Essentials of Organizational Behavior

Stephen P. Robbins. Prentice Hall
This summary contains selected parts of the book Organizational Behaviour

1 A leader can have many different roles

• Manager
• Entrepreneur
• Delegating
• Figure head
• An ally
• Spokesman
• Conflict resolving
• Allocating
• Negotiator

However, the basic most important role is the role as decision maker
The decisions determine the direction of the organisation just as the decisions in a persons life determines the outcomes of it.

• Traditional decision making. Planning and controlling
• Communicating
• Handling personal, motivating, conflict solver, teaching
• Creating networks of relationships, making politics, social activities
• A leaders skills are largely dependent on how s/he handles human beings
• To allow personal relationships in the organization is the key to motivated workers.

The basic skill is to motivate people to do what the leader wants them to do

• Describes how society becomes divided into two separate classes
  • The educated with a stimulating work and a high salary
  • The uneducated with a routine work and a low salary
• Is not a bell curve but two different Bell curves
  • The highest part of the lower bell curve touches the lower part of the upper Bell curve
• The danger with the such Bell curves in many societies is that it tends to become permanent since the gap between the two classes becomes more permanent with age

• Bias for action
• Keeping close to customer
• Autonomy and entrepreneurship
• Productivity through people
• Hands on - Value driven
• Sticking to what the organization knows
• Simple form and lean staff
• Centralized rules and decentralized operative decisions

• People have difficulties in understanding the culture they live in. The basic reason for this is a socialization process that prevents them from seeing the patterns they learn
• A person who change culture usually do not run into any culture chock the first 4 months since s/he does not see any differences between this and the previous culture

• The older the employee, the less chance that the employee will quit the job
• Married persons are less sick, do seldom leave their job and are generally more content with their job
• Mature and/or experienced persons do not leave their job as often as less mature

• Ability to count. (deductive reasoning)
• Ability to speak
• Perception of patterns
• Inductive reasoning

• The degree of self control
• Level of goal orientation
• Relation to authorities
• Moral values
• Self reliance
• Independence
• Willingness to take risks

• The satisfaction is at its peak when the personality and the job are in harmony
• Learning is defined as changes in behavior as a result from experience
• Stimuli and response theory says that all can be reduced to basic learning loops

• The situation of the perceiver affects what is seen
  • Attitude
  • Motive
  • Past Experiences, education culture, etc...
  • The goal
• Selective perception
  • You see only what fits into the plans
  • Interests affects
  • Background
  • Experience
  • Attitude

• First the person becomes a Hero
• Then the person becomes a villain

• If other are bad then I must be good
• If you feel good then I feel bad

• To assign features to people that I assume that they have
• We always project assumptions. Some are based on denied features in our subconscious

• We tend to make a superficial and simple classification in order to efficiently handle the everyday complexity

• Focus on the values that can be achieved instead of the alternatives.
• Decision problems are not problems. It is a matter of creativity in finding alternatives.

• Brainstorm around various goals and values
  • Collect information from all policy descriptions
  • Collect data around the descriptions
• Organize goals and values
• Brainstorm around strategies to reach goals and values
  • Collect information about previous projects
  • Collect data about project results after some time has passed
• Organize strategies
• Conventional decision making

• Define problem
  • Gather data
  • Ask others
  • Background information
  • Search Literature
• Identify alternatives
  • Impose limits
  • Make a list of alternatives
• Quantify alternatives
  • Short range
  • Long range
• Apply decision aids
  • Decision trees
  • Decision tables
• Make decision
• Simulate decision results
• Evaluate
  • If okay. Implement
  • Else iterate from the start

• Optimizing the decisions is to be goal oriented
• It requires that all factors that may influence the outcome are known
• It requires that all preferences must be known
• It requires that preferences are constant and not changing
• The decision will maximize the outcome/profit of the consequences

• Since all decisions are constrained/bounded it is not possible to make rational decisions that are 100% correct
• The decision maker makes decision ahead of time by deciding what is important and what is not important

• We are our values
• Value systems are multidimensional and hierarchical

• What you do is more important than how you do it from a perspective of efficiency
• How you do something is more important than what you do from the perspective of personal well being

• Cognitive
• Emotional
• A result from behavior

• Just like all living systems
• If any strong emotional tie exist this can prevent the intellect from seeing a pattern
• If there is no consistency we will invent it
• If there is an inconsistency we will experience this with some discomfort
• Consistency cannot be reached simply but is a process of continuous integration
• When a total picture of something is accepted we may invest emotion into the picture
• Emotions may discover new inconsistencies

• Attitudes are applied after information is collected in order to assign some order to the information
• The consciousness of an activity comes after the activity
• The conscious decision comes after the unconscious decision

• The brain is always trying to find models that give a larger overview
• The brain is always trying to avoid all obstacles that prevents the mental models from being transparent
• The brain wants to explain away all things that are not included into a pattern
• The brain tries to create streamlined chains of associations (mental highways)

• A work that challenges the capacity of the worker
• A fair system of remuneration
• Steady and secure circumstances of work
• Colleagues that are willing to help
• Generally it is better to express a feeling of discomfort than to not express the feeling
• A person will work well for a little money as long as no one else on the same level makes more money

• Hygiene factors are those that must be satisfied but you do not care about them once they are satisfied
• Motivation creates satisfaction while hygiene factors remove dissatisfaction
• Motivation is often associated with will while needs are often associated with desire
• Abstract psychological theories cannot be proven
• All different type of motivations can be reduced to one single type. Growth
• The opposite of growth is decline or death, which is the same as entropy

• If you get paid for something you did because you liked it, the performance will decrease

• Specific goals motivate more than non-specific. However, abstract goals dominate over specific in that they cover a longer range of time and this organizes the totality of the goals
• The theory about stimuli and response cannot explain inner and abstract motivation in a human being

• Regardless which job you have. You will perform worse if you think that you are less paid than others who do similar things

• The larger the expectations the better you perform

• It is a top-down approach
• Requires specific, clear goals that can be measured
• It is constructed around feedback mechanisms

• Positive reinforcement creates quick changes

• Identify performance
• Measure performance
• Identify behavior
• Develop a strategy for how to modify behavior
• Apply a strategy based on reward and punishment

• A group of employees that meet on a regular basis
• They meet to discuss specific problems
• Their goal is to find solutions to the problems

• Shortened week to less than 5 days
• Flexible working hours
• Telecommuting for people who work from a distance to the working place

• They may be rotated
• The number of work processes that are carried out may be expanded
• The work can be continuously modified to make it more interesting
• The employee can be allowed to modify the work so it fits the situation in a better way
• Self regulating work groups

• Formal
• Informal
• Project groups
• Groups of shared values and/or objectives

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning

• A group spends half the time discussing how it will work and the rest of the time doing the work
• This principle is valid regardless of how much time is available

• What identity you have
• How you perceive other peoples roles
• What expectations you have
• A role is a psychological contract
• Anyone who must play two roles in one environment runs into a role conflict

• Students were told to be prisoners and guardians
• After one week they started to behave exactly as prisoners and guardians
• Their attitudes and values were modified so finally they started to perceive anyone from the other group in a similar way as such groups usually percieve each other

• The definition of a norm: Commonly accepted standards for how to behave

• In large groups members tend to become passive
• The group member who is most different from the others is the one who is most likely to quit

• The output from 2 working together is more than the sum of the individual performance
• The motivator for organizations is to decrease the transaction costs

• Conformity increases the productivity among highly motivated persons
• Conformity decreases the productivity among persons with a low motivation

• The source converts the message to an explicit formal/abstract message that can be sent
• The source sends the message
• The receiver interprets the message and transforms it into various possible translations
• The receiver selects one of the possible translations
• If anything is not clear then there are several feedback loops

• Gossip is a hidden game
• Among friends the game is to satisfy each others needs of information
• Among enemies the game is to make the other one lose his/her status

• There must be a clearly visible interest. This could for instance be described as some kind of empathy
• There should be some kind of mutual acceptance
• Ask only questions that are slightly positive or slightly negative. Preferably they should be neutral
• Never ask any question that is not directly related to what the person is saying
• Never ask about anything the person has not said
• Paraphrase
• Describe your feelings about it but never your thoughts about it
• Avoid any breaks in the presentation
• Make a summary of what was told

• Specific
• Neutral
• Goal oriented
• Come in the right time
• Formulated to increase understanding and not to drive the dialogue
• Negative feedback should only be presented as specific emotional and personal reactions
• Positive feedback can be mental and general
• To much positive feedback decreases the respect

• More information is shared
• It increases the flexibility. Persons may concentrate on what they like to do
• Increased acceptance for what you do
• Increased certification of role and identity

• Meetings takes time
• An unhealthy conformity may be created
• Groups may become authoritarian
• Nobody needs to assume responsibility

• Every participant writes down ideas
• Everyone reads the ides of the others
• Ideas are only discussed if they are not understood
• The best ideas are selected

• A problem is identified and members are asked about possible solutions
• Members answers anonymously
• A summary is created from the answers and is sent to everyone
• The participants are asked to come with new solutions
• The process is iterated until there is a clear majority behind any of the solutions

• If these are carried out in one room it may increase the meeting efficiency with 50%
• Brainstorming minimizes the social pressure
• Delphi like techniques minimizes personal conflicts

• The leader defines rules
• The manager makes things work
• All feature theories about leaders and managers have failed since no one has been able to prove any type of correlation between feature and performance

• These work best when there is some stress but not too much or too little stress

• Delegate authority to those with most experience
• Cooperate with those with less experience
• Convince those with little experience
• Give orders to those with no experience

• To be consistent in decisions

• Have visions
• Speak clear
• Are consistent and concentrated
• Use their own force
• Have a hierarchical structure of reality where the structure is based on the most important goal
• Take risks all the time. They are gamblers that either win or lose
• They challenge the listeners
• They can verbalize their visions
• They are very much convince about the importance of their solutions
• They are original
• They initiate change
• They are sensitive to the response from the environment

• Specify requirements
• Negotiate with the participants

• Satisfies the needs of the members

• Can be defined as having or controlling something that someone else needs
• Those who have little power usually join alliances and coalitions

• Actions to increase understanding prevents understanding
• Blaming others
• Inertia. The proven ways dominate
• No upward communication
• Budget games are evil
• People do not behave reasonably not even when it pays
• The management team is a myth

• It is destructive
• It should be avoided

• It is a natural ingredient in groups

• It is needed for the group to develop

• Consultant
• Conciliator
• Mediator
• Arbitrator (Judge)

• Start positive
• Do as little revenge as possible if the person is cheating
• Forgive the opponent as soon as the conflict is over

• Start sophisticated but be successively more brutal
• Start lightly but increase the pressure
• Start with a focus on your own dissatisfaction but move towards accusing the opponent
• The response must be concrete
• The response must be direct but not until you can be cold enough
• Make a pause until you can be cold and manipulative
• Check if your revenge has the desired effect. If not then
  • Check if the revenge can be increased which it can if
    • The impact of the revenge < the impact of the assault
    • The mode of the revenge is more sophisticated than the assault

• Depends on the complexity
• To what level it has been formalized. Heuristic formalization dissolves structure
• The degree of centralization in the organization. The more primitive the formalization the higher degree of centralization is needed
• An organization with 12 levels cannot compete with an organization with only 3 levels. In a future utopian organization we may have an organization with only one level

• Horisontal = The employees attitude to the organization. What the organization do and the education of the employees
• Vertical = Number of hierarchical levels
• Spatial = The degree of geographical distribution

• The organization creates formal rules
• The group creates rules
• The individual creates rules

Loosely joined organizations

• Requires that they can formalize their own work
• Virtual organizations a much deeper degree of formalization. Immature organizations can not be converted to virtual organizations

• In a very decentralized organization the body of rules is like the law in a capitalistic society

• Initially productivity increases with specialization but after a peak it decreases
• The more sophisticated the organization is the less is the need for specialization

• Every employee should only have one single boss for each project
• If the employee works in several projects it must be decided how much time shall be spent in each

• Staff is below the line when decisions are about the line
• Everyone wants authority but no one wants responsibility. An analogy is that we want our partner to be independent but do what we want

• Functions
• Products
• Customers and markets
• Geography
• Processes
• Technology

• Matrix organizations
• Project oriented organizations with a visible authority

• Taylor and mechanical
• Organic
• Holistic
• Cultural
• Political
• Connectionist and autopoiesis
• As defense
• As oppression

• Innovative
• Maximizing market share
• Minimizing costs
• Imitation

• Smaller organizations are usually more centralized than large organizations
• When organization grows the complexity grows. Large organizations requires formalization
• Special focus on quality of focus on mass production influences the structure

• Stable and random competition
• Stabel equilibrium between competitors
• Constant war between a few large competitors
• Constant reconfiguration of the market

• A combination of as many structures as possible to make it more flexible
• Every structure is then adjusted to the specific problems that are currently in focus
• For certain problems the mechanical perspective is the best and for some problems the synthetical is the best

• What strategies are used
• The size of the organization
• The technology that is used
• The environment of the organization

• Those who control the production
• The support staff
• Those who manage the production
• The technostructure
• Those who create strategic decisions

• Dependent on one person. They may collapse after a hart attack
• Personal relations creates little need for technology

• These exist as well in machine bureaucracies as they do in professional bureaucracies

• Has nothing to do with being a woman or man
• Members are individuals. Not positions in a hierarchy
• Members are not opportunistic
• Career is defined as being useful
• The welfare of the personal has high priority
• The organization assumes responsability for the individual
• Power is shared
• The question with such organizations is to what extent they can compete with other organizations

• Focussed on results
• Management may focus on long time objectives
• Mangers are trained in defining goals

• Creates redundancy between activities
• Stimulates conflict
• Unfair division of responsibility
• Problems of coordination

• A film team joined only for a temporary purpose
• Every participant is an expert and a boss
• Is in constant conflict
• Are inefficient when large series are produced

• Facilitates coordination
• Efficient allocation of specialists
• Easy to adapt to changes
• It can be democratic
• We have not yet seen all possible matrix organizations. Multidimensional solutions may occur

• Creates much confusion
• Destructive power games may start

• It concentrates on profit
• Focus on short term goals. What can be handled
• Lean and mean
• Business process reengineering and reevaluation of values

• Japan in relation to the USA

• Definitions of positions are becoming rare, while definitions of processes are becoming more frequent
• Employee reward is becoming more important

• There are no objective criteria for what is good performance. This can be solved with using as many criteria as possible for measuring the same work
• Personality traits should not be measured. This can be solved by using several persons for measuring. Measuring is done selectively, i.e. only measures that have some objective components are considered
• Persons or companies that are professional in measuring performance are used

• The "Parkinsson law" or "Peters principal" describes how the balancing function creates rigidity

• Is necessary to survive
• Can be constructive or destructive
• Finding the right stress level is important. It should be adjusted to the selected challenge
• Negative stress occurs when no action or decision follows the stress
• Burn out occurs for those who are not rooted
• Initially performance increases with stress but after a peak it decreases with more stress. A bell curve

• The intensity of change will enforce reorganizations
• Organizations or countries that cannot handle change will degenerate

• Unfreeze to loosen up all well known formalized rules
• Insert change
• Freeze to secure the new formalized rules

• Management of routines is less expensive than the management of rules
• Create rules from routines
• Change rules
• Create routines from rules

• Sensitivity training
• Team building
• Creating the corporate culture