Essential Organizational Behaviour Concepts & Theories

Posted on Jun 14, 2025 in Energy Resources, Fuels, and Explosives Engineering

Essential Organizational Behaviour Concepts

Class 2: Introduction to OB

Definition: The study of how individuals, groups, and structure affect behavior in organizations.

Foundations of OB:

  • Multidisciplinary
  • Contingency (it depends)
  • Multiple levels (micro, meso, macro)
  • Open systems

Workplace Challenges:

  • Individual: Motivation, satisfaction
  • Group: Diversity, conflict
  • Organizational: Globalization, ethics, new technology

Class 3: Personality & Emotions

Big Five Personality Traits (CANOE):

  • Conscientiousness
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism
  • Openness to experience
  • Extraversion

Other Key Traits:

  • Locus of Control: Internal vs. external
  • Self-Monitoring: High vs. low
  • Type A/B Personality
  • Self-Esteem

Emotional Intelligence: The ability to perceive, understand, use, and regulate emotions.

Emotional Labor: Displaying organizationally desired emotions, which can cause emotional dissonance.

Class 4: Learning in Organizations

  • Classical Conditioning: Pairing stimuli to elicit reflexes (e.g., Pavlov’s dogs).
  • Operant Conditioning:
    • Reinforcement (positive/negative) increases behavior.
    • Punishment (positive/negative) decreases behavior.
  • Social Cognitive Theory:
    • Observational learning
    • Self-Efficacy: Belief in one’s capability.
    • Self-Regulation: Goal-setting, self-reward.

Class 5: Perception, Attribution & Diversity

Perceptual Process:

Stimuli → Selective Attention → Interpretation → Behavior

  • Social Identity Theory: In-group/out-group dynamics, stereotyping, implicit bias.
  • Attribution Theory: Internal vs. external causes, fundamental attribution error, self-serving bias.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Expectations shape reality.

Class 6: Work Behaviors

  • Task Performance: In-role, goal-directed behaviors.
  • Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB): Going above and beyond normal duties.
  • Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CPWB): Theft, sabotage, aggression.
  • Absenteeism: Failing to attend work (tardiness, no-shows).
  • Turnover: Voluntary (functional/dysfunctional) or involuntary (firing/layoffs).

Organizational Commitment Types (CAN)

  • Continuance: Staying because leaving is costly. Example: “I can’t afford to lose my benefits.”
  • Affective: Emotional attachment. Example: “I love this company.”
  • Normative: Obligation to stay. Example: “They trained me, I owe them.”

Organizational Justice (DIPI)

  • Distributive: Fairness of outcomes. Example: Everyone gets the same raise.
  • Procedural: Fairness of process. Example: Promotion decisions made with consistent rules.
  • Interactional: Respectful treatment. Example: Manager explains decisions kindly.
  • Informational: Transparency of information. Example: You are told why layoffs happen.

Expectancy Theory (E→P→O)

Effort leads to Performance leads to Outcome.

Valence: How much you want the outcome. Example: “If I work hard, I’ll impress my boss, and get a bonus.”

Psychological Contract

Unwritten expectations between employee and employer. Breach equals betrayal. Example: You were promised a promotion but didn’t get it.

EVLN Model: Reactions to Dissatisfaction

  • Exit: Quitting the organization.
  • Voice: Speaking up to improve conditions.
  • Loyalty: Waiting it out, remaining passive.
  • Neglect: Reducing effort, becoming indifferent.

Example: Conflict with a manager might lead you to speak up or become indifferent.

Burnout Signs (ECR)

  • Emotional exhaustion
  • Cynicism or depersonalization
  • Reduced personal accomplishment

Example: “I just don’t care about this anymore.”

Maslow’s Hierarchy vs. ERG Theory

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy: Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization.
  • ERG Theory: Existence, Relatedness, Growth.

Example: Frustration can push you back down a level in ERG theory.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

  • Motivators: Achievement, recognition, growth, responsibility.
  • Hygiene Factors: Salary, company policies, working conditions, supervision.

Example: Fixing hygiene issues prevents dissatisfaction but doesn’t necessarily motivate.

Types of Workplace Stress

  • Challenge Stressor: Difficult but potentially rewarding (e.g., a presentation for promotion).
  • Hindrance Stressor: Blocks goals (e.g., confusing policies, a bad boss).

Leventhal’s Procedural Justice Criteria

  • Consistent
  • Unbiased
  • Accurate
  • Appealable
  • Ethical
  • Inclusive

Class 13: Groups and Teams

Groups: Individuals working independently with a shared relationship or goal.

Teams: Small groups with complementary skills, a shared purpose, interdependence, and mutual accountability.

Main Types of Teams:

  • Problem-solving teams
  • Self-managed teams
  • Cross-functional teams
  • Virtual teams

Key Issues in Group & Team Dynamics:

  • Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing-Adjourning stages
  • Norms
  • Roles
  • Cohesion
  • Social loafing
  • Groupthink

Class 14: Social Influence and Socialization

Social Influence: Shapes behavior through compliance, identification, or internalization.

Organizational Socialization Stages:

  • Anticipatory
  • Encounter
  • Role management

Socialization Methods:

  • Realistic job previews
  • Orientation programs
  • Mentoring
  • Proactive newcomer actions

Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion:

  • Authority
  • Commitment and Consistency
  • Liking
  • Scarcity
  • Social Proof

Class 15: Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture: Shared values, beliefs, and assumptions revealed through artifacts.

Cultural Artifacts:

  • Rituals
  • Stories
  • Language
  • Symbols

Subcultures and countercultures can exist within an organization.

Common Cultural Dimensions:

  • Process versus results focus
  • Job versus employee focus
  • Open versus closed communication
  • Tight versus loose control

Alignment between personal values and organizational culture fosters performance and satisfaction.

Class 16: Leadership

Leadership can be explained by various perspectives:

  • Trait theories
  • Behavioral theories
  • Contingency theories
  • Transformational leadership

Key Leadership Traits:

  • Integrity
  • Intelligence
  • Emotional intelligence

Behavioral Leadership Views:

  • Task-oriented approaches
  • People-oriented approaches

Transactional and transformational leadership styles each have unique effects.

Elements of Transformational Leadership:

  • Vision
  • Intellectual stimulation
  • Individualized consideration
  • Idealized influence

Class 18: Communication in Organizations

Communication follows a sender-message-channel-receiver model.

  • Rich Media: Like face-to-face, helps with complex or ambiguous topics.
  • Lean Media: Like email, suits straightforward messages.

Communication Barriers:

  • Filtering
  • Jargon
  • Information overload
  • Misinterpretation of nonverbal cues

Active Listening: Involves sensing, evaluating, and responding.

Both formal and informal channels influence information flow within organizations.