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Organizational Behaviour
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2. Whyreadthis introduction?
This chapter answers two key questions.
1. What am I studying? The chapter will give you an overview of the key themes within
organizational behaviour (OB) to help you understand what they are and how they
connect. This chapter aims to give you a good understanding of the key theories you
will cover, and the underlying disciplines that they are based on.
2. How do I study OB? Studying OB is not simply taking in a series of theories that can then
be reproduced in an essay or an exam. To gain a higher grade and really understand OB
requires the ability to think critically, to question your own assumptions, and to apply
the theories to real life contexts. Throughout this chapter we will look at some of these
skills and how you can develop them, including the importance of critical thinking, the
transition to degree level, and some top tips that will help you succeed in this subject.
Introducingorganizational behaviour
Introducing organizational
behaviour
T
ransitions and new beginnings
Runningcase:transitionsandnewbeginnings—SimonChancestartshisreign
It is 7:45 am and Simon Chance, the newly installed Chief Executive of Junction Hotel and President of
Second-Chance Consortium,sitsathisdesksurveying hisgroup’slatestacquisition.
The Second-Chance Consortium has just bought Junction Hotel, an upmarket, city-centre hotel with a
proud heritageof strongcustomerserviceandatraditional approach.In itsheydaypeoplewould flock to the
hotelforitshigh-classservice,greatfood,andfriendlybutformalstyle.Thosedays,however,arelonggoneand
thehotelhasundergonenumerouschangesofownershipandattemptsto reviveit.With paintpeelingoff the
walls,worn carpets,andanantiquatedcomputersystem,JunctionHotel isin needofsomerealinvestment.
Chance’soffice is abit like Junction Hotel—faded glory. Adark green leather chair from the 1940s sits in
the corner—stylish but uncomfortable. Instead, Chance decides to use a chair from IKEA—not the most
elegantdesign,but farmore practical.Theroom isoak-clad,but someof the wooden panelsarelooseand
a couple now have gaps in between them. ‘I must fix that,’ Chance muses. ‘This place is a mess, nothing
works properly, but I amsurewe canturn it around.’
TheSecond-Chance Consortium isaventure capitalist company specializing in turning failed businesses
into profitable enterprises.SimonChance,aformerfootballer who retiredearlybecauseofinjury,reinvented
himself as a business entrepreneur. Teaming up with his former agent and self-styled business guru Phil
Weaver,Chancehasledtheconsortiumforsixyears,startingwiththelocalfootballteamandgraduallybuild-
ing up a portfolio of successfully transformed firms. Chance feels confident that he can make the hotel a
success.‘Theyjustneedstrongleadershipandagoodstrategy,’hethinks.‘Iamsurethatwecansucceedhere.’

3. 2 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
At first glance, running an organization might seem straightforward. Television pro-
grammes such as Dragons’ Den often give the impression that all you need is the right prod-
uct, marketing, and finance to be successful. Equally, you might look at your own boss or
the manager of a football team you support and think, ‘why don’t they just tell them to get
on with it? If I were in charge we could quickly sort it out.’ Yet, in practice, running organi-
zations is more complicated.
Organizations can be difficult, challenging places, largely because they involve people.
People can be unpredictable and complex as they have their own agendas (e.g. the desire to
be seen as a success, fear of failure, etc.), beliefs (e.g. this is the right way to do things), iden-
tities (e.g. I am an accountant and this is how I do things), practices, and habits, all of which
shape how they act.
To manage, or even work alongside, people you need to be able to understand how they
think, what motivates them, what increases their commitment, how to organize them, and
how to ensure they act in an ethical and sustainable way (Figure 1.1). Working with and
managing people, therefore, is likely to be one of the most difficult and challenging things
that you do.
People are, therefore, are at the heart of this book; in particular we focus on how they
are managed, motivated, trained, and led, and how they communicate. At the individual
level we examine their personality, motivation, and learning; at the group level, how
they are managed through teams and groups; and, at the organizational level, how they
are led, impacted by power and politics, and affected by the organization’s culture.
the individual
is managed
The rational organization
•Bureaucratic procedures—
followingrules and regulations
•Taylorism—followingsetwork
procedures
•Rational organization today
—Rational principles spread
throughout society
Contemporary trends
•Globalization—working in
and aestheticlabour
•Corporatesocial responsibility
—acting ethically
Managing the organization
•Change—top-down change
•Leadership—followingthe leader
•Power and politics—powergames
•Communication—top-down
communication
Managing the individual
•Individuals and personalities—through
personality tests
•Motivation—becoming self-motivated
•Knowledge and learning—training and
developing the individual
The Social Organization
•Social organization—power
a global world of peer pressure
•The service sector—emotional Ways in which •Groups and teams—managed
through teamwork
•Organizational culture—
changing heartsand minds
Figure1.1 Theway
individualsare
managed.

4. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 3
OB is also about how organizations are structured and run through systems and pro-
cedures, as well as how they relate to the wider, globalized world. Furthermore it is
about society—or, more precisely, the impact that organizations have on the people
that work for them, the communities around them, and society as a whole. It examines
how organizations operate globally and also impact, for good and ill, society and the
planet.
To study OB, therefore, is to really begin to understand how and why things happen at
work, what is the most effective way of achieving things, and what impact this has on the
people that work for organizations and the societies in which they operate.
Running case:understanding the complexity—ourfictional casestudy,
JunctionHotel
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Phil Weaver
2September
SimonChance
J
unction Hotel R
eport
Hi Simon
I have done afull survey of the hotel, looking back at its accounts for the last five years and surveying the
building, kitchen, and staff. Having stayed in the hotel overnight as part of the mystery shopper exercise
I found the staff courteous and friendly, but the systems slow and cumbersome. Checking in took
20 minutes asthey had lost my registration details, and we had to walk to the restaurant in order to pay
my bill asthe ‘machine was not working’. The rooms were comfortable and fairly clean, but did seem to
be of an inconsistent standard. I must say that the food at the restaurant was excellent and shows real
class,but service wasslow.
Overall,this hotel showspotential but there ismuch to improve. Theyarequite disorganized,somestaff
seemunmotivated andunclearin their tasks,andthe service,while polite and professional,isnot whatyou
would expect.
Speak soon
Phil
Chance turns to the main report. The Second-Chance Consortium always create a comprehensive report
when they takeoverafailing venture and collect good management datasothat they canwork out whatto
improve. Chance reads about the hotel’s history and is interested to learn that back in its heyday, Junction
Hotel hosted some starsfrom the stageand screen,its restaurant won awards,and it had successfulconfer-
ence facilities. As he reads more of the report, however, his mood changes. ‘This won’t be a quick fix,’ he
thinks, looking in detail at the problems that Weaver identified: poor systems, unmotivated staff, erratic
schedules,no clearidentity or purpose to the hotel, and running at alossfor the lastfive years.‘Weneed to
sort this place out,’ Chance thinks, staring out of the window. ‘I’ll get Weaver on the phone and work out
our plan.’

5. 4 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
Visit the Online Resource Centre to read the full report.
The complexity of organizations is often best understood in the context of familiar situa-
tions. In this book we will do this through our innovative fictional running case study,
Junction Hotel. Instead of seeing theories as dry abstract models, in this book we use them
as ways to make sense of the challenges the characters face. Through this case study we will
learn about the hotel’s characters, their personalities, backgrounds, and experiences, and
the dilemmas they face. We will see their emotions, reactions, and different interpretations
of the same event.
Applying theory to real situations is suggested by learning theorists, such as Kolb and
Gibbs, to be far more effective. It helps us understand real dilemmas and challenges
that managers, workers, or society face. Just think of it this way: a manager does not try
to motivate their staff because a textbook says that they should do it; rather, they look
at ideas surrounding motivation because they are facing a problem that they need to
solve. The theories covered in this book were largely produced in response to chal-
lenges in real life. So, as you read the theory in this book try relating the theories to your
own experiences—cases you know from real life—and to our fictional case, Junction
Hotel.
What isorganizational behaviour?
So, what is involved in running and working in organizations? This book will be divided
into five themes, each with their own focus and issues.
1. The rational organization.
2. The social organization.
3. Managing the individual.
4. Managing the organization.
5. Contemporary trends.
As we will see, these themes offer us a different perspective on what goes on within organi-
zations and different ideas about how to manage them (Figure 1.2).
Theme 1:The rational organization
Chapter 2: Rational organizational design and bureaucracy
Chapter 3: Rational work design
Chapter 4: Rationalization in contemporary organizations
What do you think are the key challenges that Simon Chancefaces in transforming Junction Hotel?

6. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 5
Figure1.2
Keythemesin
organizational
behaviour.
the individual
is managed
Managing the organization
•Communication
•Power and politics
•Leadership
•Change
Managing the individual
•Individuals and personality
•Motivation
•Knowledge and learning
The social organization
•The social organization
•Groups and teams
•Organizational culture
The rational organization
•Bureaucracy
•Taylorism
•Rationalization today
Contemporary trends
Ways in which •Globalization
•The service sector
•CorporateSocial
Responsibility
Running case:8:15amPhilWeaverdiscusseshisreport with SimonChance
‘We need systems and procedures,’ Weaver states boldly to Chance, ‘like we had at the football club, to
make this place run like clockwork.’ Weaveranimatedly discusseshis plans with Chance.‘I’ve been looking
at the booking-in procedure. I’m sure we could make it run quicker by streamlining it. Also, the cleaners
seem to be getting away with murder—working slowly without set targets or procedures,’ he continues,
hardlytakingabreath.
Getting out agrid drawn on asheetof A3paper,Weaverlaysout targetsfor everyindividual and depart-
ment, with measurements for every aspect of the hotel—from customer satisfaction through to room
cleanliness. ‘It’s another Weaver masterplan,’ Chance declares excitedly. Impressed, Chance picks up a
document entitled ‘Streamlining food production,’ which hasdetailed step-by-step guides to peeling car-
rots through to cooking chicken.‘I’veonly just started,’Weaverstates.‘Ithink weshould work on the clean-
ers first. I’m surethat we could come up with detailed waysof doing everything in this hotel to make it run
moreefficiently.’
For well over 100 years, managers have dreamed of creating rational, logical, and efficient
organizations. As we will examine in Chapter 2, by creating bureaucratic procedures, poli-
cies, and practices, they aim to create standardized, predictable, and efficient organizations
so that management gain maximum control over, and efficiency from, workers.
This ambition for control was exemplified by Fredrick Taylor. As we will see in Chapter 3,
Taylor (1911) believed that through scientific analysis he could discover the one best way
of performing every task and through this approach create a more efficient, productive, and
rational way of working.
Bureaucratic Describing
theprocessof
bureaucracy,sometimes
usedin aderogatory
sense.

7. 6 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
As we will examine in Chapter 4, such an approach continues to underpin so much of
what we do today, from fast-food chains, such as McDonalds, and hotels such as Travelodge
to the way in which you take out your library books. This rational approach has come to
dominate the thinking of much of Western capitalism. Indeed, sociologist George Ritzer
(2015) has described our society as McDonaldized, where the principles of the fast-food
restaurant, and therefore rational production, have come to dominate more and more parts
of society.
This approach has brought with it many positive features, with vast improvements in
productivity enabling mass production, and has dramatically cut the cost of most con-
sumer goods, making cars, televisions, clothes, and furniture affordable to many
people.
But while these techniques of organization design achieve efficiencies, they are not with-
out human costs—they can be boring, predictable, and routinized, and an imbalance of
power between management and workers is created. This approach also transfers knowl-
edge and power from the workers to the managers, creating systems that reduce the worker
to a small cog in a very large machine. As Marxist theorist Harry Braverman (1974) argued,
this rational approach deskills the workers and leaves them dehumanized in the process.
Theme 2:The social organization
Chapter 5: Discovering the social organization
Chapter 6: Managing groups and teams
Chapter 7: Organizational culture
McDonaldization(of
society) Theprinciples
of efficiency,
calculability,
predictability,and
controlby whichfast-
foodrestaurantsare
managedand
organized,asapplied
by Ritzerto other
contemporary
organizations.
Running case:8:20amMeg Mortimer preparesherself for the board
meeting
Meg Mortimer sitsatherdeskin the little cubbyhole-cum-office behind the reception deskbusyingherself
in readiness for the new day. ‘I’ve seen it all before,’ she thinks, as she prepares herself for the staff-wide
meeting that morning. ‘Thesenew owners will come in with their grand plans and newprocedures and try
to laytheir mark on the hotel, but they arenot going to take usawayfrom what we really are,’shethinks to
herself,‘acaring andconsideratehotel basedon traditionalquality service.’
Mortimer, the second-longest-serving member of the Junction Hotel team, started life asacleaner and
hasworked through everyposition in the hotel to eventuallybecomeone of the seniormanagers.‘Owners
comeandgo,’shethinks,‘but the JunctionHotel waywill outlive anyof them.’
While the principles and practice of the rational or formal organization continue to be
highly popular, over the last eighty years there has been increasing recognition of the influ-
ence that the informal side of the organization has on actual practice. The informal organi-
zation sits beneath the surface, impacting what goes on in quite powerful, but often
invisible, ways.
We will start with the Hawthorne studies in Chapter 5 and examine how they claimed to
have ‘discovered’ that people are social beings who are influenced by the social norms of
Hawthornestudies A
seriesof studieswhich
ranfrom 1924intothe
late1930s.Widely
creditedwith
discoveringthehuman
sideof the
organization.

8. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 7
their peer group. Elton Mayo (1949) proposed that organizations should be seen as social
spaces rather than machines, full of people with feelings and desires.
Chapter 6 will develop this view, illustrating how groups and teams have become increas-
ingly important ways of managing people and increasing productivity. However, teamwork
can be challenging, as it often fails to work as effectively as it might. Models such as Belbin’s
theory of group membership (2010) present techniques to make teams more effective.
Finally, in Chapter 7 we look at the social phenomenon of organizational culture—the
behaviours, language, stories, and symbols of an organization that are enacted through the
groups and teams within the organization. Again, we will see that culture is something that
organizations seek to manage, but some argue that it is to a large degree beyond their
control.
Theme 3:Managing the individual
Chapter 8: Personality and individual differences
Chapter 9: Motivation and the meaning of work
Chapter 10: Knowledge and learning
Group Acollectionof
peoplewith asenseof
sharedidentity and
somethingin common
but notwith ashared
purpose.
T
eam Agroupwho
meettogetherwith a
commonpurposeand
somedegreeof mutual
interdependence.
Running case:8:30amLindaWilkinson,DomesticManager,arrivesat work
LindaWilkinson makesher wayhurriedly acrossthe carpark of Junction Hotel, grabbing hold of her brief-
case.‘Flipping traffic,’ shemutters under her breath, ‘the school run will be the death of me.’ Assherushes
past the boardroom window, she notices a man in his mid-50s staring into the distance. ‘Is that Simon
Chance,’shewondersto herself,‘thenewownerof JunctionHotel,andwho’shewith?’,lookingatasmaller,
earnest man pointing aggressively at some charts. As she does so, she catches a glimpse of herself in the
window. Tall, blonde, and still quite elegant—or so her friends tell her—the forty-something mother of two
notices the vomit stain left on her jacket’s left shoulder by Sam, her youngest, as she dropped him off at
nurserythismorning.‘Grrrrh,’shedeclares,slightlylouderthanshehadintended.‘ThisisthelastthingIneed
today,’ shemutters. Her slight outburst alerts the man,who looks up at her.Trying to subtly hide her shoul-
der,Wilkinson smiles positively athim even though today shefeels anything but positive. ‘This is abig day,’
shethinks to herself,‘Ineedto makeagood impressionandpresentmyself asthe manager-in-waiting.’
In the third theme we focus our attention on individuals within the organization and how
they are managed. We begin in Chapter 8 by looking at theories of personality—what are
the traits that make us all different, and can they be measured? We see how managers use
such theories to create ‘personality tests’ that are used in procedures such as recruitment
and appraisal.
Seeing people as having differences is also important when examining what motivates
people to work harder; what motivates workers is the subject of Chapter 9. Maslow’s hierar-
chy of needs (1943) is a familiar tool for analysing human motivation, but we discover that
motivation is, in fact, a much more complex phenomenon—individual differences can
relate not only to factors of personality, but also to the social factors that they bring in from
their life outside the workplace.
Personality Asetof
characteristicsand
behaviourdisplayedby
anyindividual.
Motivation Thewill
anddesirethata
personhasto engage
in aparticular
behaviouror performa
particulartask.

9. 8 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
Finally, we turn our attention to knowledge and learning in Chapter 10. We will see that
in the knowledge-intensive economy how knowledge is developed, captured, and distrib-
uted is an increasingly vital aspect that differentiates successful firms from those that fail.
What, though, do we mean by knowledge? Is it a set of facts that can be learned or is it
something that we acquire through experience?
Theme 4:Managing the organization
Chapter 11: Changing the organization
Chapter 12: Leadership
Chapter 13: Power and politics in organizations
Knowledgeand
learning Anaspectof
organizational
behaviourwhich
emphasizesthe
importanceof
information,
understandingand
practicalskillsfor
organizationalsuccess.
In particular it
examinesthecapacity
of theorganizationto
sharethisknowledgein
effectiveways.
Running case:10:00amSimonChancemeetsall the staff
Chance, followed closely by Weaver, walks purposefully into the conference room, reaches the podium,
and surveys his expectant audience. All the staff of Junction Hotel are gathered, somewhat nervously, to
hearfrom the hotel’snewowner andChiefExecutiveOfficer.
Chancestartsby introducinghimselfand hisconsortium andexplainingwhy theybought the hotel.He
saysthat it hasaproud tradition of quality customerservice,but the world ischangingandthe hotelneeds
to changewith it. He, with all their help,isgoingto transformthisplace,to bring it backto its former glory.
‘JunctionHotel isgoing to feel likeanew place,’he goeson to say,‘anew culture where hard work gets
rewardedand the bestpeoplesucceed.Thisisacleanslatefor everyone andI amgoingto setthe hotel on
anew course.’
‘Thisisanexciting time for all of us,’Chancecontinues,warming to histheme, ‘but let’sbe under no illu-
sions,it isgoing to be challenging.Someof you aregoing to find the changesthat we put in place difficult.
Someof you might not evenwantto comewith usin this newdirection.I respectthat. Butwehaveadirec-
tion,’hewarned,‘andwe will not be blown off course.’
‘Over the next few months we will all need to pull together. Working together, I’m sure we can make
JunctionHotel greatagain.’
Weaverthen getsup, unravelshisA3sheets,and startslaying out the newdirectionfor JunctionHotel.
Our fourth theme focuses on how the organization as a whole is managed. In a sense, the
whole book is about organizational change, but we particularly focus on this topic in
Chapter 11. We will see through that chapter that there are two major models of change:
the emergent and planned approaches. While these focus predominantly on the role of
the senior managers in organizations, we will see that how the rest of the staff respond to
that change is critical in the organization’s success. We also look at how theories of indi-
vidual learning and development contribute to successful change and development on an
organizational scale.
This brings us on to the issue of leadership and followership in Chapter 12. Leaders are
seen as powerful people, vital for the success of the organization. While numerous theories
have sought to identify what makes a great leader, recent theory has focused on the impor-
tance of followers for organizational success.
Change Theprocess
by whichan
organizationchanges
in practices,processes,
culture,etc.in a
plannedor emergent
fashion.
Leadership The
processof leadingor
influencingthe
behaviourof others.In
thebroadestdefinition,
it canbecarriedout by
anyonein the
organization.

10. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 9
Far from the rational organization that we begin the book with, our final chapter in this
theme will examine the more messy realities of organizational life, where organizational
decisions are products of power games and politics between competing people (e.g. senior
managers) or interest groups (e.g. workers and managers).
Theme 5:Contemporary trends
Chapter 14: Information, communication, and technology
Chapter 15: Globalization
Chapter 16: The service and leisure economies
Chapter 17: Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and business ethics
Powergamesand
politics Theprocess
whereoneindividual
or grouptriesto gain
advantageor get
anotherindividualor
groupto do thingsthat
theymightotherwise
not intendto do.
Running case:10:48amthe meeting endsand all the staff leavethe
conferenceroom
Astheyfile out of the meeting,GrahamEffingham,JunctionHotel’saward-winningchef,goeson hisphone
and postsaquick blog post on hissite.Thisiswhere hegoesundercoverand sayswhatisreallygoing on in
the hotel,but withouteversayingexactly whereit is.
Just comeoutthe staff meetingwith ournewowners—arrrghwhat a loadof oldclap-trap.I won’t
saythenameof thenewownersbutallI can sayisI thinktheyhavenochance.
Theygaveusallthistalkabouttransformingthebusiness,makingit aplacethatpeoplewillbeproud
to cometoandwewouldall feel excitedbyworkingfor it. Howit wouldbea hardjourney,butif weall
sticktogether(whichI readasfollowingwhattheysay) thenwewillallbea success.
Nonsense—we’veall beenthroughthisbeforewiththelastowners;it won’tlast.Thislot,though,say
theyhaveaplan.Theowner’sside-kickhadallthesechartsandtablesabouthowwecomparetoother
hotels—themanhasanobsessionwithgraphsandstuff,I cantellyou.Hekeptoncomparingustomore
‘efficient’ hotels, like Travelodge, saying that we can learn from them, or this European one Etap. It
seemslikea race tothebottom,I can tellyou.Soundsliketheyaretryingtoturnusintoa sweatshop!
Then, as we all left, we were given our department ’sA3—a set of targets that we are meant to
achieve over the year. Mine is to cut the cost of the food by 30% and make it 23% quicker. 23%
quicker,whatthehelldoesthatmean?I havetocomebackinafewweekswithaplanastohowwewill
dothisandkeepthe costs‘reasonable,’otherwisetheyare goingtolookintogettingourfoodfromone
of thesecateringsuppliers.Theyonlydoprocessedfood,notthedirection wewanttogo!
In the final theme we turn our attention to the contemporary issues that face organizations.
We start, in Chapter 14, by exploring communication. We will see that communication is
fraught with difficulty and represents a major challenge to effective organization. We will
also discover that further issues emerge when technologies such as the Internet and mobile
technologies are used to carry out communication. In Chapter 15, we examine globaliza-
tion. As the recent global recession has demonstrated, we live, perhaps more than ever, in a
highly interconnected and integrated world. Large multinationals have grown to become
hugely powerful—in some cases bigger than many countries. However, the globalized
economy brings with it its own challenges for management. As Hofstede (1980) noted,
Globalization Defined
in manydifferentways,
globalization iswhere
activitiestakeplaceon
anincreasinglyglobal
scale.

11. 10 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
national culture presents multinational companies with significant challenges in manag-
ing the differences between cultures.
Chapter 16 looks at the rising service sector, which, in some senses, represents a continu-
ation and, indeed, intensification of the rational approach we saw in the first theme. How-
ever, because it is customer-facing it carries the additional challenge of emotional and
aesthetic labour in which employees have to manage their feelings and appearances, put-
ting on an act in front of customers.
The recent financial crisis and corporate scandals have put the spotlight on our final
theoretical chapter, corporate social responsibility(CSR). We will see some of the key ethical
challenges that organizations face, how they respond to them, and the criticisms that cam-
paigners and activists have about these responses.
Organizational behaviour—
an interconnected discipline
Servicesector Non-
manufacturing
industries,suchas
retail,leisure,transport,
finance,andmedia.
Corporatesocial
responsibility A
contestedtermwith
different
interpretationsbut
generallytakento be
thesocialand
environmental
responsibility
corporationshave
towardstheir
stakeholders.
Running case:11:15amWeaverandChancemeet againin the boardroom
‘Well, that went well,’ says Weaver in a confident way, ‘I think we really hammered home our message.
This place needs agood shake-up and we’re the people to do it. With our new targets and management
practices Junction Hotel is going to be a very different place in a year’s time when we have transformed
them.’
Meanwhile, Linda Wilkinson is less jubilant asshe talks to Meg by reception. ‘They talk very positively,’
Linda sayswith asenseof despondency, ‘but they cannot just come here and impose their views on uslike
that.’
In our final chapter we draw all the issues together and look forward to the future
challenges that face organizations. We will see that, while we have discussed all these
topics as discrete entities, in practice they are highly interconnected and rely on each
other.
It is, therefore, important to be aware of the connections between the themes as you read
the chapters and prepare to write your essay or answer your exam questions.
Keyunderlyingtheories
As will be apparent from the discussion, OB covers a wide range of issues. To do this it draws
on a wide range of underlying disciplines (Figure 1.3).
• Sociology explores how society shapes people. It helps us understand that no action
takes place in a social vacuum and helps us appreciate how individual experiences are
part of broader society.
• Psychology seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change human behaviour. It is
often considered the science of the mind.

12. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 11
• Social psychology bridges sociology and psychology, and tries to understand the
impact the group has on the outlook of the individual.
• Anthropology examines rites and rituals that shape how groups and cultures work.
• Political science examines the role of power within organizations.
Visit the Online Resource Centre for deeper analysis of the underlying theories.
Figure1.3 The
disciplinesthat
underliethestudyof
organizational
behaviour.
Source: R
obbins, Ste-
phen P
.;J
udge, Timothy
A.,Essentials of Organiza-
tional Behaviour, 10th
Edition© 2010, p. 5. R
e-
printed by permissionof
P
earsonEducation, Inc.,
Upper SaddleRiver,NJ.
Organization
system
Studyof
organizational
behaviour
Output
Group
Individual
Unit of analysis
Psychology
Behaviouralscience Contribution
Socialpsychology
Sociology
Learning
Motivation
Personality
Emotions
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Jobsatisfaction
Individual decisionmaking
Performanceappraisal
Attitudemeasurement
Employeeselection
Work design
Work stress
Behaviouralchange
Attitudechange
Communication
Group processes
Group decisionmaking
Communication
Power
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Formalorganizationtheory
Organizationaltechnology
Organizationalchange
Organizationalculture
Comparativevalues
Comparativeattitudes
Cross-culturalanalysis
Anthropology
Organizationalculture
Organizationalenvironment
Power
Politicalscience

13. 12 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
It is important as you read through the book to be aware of the significance of these
underlying theories and how they shape OB theories. As you gain more understanding of
OB you will be able to distinguish between these underlying theories.
Theimportance of criticalthinking
and multipleperspectives
Why there are no right answers in
organizational behaviour
The different theoretical disciplines within OB all make a variety of attempts to explain
human behaviour. However, it is difficult to offer a definitive answer as to which view is
correct because human behaviour is complex and subjective.
First, people do not act in predictable ways, share the same outlook, nor always behave
as we would expect. Secondly, it is difficult to measure human behaviour scientifically be-
cause it is not controllable like, for instance, chemicals; people are not standardized or
predictable. Thirdly, the different theoretical traditions each have their own questions and
debates that interest them and, consequently, tend to focus on different features of organi-
zational life. Finally, the ‘right answer’ depends on beliefs about whose interests organiza-
tions should serve—either managers/shareholders or employees/society (we have more to
say about this in the following sections).
Consequently, within OB there are no right answers. This does not mean that the theo-
ries presented here are incorrect or that they are based on poor reasoning. In fact, there are
many fascinating and insightful accounts of the subject. Rather, there are no definitive
answers to the issues that we discuss. This makes OB a fascinating, although potentially
somewhat complex, subject.
Real life case: the CEOwho raised his firms’minimum wage to £45,000
but isnow being suedbyhisbrother
In April 2015 Dan Price took a very controversial decision. He raised the minimum wage of all his
employees to $70,000 (£45,000)within three years(Cohen,2015a)and also gaveunlimited paid time
off (GravityPayment,2015).Thiswould resultin 70out of the 120employeesgetting payrises,with 30
havingtheir salariesalmostdoubled(Torabi, 2015).
Theco-founder of Gravity,aSeattle-based payment processing company, told the NewYorkTimes
(Cohen, 2015a) that he decided to do it after reading an article on happiness. The article wason the
links between well-being and pay,which argued that emotional well-being rose progressively until it
reached$75,000.Whileabove$75,000ayearbringspleasure,it doesnot increasehappiness(Kahneman
and Deaton,2010).
The article made a deep impression on Price. He had heard many stories from his employees
about how difficult it was to live off $40,000 ayear, and he wanted to make adifference. Pricestated
he felt there wasa‘moralimperativeto actually do it …
I wanteverybody that I’m partneredwith

14. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 13
Time will tell if Dan Price’s experiment will prove successful and if he will repair the rela-
tionship with his brother. The case raises further organizational behaviour issues that we
will cover in this book.
The gap between highest-and lowest-paid
As co-founder and CEO of Gravity, Dan Price was earning around $1m a year, about 25 times
more than the lowest-paid employee (who earned $36,000). Not only did Price say that it
was difficult for the lowest-paid to live on $36,000 (approximately £23,275), but the gap
between rich and poor was too high. As we will see in Chapter 17, this interest in inequality
has been reflected more broadly, with critical theorists arguing that the importance of chief
executive officers is overestimated and their pay is disproportionate for what they do. Critics
of high executive pay argue that these executives are paid, on average, some 120 times more
than their employees, 35 times more than hospital consultants and 162 times more than the
average teacher (High Pay Commission, 2011). This gap between rich and poor creates
higher levels of crime and even health problems (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2010). One possi-
ble solution to this issue is being tried in the USA, where companies are going to be forced to
disclose the gap between the pay of CEOs and the rest of the workforce (Kasperkevic, 2015).
An alternative perspective argues that while Dan Price’s position might be seen as a noble
gesture, it is not a sustainable one. This perspective argues that getting high-quality senior
at Gravity to really live the fullest, best life that they can’ (cited in Torabi, 2015). Toachieve this he
decided to cut his own salary from just under $1 million to $70,000 (Torabi, 2015) stating that the
‘market rate for me asa CEOcompared to a regular person is ridiculous, it’s absurd’ (cited in Cohen,
2015a). He also felt it made business sense.‘I honestly believe that removing that distraction [of living
from pay cheque to pay cheque] will significantly increase our ability to take care of our clients’ (cited
in Torabi, 2015). This hasbeen reflected by some of the employees, who saythat they are now work-
ing harder. For instance, one employee stated that they are willing to put in more hours. ‘I never
thought I would go to ajob where I would want to work extra hours, but this is something that I, and
everyone else, want to do,’ said Ortiz, one of the employees. ‘It’s really inspirational to see so many
people dedicating most of their day to this job’ (cited in Elkins,2015). Somealso felt it wasthe start of
amovement that aimed to reduce the differences between high and low earners.AsDan Pricestates,
‘Income inequality hasbeen racing in the wrong direction ...I want to fight for the idea that if some-
one is intelligent, hard-working and does a good job, then they are entitled to live a middle-class
lifestyle’ (cited in Cohen, 2015b).
Yetacouple of months later, Dan Price wassued by his brother because asaminority shareholder
he believed the increased wagesof the staff were reducing the firm’s profits. Dan Price wasalso strug-
gling financially: he had to cut his own salary and rent out his house. He also faced criticism on Face-
book, in letters, and in phone calls (Cohen, 2015b). Some customers left, feeling it was a political
statement. Some employees also left. For instance, a former financial manager told the New York
Times:‘Hegaveraisesto people who havethe leastskillsand arethe leastequipped to do the job, and
the oneswho were taking on the most didn’t getmuch of abump’ (Cohen,2015b).Others did not like
the fact that the gap between the higher- and lower-paid wasreduced, and some even questioned if
theywere reallyworth the increasedsalary.

15. 14 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
managers is a significant challenge and, as we will see in Chapter 12, many leadership theo-
ries see the CEO as vital to increasing the long-term profits of the company. It is often
argued there is a ‘war for talent’ (Peacock, 2010), with top people able to travel anywhere in
the world; therefore, firms have to pay competitive salaries and bonus packages in order to
attract and retain the best people. Furthermore, in a related argument, supporters of share-
holder capitalism would argue that Dan Price did not have the right as CEO to make this
decision alone because effectively he was spending shareholders’ money (through the
increase in wages), which was not (solely) his choice to make. Theorists such as Milton
Friedman (see Chapter 17) therefore argue that it is immoral to spend shareholders’ money
on something just because you as a manager believe it is ethical.
Motivation
Dan Price makes an interesting claim that having a minimum wage of around £45,000 will
increase motivation and customer service. One argument drawn from psychology and be-
havioural economics, particularly the work of Daniel Kahneman, is that increases in feel-
ings of well-being only continue up until around £48,000, and therefore a salary of this
level will produce the maximum well-being for everyone.
However, does pay increase motivation? As we will see in Chapter 9, the link between pay
and motivation is a highly controversial area. Indeed, it could be argued that far from in-
creasing motivation, it might demotivate. This can be explained by Adams’s Equity Theory
(Adams, 1963), which argues that individuals will calculate the ratio of their inputs (time,
effort, and skill) against the outputs (e.g. pay, job security). People compare their ratio of
inputs to outputs with those of others, and if they feel someone is receiving greater levels
of output in relation to their input then this will cause dissatisfaction. Therefore, highly
skilled Gravity employees might experience the change as unfair because even though they
received an increase in their wages, it was a smaller increase than the less skilled workers
were receiving in proportion to their skill level.
As we have seen, many of the issues that organizational behaviour investigates are con-
tested on grounds of either morality (‘it is wrong to have too large a gap between rich and
poor’ versus ‘it is wrong to spend shareholders’ money’) or effectiveness (‘increasing satis-
faction will increase productivity’ versus ‘the new wage structure will increase feelings of
inequity between skill and wages’). Ultimately authors will take different positions on these
debates because they hold fundamentally different assumptions about the world. Your job,
therefore, in conducting this analysis is to understand these underlying assumptions first
and then make a judgement based upon them. It is only by actually understanding these
assumptions that it is possible to really make a judgement on the validity of the positions
that theorists hold.
The importance of analysis
It would be easy to read the preceding section and think ‘well, anything goes in this subject.
If there are no right answers, then it is just about opinion and all I need to do is put forward
my opinion, as it is as valid as anyone else’s.’ While tempting, we believe such a perspective

16. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 15
is dangerous for a number of reasons. Firstly, the ideas developed in this book are based upon
years of research built up through numerous investigations, theoretical reflections, and
analysis, and argued through many lectures, articles, and books. They are, therefore, more
than simply opinions: they are built on reasoned arguments and investigations into actual
practice. Secondly, they draw on (as we have seen in the preceding section) a variety of dif-
ferent underlying perspectives that are built on deep theoretical foundations. These are
more than simply personal opinions or gut reactions, but reasoned arguments based on
fundamentally different ways of thinking about and discussing the world. Finally, as we
will explore in more detail in the following sections, these perspectives are built on wider
theoretical reflections about the nature of societies and the roles that organizations should
play in them.
Study skills: the difference betweenpersonalopinion and
anacademically-informedperspective
My opinion
•usesmy own taken-for-granted assumptions
•is basedon gut reaction and personalopinion
•may often contain sentencessuch as‘I think that . . . ’
Anacademically-informedperspective
•challenges received opinion and taken-for-granted assumptions
•is basedon theoretical reasoning,evidence, academic literature, and evaluation of competing
perspectives
•is basedon the evidence
•may often contain sentencessuch as‘Researchshows that . . .’
Therefore, while at first glance informed critical analysis might seem like simply stating
your own opinion, in practice developing an academically-informed perspective is more
rigorous, thoughtful, and evidence-based. While your personal opinion might, therefore,
be a starting point, it begins with common-sense assumptions rather than evidence and
theory and so you should be prepared to reconsider these views. Indeed, often the best
essays are by students who have changed their view on a subject having read and really
engaged with the academic arguments.
Because there are no set answers, we sometimes call this approach a ‘contested’ view.
There are multiple perspectives because the issues that we are interested in cannot be
‘solved’ in any straightforward way and, consequently, it is an area of constant debate.
The skill of a good analyst is to uncover these underlying assumptions and to see how
they inform the research and how this perspective differs from alternatives. One of the
central study skills that you will need throughout your time studying OB (and at univer-
sity as a whole) is to be able to uncover the key underlying assumptions that inform the
theories.

17. 16 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
The need to develop critical thinking
Developing your critical thinking skills is a long-term process of acquiring skills and also a
mindset of approaching the world in a different way. As we can see from the real life case
here, such an approach can be highly beneficial as it helps you to think more deeply and to
be more innovative—something that employers throughout the world are increasingly
looking for.
Real life case:innovativethinking in Singapore
In recent yearsthe education systemsof Singapore and China have come under increasing attention.
Both countries havebeen praised for headingup the international league tables,with fifteen-year-old
studentsfrom Singapore,SouthKorea,Japan,Hong Kong,and Shanghaiaround ten months aheadof
UKstudents in English(Barber,2012).Thissuccessisattributed to ahighly-scripted teaching styleand
high levelsof disciplineand commitment from the students.
On the other hand, the focus on always being right and finding the right answers is increasingly
being criticized in countries such asSingapore, who are actually changing their education approach
(Ng,2014).While for alongtime their approachhasbeenhugelysuccessfulin attractingmultinational
firms and making the country prosperous because ‘Singaporeans are hardworking, loyal, and well-
educated’ (Economy Watch, 2011a), asthe economy has developed questions are increasingly being
raised about Singaporeans’ ability to undertake more creative and innovative jobs. Recently, Steve
Wozniak (Apple’s co-founder) suggested that a rigid education system could stifle creativity and in-
novation: ‘Singapore, teachers and employers are caught up with “the right answer,” instead of the
journey to get there and the creative solutions to other problems.’ Wozniak’s statement suggests that
their education system,which praises students when they get the right answers,is,therefore, lessable
to prepare them for the more innovative thinking that creative jobs require. Being innovative and
being able to solve complex problems (which people often produce) requires the ability to be pre-
paredto think differently,to questionone’sassumptions,and to copewith uncertaintyand doubt.
One of us (Daniel) discovered this when teaching in Singapore. At the end of a week of intensive
teaching of OB to a group of Singaporean undergraduates, one of them came over to say that they
both loved and hated the course. It made them think differently and question what they knew, and at
the sametime madethem feel uncertaintyand doubt. StudyingOBcangetusall to feel thisway.
Source: Economy Watch(2011a, 2011b).
Sohow do Idevelop critical thinking skillsh
Teaching yourself to question things and also to learn in a different way can be a difficult,
but exciting, process. At university your lecturers will want you to demonstrate a higher
level of critical analysis than you may have encountered before and also a different ap-
proach to thinking. Rather than simply recounting the strengths and weaknesses of par-
ticular theories, they will be expecting you to look at the wider implications for our
understanding of broader issues in society. This requires deeper thinking and engagement,
opening yourself up to competing perspectives and interpretations of the world, and a

18. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 17
readiness to engage in complex ideas. This can be particularly challenging given that, on
the surface, OB seems little more than ‘common sense’.
One example of the value of critical and analytical thinking is that it encourages us to go
beyond these general assumptions to really examine the implications of these theories, not
just for management practice but for society as well. This moves us to ask not only prag-
matic questions, such as how things are done, but also wider ones, such as in whose interest
they are conducted. This requires alternative ways of thinking.
Real life case:thinking outside the box
Oneof our students describeshow shehasstruggledwith wantingto find the rightanswer.
I am a bit of a perfectionist really and I want to know the answers. At A-level I studied History—where
there werealot of datesand facts, Law—wherethere were manycases,and Business(wherethere wasalot
of ac- counting)—where there were right answers. At university, studying organizational behaviour, I have
realized that thereareno right answersand I need to think outside the box.
You might find studying OB difficult and challenging, particularly if you come from a sci-
entific or mathematics background, which tend to have ‘correct’ and ‘true’ answers. For
many students, this desire for the right answers and anxiety about getting the wrong an-
swer leads them to want to memorize and learn facts about theories, as these seem more
certain and understandable. For instance, we have seen countless students put in details
about when key theorists were born and when they died, or long descriptions of a theory,
presumably believing this is the ‘correct information’. However, it demonstrates very little
understanding and often has a negative impact on their grade.
To really develop critical thinking requires asking different types of questions and focus-
ing on different areas (Figure 1.4).
At the surface level is description (Figure 1.5). At this level you simply describe the theory,
giving details of what it is, how it works, and its basic concepts. You will discuss the basic
facts, models, or theories, and you will need to show familiarity with the theories, but little
more. However, this level largely involves repeating back the theory. You do not need to do
much thinking as you are merely reproducing what you have been told in lectures or in this
book. You need this level as it is the foundation for the subject, but you need to remember
that it is not enough at degree level.
Description Recalling and describing thetheory: multiple choice questions, facts,recall, definitions, and models
Explanation Applying to real life and own experience, and what the theory means for organizations in practice
Analysis Considering strengths and weaknesses, exploring alternative viewpoints and the underlying assumptions
Critical analysis How the theory challenges our fundamental understanding of OB. In whose interest is the theory?
Figure1.4 Levelsof criticalthinking.
Description Apiece
of writing that
describesthe theoryor
casestudywith little
attempt atproviding
analysis.Often
consideredmore
superficialand
thereforein student
courseworkresultsin
lowergrades.

19. 18 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
The next level down is explanation, comprehension, and evidence. At this level you show
that you really understand the theory and its relevance to the question and to real life prac-
tice. To do this you can apply the theory to an organization and show the implications for
organizational practice. You can also identify the relevant points of the theory to the actual
question asked. This shows a far deeper level of understanding, as it takes a stronger appre-
ciation of what the theory entails in order to apply it to practice.
Within this level is also the application of theory. This is where you link what you have
learned to actual organizational examples. In this book, this might either be to real life ex-
amples or to examples from the Junction Hotel running case. The idea here is to show that
theories are not simply words on a page. They are tools that can both explain what happens
in real life organizations and, furthermore, make recommendations for how organizations
might solve particular management issues.
Application is based on what you know about the theories, including their strengths and
weaknesses. For example, in Chapter 3 we introduce Taylorism, which outlines a way of design-
ing work to make it more efficient. We sometimes ask our students to apply this to our running
case. A very simplistic answer that we often hear is that ‘Junction Hotel should introduce Tay-
lorism because it would increase efficiency’. This is too simplistic and vague—it isn’t good
enough as an answer. Imagine if you presented something like this to a board of a company.
They would rightly ask questions like ‘how would it increase efficiency in our organization spe-
cifically?’, ‘what problems might its implementation cause for us?’, or ‘can you show evidence
that it has worked in similar organizations?’ Applying a theory thus moves from talking about
general theoretical ideasto presenting them in the context of a specific organizational setting.
While this level shows a greater level of insight, it does little to question the assumptions
that underpin the theories. It simply takes things for granted and does not show the deeper
level of thinking that is necessary to make judgements about a theme.
Description
Explanation
Evidence
Critical
analysis
Analysis
General theme
Description of theory
Identification of
points in theory relevant
to question
Application
and examples
Impact on
practice
Strengths and
weakness
Theory
in whose
interest?
Evaluate and
weigh-up
Comparison
with other
theorists
Alternative
perspectives and
theorists
Implications
Biggerpicture
Fundamental understanding assumptions
Answering the question by developing a perspective
based on reason and evidence which challenges the
underlying assumptions
Figure1.5 Thecritical
thinkingiceberg.
Explanation In
academicwriting,the
ability to explaina
theoryor perspective.
Evidence In academic
writing,support for
claimsmade.

20. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 19
Dropping below the surface is where we begin to analyse the theory. This level looks at
the theory’s strengths and weaknesses, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the
theory or the benefits and drawbacks that the theory offers. This form of analysis is com-
mon at post-16 qualifications (e.g. A-level) and demonstrates a stronger appreciation of the
theory itself and how it works in practice.
The deepest level of critical analysis includes synthesis, comparison, evaluation, and cre-
ativity. It requires a much higher level of thinking because it does not merely assume that
the theory is correct but looks as much at what the author does not say and who it impacts.
Because of its greater complexity and more advanced level of understanding, this approach
often gets higher marks. To achieve this you need to really understand the theory and its
implications, read between the lines, and not accept things at face value but question eve-
rything. This also involves judgement, weighing-up of the relative merits of the theory, and
then drawing conclusions to see if the perspective offered is fair and valid.
To develop your critical thinking, the following questions are useful when reading
academic theory:
• What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• How does it compare with other theories?
• What evidence is it based on and is it reliable?
• What are the implications of the theory for practice?
• What are the underlying assumptions?
• Whose interest does it serve?
• What is its implication for answering the question?
As we can see, to really get to the heart of the issue and understand its significance we need to
go beyond merely describing a theory and seek to understand its underlying assumptions.
Throughout this book are questions to get you thinking. ‘Stop and think’ questions ap-
pear throughout the chapters. They invite you to reflect on what you have just read and to
put it in the context of your own thoughts and experiences. There are also review questions
within the chapters. These have been structured to take your thoughts from simple descrip-
tion (at the top of the critical thinking iceberg) towards much deeper levels of critical analy-
sis, which will be useful in your essays and exams. These review questions have been labelled
‘describe’, ‘explain’, ‘analyse’, and ‘apply’, as outlined in Table 1.1.
Analyse Widely
associatedwith deeper
intellectualthinking,it
istheprocessof
breakingthingsdown
into their constituent
parts,investigatingthe
underlying causeor
basicprinciples.
Criticalanalysis To
questionthe
underlying
assumptionsof a
perspective.In OBthis
mayhaveparticular
emphasisonhow
powerandinequality
occur.
Describe Theseare the most basic questions. They invite you to recall and describe
theory, providing basic facts,definitions, and models.
Explain These go beyond basic definitions, explaining what theories actually mean, or why
they are important for the study of organizations and management.
Analyse Here you are invited to go much deeper, considering the strengths and weaknessesof
theories, exploring alternative viewpoints and underlying assumptions, and showing
how theories may have challenged existing and widely accepted viewpoints.
Apply Here you are comparing theory with organizational examples, from both real life cases
and the Junction Hotel running case.Youmay be asked to find evidence of theories in
these examples, or even act asaconsultant and makerecommendations to organizations
based on the theory that you have learned.
Table 1.1 The structure of the review questions

21. 20 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
Degree-level analysis
Throughout this discussion you may have thought that much of this talk of analysis is fa-
miliar to you, as you have heard the terms ‘analysis’, ‘evaluation’, and ‘application’. While
post-16 (A-level) uses these terms, we require deeper and more engaged thinking to do well
at degree level.
For instance, at post-16 analysis often consists of describing the strengths and weak-
nesses of a particular theory, and may compare it to other theories; at university, we are after
a deeper examination of the implications of the theory to the fundamental assumptions of
the discipline. Table 1.2 summarizes these differences.
Ultimately, at degree level, the emphasis for answers in essays and exams is on making an
argument, based on theory, which responds directly to the question asked.
Table 1.2 The differences between post-16 and degree thinking
Post-16 Degree level
How you use
the theory
Reproduce material taught and show you
understand which theorists are relevant
Digest the material and demonstrate
understanding of its implications
What markers are
looking for
Correct answers to hit the mark scheme A critical response to the literature
Useof theory Show understanding of the theory and both
sides of the argument
Making an argument by writing within
a school of thought, using accepted
concepts and theoretical tools
Analysisis Strengths and weaknessesof a theory Questioning the underlying assumptions
and their implications for the question
Evaluation is Demonstrating understanding, comparing
and weighing-up of both sides of the
argument
Poviding own response to the question
based on the theories in question
Material used Given specific texts to investigate Go out and undertake your own research
Paragraph
structure
Key points, quote to back up, and then
evaluate
Links together to makean overall
argument that fully answers the question
Reallife case:makingthe transitionto degree-level analysis
Having recently received back comments on her assignmentfor her OBmodule, one of our students
hascome to realizethat the type of analysisrequired atdegreelevelisdeeperthan shehad previously
been askedto do for A-level. ‘Having readthe assignmentI thought that I wasdoing analysisby listing
the strengths and weaknesses aswe were asked to do at A-level. I now see that this was only part of
whatanalysing meansandyou wantusto think alot deeperatdegreelevel.’
The central intention here is that you will become independent critical thinkers who are able to
developargumentsthrough critical analysisof others’positions.

22. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 21
Critical thinking: mainstream and critical views
Critical thinking can also mean a political view that asks you to question the underlying
assumptions and values of theories for the purposes of understanding and challenging
their impact on society—e.g. workers, the environment—and that is seen in opposition to
mainstream theory. (Used in this sense, this is often called the ‘critical management studies
perspective’.)
The mainstream, or dominant view, represents the general established thinking about
management. It is primarily interested in creating theory that helps to understand man-
agement practice better and generally to improve it. The mainstream perspective assumes
that organizations exist to make profit and that the goal of management theory is to
achieve performance, efficiency, productivity, order, and control. Furthermore, it sup-
ports hierarchy, managers’ right to manage, and the idea that firms exist primarily for
shareholders.
The critical view argues that these mainstream views systematically favour elite inter-
ests at the expense of disadvantaged groups, for instance managers over workers; men
over women; profit over society; and economic growth over the environment—arguing
that this limits freedom of all (Grey and Willmott, 2005). The critical perspective sug-
gests that there is a ‘dark side’ to organizations that these mainstream accounts rarely
discuss.
While the critical perspective might seem negative, its proponents would argue
that it is aiming at a more positive society. The critical perspective argues that organiza-
tions should exist for freedom and fulfilment, creativity and expression, and for the
benefit of society, not just for shareholders. Critical perspectives therefore aim for
emancipation (freedom from slavery). This form of critical thinking can be hard—it
challenges many of our basic assumptions of the world—but it can also be highly
transformative.
Mainstream The
dominant or accepted
viewthat emphasizes
managers’right to
manageandthecentral
objectiveof
organizationsto make
profitsfor shareholders.
Critical (asin‘critical
managementstudies’)
Acriticalperspective,
amongotherthings,
drawson Marxist
theoryandseeksto
challengethe
assumptionsof
mainstream
managementtheory
by stressingthe impact
thatit hason
employeesandsociety.
Study skills: questioningtaken-for-granted assumptions
Whenreadingatheory,insteadof taking the ideasfor granted,the following questionscan give you a
morecritical perspective.
•What arethe underlying perspectivespresentedin the text?
•What are the taken-for-granted assumptions contained (but not expressed) in the theory?
•Whose interests are being served by this perspective?
•What issuesare being glossedover or downplayed?
•What arethe implications for power and control?
•What are the effects of the theory on people, society,and the planet?
•What other perspectives have been downplayed or ignored by this theory?
For whose benefit should the theory of OB be written? Management? Shareholders? Employees?
Customers/Clients? Society?

23. 22 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
•employability tips
–things to be thinking about now
–short exercises to do now
•much more advice, and pointers to other websites and material.
Employability skills: the importance of critical thinking
Most people who study business and management degrees do get a job. Yet often we do not really
considerwhatweneedto do in orderto achievethis.Asanemployerhasstatedin afairlyrecentreport:
‘Academic qualifications are the first tick in the box and then we move on. Todaywe simply take them
for granted’(Brownetal.,2003:120).Therefore,while getting agood degreeisessential,on itsown—in
thisincreasinglycompetitive market—itisnot enough.
So,what is it that employers are looking for?While there can never be adefinitive list, some of the
commonrequirementsof graduate recruiters are:
•professionalism or work ethic
•oral and written communication skills
•teamwork and collaboration skills
•critical-thinking or problem-solving skills
•generic skillsrather than subject-specific skills
•abstraction (theorizing; using models, metaphors, and formulae)
•systemsthinking (seeing the part in the context of the wider whole)
•experimentation (intuition and analysis)
•collaboration (communication and teamwork skills) Reich (1991, 2002)
Youmight be reading this and be thinking, ‘but I have just got to university—whyshould I be thinking
about this now?’ Our experience, having been students ourselves and talking to thousands of stu-
dents through teaching, is that your time at university goes by very quickly. While the next three or
four years may seem along way off, this time will fly by and you will wonder what you did with your
time at university. Our key advice is that you start thinking about which skills you can improve now.
Youwill find that your first year will passvery quickly and you will miss agolden opportunity that this
first year at university presents: to begin to acquire the skills, experiences, knowledge, and self-
awareness that will help develop you as a person and as a future employee. There are countless
things that you could bedoing to boost your experiences sothat you areastepahead when it comes
to getting ajob.
Sohow do you start building your employability? Throughout this book we will have anumber of
employability prompts to get you started thinking about theseissues.Youshould then follow them up
with material found in the Online Resource Centre, which will point you in the direction of further
reading, activities, and advice that will enable you to construct your CVand gain skills and experience
to help you getahead.Theseinclude:
•self-testquestionnaires
•video interviews with employers,students, and recent graduates

24. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 23
The links between study skills and
employability skills
While we often think that the skills we need to study are different from those that we will use
in a work situation,the links betweenthe two aresurprisingly similar, aswe can seein Table 1.3.
Therefore, as you go through your university career it is valuable to develop these study
skills as they are often transferrable to a work situation.
Table 1.3 The similarities between study skills and employability skills
Study skill Employability skill
Time-management Many assignmentsdue at the same time
A lot of study time and therefore
personal responsibility
J
uggling paid employment,studying, clubs
and societies,and personal responsibilities
Working on numerous projects in which
you have to manage your own time and
that of others
Synthesis of a
lot of complex
information
Reading dozens of academic articles and
pulling out the key themes, arguments,
and positions of the authors
Reading numerous reports, background
briefings, and market research, and being
asked to makesenseof them
Working with
ambiguous briefs
Getting an assignment brief and needing
to work out what you need to do to get
a good grade
Being given a loosely-defined task and be
told to ‘get on with it’
Writing for different
audiences
Studying different modules with their
various approaches to academic work
such asreferencing, analysis, and styles
Writing for different managers, for your
staff, and to clients—allof which have
different requirements
Visit the Online Resource Centre for more information on transferable skills.
Employability and study skills: keeping ajournal with evidence and
examples of the skills you have developed at university and outside, and
adiary to reflect on what you arelearning
When you apply for most graduate jobs you will need to fill in an application form which will askyou
for evidencethatyou havehit anumberof requirements,suchasteamwork, takinginitiative, or project
management. One way that you can significantly improve your chances is to keep a record of actual
examplesof you meeting anyof thesecriteria. Thiscould be through assignments at university—team-
work, working with different nationalities; or external activities, such asbeing involved in the football
club (planningandorganizing asyou arrangematchesandtransport).
StudyingOBisparticularlyusefulin thisregard,asthesubjectmatterdealswith manyofthekeyskill
areasthat you will needat work. Therefore, asyou read on topics suchasmotivation, leadership,and
teamwork,consideryourown experiencesandhowyoucandemonstrateexamplesofactualpractice.
Throughout this book we will alsooffer studyskillsthat giveyou opportunities to develop your abilities
asastudent.Asyougothroughyourcourse,itisreallyhelpfultokeepadiaryinwhichyoucanhonestlyand
openlyreflectonwhatyouwouldliketoachieveinyourworkinglifeandhowyouwouldliketogetthere.

25. 24 Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour
Chapter summary
Running case:the daydrawsto aclose
Simon Chance’soffice (5.50 pm)
Asearlyeveningapproaches,SimonChanceopenshisdiaryandstartsmakingafewnotesto himselfabout
hisreflectionson hisfirst full dayatJunctionHotel.Thestaffseemedfriendlyandgenerallyprofessional,and
seemed to take the meeting well. That chef, though (Effingham, he thinks he’s called), looked a bit of a
livewire and will need keeping an eye on. Everything here feels slightly chaotic, unmanageable even,
Chance considers. Everyone goes about their jobs OK, but from where he is sitting they are not working
effectively.It will takesomedoing to kickthislot into shape.
The bar (10.00 pm)
Asthe kitchen staff ’sshift ends, Effingham, Josh,and Toby are sitting round the bar enjoying their evening
‘nightcap’. ‘What do you think about this new owner?’ Josh asks Effingham. Effingham snorts, ‘Same old
managementclap-trap,if youaskme.Theycomeout with allthesephrasesandbuzzwords,“blueskythink-
ing,A3s,gold standardcustomerservice”,but theydon’t haveacluewhatit’sreallylike.’ Tobybutts in,‘Yeah,
I’dloveto seehim preppingforeveningserviceor doing thebreakfastrun,thentellmeallthatmanagement
speakreally meansanything.’‘Yes,’Joshsmiles,‘it’suswho run the showreally.’
As we have seen, organizations are fundamentally about people, and people can be com-
plex and make organizational life messy. Rather than being rational and logical places, as
we often like to believe, they can be full of emotion—pain, joy, excitement, disappoint-
ment, hope, fear, and anxiety—competing ambitions, and different perspectives. In view
of this, instead of seeing the theories as abstract and separate from real life, OB is best
understood by relating and applying it to concrete experience and practice. Our running
case study, Junction Hotel, will give you an insight into how theories can play out in
practice.
To sum up, there are no right answers within OB as it is a subjective discipline, born
out of various theoretical disciplines and subject to different social and political per-
spectives. Therefore, to study OB effectively requires critical thinking and questioning:
the ability to understand different perspectives and to seek to challenge your own
assumptions.
It is also heavily linked to real practice. The employability and study skills therefore bring
some of these issues to life as you develop your abilities for your university and employ-
ment career. Keeping a diary and working through the exercises in the book and the Online
Resource Centre will help you to maximize your experience and gain a fuller understanding
of the subject.

26. Chapter 1 Introducing organizational behaviour 25
Further reading
Cottrell,S.2011. Critical thinking skills:Developing effective analysis and argument. Palgrave Macmillan:
Basingstoke.
Thispopular study skillsbook givessomereally useful material on the importance of critical thinking and offers
practical,aswell astheoretical, ideas on how to improve in this area.Reading this will be useful,not only in studying
thissubjectbut alsoto other subjectson your degree course.
Bowell, T., and Kemp, G.2002. Critical thinking: A conciseguide. Routledge: London.
Another popular study skillsbook that stresseshow to develop and build arguments.It looksat how to assess
the strengthsof anargumentandhow to develop your own.
Gallagher, K. 2010. Skills development for businessand management students. Oxford University Press:
Oxford. Thisstudy skillsguide provides useful ideas on how to develop your all-round skillsasabusinessand
management student, includingteamwork, presentation,and readingskills.
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