Assigned Readings:
Chapter 1. An Overview of Organizational Behavior
Chapter 2. The Changing Environment of Organizations
Overview:
The primary purpose of chapter one is to introduce the field of organizational behavior. The chapter begins by defining organizational behavior as the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself. The four functions that make up the manager’s job—planning, organizing, leading, and controlling—are discussed. Then the chapter explores the various skills—technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and diagnostic—managers must apply in organizations. The chapter then discusses human resource management. The strategic context of organizational behavior is discussed, including maintaining a competitive advantage, sources of competitive advantage, and types of business strategies. The next section provides some historical context on organizational behavior, looking at scientific management, the Hawthorne effect, and the human relations movement. The chapter continues by defining a system and systems perspective, the situational perspective, and interactionalism. The chapter continues by examining the outcomes—individual, group and team, and organization—that are important for organizational effectiveness, including the scientific method and meta-analysis. The chapter concludes with a preview of the remaining text.
The environment of all organizations is changing at an unprecedented rate. People work in different ways and places than in the past, the workplace is increasingly diverse, ethical challenges are a constant issue, and globalization is commonplace. Understanding and addressing the environment of a business has traditionally been the purview of top managers. However, the effects of today’s changing environment permeate the entire organization. Hence, to truly understand the behavior of people in organizational settings, it is also necessary to understand the changing environment of business. Chapter two is intended to provide the framework for such understanding. Specifically, as illustrated in Figure 2.1, we introduce and examine five of the central environmental forces for change faced by today’s organizations: diversity, globalization, technology, ethics and corporate governance, and new employment relationships. An understanding of these forces will then set the stage for our in-depth discussion of contemporary organizational behavior (OB).
Learning Objectives:
Chapter 1. An Overview of Organizational Behavior
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Describe organizational behavior, including the impact it has on both personal and organizational success.
Identify the basic management functions and essential skills that make up the management process and relate them to organizational behavior.
Discuss the strategic context of organizational behavior, including the relationships between strategy and organizational behavior.
Identify and describe contextual perspectives on organizational behavior.
Discuss the role of organizational behavior in managing for effectiveness, including the role of research in organizational behavior.
Summarize the framework around which this book is organized.
Chapter 2. The Changing Environment of Organizations
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Describe the nature of diversity in organizations and discuss the different types of diversity and barriers to inclusion that exist in the workplace.
Discuss the emergence of globalization and cross-cultural differences and similarities.
Discuss the changing nature of technology and its impact on business.
Describe emerging perspectives on ethics and corporate governance.
Discuss the key issues in new employment relationships.
Reflection and Discussion Forum Week 1
Reflection and Discussion Forum Week 1
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 1. An Overview of Organizational Behavior
Chapter 2. The Changing Environment of Organizations
Initial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
Some people believe that individuals working in an organization have basic human rights to satisfaction with their work and to the opportunity to grow and develop. How would you defend this position? How would you argue against it?
[Your post must be substantive and demonstrate insight gained from the course material. Postings must be in the student’s own words – do not provide quotes!]
[Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]
Submitting the Initial Posting:Your initial posting should be completed by Thursday, 11:59 p.m. EST.
Response to Other Student Postings: Respond substantively to the post of at least two peers, by Friday, 11:59 p.m. EST. A peer response such as “I agree with her,” or “I liked what he said about that” or similar comments are not considered substantive and will not be counted for course credit.
[Continue the discussion through Sunday,11:59 p.m. EST by highlighting differences between your postings and your colleagues’ postings. Provide additional insights or alternative perspectives]
Evaluation of posts and responses: Your initial posts and peer responses will be evaluated on the basis of the kind of critical thinking and engagement displayed. The grading rubric evaluates the content based on seven areas:
Content Knowledge & Structure, Critical Thinking, Clarity & Effective Communication, Integration of Knowledge & Articles, Presentation, Writing Mechanics, and Response to Other Students.
