho ds researchers use to study to pics in O B.

  A systematic appro ach do es no t mean that tho se things yo u have co me to believe in an unsystematic way are necessarily inco rrect. So me o f the co nclusio ns we make in this textbo o k, based o n so lid research findings, will suppo rt what yo u always knew was true. Yo u will also be expo sed to research evidence that runs co unter to what yo u might have tho ught was co mmo n sense. In fact, o ne o f the challenges to teaching a subject such

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  as O B is to o verco me the no tio n, held by many, that “ it’s all co mmo n sense.” Yo u will find that many o f the so -called co mmo n-sense views yo u ho ld abo ut human behavio ur are wro ng, o n clo ser examinatio n. Mo reover, what o ne perso n co nsiders co m- mo n sense frequently runs co unter to ano ther’s versio n. Are leaders bo rn o r made? What is it that motivates people at work nowadays? You probably have answers to such questions,

  8 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  EXHIBIT 1-2 Research M et hods in OB

Field Studies

in real-life

organizations

  Laboratory Studies M eta-Analysis using statistics to in simulated and pool results of controlled settings different studies

  

Sources of

research insight

in OB

  Survey Studies Case Studies using questionnaires looking in depth and interview s in at single situations sample populations Source: J. R. Schermerhorn, J. G. Hunt , and R. N. Osborn, Organizat ional Behavior, 9t h ed., 2005, p. 4. Copyright © 2005 John W iley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted w ith permission of John W iley & Sons, Inc.

  examples thro ugho ut the textbo o k, many individuals exhibit less than desirable behav- io ur in the wo rkplace. With a stro nger gro unding in the systematic analysis o f O B, indi- viduals wo uld be able to avo id so me o f these mistakes. This chapter’s Point/Counterpoint o n page 22 lo o ks at ho w systematic O B is.

  O ne o f the o bjectives o f this textbo o k is to expo se yo u to a systematic analysis o f behavio ur, in the belief that such analysis will impro ve yo ur accuracy in explaining and predicting behavio ur. Understanding O B may also help yo u behave better in o rgani- zatio ns and gro ups as well. Fo r example, after studying O B, yo u may realize that yo u sho uld no t discuss The Apprentice at 8:00 a.m. in the manager’s o ffice if yo ur manager

  7 needs quiet time, is an intro vert, and is pro ductio n-o riented.

  OB Has Few Abso lutes

  There are few, if any, simple and universal principles that explain O B. In co ntrast, the physical sciences— chemistry, astro no my, and physics, fo r example— have laws that are co nsistent and apply in a wide range o f situatio ns. Such laws allo w scientists to gener- alize abo ut the pull o f gravity o r to co nfidently send astro nauts into space to repair satellites. However, as o ne no ted behavio ural researcher co ncluded, “Go d gave all the easy pro blems to the physicists.” Human beings are co mplex. Because we are no t alike, o ur

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

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  valid predictio ns. It do es mean, ho wever, that O B must co nsider behavio ur within the co ntext in which it o ccurs— kno wn as a co ntingency appro ach . So , fo r example, O B contingency approach An

  approach taken by OB that considers

  scho lars wo uld avo id stating that effective leaders sho uld always seek the ideas o f their

  behaviour within the context in

  emplo yees befo re making a decisio n. Rather, we may find that in so me situatio ns a par- which it occurs. ticipative style is clearly superio r, but in o ther situatio ns an auto cratic decisio n style is mo re effective. In o ther wo rds, as yo u will see in Chapter 8, the effectiveness o f a particular leadership style depends o n the situatio n in which it is used. The O B scho lar wo uld therefo re try to describe the situatio ns to which each style is suited.

  Co nsistent with the co ntingency appro ach, the Point/Counterpoint feature included in each chapter presents debates o n so me o f the mo re co ntro versial issues in O B. These debates highlight the fact that within O B there is disagreement o n many issues. The

  Point/Counterpoint fo rmat gives yo u the o ppo rtunity to explo re different po ints o f view

  o n an issue, disco ver ho w diverse perspectives co mplement and o ppo se each o ther, and gain insight into so me o f the current debates in the O B field.

  OW

  ILL NOWING AKE A H W K OB M

  IFFERENCE D ?

  3 How does know ing

  When we talk abo ut the impact o f O B in each chapter, we co nsider the impact o n bo th

  about organizational

  the wo rkplace and the individual ( see o ur features O B in the Workplace and O B in the

  behaviour make w ork Street ) . So let’s begin o ur discussio n o f O B’s impact by lo o king bro adly at ho w kno wing and life more

  abo ut O B makes a difference in the wo rkplace, befo re we lo o k at ho w O B affects us

  understandable? individually.

  In the Workpla c e

  Fro m a management po int o f view, understanding O B can help yo u manage well. Still, yo u might wo nder whether managing well really makes a difference. Markham, O ntario - based Black Pho to Co rpo ratio n’s president, Ro d Smith, learned that no t listening to emplo yee demands can have undesirable co nsequences when he was co nfro nted with a unio n drive at Black’s. He no tes the difficulties he has experienced in wo rking with a unio n. “ O ne o f the things that yo u lo se when yo u get unio nized is that ability to be co mpassio nate, because the rules are the rules, and they catch peo ple in ways we prefer

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  no t to catch them.” Co nsider ano ther manager’s perspective. Aris Kaplanis, president and CEO o f To ro nto - based Teranet, understands the impo rtance o f managing well. In the high-tech industry, where turno ver is typically 10 to 20 percent, Teranet’s annual turno ver rate is less than

  1 percent. Kaplanis believes that his turnover is low because Teranet develo ped a co rpo rate culture that is bo th humane and family-friendly. “My perspective is that the co mpany has two assets— o ne is the custo mers, the o ther is o ur emplo yees. Bo th o f these assets have

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  to be serviced.” The evidence indicates that m anaging peo ple well m akes fo r better co rpo ratio ns overall. Exhibit 1-3 o n page 10 shows that many o f the firms that made the KPMG/ Ipso s

  Reid list o f “ Mo st Respected Co rpo ratio ns fo r Hum an Reso urce Managem ent” also sco red high o n financial perfo rmance and best lo ng-term investment value. Five o f the co mpanies placed in the to p 10 o n bo th financial measures.

  10 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  EXHIBIT 1-3 M ost Respect ed Corporat ions for Human Resource M anagement (KPM G/Ipsos Reid’s 2005 Survey) Rank on Best Rank on Financial Long-Term Location Industry Performance Investment Value

  1 . RBC Financial Group

  Toronto Financial Services

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  1

  2. WestJet Airlines

  Calgary Air Transportation n/a n/a

  3. Dofasco

  Hamilton, ON Steelmaker n/a n/a

  4. TD Bank Financial Group

  Toronto Financial Services

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  5

  5. EnCana Corporation

  Calgary Oil and Gas

  3

  2

  6. M anulife Financial

  Toronto Financial Services

  4

  4

  7. IBM Canada

  M arkham, ON Computers n/a n/a

  8. Toyota Canada

  Scarborough, ON Automotive n/a n/a

  9. BM O Financial Group

  Toronto Financial Services

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  While the KPMG/ Ipso s Reid survey shows that managing well adds to the bo tto m line, the RO B survey sho ws mo re directly that managing well pro vides managers with day-to - day returns. ROB’s 50 best employers have low turnover, and employees want to stay with their firm s— even when they are o ffered higher-paying jo b s by o ther co m panies. Em plo yees with the 50 best em plo yers who participated in the RO B survey did no t mentio n mo ney. Instead, they no ted that the co mpany reco gnizes their perfo rmance in little ways that make a difference.

  The message fro m bo th surveys is this: Managing peo ple well pays o ff. Do ing so may

  

organizational commitment also lead to greater o rganizatio nal co mmitment . We use this term to describe the

The degree to which an employee

  degree to which an emplo yee identifies with the o rganizatio n and wishes to maintain

  identifies with the organization

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  membership in the o rganizatio n. This type o f co mmitment is o ften called affective

  and wishes to remain with the co mmitment , which describes the strength o f an individual’s emo tio nal attachment organization.

  to , identificatio n with, and invo lvement in the o rganizatio n. Emplo yees who are highly

  affective commitment The

  co mmitted go beyo nd expected behavio urs to pro vide extra service, extra insight, o r

  strength of an individual’s emotional

  whatever else is needed to get the jo b do ne. There is so me co ncern that extreme o rga-

  attachment to, identification with,

  nizatio nal co mmitment can have negative effects, in that emplo yees with stro ng o rga-

  and involvement in the

  nizatio nal co mmitment may behave unethically to pro tect the o rganizatio n. Ho wever, organization. this co ncern sho uld no t be a reaso n to avo id enco uraging co mmitment. O ne benefit o f having co mmitted employees is that they are less resistant to change when o rganizatio ns need to carry o ut changes.

  Finally, managing well may impro ve o rganizatio nal citizenship behavio ur, a to pic we discuss later in the chapter.

  For You a s an In d ivi d ual

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

  11 “What if I Am ‘Just’ a Student?”

  Yo u may think that O B is o nly useful o nce yo u reach the wo rkplace. Ho wever, many o f the co ncepts that apply to o rganizatio ns also apply to teamwo rk, so mething many stu- dents have to do . As a team member, it’s impo rtant to kno w ho w perso nality differ- ences affect the ability o f peo ple to wo rk to gether. Yo u may need to mo tivate members o f yo ur team. Or yo u may want to know how to create a mo re effective team o r so lve co n- flict in a team. Individually o r as part o f a team, yo u also have decisio ns to make and need to kno w ho w to co mmunicate with o thers. All o f these to pics are co vered by O B.

  “What if I Am No t Go ing to Wo rk in a Large Organizatio n?”

  Yo u may think that when we say “o rganizatio n” we are referring to large financial firms in o ffice to wers, to the exclusio n o f the variety o f o ther fo rms o f o rganizatio n that exist. Yo u may be thinking that yo u want to wo rk in a small business, o r in yo ur family’s business, so O B has no relevance fo r yo u. But this wo uld be sho rt-sighted. Thro ugho ut yo ur life yo u will wo rk with a variety o f o rganizatio ns, and O B will help yo u better understand ho w tho se o rganizatio ns wo rk.

  “What if I D o No t Want to Be a Manager?”

  Many o f us carry aro und a simplistic view o f wo rk o rganizatio ns, with the participants divided into set catego ries: o wners, leaders and/ o r managers, and emplo yees. These distinct ro les are fo und mo st o ften in large, publicly held o rganizatio ns. Distinct o rga- nizatio nal ro les beco me mo re blurred when we discuss smaller, privately o wned firms.

  When we talk abo ut leadership in o rganizatio ns, we typically mean the perso n o r perso ns respo nsible fo r setting the o verall visio n o f the o rganizatio n, altho ugh leader- ship can co me fro m info rmal so urces as well. While managers and leaders have seen their ro les expand as a result o f facto rs such as glo balizatio n and e-co mmerce, emplo yees are also being asked to “ mo ve beyo nd their traditio nal ro le as inputs to the pro cess o f

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  achieving o rganizatio nal go als.” Mo re and mo re emplo yees are taking o n this new ro le and respo nsibility. In particular, The Co nference Bo ard o f Canada says that in high-

  

  perfo rmance o rganizatio ns, “ Emplo yees are willing to be acco untable fo r their o wn

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  and the o rganizatio n’s success.” To be acco untable means that emplo yees “take charge o f their o wn careers, decide what skills they need to acquire and determine where they

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  wish to emplo y these skills.” Yo u may be thinking that yo u are no t planning to wo rk in an o rganizatio n at all because yo u wo uld prefer to be self-emplo yed. While self-emplo yed individuals o ften do no t act as managers, they certainly interact with o ther individuals and o rganizatio ns as part o f their wo rk. Thus, the study o f O B is just as impo rtant fo r the so le pro prieto r o r entrepreneur as fo r tho se who wo rk in large o rganizatio ns. It gives all o f us mo re insight into ho w to wo rk with o thers, and ho w to prepare to beco me emplo yees in the twenty-first-century wo rkplace.

  ODAY S HALLENGES IN THE ANAD IAN T ’ C C ORKPLACE W

  15 Inner City Renovation (ICR) employees are different from many typical for-profit organizations.

  12 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  Because many of its employees lack job experience, ICR needed to establish a culture that would motivate employees to show up for work. Managers recognized the need to create a sup- portive w ork environment for its employees.

  M any of ICR’s employees are Aboriginal peoples w ho live in the inner city. To better under- stand the needs of these and its other employees, ICR managers conducted a formal survey of all employees and had a staff retreat near the end of the first year of operation. Because of the large number of Aboriginal peoples employed by ICR, the retreat incorporated certain Aboriginal traditions as part of the event. All discussions w ere held in a circle format, and the retreat included a sw eat (a ceremony done for meditation and cleansing). In addition, employees had one-on-one meetings w ith the ICR president and the employee support w orker.

  ICR is a very committed employer. The company w ants to change the life circumstances of its employees. What factors affect employee motivation? How can ICR socialize its employees to perform w ell in their jobs? How can ICR survive in the face of competition w hile maintain- ing its goal of employing people w ith limited skills and job experience?

4 What challenges do O B co nsiders that o rganizatio ns are made up o f levels, mo ving up fro m the individ-

  managers and

  ual, to the gro up, to the entire o rganizatio nal structure. Each level co ntributes to the

  employees face in the

  variety o f activities that o ccur in to day’s wo rkplace. Exhibit 1-4 presents the three levels

  w orkplace of the

  o f analysis we co nsider in this textbo o k, and sho ws that as we mo ve fro m the individ-

  tw enty-first century?

  ual level to the o rganizatio n systems level, we deepen o ur understanding o f behavio ur in o rganizatio ns. The three basic levels are like building blo cks: Each level is co nstructed upo n the previo us level. Gro up co ncepts gro w o ut o f the fo undatio n we lay o ut in the sectio n o n individual behavio ur. We then o verlay structural co nstraints o n the individ- ual and gro up in o rder to arrive at O B.

  When we lo o k at the different levels in the o rganizatio n, we reco gnize that each has challenges that can affect how the levels above and/ o r below might o perate. We co nsider the challenges at the individual, gro up, and o rganizatio nal levels.

  This chapter’s CBC Video Case Incident further explo res o rganizatio nal challenges in the twenty-first century.

  Challenge s at the In d ivi d ual Level

  At the individual level, managers and emplo yees need to learn ho w to wo rk with peo ple who may be different fro m themselves in a variety o f dimensio ns, including perso nality, perceptio n, values, and attitudes. This po int is illustrated by the employee situatio n at ICR, where emplo yees have a variety o f experiences and co me fro m several cultures.

  Individuals also have different levels o f jo b satisfactio n and mo tivatio n, and these affect ho w managers manage emplo yees. Fo r instance, so me o f ICR’s emplo yees had drug and alco ho l dependencies that affected their mo tivatio n and pro ductivity.

  Mo re o rganizatio ns expect emplo yees to be empo wered and to take o n mo re respo n- sibility than ever befo re. This expectatio n puts demands o n bo th managers and emplo y- ees. ICR initially created three co m m ittees where em plo yees co uld give input o n a variety o f issues, but the managers were so busy trying to make sure the co mpany met financial go als that they didn’t have time to help the

  EXHIBIT 1-4 Basic OB M odel emplo yees wo rk o n these co mmittees.

  Perhaps the greatest challenge facing individuals ( and o rganiza-

  Organization systems level

  tio ns) is ho w to behave ethically, as the findings fro m the Go mery

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

  13 Individual D ifferences

  Peo ple enter gro ups and o rganizatio ns with certain char- acteristics that influence their behavio ur, the mo re o bvio us o f these being perso nality characteristics, perceptio n, val- ues, and attitudes. These characteristics are essentially intact when an individual jo ins an o rganizatio n, and fo r the mo st part, there is little that tho se in the o rganizatio n can do to alter them. Yet they have a very real impact o n behavio ur. In this light, we lo o k at perceptio n, perso nality, values, and attitudes, and their im pact o n individual b ehavio ur in Chapters 2 and 3.

  Jo b Satisfactio n

  Em plo yees are increasingly demanding satisfying jo bs. As

  Doe s job

• we discuss in Chapter 3, less

  satisfaction re ally

  th an h alf o f C an ad ian

  Toronto-based Royal Bank of make a diffe re nce ?

  em plo yees are very satisfied with their jo bs. The belief

  Canada, Canada’s largest financial

  that satisfied em plo yees are m o re pro ductive than dis-

  institution in terms of assets,

  satisfied emplo yees has been a basic assumptio n amo ng

  commands the respect of many

  managers fo r years. Altho ugh there is evidence that ques-

  business leaders. In a 2004 KPM G/

  17

  tio ns that causal relatio nship, it can be argued that so ciety sho uld be co ncerned no t Ipsos Reid poll of 250 Canadian

  CEOs, the company w as ranked

  o nly with the quantity o f life— that is, with co ncerns such as higher pro ductivity and

  first in six out of nine categories,

  material acquisitio ns— but also with its quality. Researchers with stro ng humanistic

  including “ Top of M ind M ost

  values argue that satisfactio n is a legitimate o bjective o f an o rganizatio n. They believe

  Respected Corporations,” “ Best

  that o rganizatio ns sho uld be respo nsible fo r pro viding emplo yees with jo bs that are

  Long-Term Investment Value,” and

  challenging and intrinsically rewarding. This chapter’s Ethical D ilemma Exercise, o n

  “ Human Resources Management.”

  page 24, questio ns the extent to which o rganizatio ns sho uld be respo nsible fo r help- ing individuals achieve balance in their lives.

  Emplo yers can pay the price when emplo yees are no t satisfied with wo rking co ndi- tio ns. Bank tellers at To ro nto -Do minio n Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank o f Co mmerce in Sudb ury, O ntario , vo ted to jo in the United Steelwo rkers o f Am erica in 2005. Emplo yees at a Sears Canada department sto re in Sudbury also pursued the po ssibility o f jo ining the Steelwo rkers in 2005. Brian Whalen, a maintenance wo rker fo r the sto re, _{. . .} said that “jo b satisfactio n levels have declined dramatically o ver the past two years.” He no ted that employees were upset abo ut low ho urly wages, a benefits package that was

  18

  no t affo rdable, and jo b security. While unio nizatio n do es no t necessarily increase jo b satisfactio n, it do es provide a mechanism fo r employees to have so me bargaining power with their emplo yers.

  Mo tivatio n

  An Angus Reid survey sho wed that 29 percent o f emplo yees do no t feel they receive

  19

  fair o r reaso nable rewards fo r the wo rk that they do . To address this co ncern, Chapter 4 discusses the impo rtance o f rewards in mo tivating emplo yees. Yo u may find the dis- cussio n o f mo tivatio n and rewards particularly interesting in Case Incident— How a UPS

  Manager Cut Turnover,

  o n page 25, where a manager faces the challenges o f mo tivating

  14 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  po pular business magazine no wadays, yo u will find that managers are referred to as

  20

  “co aches,” “advisers,” “ spo nso rs,” o r “ facilitato rs,” rather than “ bo sses.” Emplo yees’ respo nsibilities are increasing to o . In many o rganizatio ns, emplo yees

  21

  have beco me “asso ciates” o r “ teammates.” Decisio n making is being pushed do wn to the o perating level, where emplo yees are being given the freedo m to make cho ices abo ut schedules, pro cedures, and so lving wo rk-related pro blems.

  What is happening is that m anagers are em po wering

  

empow erment Giving employees em plo yees. Empo wermen t m eans m anagers are putting

  emplo yees in charge o f what they do . In the pro cess, man-

• Are you re ady to responsibility for what they do.

  assume more

  agers are learning how to give up co ntro l, and employees are

  re sponsibility at

  learning ho w to take respo nsibility fo r their wo rk and make

  work?

  appro priate decisio ns. The ro les fo r b o th m anagers and emplo yees are changing, o ften witho ut much guidance o n ho w to perfo rm these new ro les. Ho w widespread are these changes in the wo rkplace? While we have no specific

  

  fo und that 46 percent o f their co mpanies were still using a hierarchical structure, but 31

  22

  percent defined their co mpanies as empo wered. O B in the Workplace lo o ks at ho w WestJet Airlines empo wers its emplo yees.

  O B

  I N T H E W O RK PL A C E WestJet Airline’s Employees Work Together What do empow ered employees do? Calgary-based WestJet Airlines emplo yees are

  23

  given lo ts o f freedo m to manage themselves. Clive Beddo e, the co mpany’s president and CEO, was determined to create a co mpany “ where peo ple wanted to manage themselves.”

  At WestJet, emplo yees are asked to be respo nsible fo r their tasks, rather than rely o n superviso rs to tell them what to do . That includes Beddo e: “I do n’t direct things,” he says. “We set so me standards and expectatio ns, but [I] do n’t interfere in ho w o ur peo ple do their jo bs.” Instead, emplo yees are given guidelines fo r behavio ur. Fo r instance, flight attendants are directed to serve custo mers in a caring, po sitive, and cheerful manner. Ho w do they carry that o ut? It’s up to them. Emplo yees also share tasks. When a plane lands, all emplo yees o n the flight, even tho se who are flying o ff-duty, are expected to prepare the plane fo r its next takeo ff.

  O bvio usly, WestJet can lower its co sts by keeping the number o f superviso rs down. The co mpany o perates with abo ut 60 emplo yees per aircraft, while a typical full- service airline such as Air Canada needs mo re than 140. But allo wing emplo yees to manage themselves has a bigger benefit. Beddo e believes it enco urages emplo yees to take pride in what they do . “ They are the o nes making the decisio ns abo ut what they’re do ing and ho w they’re do ing it,” says Beddo e.

  Thro ugho ut the textbo o k yo u will find references to empo werment. We discuss it in terms o f po wer in Chapter 7, and we discuss ho w leaders co ntribute to empo werment

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behaviour?

  15

  The Enro n scandal in the United States illustrated how casually so me peo ple treat the subject o f ethics. Enro n executives creatively changed ho w they repo rted their pro fits and lo sses. When challenged, the co mpany’s chair, Kenneth Lay, cho se to lo o k the o ther way. The reputatio n o f acco unting firm Arthur Andersen was destro yed because it failed to questio n Enro n’s acco unting practices.

  Ethics starts at the individual level. While the word refers to moral conduct, ethics is also ethics The study of moral values or

  principles that guide our behaviour

  the study o f mo ral values o r principles that guide o ur behavio ur and info rm us whether

  and inform us whether actions are

  actions are right or wrong. Ethics helps us “do the right thing,” such as not padding expense right or wrong. repo rts, o r no t pho ning in sick to attend the o pening o f Superman Returns.

  Individuals as well as o rganizatio ns can face ethical dilemmas. As we show in Chapter 9, the study of ethics does not come with black and white answers. Rather, many factors need to be co nsidered in determining the ethical thing to do . Tho se individuals who strive hard to create their own set o f ethical values and tho se o rganizatio ns that enco urage an ethical climate in the face o f financial and o ther pressures will be mo re likely to do the right thing.

  Thro ugho ut this textbo o k yo u will find references to ethical and unethical behav- io ur. The Focus on Ethics vignettes pro vide tho ught-pro vo king illustratio ns o f ho w var- io us o rganizatio ns deal with ethics.

  Challenge s at the G roup Level

  The behavio ur o f peo ple in gro ups is mo re than the sum

  to tal o f all the individuals acting in their own way. Peo ple’s

• What people-

  related challenges have

  behaviour when they are in a group differs from their behav-

  you observed in the

  io ur when they are alo ne. Therefo re, the next step in devel-

  organizations in which

  o p ing an und erstand ing o f O B is the stud y o f gro up

  you have worked? behavio ur.

  Chapter 5 lays the fo undatio n fo r an understanding o f the dynam ics o f gro up and team behavio ur. That chapter discusses ho w individ- uals are influenced by the patterns o f behavio ur they are expected to exhibit, what the team co nsiders to b e acceptab le standards o f b ehavio ur, and ho w to m ake team s m o re effective.

  Chapters 6 and 7 examine so me o f the mo re co mplex issues o f interactio n: co m- municatio n, co nflict, and nego tiatio n; and po wer and po litics. These two chapters give yo u an o ppo rtunity to think abo ut ho w co mmunicatio n pro cesses so metimes beco me co mplicated because o f o ffice po liticking and interperso nal and gro up co nflict.

  Few peo ple wo rk entirely alo ne, and so me o rganizatio ns make widespread use o f teams. Therefo re, mo st individuals interact with o thers during the wo rkday. This can lead to a need fo r greater interperso nal skills. The wo rkplace is also made up o f peo ple fro m a variety o f backgro unds. Thus, learning ho w to wo rk with peo ple fro m different cultures has beco me mo re impo rtant. We review so me o f the challenges that o ccur at the gro up level belo w.

  Wo rking With Others

  Much o f the success in any jo b invo lves develo ping go o d interperso nal, o r “ peo ple,” skills. In fact, The Co nference Bo ard o f Canada identified the skills that fo rm the fo un- datio n fo r a high-quality wo rkfo rce in to day’s wo rkplace as co mmunicatio n, thinking,

  16 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace

  skills. Management pro fesso r Jin Nam Cho i o f McGill University repo rts that research sho ws that 40 percent o f managers either leave o r sto p perfo rming within 18 mo nths o f starting at an o rganizatio n “ because they have failed to develo p relatio nships with

  26

  bo sses, co lleagues o r subo rdinates.” Cho i’s co mment undersco res the impo rtance o f develo ping interperso nal skills. This bo o k has been written to help yo u develo p tho se peo ple skills, whether as an emplo yee, manager, o r po tential manager.

  To learn mo re abo ut the interperso nal skills needed in to day’s wo rkplace, read From Concepts to Skills o n pages 27–29.

  Wo rkfo rce D iversity

  O rganizatio ns are beco m ing m o re diverse, em plo ying a greater variety o f peo ple in terms o f gender, race, ethnicity,

  sexual o rientatio n, and age. A diverse wo rkfo rce includes,

• Why should you

  care about

  fo r instance, wo men, Abo riginal peo ples, Asian Canadians,

  unde rstanding

  African Canadians, Indo -Canadians, peo ple with disabili-

  othe r pe ople ?

  ties, gays and lesbians, and senio r citizens. It also includes peo ple with different demo graphic characteristics, such as educatio n and so cio -eco no mic status. The ability to adapt to many different peo ple is o ne o f the mo st impo rtant and bro ad-based challenges facing