>part I:
Chapter 1 ....Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Introduction

[chapter.1]
Introduction to Organizational Behavior

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

• Define organizational behavior and give three reasons for studying this subject.

• Discuss the potential benefits and challenges of an increasingly diverse workforce.

Google has leveraged the power of organizational behavior to attract talented employees who want to make a difference in the Internet world.

• Identify two ways that employers attempt to increase workforce flexibility.

• Explain why values have gained importance in organizations. • Define corporate social responsibility and argue for or against its application in
Employees have structured patterns of interaction, meaning that they expect each other to complete certain tasks in a coordinated way—in an organized way. Organizations also have a collective sense of purpose, whether it’s producing oil or creating the fastest Internet search engine. “A company is one of humanity’s most amazing inventions,” says Steven Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios. “It’s totally abstract. Sure, you have to build something with bricks and mortar to put the people in, but basically a company is this abstract construct we’ve invented, and it’s incredibly powerful.”4

Why Study Organizational Behavior?
Unlike accounting, marketing, or most other fields of business, organizational behavior does not have a clearly-defined career path, yet this topic is identified as very important among people who have worked in organizations for a few years. The reason for this priority is that to apply marketing, accounting, and other technical knowledge, you need to understand, predict, and influence behavior (both our own and that of others) in organizational settings (see Exhibit 1.1). Each one of us has an inherent need to understand and predict the world in which we live. Since much of our time is spent working in or around organizations, OB theories are particularly helpful in satisfying this innate drive to make sense of the workplace. OB theories also give you the opportunity to question and rebuild your personal mental models that have