Discussion: Identify Researchable Problems

MGMT 8705M: Organizational Behavior Performance and Evaluation

Topic List

The focus of this organizational behavior and human capital development course is on organizational behavior, motivation, collaboration, and performance and evaluation of individuals and teams. Some of the questions that may be explored relate to how human resource managers motivate and build resiliency in their organizational culture. Students will also consider the influence of organizational structure behavior of individuals and teams, how behavior and motivation are impacted in a global virtual environment, and the impact of expert systems and artificial intelligence on the behavior of employees. You will be completing three projects for this course:

• Research framework (due in Week 5) • Prospectus (due in Week 8) • Proposal (due in Week 10)

For each project, you will choose a different focus area by following the steps below: 1. Select a different theme from the list below for each of your three projects. 2. Within the theme, select a combination of multiple topics and issues. 3. Declare three focus areas that you will use for your three projects. (Week 1) 4. Refine your focus areas by conducting an initial review of the literature.

(Weeks 2–4)

Theme 1: Organizational Behavior Organizational behavior is the study of how individuals and groups behave within an organizational environment. The study of organizational behavior includes perspectives on motivation, leadership, communication, power and politics, and other issues that are involved in the interface between individuals, groups, and the organization, whether it is a business, government entity, non-profit, or any other assembly of individuals that have come together to serve a common purpose.

• Organizational Theories and Application o Organizational perspectives o Traditional versus contemporary theory and practice

o Global versus local organizations o External organizational environment o Diversity and ethics in a global environment o Power and politics in both domestic and global environments

• Group, Team, and Leadership Behavior o Contemporary theories and applications o Promoting effective group and team behaviors o Influencing employee trust, loyalty, and commitment o Adapting to the virtual environment

• Individual Employee Motivation and Behavior o Motivational theories and their application to individual behavior o Impact and influence of reward and recognition on employee performance

and job satisfaction o Impact of leader/member relationship o Impact of generational differences o Impact of social and cultural differences

Theme 2: Organizational Culture and Structure Organizations are impacted by both culture (the system of beliefs developed over time in the organization) and structure (how the organization is designed to achieve its goals). The study of organizational culture includes a survey of how belief systems are formed, sustained, and changed in the organization, and how these belief systems are influenced by internal and external stimuli. The structure of the organization can be intentionally designed to address strategic goals, with consideration for the culture, and can be modified in order to facilitate change. Both culture and structure influence the behaviors we see at the individual employee as well as group/team and leadership level within the organization.

• Organizational Culture (aka Organizational DNA) o Definition and structure of organizational culture o Impact of organizational change on organizational culture and internal

environment o Impact of macro cultures

• Organizational Structure influencing Culture and Employees o Impact of organizational structure on job design o Impact of structure on communication and decision making o Organizational design alignment with strategy o Impact of job and workplace design o Workforce planning

• Leadership Influences on Culture o Role of leader in developing, communicating, and sustaining

organizational culture o Organizational culture that values and facilitates social change o Building a resilient organizational culture o How learning is transmitted through culture o Influence of technology (artificial intelligence, expert systems, etc.) on the

behavior of individual employees and groups

Theme 3: Organizational Effectiveness, Assessment and Evaluation Organizational effectiveness refers to the ability of the organization to achieve its goals, and assessment refers to the practices and systems put in place to monitor and measure effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness measures can be put in place to measure any aspect of organizational behavior and are relevant at the individual employee, group/team, and leadership levels of the organization. This topic includes diagnostics to address potential problems and opportunities faced by the organization and the organization’s ability or readiness to respond to internal and external stimuli.

• Organizational development o HR alignment with strategy o Strategic change initiatives o Assessing culture and leading change o Culture adaptations through stages of growth o Human resource policies and procedures o Leadership and management development

• Organizational performance models o High Performance Work Systems o Knowledge Management o Learning Organizations o Performance management o Process management o Rewards and recognition

• Organizational assessment and evaluation o Methods (qualitative, quantitative, mixed) o Problem identification o Data gathering o Analysis of results o Diagnosis and feedback