Organizational Behavior MBA B600

1. Organizational BehaviorMBA B600 Class 1

2. What is Organizational Behavior? • The study of how people think, feel, and act; together and in groups • We will learn: • Why do some people get promoted even though they are not very smart or productive? • How can you motivate someone to work harder? • How can you make decisions that are fair to everyone? • Why do employees lie, cheat, or steal? Can you tell if they are lying? How should you confront them? • What makes a good negotiator? How can you get a better deal? • What makes a good leader? What makes a fantastic leader?

3. Why is Organizational Behavior useful? • If you know why most people behave a certain way, then you can predict what certain individuals will do • Implement your best ideas • accounting, finance, marketing, operations, etc. • Accelerate your career learning curve

4. What is the difference between OB and HR (Human Resources)? Performance = ability x motivation • HR focuses on improving employees’ ability (e.g., training, selection, assessment, recruitment…) • OB focuses on getting the best work from your employees • Both are useful if you would like to be a manager • If your company has an HR department, they can offer you guidance on HR issues (e.g., legal)… but your company will assume you know OB

5. What’s this course like? • Evidence-based management • Similar to evidence-based medicine • Uses up-to-date research findings • Use underlying principles to help us make better decisions • Why don’t we just focus on what managers at certain companies do (e.g., Google?) • Sometimes a company that looks like a good example to follow… turns out to not be so good after all (e.g., RIM). • What worked for them in the past won’t necessarily work now • What works for them won’t always work for YOU

6. What do we get to do in this class? • In class • Less and less lecturing as the term goes on • More and more simulations, exercises, mini-cases, discussions, etc. • Prepare to deal with ambiguity, be a manager • Participation, Assignments, Homework, Final Exam

7. Provide me with a photo and name card: Name on Class List: Harriet S. Smith Cholmondeley Prefer to be called: SiobahnCholmondeley Pronounced: “Shi-VON Chum-lee” Class: Tuesdays, 2:30 to 5:30 Undergraduate degree: Electrical Engineering (math minor) Work experience: Ten years at Initech (TPS manager)

8. How to find me… • Contact info: • Email: connell@mcmaster.ca • profs.degroote.mcmaster.ca/business/connell/2012_B600.html. • Office phone: 525-9140 x 23954 • Office: DSB 418 / RJC 222 • Office hours: Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:30 or by appointment • Skype is ok too (email me in advance) • Classes • Tuesdays 2:30 RJC 214 • Wednesdays 2:30 RJC 214 • 3 other sections taught by Dr. Yousofpourfard

11. Participation (5%) Amount of participation Excellent! Thanks!! Why do some people not Participate very much? What about the Dunning-Kruger effect? Uh oh… Insightfulness

12. One-Page Reports (5 x 2%) • Work by yourself or with a friend • Choose five articles in your courseware • Answer the following five questions: • What is the article saying? • What do I agree with? • What do I disagree with? • What else should the author(s) have included? • What is my overall recommendation?

13. One-page Reports • Purpose: • Get a different perspective than the textbook • Sharpen your critical thinking and writing skills • Prepare for your final project • Avoid being dependent on consultants and others to tell you what approaches are best

14. One-Page Reports • I can send you the article the week before it is due. Make sure I have your usual email address. • You might prefer to use the courseware • IF you don’t like one of the articles (they are all very different) • Wait and do another one (you only have to do 5) • Find another article to summarize and submit instead (check with me first but I will probably say ok) • One of the “articles” is actually two TED talks: you have to do both • The schedule is in the last page of your course outline

15. Project 1 (20%) • Interview someone with an interesting job • Identify 3 OB concepts, and explain how your subject is an example of these • See course outline for marking scheme and more specific details • Sample questions to ask • Sample email to contact the potential interviewee

16. Project 2 (30%) • Evaluate a popular management book • Read any book about how to be a good manager • I will assign you to a group • 3 ideas in the book: discuss if they are accurate from an OB perspective • Bibliography: Include at least ten different sources, other than the course notes or textbook. • See course outline for marking scheme and details • Report (15%) + Outline (5%) + Presentation (5%) + Self-Assessment (5%)

17. Final Exam: 35% • December – date TBA • all material covered in the course • NO multiple choice • We will do some practice questions together beforehand

18. Questions?

19. Performance

20. Question • When it comes to employees’ productivity, the only thing that really matters is whether or not they do what’s in their job descriptions. • True? False? • What do you think? • Why?

21. Desirable Employee Behaviors • Less absenteeism • Lower turnover • Less “counterproductive” behavior • More “organizational citizenship” behavior

22. Individual Exercise • Think back to your favorite job. • Did you ever do something particularly helpful for your organization, that wasn’t really in your job description? • What did you do? Why? • Write down a short description of what it was (choose something you don’t mind sharing)

23. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) • Discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements BUT improve the context where the work takes place • Entirely up to the employee if they do it or not • May or may not be implicitly rewarded • Must be intended to help the organization or its members

24. Loyal Boosterism • Positively representing the organization to outsiders • Defends the organization when other employees or outsiders criticize it • Actively promotes the organization’s products and services to potential users • Focus: the organization

25. Civic Virtue • Participates in the company’s operations above-and-beyond the expectations • Attending all voluntary meetings and functions • Keeping up with all organizational announcements and news that affects the company • Perfect attendance even when he/she has a legitimate reason for being absent • Focus: the organization

26. Voice • Speaks up to offer constructive suggestions for change • Tries to change bad policies or procedures • Encourages other colleagues to speak up • For issues that may have serious consequences, expresses opinions honestly even when others may disagree • Focus: the organization

27. Interpersonal Helping • Helps co-workers in their jobs when such help is needed • Goes out of his/her way to help co-workers learn new tasks • Helps coworkers who have heavy workloads • Voluntarily helps new employees settle into the job • Focus: Individuals within the organization

28. Courtesy • Is mindful about how his/her behavior affects other people’s jobs • Keeps coworkers informed about relevant matters • Tries to avoid creating problems for coworkers • Does not exercise every right at the expense of others’ rights. • Focus: Individuals within the organization

29. Sportsmanship • Maintains a good attitude with coworkers • Avoids complaining even when annoyed by something (e.g., not a squeaky wheel) • Doesn’t make a big deal about trivial problems • Tries to focus on the positive side as well as possible problems in the company • Focus: Individuals within the organization

30. Questions?

31. Group Activity • Form groups of 4 people • Classify each person’s earlier OCB as • Sportsmanship • Courtesy • Interpersonal Helping • Voice • Civic Virtue • Loyal Boosterism • Choose your best example; be prepared to report back to the class

32. Benefits of worker OCBs • Firm performance • Job descriptions can’t be exhaustive • Cooperation vs. compliance • Enhance workers’ productivity (esp. teams) • Decrease turnover • Alert organization to opportunities and threats • Enhance managers’ productivity

33. Impression Management • The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them • Looking good instead of doing good • 5 different dimensions • Different than OCBs • Not altruistic • Not always positive • Goal is to benefit the perpetrator, not the organization or its members

34. Ingratiation • Individuals seek to be viewed as likable • “I do personal favors for other people in the organization to show them that I am friendly” • Waxing your boss’s car, buying people presents • “I compliment other workers so that they will see me as likeable” • “Have you lost weight?, you’re a great golfer!” • Advantages? Disadvantages?

35. Self-promotion • Individuals seek to be viewed as competent • “I let other workers know that I am a valuable member of the organization” • “I am so great. I did this and this and this. You wouldn’t last five minutes without me… “ • “I talk proudly about my past accomplishments that might help the organization to be successful” • “I am really good at this. I went to Harvard. I won the Nobel prize in economics… I also have a Fields medal… I’m an Olympic triple jump champion… blah blah blah…” • Advantages? Disadvantages?

36. Exemplification • Individuals seek to be viewed as dedicated • “I try to appear like I have been very busy working on my tasks” • e.g., conveying urgency and importance • “I let others know that I have been putting in a lot of effort into my work” • e.g., bragging, pretending to be at work • Advantages? Disadvantages?

37. Supplication • Individuals seek to be viewed as in need of assistance • “I pretend not to understand how to do some things in order to avoid having to work on undesirable tasks” • e.g., note-taking, coffee-making • “I act like I know less than I really do so that other workers will help me out.” • Advantages? Disadvantages?

38. Intimidation • Individuals seek to appear dangerous or threatening • “I let other workers know that I am not willing to be pushed around or dictated to.” • Can be related to body language, choice of language, tone, etc. • “I speak strongly or forcefully to get other group members to agree to do things the way I think they should be done” • Advantages? Disadvantages?

39. Outcomes of impression management • Workers • May be rewarded (goal attainment) • May be punished (targets react with disdain) • Managers • Difficulty accurately measuring attitudes and behaviors of subordinates • Interpersonal conflict between subordinates

40. Questions?

41. Mortgage Broker Mini-Case: Who gets promoted? • Allan: high performer, comes early to meetings, always friendly, helps other employees, never complains, says nice things about the company to outsiders, works hard to improve performance. • Bob: average performer, sometimes comes in late, makes fun of other employees, always complains, tries to avoid boring tasks, acts like some work is beneath him, slow to reply to emails, and gets defensive when his performance is corrected.

42. Mortgage Broker Mini-Case • Conrad: average performer, nice, brings in coffee for everyone on Fridays, always dresses professionally, tells you how hard he is working, never complains, tells you about the good things he told your boss about you, says that he wants to be just like you. • David: average performer, friendly, complains sometimes, other employees seek his help, wants to go on an expensive training course, is sometimes late to work, some complaints from clients about professionalism.

43. Summary • As a manager you will need to distinguish between behaviors that help your organization and behaviors that only look that way. • OCBs will improve the organization’s performance (and yours as a manager) and are an implicit criterion for promotion • The rest of the course will help you to increase your subordinates’ OCBs (and decrease the less positive behaviors).

44. Next Class • First one-page report homework is due *** Remember to bring your nameplate AND your photo card*** I will be using your photo card to assign you to a group!!!

45. Course Texts • Colquitt, LePine, Wesson & Gellatly (2010). Organizational Behaviour: Improving Performance and Commitment in the Workplace. 1st Canadian edition, McGraw-Hill Ryerson. • Courseware • Contains all the readings for the homework assignments, in a convenient format • If unavailable, buy a “rain check”