What is organizational behavior? - Chapter 1

Organizational behavior (OB) refers to the study of individuals and their behavior at work. Organizational behavior refers to a multidisciplinary and multilevel research field that finds its origins in applied psychology, cultural anthropology, communication and sociology. In this summary, all areas are considered, yet there is a focus on applied social psychology. Applied psychology is the study of how people interact in groups. In addition, research in the areas of sociology and anthropology help us understand organizational culture and leading change. 

When and how did the study of organizational behavior emerge?

OB is a relatively young research field that originated in the human relations movement ignited by the Hawthorne studies, which led to a focus on the role of human behavior in organizations. The Hawthorne studies refer to two studies that were conducted by Elton Mayo between 1927 and 1932. In his first study, he experimented with the effects of lighting in power plants on worker productivity. Surprisingly, they found that productivity increased rather than decreased despite the lights being dimmed. The researchers decided to interview the workers. They learned that the workers appreciated the attention of the research team and felt that they were receiving special treatment. Productivity declined after the researchers left the plant. This is now called the Hawthorne effect, referring to a positive response in attitude and performance when researchers pay attention to a particular group of workers. 

The second study aimed to investigate a new incentive system. However, instead of the incentive system increasing workers' production, the social pressure from peers took over.
Peer pressure had far more impact on the productivity of the workers than salary increases. Workers formed small groups and set informal standards for production, requiring coworkers to reduce their production, so pay was more equal among the group members.

The researchers of the Hawthorne studies concluded that the human element in organizations is more important than previously thought. The researchers found that workers want attention. Based on these Hawthorne studies, the human relations movement followed and OB emerged as a distinct field of studies in the 1950s. In 1957 the term organizational behavior first appeared in a book by Chris Argyris. 

How to go from theory to practice?

OB is an applied science. First, the goals of science are as follows:

1. Description: what does the process look like?
2. Prediction: will the process occur again? And if so, when?
3. Explanation: why is it happening?
4. Control: can we change whether or not this happens? 

For example, human resource managers need to have an understanding of how many customers will visit the store based on prior seasons (the theory) and to be able to describe their need for additional workers. Prediction is important, because managers have to estimate with some accuracy how many seasonal workers they will need to hire to ensure that customers receive good service and won't have to wait a long time.

Next, the ability to translate research to practice is called evidence-based management (EBM). The concept evidence-based was used first in the field of medicine, to guide doctors in decision-making regarding their patients' care. There are many different definitions of EBM available, yet the most frequently quoted one is that EBM refers to making decisions about the management of employees, teams or organizations through the conscious, explicit and judicious use of four sources of information:

1. The best available scientific evidence (like published research on OB)
2. The best available organizational evidence (like interviews or surveys completed by workers of an organization)
3. The best available experiential evidence (like the intuition of the leader and his or her expert opinions)
4. Organizational values and stakeholders' concerns (like stock price or groups that focus on whether the organization employs environmentally friendly practices) 

When leaders use EBM to ask questions and challenge their thinking about their organizations, they may apply the following standards:

1. Stop treating old ideas as if they were brand new.
2. Be suspicious of 'breakthrough' studies and ideas.
3. Develop and celebrate collective brilliance.
4. Emphasize drawbacks as well as virtues.
5. Use success (and failure) stories to illustrate sound practices, but not instead of a valid research study.
6. Adopt a neutral stance toward ideologies and theories. 

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking calls for persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends. The process of critical thinking consists of three interrelated parts:

1. The elements of thought (reasoning)
2. The intellectual standards that apply to the elements of reasoning
3. The intellectual traits that are associated with a cultivated critical thinking, resulting from the consistent and disciplined application of the intellectual standards to the elements of thought.

Critical thinking includes a complex combination of skills. Among the main characteristics are the following:

• Logic
• Reflection
• Dual processing 
• Attention to detail
• Decision-making 

In summary, critical thinkers are skeptical by nature. They approach texts with the same skepticism and suspicion as they approach spoken remarks. Critical thinkers are active, not passive. They ask questions and analyze. They apply tactics and strategies consciously to unravel meaning or assure their understanding. Furthermore, they do not have a selfish worldview. Rather, they are open to new ideas and perspectives. They are willing to challenge their beliefs and examine competing evidence. 

Translating this into organizational behavior, the following basic questions are considered important for any manager to ask him or herself:

• What businesses are we in?
• What businesses should we be in?
• What is our mission?
• What should our mission be?
• Who should our customers be?
• How should we react to a major crisis, in particular if we are (perceived to be) at fault?
• How will the outside world perceive our actions?
• Will others perceive the situation similar to how we do? 

In OB, there is a systematic method to answer these questions. This systematic, scientific method, will be discussed next. 

Why does theory X/Y have such a strong influence on understanding leadership?

The Human Side of Enterprise is one of the most influential books in OB. It is written by Douglas McGregor and is important, because it shows the idea that leader behaviors are influenced by fundamental assumptions and beliefs about human nature. Most leaders are not aware of this phenomenon, hence their influence on behavior is pervasive and difficult to detect. These assumptions can be divided into pessimistic (Theory X) and optimistic (Theory Y) views on human nature.

• Theory X leaders assume that people are basically lazy, do not like to work, and will accept responsibility. The manager tends to be directive, engaged in surveillance, and showing coercion. 
• Theory Y leaders assume that people are internally motived, like to work, and will accept responsibility. These managers' related behaviors are to allow discretion, participation, and the encouragement of creativity on the job.

One of the major themes of this textbook is to encourage you to think critically about the theories and approaches presented. This Theory X/Y is no exception. Over the past years, this theory has been criticized for being too simple and not considering the situation leaders and workers find themselves in. In addition, research was hindered for a long time, because good measures of this theory did not exist. However, recently, Richard Kopelman and his associates developed a measure of Theory X and Y that shows promise for the valid assessment of these diverse management philosophies. 

What are the outcome variables in OB?

In this example, leader appreciation of workers is the independent variable (the cause). Worker engagement is the dependent variable, because it depends on the independent variable (here leader appreciation). Because OB is an applied science, the outcome variables are typically variables that leaders want to improve. Generally, five groups of outcome variables can be studied:

1. Performance (job productivity) measured by actual performance (e.g. number of records correctly processed) or rated by supervisors or co-workers. 
   • Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is the willingness of the worker to go above and beyond what is required in his or her job description. 
2. Attitudes: to measure work-related attitudes, you can look at: 
   • Job satisfaction
   • Organizational commitment: loyalty to an organization
   • Employee engagement
3. Employee well-being
4. Thriving: The psychological state in which individuals experience both a sense of vitality and learning
5. Motivation: It can be based on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
6. Employee withdrawal:
   • Turnover intentions: reasons why employees think about quitting
   • Actual turnover
   • Absenteeism 

The behavior of employees may be influenced by processes at different levels in the organization:

• Individual level
• Team-level
• Organizational level
• Industry level