Principles of Organizational Behavior

for almost every business operation, so the model is highly customizable. The CISM Review Manual 2010 warns, ‘‘Some aspects of the desired state can be quantified, but a qualitative approach to define both current and future states will be needed as well.’’ Numeric goals can be spe- cific, but qualitative goals explore relationships that other types of analysis can miss.

Cost-benefit analysis is essentially a form of risk management. All organizational planning should include risk management, no matter what model is chosen. The returns of an initiative are considered the benefit: it can include both monetary gains from a model with more efficiency, and intangible gains from increased morale or employee input. Analysts must create future models of these benefits and add in all future costs of the change to see what the net gain will be. Some changes may be too expensive to justify their inclusion.

Space analysis is also becoming an increasingly com- mon form of organizational planning. Mobile technol- ogy, cloud computing, and advanced Web applications allow businesses to be flexible when it comes to choosing office space. If a company can create a new model to save money by using less office space, then investment in three-dimensional space analysis programs may be worth the effort. Kristin Shevory’s 2011 New York Times article, ‘‘Office Work Space Is Shrinking, but That’s Not All Bad,’’ pointed out that some companies are also rearrang- ing office space to encourage employees to work together as groups rather than being isolated. Factories can also use space analysis to create efficient models for their equipment: this is a core practice of total quality manage- ment strategies.

S E E A L S O Organizational Chart; Organizational Change and Development; Organizational Structure.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Bryan, Lowell L., Eric Matson, and Leigh M. Weiss. ‘‘Harnessing the Power of Informal Employee Networks.’’ McKinsey Quarterly, November 2007, 44–55.

French, Wendell, Cecil H. Bell, and Robert A. Zawacki. Organization Development and Transformation: Managing Effective Change. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Goodman, Paul S., and Denise M. Rousseau. ‘‘Organizational Change That Produces Results: The Linkage Approach.’’ Academy of Management Executive 18, no. 3 (2004): 7–20.

ISACA. CISM Review Manual 2011. Rolling Meadows, IL: ISACA, 2010.

Oertig, Margaret, and Thomas Buergi. ‘‘The Challenges of Managing Cross-cultural Virtual Project Teams.’’ Team Performance Management 12, no. 1/2 (2006): 23–30.

Roberts, John. The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Shevory, Kristina. ‘‘Office Space Is Shrinking, but That’s Not All Bad.’’ New York Times, 8 January 2011. Available from

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/realestate/commercial/ 19space.html.

‘‘SWOT Analysis.’’ Marketing Teacher.com. Available from http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-swot.html.

Wall, Stephen J. ‘‘The Protean Organization: Learning to Love Change.’’ Organizational Dynamics 34, no. 1 (2004): 37–46.

Welch, Jack, and Suzy Welch. ‘‘Call It Work-Life Choices.’’ Business Week, 27 November 2006.

‘‘The Word from Hurd.’’ Bloomberg Businessweek, 1 September 2005. Available from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ content/sep2005/tc2005091_4317_tc121.htm?chan=search.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Organizational behavior is the study of individual behav- ior in an organizational setting. This includes the study of how individuals behave alone and in groups. The purpose of studying organizational behavior is to gain a greater understanding of those factors that influence individual and group dynamics so that individuals and the groups and organizations to which they belong may become more efficient and effective.

Organizational behavior draws most heavily from the psychological and sociological sciences. It also looks to scientific fields such as ergonomics, statistics, and psychometrics. Other topics of interest in the field of organizational behavior include the extent to which the- ories of behavior are culturally bound, unethical decision making, self-management and self-leadership, and work/ family conflict.

MULTIPLE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS

Different levels of analysis are necessary for understand- ing individual behavior within organizations because peo- ple always act within the context of their environment, which includes both objects and other people. Workers influence their environment and are also influenced by their environment, making the study of organizational behavior a multilevel endeavor. The different levels of analysis used in the field of organizational behavior are the individual level, the group level, and the organiza- tional level.

Individual Level of Analysis. At the individual level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of learning, perception, creativity, motivation, personality, turnover, task performance, cooperative behavior, deviant behavior, ethics, and cognition. Personality tests are fre- quently used, and analysts attempt to understand how different types of people develop and approach their work situations. The relationship between the individual and the work environment is also key at this stage. For

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example, a study of organizational behavior at the indi- vidual level of analysis might focus on the impact of different types of overhead lighting on such factors as productivity and absenteeism.

Group Level of Analysis. At the group level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of group dynam- ics, intra- and intergroup conflict and cohesion, leadership, power, norms, interpersonal communication, networks, and roles. At this level of analysis, organizational behav- ior draws upon the sociological and socio-psychological sciences. Personality tests and theories are still used, but analysts are more interested in how personalities work together and how different personalities respond to lead- ership styles or company cultures.

Organization Level of Analysis. At the organization level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of topics such as organizational culture, organizational structure, cultural diversity, inter-organizational cooper- ation and conflict, change, technology, and external envi- ronmental forces. At this level of analysis, organizational behavior draws upon anthropology and political science.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

MANAGEMENT

Much of organizational behavior research is ultimately aimed at providing human resource management profes- sionals with the information and tools they need to select, train, and retain employees in a fashion that yields max- imum benefit for the individual employee as well as for the organization. The study of organizational behavior is an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of the human asset.

Organizational behavior management utilizes studies of organizational behavior as a tool to improve productivity and profit. There is an attempt to develop scientific prin- ciples that improve employee performance. This goes beyond simply understanding the general principles of human behavior in the organizational context and focuses on such specific issues as:

• Employee safety, stress, and health

• Evaluation of employee satisfaction and feedback systems

• Use of monetary and nonmonetary incentives

• Development of self-management procedures

• Programmed instruction, behavioral modeling, and computer-aided instruction

• Positive and negative side effects of management interventions

• Systems analysis of the way in which work gets done, measured, and evaluated

THE STEWARDSHIP MODEL

In her 2011 book Key Concepts in Social Responsibility, Suzanne Benn pointed out one of the most modern organ- ization behavior developments, known as stewardship. Stewardship is an attitude that employees adopt toward themselves, their employees, and the company at the same time. It is a holistic approach to an ideal behavior for business success.

The stewardship model is defined by someone who, ‘‘given a choice between self-serving behavior and pro- organizational behavior. . .will not depart from the inter- ests of his or her own organization.’’ A steward has the mindfulness and willpower to avoid opportunistic and greedy behaviors that benefit only the self, while embrac- ing behaviors that benefit the organization and surround- ing peers, resulting in better relationships and a thriving business.

TRENDS

Kevin Sheridan, CEO of HR Solutions, warned in a 2011 article on employment trends that as an economy begins to recover from a recession, it is natural for employees to seek new employment. The United States can therefore expected employment retention to become a significant issue in the early 2010s as economic activity increases. As a result, employers must learn how to develop effective, long-term relationships with employees. Dedicated use of social media and lifestyle benefits can help with this positive connections.

As companies become more focused on globaliza- tion, organizational behavior is following the trend. Many new treatises deal with how to successful integrate with other cultures, especially Asian cultures, where part- nerships and outsourcing is common. These cultures can bring valuable diversity and experience of their own to American companies that are willing to develop relation- ships. Proper organizational behavior is key to the tran- sition period where both cultures learn to work together.

S E E A L S O Human Resource Management; Motivation and Motivation Theory; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Development.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Ashkanasy, M. Neal, Celeste P. M. Wilderom, and Mark F. Peterson, eds. The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.

Benn, Suzanne. Key Concepts in Social Responsibility. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2011.

Bowditch, James L., and Anthony F. Buono. A Primer on Organizational Behavior. 7th ed. New York: Wiley, 2007.

DeCenzo, David A., and Stephen P. Robbins. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. 9th ed. New York: Wiley, 2006.

Hersey, Paul H., Kenneth H. Blanchard, and Dewey E. Johnson. Management of Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007.

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Hitt, Michael A., C. Chet Miller, and Adrienne Colella. Organizational Behavior: A Strategic Approach. New York: Wiley, 2005.

Hofstede, Geert, and Gert Jan Hofstede. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Ozbilgin, Mustafa F. Diversity Management in Asia. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2011.

Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership.. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.

Schermerhorn, John, James G. Hunt, and Richard N. Osborn. Organizational Behavior. 10th ed. New York: Wiley, 2008.

Sheridan, Kevin. ‘‘Top 10 Employee Engagement Trends.’’ MonsterThinking (blog), 10 January 2011. Available from http://www.monsterthinking.com/2011/01/10/employee- engagement/.

Staw, Barry, ed. Research in Organizational Behavior. Vol. 28. London: JAI Press, 2008.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT Organizational development is an ongoing, systematic process to implement effective change in an organiza- tion. Organizational development is both a field of applied behavioral science focused on understanding and a field of scientific study. It is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality.

HISTORY OF ORGANIZATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

In the late 1960s organizational development was imple- mented in organizations via consultants, but was relatively unknown as a theory of practice and had no common definition among its practitioners. In 1969, Richard Beck- hard defined organizational development as ‘‘an effort, planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization’s processes, using behavioral-science knowledge.’’

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s organizational devel- opment became a more established field, with courses and programs being offered in business, education, and admin- istration curricula. In the 1990s and first decade of the twenty-first century its influence could be seen in theories and strategies such as total quality management (TQM), team building, job enrichment, and reengineering. The global marketplace and working remotely with telecom- muting teams are aspects of business in the 2010s that are often discussed in contemporary organizational develop- ment theories.

RATIONALE AND

IMPLEMENTATION

Organizational development takes into consideration how the organization and its constituents or employees func- tion together. Does the organization meet the needs of its employees? Do the employees work effectively to make the organization a success? How can the symbiotic relationship between employee satisfaction and organizational success be optimized? Organizational development strategies can be used to help employees become more committed and more adaptable.

The organizational development process is initiated when there is a need, gap, or dissatisfaction within the organization, either at the upper-management level or within the employee body. Ideally, the process involves the organization in its entirety, with evidenced support from upper management and engagement in the effort by all members from each level of the organization.

To launch the process, consultants with experience in organizational development and change management are often utilized. These consultants may be internal to the company or external, with the cautionary understand- ing that internal consultants might be too entrenched in the existing company environment to effectively coordi- nate and enforce the action plans and solutions required for successful change. Analysts contracted jointly with con- sultants can also be an effective problem-solving method, especially when issues arise among executive leaders.

Data analysis through task forces, interviews, and ques- tionnaires can illuminate likely causes for disconnects throughout an organization. These gaps can then be ana- lyzed, an action plan formed, and solutions employed. This is by no means a linear process, nor is it a brief one. Feed- back from all constituents should be elicited throughout the process and used to make adjustments to the action plan as necessary. Constant monitoring during the entire imple- mentation effort is important for its success and acceptance.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

Businesses develop through change management, which can be a challenge. Change is rarely considered an innate part of a business and is not given a department of its own. Instead, when businesses seek change they identify a particular goal and create a team to effect changes neces- sary to reach that goal. Even in a business culture where change is important, teams can still struggle to imple- ment a change through all levels of a business.

In his 2010 article, ‘‘Managing Change Has to Be a Core Competence,’’ Torben Rick pointed out that getting the ‘‘‘soft stuff’ right’’ is generally harder than managing the tangible aspects of the business. Change managers often identify stubborn mindsets and stale company cultures as

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