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Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behaviour 1
Nortel Networks and OB Nortel Networks has leveraged the power of organizational behaviour to become one of the world’s leading high technology companies. D. Chan. Ottawa Citizen
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What are Organizations? Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose – Structured patterns of interaction – Coordinated tasks – Work toward some purpose D. Chan. Ottawa Citizen
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Why Study Organizational Behaviour Understand organizational events
Organizational Behaviour Research Influence organizational events 4
Predict organizational events
Trends: Globalization • New organizational structures • Different forms of communication • Increases competition, change, mergers, downsizing, stress • Need to be more sensitive to cultural differences
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Trends: Workforce Diversity • Primary and secondary diversity • More women in workforce and professions • Different needs of Generation-X and baby-boomers • Diversity has advantages, but firms need to adjust
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Trends: Employment Relationship • Employability • Contingent work • Telecommuting • Virtual teams
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Trends: Information Technology • Affects how employees interact – Virtual teams – Telecommuting
• Affects how organizations are configured – Network structures
• Affects how firms relate to customers – Communication issues
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Trends: Lots of Teams • Potentially more effective than employees working alone • Concern is when to assign tasks to teams rather than to individuals
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Trends: Business Ethics • The study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad • What is unethical is not always obvious
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Organizational Behaviour Anchors Multidisciplinary anchor Open systems anchor
Organizational Behaviour Anchors
Multiple levels of analysis anchor
Systematic research anchor
Contingency anchor
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Open Systems Anchor of OB Feedback
Feedback
Subsystem
Inputs
Subsystem
Organization Subsystem
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Subsystem
Outputs
Knowledge Management Defined Any structured activity that improves an organization’s capacity to acquire, share, and use knowledge for its survival and success
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Intellectual Capital • Human capital – Knowledge that employees possess and generate
• Structural capital – Knowledge captured in systems and structures
• Relationship capital – Value derived from satisfied customers, reliable suppliers, and others
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Knowledge Management Processes Vancouver-based PMCSierra bought start-up firm Extreme Packet Devices for $600 million because it needed to acquire knowledge faster than through in-house research.
R. MacIvor. Ottawa Citizen
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Knowledge Management Processes • Knowledge acquisition – Grafting, learning, experimentation
• Knowledge sharing – Communication – Communities of practice
• Knowledge use
R. MacIvor. Ottawa Citizen
– Awareness – Freedom to apply knowledge 16
Organizational Memory • The storage and preservation of intellectual capital • Retain intellectual capital by: – Keeping knowledgable employees – Transferring knowledge to others – Transferring human capital to structural capital
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