Chapter 15: Organizational behavior
L015.1
Just like an iceberg, it’s the hidden organizational
elements (attitudes, perceptions, norms, etc.) that
make understanding individual behavior so
challenging.
Organizational behavior (OB) focuses on three
areas:
Individual behavior
group behavior
organizational aspects
The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence
behavior.
Definitions
Employee productivity: A performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness.
Absenteeism: The failure to report to work.
Turnover: The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): Discretionary behavior that’s not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but it promotes the effective functioning of an
organization.
Job satisfaction: An individual’s general attitude toward his or her job.
Counterproductive workplace behavior: Any intentional employee behavior that is
potentially harmful to the organization or individuals within the organization.
, L015.2
An attitude is made up of three components:
cognitive component: the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a
person.
Affective component: The emotional or feeling part of an attitude.
Behavioral component: An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or
something.
Definitions
Job satisfaction: A person’s general attitude toward his or her job.
Job involvement: The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job, actively
participates in it, and considers his or her job performance to be important to his or her self-
worth.
Organizational commitment: The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular
organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in that organization.
Employee engagement: When employees are connected to, satisfied with, and enthusiastic
about their jobs.
Job satisfaction
positively influences productivity
lowers absenteeism levels, lowers
turnover rates
promotes positive customer satisfaction
moderately promotes OCB
helps minimize counterproductive workplace behavior
Individuals try to reconcile attitude and behavior inconsistencies:
By altering attitudes
altering their behavior
rationalizing the inconsistency.
Many organizations regularly survey their employees about their attitudes.
L015.1
Just like an iceberg, it’s the hidden organizational
elements (attitudes, perceptions, norms, etc.) that
make understanding individual behavior so
challenging.
Organizational behavior (OB) focuses on three
areas:
Individual behavior
group behavior
organizational aspects
The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence
behavior.
Definitions
Employee productivity: A performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness.
Absenteeism: The failure to report to work.
Turnover: The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): Discretionary behavior that’s not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but it promotes the effective functioning of an
organization.
Job satisfaction: An individual’s general attitude toward his or her job.
Counterproductive workplace behavior: Any intentional employee behavior that is
potentially harmful to the organization or individuals within the organization.
, L015.2
An attitude is made up of three components:
cognitive component: the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a
person.
Affective component: The emotional or feeling part of an attitude.
Behavioral component: An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or
something.
Definitions
Job satisfaction: A person’s general attitude toward his or her job.
Job involvement: The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job, actively
participates in it, and considers his or her job performance to be important to his or her self-
worth.
Organizational commitment: The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular
organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in that organization.
Employee engagement: When employees are connected to, satisfied with, and enthusiastic
about their jobs.
Job satisfaction
positively influences productivity
lowers absenteeism levels, lowers
turnover rates
promotes positive customer satisfaction
moderately promotes OCB
helps minimize counterproductive workplace behavior
Individuals try to reconcile attitude and behavior inconsistencies:
By altering attitudes
altering their behavior
rationalizing the inconsistency.
Many organizations regularly survey their employees about their attitudes.
