Organizational Behavior: An Introduction to Your Life in Organizations

Preview • Beyond this book, how can you continue to learn about OB? • What more do you need to know about the scientific approach to human behavior? • How do you read a scientific journal article? • What are some current controversies that may affect the study and practice of OB in the future? • What resources can you use to learn even more about human behavior in organizations? ©2007 Prentice Hall

Beyond this book, how can you continue to learn about OB? • Hone your interpersonal and organizational understanding and skills. • Gain experience. Look for feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. Identify your unique challenges and work on them. • Launch your career successfully, building the necessary expertise, reputation, and networks to create a power base to advance yourself, or perhaps run your own company • Refer back to what you have studied ©2007 Prentice Hall

What more do you need to know about the scientific approach to human behavior? • Researchers can give a broader picture that allows you to weigh alternatives • Researchers pursue answers to questions in a systematic way • Think of them as hypotheses to be further tested in the real world situation you are facing ©2007 Prentice Hall

How do social scientists test hypotheses? • Field studies: interact with their subjects in their real life organizations • Questionnaire studies: ask participants to fill out a survey • Laboratory experiments: research is done in settings that allow the researcher to rigorously control the conditions • Examining secondary-source materials ©2007 Prentice Hall

Analyzing hypotheses • Qualitative methods are based on an individual’s or individuals’ observations and interpretations • Quantitative methods use statistical analysis to summarize and analyze measurable data points to yield results ©2007 Prentice Hall

What are some key ethical issues in social science research? • Researchers performing studies on human subjects must take precautions that protect their subjects from physical and psychological harm • The possibility of manipulating data to get desired results • Suppressing data that might not be desirable to a funding authority • The fact that many published studies are not replicated • The possibility of manipulating the peer review process ©2007 Prentice Hall

How are articles structured? • The first part is the abstract, which tells you the purpose of the study and its major findings • The first part of the body of the article is the introduction • This section is followed by a discussion of the theoretical background of the research • Next is a methodology section covering which research method was used for collecting data • Next you will come to the results section, which presents the conclusions • This is followed by a discussion section that includes implications of the study ©2007 Prentice Hall

How do articles integrate practical applications? • Level 1: Your goal is to learn the implications of this research for practitioners • Level 2: Your goal is to understand exactly how useful this research is as a guide to practical applications • Level 3: Your goal is to understand the research methodology and findings in every detail in order to build on them for future research ©2007 Prentice Hall

What are some basic types of statistical analyses? • Multiple regression is used when a researcher wants to explain the relationship between multiple independent variables and a dependent variable • Correlation shows the relationship between two variables • Factor analysis finds relationships between and among variables and then organizes similar variables into factors • Meta-analysis is a way to synthesize the results of many previous studies ©2007 Prentice Hall

What are the different roles of academic and practitioner journals? • Academic journals are those journals in which research and the research process are the primary focus. • The vast majority of academic journals are blind peer reviewed • Practitioner journals focus less on the process of research and more on the findings ©2007 Prentice Hall

What are some current controversies that may affect the study and practice of OB in the future? • Who should organizations serve? Stockholders or the greater public good? • Critical theorists would like to see OB take a more challenging approach toward business organizations • What should OB professors study and teach? What has been learned through social science or what has been learned through managerial experience? • What you see is what you have learned to look for. But is it the truth? Views of modernism and postmodernism ©2007 Prentice Hall

What resources can you use to learn even more about human behavior in organizations? • Further education – courses or degrees • Further reading – books (classics and new), magazines, journals • Use the human resource management (HRM) department in your company • Current Techniques and Fads – consider the validity and fit for your organization ©2007 Prentice Hall

Summary – Beyond this book, how can you continue to learn about OB? • Deepen your knowledge of OB history, the latest research, and current controversies • Understand current research more completely by understanding its context in history • In the companies for which you work or will work, use organizational resources to help you ©2007 Prentice Hall

Summary – What more do you need to know about the scientific approach to human behavior? • How researchers test hypotheses • What types of statistical analysis are common • Understand ethical issues in the treatment of human subjects ©2007 Prentice Hall

Summary – How do you read a scientific journal article? • Understand the parts of a journal article: the abstract, introduction, theoretical background, methodology, results and discussion • Learn to read scientific studies for their practical implications • Grasp at least the basics of statistical analysis, including multiple regression, correlation, factor analysis, and meta-analysis • Understand the difference between a scholarly journal and a practitioner journal ©2007 Prentice Hall

Summary – What are some current controversies that may affect the study and practice of OB in the future? • Who should organizations serve? • What should OB professors study and teach? • What different perspectives should be included in organizational research? ©2007 Prentice Hall

Summary – What resources can you use to learn even more about human behavior in organizations? • Look to your human resources management group for expertise • Read the history and current science • Observe on your own • Staying up on the current fads can build your reputation as an effective manager ©2007 Prentice Hall

Organizational Behavior: An Introduction to Your Life in Organizations