(Solution Manual) Organizational Behavior

Robbins,Judge, 19

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Solution Manual

19th Edition

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Author(s): Robbins, Judge

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Organizational Behavior 19th Edition Stephen P. Robbins San Diego State University Timothy A. Judge The Ohio State University Instructor’s Resource Manual Revised by : Nathan Hartman, Illinois State University Introduction - Organizational Behavior I - 3 Copyright © 20 2 3 Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction W elcome to the Instructor’s Manual for the nin et eenth edition of Organizational Behavior! Long considered the standard for all organizational behavior textbooks, this edition continues its tradition of making current, relevant research come alive for students. While maintaining its hallmark features — clear writing style, cutting - edge content, and engaging pedagogy — the nin et eenth edition has been updated to reflect t he most recent research within the field of organizational behavior. We've preserved the core material in this comprehensive and thorough revision of Organizational Behavior . W e’re confident that this edition reflects the most important research and topica l issues facing organizations, managers, and employees. The world’s most successful organizational behavior text is better than ever! I. How to Prepare for the Course The concept of organizational behavior is an interesting one. It brings together ideas and practices developed in a diverse group of disciplines to better understand people's behaviors in the organizational context. Organizations usually have goals to produce their desired output in the most effective and efficient manner. Optimizing these f actors creates an organization with the highest level of productivity and success. The human factor in this productivity equation has been of interest to management studies since the early days of Frederick Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry Gantt, and others and their applications and derivatives of Scientific Management. Henri Fayol included concepts of directing and controlling in his functions of management, which have been the basis for management theories and research for almost a century. Pe ople are the organization. Without people, the organization cannot survive and be productive. Therefore, preparing this course for introducing concepts and developing skills and talents in students is essential to their success in managing organizations of any type. For that reason, this book and instructor’s manual provide you with a myriad of support material such as cases, discussion topics, ways managers aremoving toward making a better world, ethicalconcerns, experiential exerci s es , and other component s . Y ou can use them to enliven the course content for your students to make skill development a fun, exciting, and challenging experience. All it takes is time for preparation. II. Who Is Your Audience? Depending on your institution’s curriculum requirements for business/management, you could have a combination of juniors and seniors in your classes, some traditional college student age and some non - traditional students. Regardless of age or academic year /status, what is typical of the first - time student in an organizational behavior class is a feeling that many of the topics, such as communication or leadership, are natural things that people do automatically. Students have little realization that they ca n improve the effectiveness and efficiency of such topics by understanding them as they have been researched and variables of influence have been isolated. This uninformed perspective provides an exciting platform for discovery and inspiration for you Introduction - Organizational Behavior I - 4 Copyright © 20 2 3 Pearson Education, Inc. as t he instructor to use to create a dynamic learning experience. By the end of the course, your students should recognize how incredibly challenging it is for companies to successfully manage the people in their organizations and, more importantly, how they c an be successful in their careers. III. New Features of the Textbook Key c hanges to the nine t eenth e dition are listed in the preface of the textbook. NOTE : In some instances, students may ask you if they can use a previous edition of the text since they can find it online at reduced prices. This is not a good idea. Succe s s in organiza t ions is people and management - driven , but organizations exist with in the continually evolving soc iet al context . Major societal changes (e.g., the rise of the gig economy, working from home, advances in gender identity acceptance and awareness, more extreme weather, intensive parenting, the continued increase in mental illness am ong young adults, binge - watching television and streaming entertainment, more smartphones and no more landlines, increased focus on workplace diversity and inclusion, increased time spent on social media and the decline of the newspaper) , in the last 10 ye ars , have dramatically changed the ways people live and work 1 . These changes require workers and managers to be armed with the most up - to - date information on individual, group, and organizational beha v ior. Students using previous editions of the text would be at se vere disadvantages , particularly when it comes to participating in assignments and discussions taken from the end of each chapter material and instruction manual. More importantly , these students would miss coverage of contemporary topics and research concerning today’s wor ker s and managers . IV. Learning Resources T he textbook provides many learning resources . Each of these l earning r esources is referenced in the Instructor’s Manual and is accompanied by teaching notes that provide su ggestions on how to use this content in an engaging way.  Learning Objectives represent the skills and knowledge students are asked to master .  Chapter - opening topic stories introduce the chapter material and spark student interest .  Myth or Science? e ngages students with popular opinions, conclusions, or conjectures from the working world, carefully considering whether these conclusions are supported or refuted based on empirical evidence.  Toward a Better World highlight s social responsibility, justice, and eth ics issues facing organizations today.  An Ethical Choice confronts students with common ethical dilemmas in the working world related to OB topics and how these dilemmas can be approached with fairness, justice, and respect for others.  Point/Counterpoint fea tures re flect ongoing tensions between perspectives in OB .  Questions for Review . S hort answer or essay type q u es ti ons at the end of the chapter are available to test students’ comprehension of the chapter’s content . 1 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/from - tech - to - society - how - weve - changed - in - a - decade ; https://stacker.com/stories/3779/25 - ways - america - has - changed - last - decade Introduction - Organizational Behavior I - 9 Copyright © 20 2 3 Pearson Education, Inc. COURSE SCHEDULE Week Chapter Covered Assignment Due at Beginning of Class 1 Chapter 1: What Is Organizational Behavior? Chapter 2: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Organizations 2 Chapter 3: Job Attitudes 3 Chapter 4: Emotions and Moods 4 Chapter 5: Personality and Individual Differences 5 Chapter 6: Perception and Individual Decision Making 6 Chapter 7: M otivation Concepts Chapter 8: Motivation: From Concepts to Applications 7 Mid - Term Exam 8 Chapter 9: Foundations of Group Behavior 9 Chapter 10: Understanding Work Teams 10 Chapter 11: Communication Chapter 12: Leadership 11 Chapter 1 3 : Power and Politics Chapter 14: Conflict and Negotiation 12 Chapter 1 5: Foundations of Organization Structure 13 Chapter 1 6 : Organizational Culture and Change 14 Chapter 1 7 : Human Resource Systems and Practices 15 Chapter 1 8 : Stress and Health in Organizations 16 Final Exam Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 1 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. C HAPTER 1 What IsOrganizational Behavior? L EARNING O BJECTIVES After studying this chapter, students should be able to: 1 - 1. Define organizational behavior (OB) . 1 - 2. Show the value of systematic study to OB. 1 - 3. Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. 1 - 4. Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB . 1 - 5. Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts. 1 - 6. Compare the three levels of analysis in this text ’s OB model. 1 - 7. Describe the key employability skills gained from stud ying OB that are applicable to other majors or future careers. This chap t er begins with a vi g nette entitled “ The Rise and Fall of WeWork’s CEO .” The details of this story are jarring , reflecting the complexity and speed of organizational life. The effects of behavior ring through organizations — felt by workers, managers, groups, teams, and sometimes, by the whole organization. They also highlight several issues of interest to those seeking to understand organizational behavior, including motivation, justice, ethics, structure, culture, personality, and organizationally relevant outcomes, such as turnover, productivity, and survival. Throughout this text, youwill learn how organizational challenges often cut across areas like these, so the systematic a pproach pursued in this text and your course is essential. B RIEF C HAPTER O UTLINE I. Management and Organizational Behavior A. Who’s Who in the World of Work 1. Worker : As an individual , member of work groups, team s , or organizations, contributes to the accomplishment of work goals. 2. Manager : Someone who gets things done through other people. They make decisions, allocate resources, and direct others’ activities to attain goals. 3. 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 of goals. B. Management Activities 1. Although workers’ activities may also involve interacting and coordinating work with other people, it is usually a much more significan t component of managerial jobs . A ll Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 2 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. managers perform four primary management functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling . C. Management Roles 1. Introduction a. In the late 1960s, Henry Mintzberg studied five executives to determine what managers did on their jobs. He concluded that managers perform ten different, highly interrelated roles or sets of behaviors attributable to their jobs. 2. The ten roles can be grouped as being primarily concerned with interpersonal relationships, the transfer of in form ation, and decision making. (Exhibit 1 - 1 ) a. Interpersonal Roles : Figurehead, Leader, Liaison b. Informational Roles : Monitor, Disseminator , Spokesperson c. Decisional Roles : Entrepreneur, Disturbance handlers, Resource allocator, Negotiator role D. Management Skill s 1. Technical Skills : The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. All jobs require some specialized expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the job. 2. People Skills : Ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups. 3. Conceptual Skills : The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations . E. Effective Versus Successful Managerial Activities 1. Luthans and his associates studied more than 450 managers. They found that all managers engage in four managerial activities : a. Traditional management b. Communication c. Human resource (HR) management d. Networking 2. The “average” manager spent 32 % of their time in traditional management activi ties, 29 % communicating, 20 % in HR management activities, and 19 % networking. F. Organizational Behavior (OB) Defined : OB is a field of study investigating the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations to apply such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness. 1. OB studies three determinants of behavior in organizations: individuals, groups, and structure. 2. Successful managers are defined as those who were promoted the fastest . (Exhibit 1 - 2) II. Com plementing Intuition with Systematic Study A. Introduction 1. It is human nature to be a student of other people’s behavior . Reading others can often lead to erroneous predictions, but using a systematic approach can improve accuracy. 2. The systematic approach used in this book will uncover important facts and relationships and provide a base from which more accurate predictions of behavior can be made. a. Systematic Study of Behavior : Generally, behavior is predictable if we know how the person perceives the situ ation and what is important to them . Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 3 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. b. Evidence - Based Management (EBM) : Basing managerial decision s on the best available scientific evidence. Complements systematic study . Argues for managers to make decisions on evidence . 3. Intuition : An instinct feeling not necessarily supported by research. 4. Systematic study and EBM add to intuition, or those “gut feelings” about “why I do what I do” and “what makes others tick.” The key is to know when to use intuition. 5. Many managers hold so - called commonsense opinions regarding effective management that have been flatly refuted by empirical evidence. Moreover, managers are often motivated to hold onto these beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence. B. Building on Big Data With Artificial Intelligence 1. Background: R esearchers, the media, and company leaders have identified the potential of data - driven management and decision making. A manager who uses data to define objectives, develop theories of causality, and test those theories can determine which employee activit ies are relevant to the ir objectives. 2. Current Usage: The reasons for data analytics include predicting any event, detecting how much risk is incurred at any time, and preventing large and small catastrophes. 3. New Trends: The use of Big Data to understand, h elp, and manage people is “as ubiquitous as the air we breathe . Organizations are also beginning to focus on “ fast data, ” actionable data to guide business decisions in real - time. Artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning are among the most re cent advancements for processing and analyzing an organization’s information. 4. Limitations: As technological capabilities for handling big data and AI have increased, so have privacy issues and appropriate application s of employees and customers as data sou rce s . H uman behavior canalso be unpredictable and elusive. III. Disciplines That C ontribute to the OB Field A. Introduction 1. Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that is built upon contributions from several behavioral disciplines. 2. The predomi nant areas are psychology, sociology, social psychology, and anth ropology. 3. Exhibit 1 - 3 overviews the major contributions to the study of organizational behavior. B. Psychology 1. Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. C. Social Psychology 1. Social psychology blends the concepts of psychology and sociology. D. Sociology 1. Sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles; that is, sociology studies people in relat ion to their fellow human beings. E. Anthropology 1. Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. IV. There Are Few Absolutes in OB A. Introduction Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 4 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. 1. There are few, if any, simple and universal principles that explain organizational behavior. 2. Contingency variables — situational factors are variables that moderate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. V. Challenges and Opportunities A. Introduction 1. There are many challenges and opportunities today for managers to use OB concepts. 2. Employment options today have adapted to include new opportunities for workers . ( Exhibit 1 - 4) B. Workforce Diversity and Inclusion 1. W orkforce diversity recognizes that the workforce is heterogeneous in its gender identity , age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. 2. Workforce inclusion focuses on creating and maintaining workplaces that support and leverage its m embers' diversity. An inclusive workplace is one in which workers feel that they are involved in critical processes, feel welcomed and valued, and are treated as “insiders.” 3. OB researchers study how people from diverse backgrounds fare in the workplace, th e unique challenges and benefits they experience, a nd how their conditions can be improved. C. Continuing Globalization 1. Globalization is t he process in which worldwide integration and interdependence is promoted across national borders. 2. Increased Foreign Assi gnments a. Working with People from Different Cultures b. Even in your own country, you wi ll find yourself working with people born and raised in different cultures. M anagers working outside their own country need to know the workforce's cultural norms in each country where they do business. D. Technology and Social Media 1. While technology allows many employees to do their work at home or on the beach in Tahiti, it also means that many feel like they a re not part of a team or that they must be “always - on.” 2. Given th is significant technology adoption by both employees and organizations , a focus on technologies (e.g., AI, social media, and remote work) will substantially affect OB for years to come. E. (Un)ethical Behavior 1. Unethical behavior is any action that viol ates widely accepted moral norms (e.g., lying, cheating, stealing, harming others). In contrast, ethical behavior meets or exceeds widely accepted moral norms (e.g., following the rules, going above self - interest to help others). 2. Companies that promote jus tice in how rewards and resources are allocated (i.e., the equal treatment of all), how procedures are defined, how people are treated, and how information is distributed can help improve worker perceptions of fairness. F. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 1. CSR is a n organization’s self - regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law . Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 5 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. 2. CSR positively affects worker attitudes, turnover intentions, and performance. CSR has an even larger effect on discretionary behavi ors such as organizational citizenship behavior and deviance (discussed later in this chapter).CSR efforts predict organizations’ financial performance. 3. Although CSR's influence is increasing year - after - year, not all employees find value in it. G. Positive Wo rk Environment 1. Positive organizational scholarship is an area of OB research that concerns how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality ,build resilience, and unlock potential. H. The Gig Economy 1. About one - fifth of U.S. workers now work independently as gig workers and almost all the employment growth between 2005 - 2015 was attributable to gig work. 2. OB can investigate how gig workers navigate the new economy, how their contributions and employment affect organizational outcomes, and what t he world can do to address the unique challenges that gig workers face. I. OB During Crises 1. Managing employees well when times are tough is just as hard as when times are good, if not harder. In good times, understanding how to reward, satisfy, and retain emp loyees is at a premium. In bad times, issues like stress, decision making, and coping come to the forefront. VI. Coming Attractions: Developing an OB Model A. An Overview 1. A model is an abstraction of reality, a simplified representation of some real - world pheno menon. (Exhibit 1 - 5 ) 2. It proposes three types of variables (inputs, processes, and outcomes) at three levels of analysis (individual, group, and organizational). 3. The model proceeds from left to right, with inputs leading to processes, and processes leading to outcomes. B. Inputs 1. Inputs are the variables like personality, group structure, and organizational culture that lead to processes. 2. Group structure, roles, and team responsibilities are typically assigned immediately before or after a group is formed. 3. Finally, organizational structure and culture are usually the result of years of development and change as the organization adapts to its environment and builds up customs and norms. C. Processes 1. If inputs are like the nouns in organizational behavior, proc esses are like verbs. 2. Processes are actions that individuals, groups, and organizations engage in as a result of inputs and that lead to certain outcomes. 3. At the individual level, processes include emotions and moods, motiv ation, perception, and decision making. 4. At the group level, they include communication, leadership, power and politics, and conflict and negotiation. Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 6 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. 5. Finally, at the organizational level, processes include HR management and change practices. D. Outcomes 1. Outcomes are the key variables th at you want to explain or predict, and that are affected by some other variables. 2. At the group level, cohesion and functioning are the dependent variables. 3. Finally, at the organizational level we look at overall profitability and survival. 4. Attitudes and stress a. Employee attitudes are the evaluations employees make, ranging from positive to negative, about objects, people, or events. b. Stress is an unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures. c. The belief that satisfied employees are more productive than dissatisfied employees has been a basic tenet among managers for years, though only now has research begun to support it. 5. Job performance a. The total value of employee contributions to an organization through their behavio rs reflects their level of job performance over a period of tim e . b. Task performance , a significant component of job performance, describes how well a worker accomplishes the specific tasks that comprise their job or their responsibilities to the organizati on that employs them. c. Obviously, job performance is the essential human output contributing to organizational effectiveness. Every chapter details how task performance is affected by the topic in question. 6. Organizational Citizenship B ehavior (OCB) a. The discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, and contributes to the workplace’s psychological and social environment, is called OCB . b. Successful organizations need employees who will do more than their usual job du ties and e vidence indicates organizations that have such employees outperform those that don’t. c. As a result, OB is concerned with OCB as an outcome variable. 7. Withdrawal behavior a. Withdrawal behavior is the set of actions that employees take to separate themselves from the organization. b. There are many forms of withdrawal, ranging from showing up late or failing to attend meetings to absenteeism and turnover. c. Employee withdrawal can have a very negati ve effect on an organization. d. Absenteeism also costs organizations significant amounts of money and time every year. e. All organizations, of course, have some turnover. f. While high turnover often impairs an organization’s ability to achieve its goals, quit ting is not all bad. People quit because they are optimistic about their outside prospects. g. So why do employees withdraw from work? Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 7 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. i. R easons include negative job attitudes, emotions and moods, and negative interactions with coworkers and supervisors. 8. Team Performance a. Team performance is the quantity and quality of a team’s work output. b. Similar to how a sports team's performance is more than the sum of individual players’ performance, group functioning in work organizations is more than the sum of individua l task performances. 9. Productivity a. The highest level of analysis in organizational behavior is the organization as a whole. b. An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by transforming inputs into outputs at the lowest cost. Thi s requires both e ffectiveness and efficiency . c. Popular measures of organizational efficiency include return on investment, profit per dollar of sales, and output per hour of labor . d. Service organizations must include customer needs and requirements in assessing their effecti veness. 10. Survival a. The final outcome consider ed is organizational survival , which is simply evidence that the organization can exist and grow over the long term. E. Having reviewed the input, process, and outcome model, we will change the figure by grouping t opics based on whether we study them at the individual, group, or organizational level. 1. As you can see in Exhibit 1 - 6 , we will deal with inputs, processes, and outcomes at all three levels of analysis, but we group the chapters as shown here to correspond with the typical ways that research has been done in these areas. 2. It is easier to understand one unified presentation about how personality leads to motivation, which leads to performance, than to jump around levels of analysis. 3. Because each level builds on the one that precedes it, after going through them in sequence , you will have a good idea of how the human side of organizations functions. (Exhibit 1 - 6 ) VII. Employability Skills A. Challenges relevant to OB can be found in just about every business function , from finance and accounting to management and marketing. 1. A review of the significant challenges that most businesses face reveals that OB is an essential piece of the puzzle in solving many organizational problems . For instance, these problems may involve managing integrity/social responsibility, resource management, competition among businesses, bolstering customer and employee loyalty, reducing uncertainty, complying with government regulation, managing risks, and finding the right staff — all w hile growing revenue and increasing profit. 2. Clearly, the knowledge of OB concepts such as stress management, change, attitudes, emotions, and motivation, among others, can help you navigate your interactions with your classmates as you continue to learn. 3. G iven OB's pervasiveness in organizational life, entry - level employees and working professionals would benefit from having solid foundational skills in OB, such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem - solving, social responsibility, and knowledge application and analysis. Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 8 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. B. Employability Skills that Apply across Majors 1. Throughout this text, you will learn and practice many skills that hiring managers identify as crucial to success in vari ous business settings, including small and large firms , nonprofit organizations, and public service. These skills will also be useful if you plan to start your own business, for example: a. Critical t hinking & c reativ ity involve purposeful and goal - directed thinking used to define and solve problems, make decisions , or form judgments related to a particular situation. The goal of this process is to produce novel and useful ideas. b. Communication is defined as effective use of oral, written, and nonverbal communication skills for multiple purposes (e.g., to inform, ins truct, motivate, persuade, and share ideas); effective listening; using technology to communicate; and being able to evaluate the effectiveness of communication efforts — all within diverse contexts. c. Collaboration is a skill in which individuals can actively work together on a task, constructing meaning and knowledge as a group through dialogue and negotiation that results in a final product reflective of their joint, interdependent actions. d. Social responsibility includes skills related to both business ethic s and corporate social responsibility. Business ethics includes sets of guiding principles that influence the wayindividuals and organizations behave within the society that they operate. Corporate social responsibility is a form of ethical behavior that r equires that organizations understand, identify, and eliminate unethical economic, environmental, and social behaviors . e. Leadership , as described in depth in the corresponding chapter, focuses on the ability or skill to influence a group toward the achieveme nt of a vision or set of goals. Leadership involves learning to establish a vision, modify one’s style or approach to meet particular goals, build productive and meaningful relationships with followers, and engage in influence behaviors. f. Career Management involves developing an understanding of the “real world” employment context, along with the professional acumen needed to successfully transition between jobs and careers. This involves exploring different careers, impression management and personal brandi ng, networking skills, and navigating the labor market. VIII. Summary and Implications for Managers A. Managers need to develop their interpersonal, or people, skills to be effective in their jobs. B. OB investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, and it applies that knowledge to make organizations work more effectively. C. Specific implications for managers are : 1. Resist the inclination to rely on generalizations; some provide valid insights into human behavior , but many are erroneous. 2. A nuanced understanding of the situation is often needed to reach the best solutions. Try to understand the people involved and the context. From there, try and figure out what works, what does not work, and any contingencies that qualify these practices. 3. Strive for evidence - based solutions to problems and evaluate your hunches and intuition critically. Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 9 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. 4. Work on your people skills to better interact with peers, work on teams more effectively, and both lead and manage your follower s to do great things. 5. Improve your technical skills and conceptual skills through training, development, and staying current with OB trends affecting the world of work, like the Gig Economy, Big Data, and AI. 6. OB can be important for many relevant outcome s , such as worker satisfaction. But it also contributes to significant organizational outcomes that can affect organizational financial performance, such as labor productivity and turnover reduction . I NSTRUCTOR R ESOURCES Below are some of the text’s exercises. Instructors may wish to use some of these resourc es when presenting this chapter to students . These instructor resources also include teaching notes and suggestions, class and group exercises, and supplemental assign ments useful for teaching and learning . Text Exercises  Myth or Science ?: M anagement by Walking Around Is the Most Effective Management  Toward a Better World: Ben & Jerry’s: The Scoop on What it Takes to be a CSR - O riented Company  An Ethical Choice: What S hould Y ou D o I f Y our V alues DoN ot A lign W ith Y our C ompany's ?  Point/ Counterpoint: Business Books: Facts? Or Just Fads  Questions for Review  Experiential Exercise :M anaging R emote T eams  Ethical Dilemma : Credit Where Credit is Due Text Case  Case Incident: Work - Life Balance at R.G. & Company Supplemental AssignmentorActivity This section presents an exercise that is NOT found in the student's textbook. These assignments or activities reinforce the text's emphasis through various activitie s. Some activities are centered on debates, group exercises, Internet research, and student experiences. Some can be used in class in their entirety, while others require some additional work on the student's part. The course instructor may choose to use these at any time throu ghout the class — some may be more effective as icebreakers, while some may be used to pull together various concepts covered in the chapter. Supplemental Web Exercises Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 10 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. At t he end of each chapter of this Instructor’s M anual, you will find suggested exercises and ideas for researching OB topics on the Internet . You may want to assign the exercises as an out - of - class activity or as lab activities with your class. Myth or Science ? M anagement by Walking Around Is the Most EffectiveManagement This exercise contributes to : Learning Objective : Show the value of systematic study to OB. Learning Outcomes : Apply the study of perception a nd attribution to the workplace; Discuss the influen ce of cultu re on organizational behavior; Explain the effects of power and poli tical behavior on organizations AASCB : Ethical understanding and reasoning ; Reflective thinking This is mostly false, but with a caveat. Management by walking around (MBWA) is an organizational principle made famous with the 1982 publication of In Search of Excellence and based on a 1970s initiative by Hewlett - Packard — in other words, it i s a dinosaur . But the idea of requiring managers at all levels of the organization to wander around their departments to observe, converse, and hear from employees continues as a standard business practice. Many companies expecting managers and executives to do regu lar “floor time” have claimed benefits from employee engagement to deeper management understanding of company issues. While MBWA sounds helpful, its limitations suggest that modern practices focused on building trust and relationships are more useful for management. Limitations include available hours, focus, and application. 1. Available hours . Managers are tasked with planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling . Y et even CEOs — the managers who should be the most in control of their time — report 53 percent of their average 55 - hour workweek is spent in meetings. We’ve yet to see a meeting conducted while touring the plant! 2. Focus . MBWA turns management’s focus toward the concerns of employees. Such a focus is good, but only to a degree. As noted by Jef f Weiner, chair of LinkedIn, this is a problem. “Part of the key to time management is carving out time to think, as opposed to constantly reacting. And during that thinking time, you’re not only thinking strategically, thinking proactively, thinking longe r - term, but you’re literally thinking about what is urgent versus important.” Weiner and other executives argue that meetings distract them from their purpose, especially internal company interactions. 3. Application . The principle behind MBWA is that the mor e managers know their employees, the more effective those managers will be. This principle is not always (or even often) true. As we will learn in Chapter 6, knowing something (or thinking we know it) should not Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 11 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. always lead us to act on only that informati on. Our internal decision making is subjective — as such, we need objective data to make the most effective management decisions. Based on the need for managers to dedicate their efforts to administering and growing businesses, and given the proven effectiv eness of objective performance measures, it seems the time for MBWA is gone. Yet there is that one caveat: Managers should know their employees well. As Rick Russell, former president of Minerva Neurosciences, says, “Fostering close ties with your lieutena nts is the stuff that gets results. You have to rally the troops. You can’t do it from a memo.” Management should, therefore, not substitute walking around for actual management. _________ Sources: H. Mintzberg, “The Manager’s Job,” Harvard Business Review (March – April 1990), pp. 1 – 13; R. E. Silverman, “Where’s the Boss? Trapped in a Meeting,” The Wall Street Journal (February 14, 2012), p. B1, B9; and J. Walker, “Meet the New Boss: Big Data,” The Wall Street Journal (September 20, 2012), p. B1. Clas s Exercise 1. Divide the class into heterogen e ous groups with 5 to 6 students in each group . T his group exercise is applicable to face - to - face c our ses , synchronous online classes , and asynchronous classes with online discussion boards or forums. 2. Have student s in each group d iscuss the number of employees they think they can manage and the type of manager they would like to be. Students should identify specific characteristics such as “ being available and a good communicator ”, “ knowledgeable ”, or “ focusing on every detail .” 3. Ask each group of students to write down how MBWA and the number of employees managed help or hinder the manager ' s effortsto build trust, improve accountability , engagement , and/ or increase productivity. 4. Finally, ask students to assume that MBW A is often used in today’s organization s . Now ask them to discuss how MBWA has changed with the times (e.g., smartphones and social media) since 1970 to remain effective? W ill MBWA still be relevant in 10 years? Toward a Better World Ben & Jerry’s: The Scoo p on What it Takes to be a CSR - oriented Company This exercise contributes to : Learning Objective : Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts Learning Outcomes: Describe the factors that influence the formation of i ndividual attitudes and values; Discuss the influence of corporate social responsibility on organizational behavior ; Discuss the factor s and outcomes corporate social responsibilityhad on influencing individual de cision making in organizations AASCB : Ethic al understanding and reasoning Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 12 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. Ben & Jerry’s, an ice cream maker headquartered in Vermont, is often touted as the poster - child for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). From humble beginnings, Ben & Jerry’s has led a storied history of making unique, chu nky ice cream flavors, churning out immense profits on just about a yearly basis, and eventually being acquired by a major corporation. But despite all these changes throughout the company’s history, their commitment to a triple bottom line has been unwave ring. Ben & Jerry’s continues to focus on making excellent ice cream, encouraging sustainable growth, and “making the world a better place.” To this aim, the company is committed to ethical sourcing and purchasing, manufacturing processes that reduce their impact on the environment and giving back to the local community through philanthropy and service. Further, Ben & Jerry’s is not milquetoast (that would probably be a terrible ice cream flavor, we think) when it comes to standing up for issues important t o them. In fact, an entire page on their website is dedicated to the issues that are important to the company (including their support of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020), along with the ice cream flavors they have used to raise money and awareness for those issues. Their annual Social & Environmental Assessment Report (SEAR) documents their progress toward making the world a better place. In 2019, for instance, they eliminated 245,000 lbs. of plastic packaging, straws, and spoons. However, Ben & Je rry’s has not gone without critique. The pretty picture of what it takes to be a CSR - oriented company often focuses on the successes, but rarely do we see the failures. For instance, in the 1990s, one researcher uncovered actions with good intentions gone wrong. As some examples, many have taken issue with the price of the ice cream as too high or with the excessive fat and sugar content packed into each pint. Furthermore, Ben & Jerry’s efforts to ethically source nuts in the Western Amazon resulted in a su pply shortage. The company was forced to source from less - than - reputable suppliers as a result. Finally, in the 1990s, Ben & Jerry’s partnered with a bakery in New Jersey that employed recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. After forging a partnership (an d the bakery owner investing hundreds - of - thousands in scaling to meet anticipated demand), the collaborative ice cream flavor’s sales were too low and not viable, forcing the company to cut ties with the bakery. Despite these failures and successes, Ben & Jerry’s stays committed to their triple bottom line, even when the public closely scrutinized Unilever's acquisition of Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. This acquisition has been the subject of many research studies by OB scientists. For instance, one study focused on CEO letters and interviews with long - tenured employees and newcomers to Ben & Jerry’s over a 30 - year span. They found that, following the acquisition, employees had to “whipsaw” back and forth between the triple - bottom - line and the financial performanc e desired by the post - acquisition CEOs. Further, another research study found that the acquiring organization (e.g., Unilever) may have been influenced more by Ben & Jerry’s than the other way around – adopting and promoting CSR practices. Many consider the threat of acquisition (in terms of erasing or modifying the company’s original mission) to be a compelling reason for a company’s leadership to consider becoming Certified B Corporations. Like Cabot, New Belgium Brewing, and Patagonia, these corporations a re legally required to balance their mission and profit — to evaluate their effect on their people, the community, and the environment. Indeed, Ben & Jerry’s followed suit and became a B - Corp in 2012. In short, the case of Ben & Jerry’s personifies the purs uits, the successes, and the struggles of being a CSR - oriented company in the 21st century. Although things are not always as easy as Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 13 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. eating ice cream, organizations can still take a stand for what they value and put these values into action — and can do so with success. Class Exercise 1. Instructors can facilitate a discussion with the entire class or d ivide the class into heterogen e ous groups with 5 to 6 students in each group . 2. Have students discuss and re search as needed on how corporate philanthropy differs from corporate social responsibility. As k students to evaluate if executives should focus more on a) increasing salaries or shar ing profits with employees , or b)use profits for corporate philanthropy or social responsib ility? 3. Ask students to decide if it is more appropriate for an organization like Ben & Jerry’s to a) donate a portion of its profits to a charity ; b) or ask employees, managers, and executives to engage in the broader corporate social responsibility effort s by taking on the goals of being environmentally responsible, donating a portion of their earnings/profits, ensuring the organization operates in a fair and ethical manner, and producing products that meet both customer and society’s needs. 4. Discuss with th e entire class or have students’ groups discuss if the value to society of corporate social responsibility efforts made by Ben & Jerry’s depends on yearly sales . For example, is corporate social responsibility more worthwhile when Ben & Jerry’s yearly sales are $863 million than when they were $8.3 million? ________ Sources: J. Bayle - Cordier, P. Mirvis, and B. Moingeon, “Projecting Different Identities: A Longitudinal Study of the ‘Whipsaw’ Effects of Changing Leadership Discourse About the Triple Botto m Line,” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 51, no. 3 (2015): 336 - 374; A. Beard, “Why Ben & Jerry’s Speaks Out,” Harvard Business Review, January 13, 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/01/why - b en - jerrys - speaks - out ; Ben & Jerry’s [website], accessed January 28, 2021, https://www.benjerry.com ; B. S. Dennis and C. P. Neck, “The Scoop on Ben & Jerry’s Inc.: An Examination of Corporate Social Responsibility,” Jo urnal of Managerial Psychology 13, no. 5/6 (1998): 387 - 393; A. Field, “Ben & Jerry’s, Poster Child for the B Corp Movement, Becomes a B Corp,” Forbes, October 22, 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2012/10/22/ben - jerrys - poster - child - for - the - b - corp - movement - becomes - a - b - corp/?sh=319d16f752cc ; D. Gelles, “How the Social Mission of Ben & Jerry’s Survived Bei ng Gobbled Up,” The New York Times, August 21, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/business/how - ben - jerrys - social - mission - survived - b eing - gobbled - up.html ; C. Wickert, A. Vaccaro, and J. Cornelissen, “’Buying’ Corporate Social Responsibility: Organisational Identity Orientation as a Determinant of Practice Adoption,” Journal of Business Ethics 142 (2017): 497 - 514. An Ethical Choice W hat S hould Y ou D o I f Y our V alues D o N ot A lign W ith Y our C ompany's? Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 14 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. This exercise contributes to : Learning Objective : Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts Learning Outcomes: Describe the factors that influence the formati on of i ndividual attitudes and values; Discuss the factors influencing individual de cision making in organizations; Discuss the influence of culture on organizational behavior AASCB : Ethical understanding and reasoning So, you find yourself at work listening to your coworkers expressing values and beliefs radically different from your own. You decide not to say anything and sometimes even pretend you agree with their opinions. Although you are suppressing your thoughts, you have learned that it is best to leave your personal views outside of the office. You would rather not risk your coworkers viewing you differently, or worse, jeopardizing your position. The risk of potentially losing your job or being demoted may se em to outweigh the discomfort of concealing your actual values and beliefs. However, merely hiding or suppressing your values and opinions does not make them go away. Research indicates that inauthentically conforming to organizational values (i.e., a “faç ade of conformity ” ) can impact a worker’s attachment to their organization in the long run. Ultimately, job insecurity (a concern that one may be vulnerable to losing their job common during organizational crises) worsens the situation. During crises, work ers are more likely to feign agreement with their coworkers and the values established by their organizations — even when they do not align with their own. In particular, young workers are more prone to these facades of conformity when faced with job insecur ity. Furthermore, research signals that inauthenticity in the workplace can lead individuals to engage in more unethical behavior than when individuals have greater identity integration. Value incongruence is positively related to ego depletion, or the loss of self - control, which ultimately harms work performance or leads to unethical behavior. Compatibility between one's professional and non - professional identities allows employees to bring their whole selves to work, benefiting organizations by reducin g the risk of unethical behavior. Here are some recommendations if you find yourself in a situation where your values are incongruent with your employer's: 1. Identify your values. Focus on three to five values that are most important to who you want to be as a person. This action will help you clarify what is important to you. 2. Develop a list of questions directed at your (or potential) employer. These should be open - ended questions that will help you determine which values the company espouses. You can c ontemplate how your employer would respond, review your employers’ mission or value statements, or even informally ask around your work group. It is also a good idea when interviewing with a new job to ask your interviewer this question — or even better — to d o some fact - finding before the interview to find out yourself to ask informed follow - up questions. 3. Seek out jobs and work arrangements that are consistent with your authentic self. Research demonstrates that prioritizing consistency between your values and your employer's values will make it less likely that you choose to leave or engage in withdrawal behaviors. However, this does not just go for the relationship between you and your organization. It may be that your values do not align with your workgroup, your team, or your supervisor, for instance. Or, it may be that the values portrayed on paper do Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 15 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. not match what the organization actually does. In either case, a values mismatch is very difficult to change. It can be detrimental to your performance and we ll - being. In contrast, a values match often provides the right foundation for you to flourish and excel in your job, career, and organization. Individual Exercise 1. Instructors can facilitate a discussion with the entire class or ask students to complete this exercise individually as a homework assignment. 2. Student answers can vary substantially in this exercise , and many students may have trouble developing a list o f their values , and many may not have thought much about their career , much less selecting a potential employer. Therefore, instructors may need to guide students struggling to get started. This exercise can benefit students by helping students through the experience of articulat ing how their general values could be important to their future work and how their own satisfaction can be increased when behavior and environment match with their values. 3. Values are usually relative ly stable during a person’s lifet ime . Still, even students with work experience can discuss how to keep in touch with their values or adjust when they begin to feel a lack of balance between their values and changing work arrangements/environments. 4. Finally, most students can anecdotally understand the importance of being authentic to themselves . The r icher class discussion usually occur s when instructors relate this topic to job interviews, performance evaluations, work environments that promote conf ormity, and/or when managers need to have a difficult conversation with subordinates. __________ Sources: H. Deng, C. Wu, and Y. Guan, "Depletion from Self - Regulation: A Resource - based Account of the Effect of Value Incongruence," Personnel Psychology 69 n o. 2 (2016): 431 - 465.; P.F. Hewlin, S.S. Kim, and Y.H. Song, "Creating facades of conformity in the face of job insecurity: A study of consequences and conditions," Journal of Occupational Psychology 89 no. 3 (2016): 539 - 567.; M. Kouchaki, "Why Authentic W orkplaces Are More Ethical," Harvard Business Review , June 19, 2019, https://hbr.org/2019/06/why - authentic - workplaces - are - more - ethical ; K. Hedges, "How to Tell If a Prospective Employer Shares Your Values," Harvard Business Review , October 12, 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/10/how - to - tell - if - a - prospective - employer - shares - your - values Point/ Counterpoint Business Books: Facts? Or Just Fads? This exercise contributes to : LearningObjective : Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 16 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. Learning Outcomes : Define organizational behavior and identify the vari ables associated with its study; Explain the relationship between personality traits and individual behavior AACSB : Analy ti c al thi n king ; Diverse and multicultural work environments P oint Walk into your nearest major bookstore. You will undoubtedly find a large selection of books devoted to management and managing. Consider the following recent titles:  The Secret (Berrett - Koehler, 2014 )  Turn the Ship Around! (Portfolio, 2013)  The Way You Do Anything Is the Way You Do Everything (Wiley, 2014)  Leadership Safari (Best Seller, 2014)  Business Is a Baby (Amazon Digital Services, 2014)  Think Like a Freak (William Morrow, 2014)  Spiraling Upward (Amazon Digital Services, 2015)  Refire! Don’t Retire (Berrett - Koehler, 2015)  Top Dog (Amazon Digital Services, 2015 ) Popular books on OB often have cute titles and are fun to read, but they make the job of managing people seem like itis just a matter of having a good slogan and five easy steps. If you dig into the texts, you will find that most are based on the author’s opinions rather than substantive research. Most become popular in part because people primarily agree with the opin ions they are reading and enjoy the author’s writing style. Often, the writers are presentation speakers or consultants whose real business is delivering ideas to you. When the author is a veteran from the business world, it is doubtful that one person’s e xperience translates into an effective management practice for everyone. Even when the authors are numbers - oriented, as are the Think Like a Freak authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, their conclusions are not research - based. So why do we base our man agement philosophies on these books when, with a little effort, we can access knowledge produced by thousands of scientific studies on human behavior in organizations? OB is a complex subject. Few if any simple statements about human behavior are generaliz able to all people in all situations. Wou ld you try to apply leadership insights you got from a book about Star Wars or Breaking Bad to managing software engineers in the twenty - fi rst century? Surely not. Neither should we try to apply leadership insights that are not based on research about the type of workplaces in which we function. Counterpoint People want to know about management — the good, the bad, and the ugly. People who have experience or high interest write about the topics that interest readers, and publishers put out the best of these texts. When books become popular, we know people are learning from them and finding good results by applying the author’s management ideas. Texts like these can provide people with the secrets to management that ot hers have worked out through experience. Isn’t it better to learn about management from people in the trenches instead of academia's latest obscure references? Many of the most important insights we gain in life are not necessarily the product of careful e mpirical research studies. Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 17 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. Unhelpful management guides sometimes get published, and once in a while, they become popular. But do they outnumber the esoteric research studies published in scholarly journal articles every year? Far from it, sometimes it seem s that there are thousands of scholarly journal articles for every popular business text. Many of these articles can hardly be read by individuals in the workplace. They are buried in academic libraries, riddled with strange acronyms and insider terms, and light on practical application. Often , they apply to specific management scenarios, so they are even less generalizable. For example, a few recent management and OB studies were published with the following titles:  Transferring Management Practices to China: A Bourdieusian Critique of Ethnocentricity  Cross - Cultural Perceptions of Clan Control in Korean Multinational Companies: A Contractual Investigation of Employees’ Fairness Monitoring Based on Cultural Values  The Resistible Rise of Bayesian Thinking in Management: Historical Lessons from Decision Analysis  A Model of Rhetorical Legitimization: The Structure of Communication and Cognition Underlying Institutional Maintenance and Change We do not mean to poke fun at these studies, but our point is that all ways of creating knowledge can be criticized. If business books are sometimes light reading, academic articles can be esoteric and even less relevant. Popular books can add to our understanding of how people work and how to manage them best. We should not assume they are not of value. And while there is no one right way to learn the science and art of managing people in organizations, the most enlightened managers gather insights from multiple sources. These might include their own experience, research findings, observations of others, and, yes, the popular business press. Authors and academics have an essential role to play, and it is not fair to condemn business books with catchy titles. Class Exercise Choose two teams of three to five students, the remainder of the class can act as the jury. Have one team search the New York Times Business Best Sellers list online . The second team reviews the titles of the most recent articles on the Journal of Organiza tional Behavior’s website. Have one team defend the value of man a gers wanting to learn about OB by reading from the “ Best Sellers List ”; the other team will prepare an argument as to why articles from the “Journal of Organizational Behavior” are most appro priate f or managers to gain knowledge on OB. Give each team adequate time to present their case to the remainder of the class. After each team has presented their arguments, the re st of the class should ask probing questions about how the team formed its pr eference . The class acting as the jury can then vote on which team provided the most compelling arguments. Questions f or Re view Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 18 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. 1 - 1. What is the definition of organizational behavior (OB)? Answer: Organ izational behavior ( OB) is 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. As managers accomplish their wor k through others, OB provides the tools for guiding the productivity of others, predicting human behavior at work, and the perspectives needed to manage individuals from diverse backgrounds. Learning Objective : Define organizational behavior (OB ) Learning Outcome : Define organizational behavior (OB) AACSB : Analyti ca l thinking; Reflective thinking 1 - 2. How does systematic study contribute to our understanding of OB? Answer : Behavior according to systematic study is not random. There are fundamental consistencies underlying the behavior of all individuals that can be identified as well as individual differences. The consistencies allow predictability and reasonably accurate predictions regarding behavior and relationships. Systematic study basing conclusions on sc ientific e vidence is complemented by the e vidence - based management (EBM) approach that involves basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Intuition, in contrast , is based on one’s “gut feel ing.” Although unscientific and unsystematic, it is not necessarily incorrect. The use of all three often results in better decisions, but according to Jack Welch, “the trick is to know when to go with your gut.” Learning Objective : Show the value of systematic study to OB Learning Outcome : Define organizational behavior and identify the vari ables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic al thinking ; Reflective thinking 1 - 3. What are the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB? Answer: OB is a fiel d of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations. Both psychology and sociology are concerned with behavior. Psychology is the science of behavior that studies individual behavior , wherea s sociology studies people in relation to their fellow human beings. Psychological study in the field of OB has contributed knowledge on a number of topics including learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership, motivat ion, job satisfa ction, decision making, etc. Social p sychology blends concepts from both psychology and sociology and focuses on people’s influence on one another. Sociological study has contributed knowledge on topics such as group dynamics, teams, organizational cultur e, organizational theory and structure, communications, and power and conflict. Anthropology is the study of societies in order to learn about human beings and their activities within different cultures and environments . Learning Objective : Identify the m ajor behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB Learning Outcome : Define organizational behavior and identify the variables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic althinking; Reflective thinking 1 - 4. Why are there so few absolutes in OB? Answer: Human beings are complex and there are few universal principles that explain organizational behavior. There are many theories about how people behave in organizations, but most are not pure cause and effect relationships. People are not all Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 19 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. alike and there fore it is difficult to make many generalizations. Variables su ch as people’ s want, needs, values, and goals can differ tremendously. Learning Objective : Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB Learning Outcome : Define organizational behavior and identify the vari ables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic althinking; Reflective thinking 1 - 5. What are the current challenges and opportunities to managers ’understanding of OB? Answer: This field of study offers managers specific insights and opportunit ies to improve managerial and people skills. Recognizing the value of and embracing diversity in a global marketplace can improve productivity. Learning to empower your people, designing and implementing change programs, focusing on customer service, suppo rting employees’ work - life balance, etc., can all lead to improved productivi ty, quality , and profitability. Challenges can also be found in critical labor shortages, the fast pace of change in a world of temporariness , and the need for continuous innovati on. Finally, providing a positive workplace with an ethical compass can create a healthy work climate . Learning Objective : Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts Learning Outcomes : Define organizational behavior and identif y the vari ables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic althinking; Reflective thinking ; Diverse and multicultural work environments ; Integration of real - world business experiences 1 - 6. What are the three levels of analysis in our OB model? Answer : The three levels of analysis are: i ndividual, group, and organization. The three basic levels are analogous to building blocks — each level is constructed upon the previous level. Group concepts grow out of the foundation laid in the individual section; we over lay structural constraints on the individual and group in order to arrive at organizational behavior . Learning Objectives : Compare the three levels of analysis in this text ’s OB model Learning Outcomes : Define organizational behavior and identify the var i ables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic althinking 1 - 7 . What are the key employability skills gained from studying OB? Answer: Student answers can vary depending on their major, work experience, and stage in life. Most will indicate organizational behavior provides insight into how workers interact and react, which can grant them insight into management and relating to individual employee s, groups or teams, and organizations when they leave the classroom. Ans wers will also mention critical thinking and creativity, communication, collaboration, self - management, social responsibility, leadership, and career management listed in the Employability Skills Matrix at the end of the chapter. Learning Objective : Descri be the key employability skills gained from studying OB that are applicable to other majors or future careers Learning Outcomes : Define the key employability skills gained from studying OB that are applicable to other majors or future careers and identify the vari ables associated with its study AACSB : Analytic althinking; Reflective thinking ; Diverse and multicultural work environments; Integration of real - world business experiences Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 20 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. Experiential Exercise Managing Remote Teams This exercise contributes to : Learning Objectives : Def ine organizational behavior (OB); Show the value of systematic study to OB ; Demonstrat e why few absolutes apply to OB; Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts Learning Outcomes : Define o rganizational behavior and identify the vari ables associated with its study; Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and v alues; Apply the study of perception a nd attribution to the workplace; Define diversity and describe the effect s of diversity in the workforce; Describe the nature of confl ict and the negotiation process; Describe best practices for creating and sustaining organizational cultures; Describe the compone nts of human resource practices AACSB : Written and o ra l communication; Ethi cal understanding and reasoning; Analytic al thinking ; Diverse and m ulticultural work e nvironments; Reflective thinking Guava is a music streaming service located in Silicon Valley that is steadily growing (with roughly 500 employees currently). Guava has plans to hire many new employees within the coming year. The CEO, Lennox Reynolds, has a vision to permanently transition roughly half of the existing employees to remote work and potentially hire additional remote workers. Reynolds a lso wants the company to develop a flatter structure. Rather than have departments organized by traditional functions like engineering or marketing, employees would work on project teams and have greater autonomy. Reynolds believes this will allow creativi ty and innovation to thrive (helping Guava develop a competitive advantage). Reynolds thinks a rigid traditional structure restricts employees and stifles creativity and innovation. Rather than having a single designated leader, teams will allow individual s to emerge as leaders. However, despite Reynolds’ grand plans, most of the other executives at Guava raise issues with this vision and find it too ambitious. Lennox believes her plan will save the company money as they will no longer need to build or maintain offices to accommodate employees. She is also confident employees will find this arrangement favorable, resulting in better employee retention. Remote work would require fewer employees to relocate to more expensive areas, promote work - life balan ce, and eliminate wasted time employees spend commuting. Despite outlining the potential benefits of remote work, the other executives pointed out several possible issues. These include the challenge of setting boundaries between work and home life, e nsuring that employees are productive, providing mentorship and development for newer employees, and developing a new structure for making important decisions. Furthermore, all employees were surveyed to assess whether or not they would choose to work remo tely full - time or part - time if given the option. Thirty percent of existing employees said they were very interested in working remotely full - time. Another twenty percent said they were somewhat interested. While some employees have expressed strong prefer ences for working remotely, other employees and many supervisors have various concerns. Guava needs to decide soon regarding their remote work policy. It will impact whether they choose to scale back office space and require significant structural changes. Reynolds believes it is extremely promising that roughly fifty percent of employees are interested in working remotely. Reynolds recognizes that employees have concerns, and Guava would likely face obstacles when implementing the new plan to alter th e structure of Guava. As a Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 1 - 21 Copyright © 20 23 Pearson Education , Inc. result, she sends an email outlining potential changes to address remote work concerns to the leadership team. Reynolds plans to hold a meeting with a few of the executives to discuss her proposed changes, including how employees would be approved to work remotely, the development of enhanced employee training, and the use of employee monitoring software to ensure that employees remain productive. After reading the scenario above, form a group with four other students. One in dividual should take on the CEO's role, Lennox Reynolds. At the same time, the other group members will assume the role of executives at the company. During your meeting, you must answer the following questions: Questions 1 - 8. Should the company proceed with plans to transition half of its employees to full - time remote work? Why or why not? 1 - 9. If the company transitions to remote work, do you believe the changes Reynolds outlines above will be effective? Why or why not? 1 - 10. Are the changes Guava is implementing going to impact the company negatively? What other changes should Guava make, if any? 1 - 11. Are there any other obstacles that Guava may encounter when transitioning employees to remote work? How could the company limit the number of obstacles? Teaching Note s This exercise is applicable to face - to - face classes or synchronous online , hybrid, or virtual/online classes . This exercise could be discussed with students face - to - face, virtually, and/or in an online discussion board or forum. Skilled teachers may attempt to hold a discussion synchronously on this case virtually, virtually with breakout rooms, and/or with half the class face - to - face and half virtually. With these types of exercises, students will press for the “right answer” , but students may have a wide variety of work and remote work experiences that may be particularly relevant to students with little or no work or remote work experience.Ask students, during a discussion, to e mphasize how they reached their decisions . End di scussion on how awareness of other’s perspectives is key here, much more so than committing too early to making a final decision. Depending on how students approach th e issue , there co uld be many “correct” answers. Instead of simply looking for a clear winner, instructors should help s tudents consider the potential success es possiblewith each approach . 1. The presented case is meant to demonstrate the challenges that remote work presents as well as opportunities it o ffers. While working from home became required for many employees across the globe as a result of the COVID - 19 pandemic, it does not seem that remote work is going anywhere, even after the pandemic is over. Facebook, for example,