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Summary Lecture Notes Behaviour and Communication in Organizations | VU Amsterdam | 2025/26

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Grade: 8.5 Lecture notes from Behaviour and Communication in Organizations (S_BCO) at VU Amsterdam covering foundational concepts in organizational behavior. Topics include the three determinants of behavior (individual, group, structure), Mintzberg's managerial roles framework, evidence-based management, the interdisciplinary nature of OB, and distinctions between errors and violations in workplace behavior. These notes are ideal for exam preparation and quickly grasping core concepts from the first lecture, with key definitions and structured breakdowns of complex theories.

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Lecture 1

,Behavior and communication in
organizations
Quizz notes:
1.​ The overarching objective of ‘Organization Behavior’ is: understanding antecedents*
of behavior in organizations.*= voorspellers
2.​ ‘Evidence Based Management’ means basing managerial decisions on: scientific
insights.
3.​ In the context of the article you shared, "error" refers to a situation where the
intended goal is not attained, and the failure is not due to chance but could have
been avoided. Essentially, errors occur when people make mistakes despite having
good intentions. Differentiates between errors and violations. While errors occur from
a misjudgment or poor execution of a plan (without wrongful intentions), violations
involve conscious decisions to ignore rules. For example, failing to follow safety
protocols despite knowing better.


Lecture 1
Worker: An individual who contributes to the accomplishment of collective goals.
Manager: Someone who gets things done through other people (typically workers) in
organizations.

Management activity: Planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

Organization: A consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or more people that
functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set goals.

Mintzberg (l)
Interpersonal Dit zijn rollen waarbij de leider interacteert
met anderen en relaties onderhoudt

Figurehead Symbolic head; required to perform a
number of routine duties of a legal or social
nature

Leader Responsible for the motivation and direction
of employees

Liaison Maintains a network of outside contacts
who provide favors and information

Informational deze rollen draaien om het verzamelen,
verwerken en verspreiden van informatie

Monitor Receives a wide variety of information;
serves as nerve centre of internal and
external information of the organization.

, Disseminator Transmits information received from
outsiders or from other employees to
members of the organization

Spokesperson Transmits information to outsiders on
organization’s plans, policies, actions, and
results; serves as expert on organization’s
industry.

Decisional

Entrepreneur Searches organization and its environment
for opportunities and initiates projects to
bring about change

Disturbance handler Responsible for corrective action when
organization faces important, unexpected
disturbances

Resource allocator Makes or approves significant
organizational decisions.

Negotiator Responsible for representing the
organization at major negotiation


Organization behavior= “A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups,
and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such
knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.”

And where an organization is...
“A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a
relatively continuous basis to achieve a common set goal or set of goals.”

A company’s true character is expressed by its people. The strongest opinions - good or bad -
about a company are shaped by the words and deeds of the employees. - Argenti, 2013

‘’The people make the place’’ Schneider 1987

How can we accurately predict employee behavior?
●​ Three determinants of behavior
●​ Individual, group, and structure
●​ Apply knowledge about how these determinants influence behavior te make organizations more effec

Systematic study behavior
●​ To reduce erroneous inferences
●​ Increase accuracy of predictions about behavior
●​ Try to attribute causes and effects

Evidence-based management
●​ Most decisions are still made ‘’on the fly’’

, ●​ By offering scientific evidence the field can move beyond mere ‘’intuition’’.


Interdisciplinary field
Het legt uit hoe OB beïnvloed wordt door verschillende sociale wetenschappen en hoe dit
toegepast wordt in de praktijk, vooral binnen human resources (HR). Hier is een
samenvatting van de belangrijkste onderdelen:
1.​ Het veld (OB als toegepast gedragswetenschap): OB is een vakgebied dat
gedragswetenschappen toepast om beter te begrijpen hoe mensen zich gedragen in
organisaties. Het richt zich op leren, motivatie, persoonlijkheid, emoties, perceptie,
en andere gedragingen die invloed hebben op de werkomgeving.
2.​ Beïnvloed door verschillende sociale wetenschappen: OB is sterk beïnvloed door
verschillende disciplines van de sociale wetenschappen:
○​ Psychologie: Richt zich op individuele gedragingen zoals motivatie, emoties,
besluitvorming, en prestaties.
○​ Sociale psychologie: Bestudeert groepsprocessen, communicatie,
besluitvorming, en thema's zoals diversiteit en rechtvaardigheid binnen
groepen.
○​ Sociologie: Heeft betrekking op formele organisatie theorieën,
organisatiecultuur, en het studeren van sociale structuren binnen
organisaties.
○​ Antropologie: Bekijkt de culturele verschillen tussen organisaties en hoe deze
cultuur invloed heeft op het gedrag van werknemers.
3.​ Informeren van HR-praktijken: OB biedt waardevolle inzichten die de basis vormen
voor verschillende HR-praktijken, zoals training, performance beoordeling, en
personeelsselectie. Het helpt HR-managers te begrijpen hoe ze het gedrag van
medewerkers kunnen beïnvloeden om de organisatie effectiever te maken.
4.​ Eenheden van analyse en toepassingen:
○​ Individueel niveau: Hoe gedragingen zoals motivatie en besluitvorming van
invloed zijn op het individu binnen de organisatie.
○​ Groepsniveau: Bestudeert hoe groepsprocessen en communicatie in teams
invloed hebben op de prestaties en het welzijn van werknemers.
○​ Organisatie niveau: Richt zich op de bredere organisatie als geheel, en hoe
bijvoorbeeld organisatiecultuur en -structuur het gedrag binnen de organisatie
beïnvloeden.
In essentie laat de slide zien dat OB niet alleen kijkt naar het gedrag van individuen, maar
ook naar groeps- en organisatorische dynamieken. Het is een interdisciplinair vakgebied dat
inzichten uit verschillende wetenschappen combineert om organisaties beter te begrijpen en
effectiever te maken.

Table of contents

  1. 01 Lecture 1 1
  2. 02 Behavior and communication in organizations 2
  3. 03 Lecture 1 2
  4. 04 Lecture 2 6
  5. 05 Lecture 2: Attitudes, emotions, and personalities 7
    1. 3.1 Contrast the three components of an attitude 7
    2. 3.2 Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior 7
    3. 3.3 Compare the major job attitudes 7
    4. 3.4 Identify the two approaches for measuring job satisfaction 7
    5. 3.5 Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction 8
    6. 3.6 Identify four outcomes of job satisfaction 8
    7. 3.7 Identify four employee responses to job dissatisfaction 8
    8. 4.1 Differentiate between emotions and moods 9
    9. 4.2 Identify the sources of emotions and moods 9
    10. 4.3 Show the impact emotional labor has on employees 9
    11. 4.4 Describe affective events theory (AET) 9
    12. 4.5 Describe emotional intelligence (EI) 10
    13. 4.6 Identify strategies for emotion regulation 10
  6. 06 Lecture 3 16
  7. 07 Lecture 3 Diversity & Groups 17
    1. 9.1 Distinguish between the different types of groups: 17
    2. Diversity Management 18
    3. Handling diversity: watch out for 18
    4. Social categorization 19
    5. Stereotyping 19
    6. Organizational identification 20
    7. Striving for positive social identity 20
    8. How to deal with a low group status? Social identity management strategies 21
    9. Organizational identification 21
    10. How do you make sure your part of the group? 21
    11. Identity & the Stanford Experiment 22
    12. 9.2 Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model of group development: 24
    13. 9.3 Show how role requirements change in different situations: 25
    14. 9.4 Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an individual’s behavior: 25
    15. 9.5 Show how status and size differences affect group performance: 25
    16. 9.6 Describe how cohesion is related to group effectiveness: 25
    17. 9.7 Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making: 25
    18. 2.1 Describe the two major forms of workplace diversity: 26
    19. 2.2 Demonstrate how workplace prejudice and discrimination undermine organizational effectiveness: 26
    20. 2.3 Explain how four major theoretical perspectives contribute to our understanding of workplace diversity: 26
    21. 2.4 Describe the role diversity plays in the interactions between people: 27
    22. 2.5 Discuss the implications of cross-cultural matters for organizational behavior (OB): 27
    23. 2.6 Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively: 27
  8. 08 Lecture 4 28
  9. 09 Lecture 4 29
    1. Organizational Structure 29
    2. Mintzberg on structure 30
    3. Mintzberg’s configurations 31
    4. Coordinated Mechanisms 32
    5. Decentralization 33
    6. What, when? 34
    7. Oplossen van problemen in een organisatie. 36
    8. Leiderschap 36
    9. Full range leadership model 37
    10. Managerial Activities 38
    11. Espoused and enacted leadership 38
  10. 10 Lecture 5 40
  11. 11 Lecture 5 41
    1. Self Esteem 41
    2. Self-serving attribution bias 42
    3. Bounded rationality 42
    4. Routine operation – links to BCO 43
  12. 12 Lecture 6 45
  13. 13 Lecture 6 Motivation 46
    1. Intrinsic/extrinsic motivation 46
    2. How can we motivate employees? 46
    3. Categorization Motivating theories - Content, context & process 47
    4. Classic theories 47
    5. Contemporary theories of motivation – content theories 49
    6. Contemporary theories of motivation – context theories 52
    7. Contemporary theories of motivation – process theories 54
    8. Job design and motivation 58
    9. Organizational Justice 60
    10. Distributive justice: equity 61
  14. 14 Lecture 7 62
  15. 15 Lecture 7 Communication 63
    1. Importance of downward communication 63
    2. Importance of upward communication 64
    3. The importance of horizontal communication 64
    4. Formal communication channels 65
    5. Informal communication channels 65
    6. Actual communication flow: 66
    7. Organizational Communication Theory 66
    8. Shannon-Weaver model – linear model 67
    9. McLuhan’s Media Theory - the medium is the message 67
    10. Media Richness Theory 67
    11. Media richness theory: zone effective communication 68
    12. Barriers for effective communication 72
    13. Physical and semantic barriers 72
    14. Leonardi (2014): towards a theory of communication visibility 73
    15. Interruptions 74
    16. What about remote work? 75
  16. 16 Lecture 8 76
  17. 17 Lecture 8 Conflict Negotiation 77
    1. Negotiation simulation: union and management 77
    2. Types of interdependence 77
    3. Mixed motive interdependence 77
    4. Why do negotiators often not manage to obtain optimal results? 78
    5. Competing/forcing 78
    6. Accommodating /yielding 78
    7. Avoiding 78
    8. Compromising 79
    9. Distributive negotiation 80
    10. So, what should you do in a negotiation? 80
  18. 18 Lecture 10 82
  19. 19 Lecture 10 Culture, Change & Power 83

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