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THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES BACHELOR OF ARTS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

OPA 204 ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR

1.0 Course Description 1.1 Introduction

Welcome to OPA 204 Organization Behaviour, commonly referred to as OB. This is a three unit core course, supposed to be taken by all undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Arts (Public Administration) programme in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) of the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). Organizations have become the mainstay of human lives, as such we have been greatly influenced by the organizations we live and work in, just the same as we have influenced those organizations through our interactions with them. Human organizations are very much shaped by the behaviour of individuals, groups and so much as the organizations continue to influence behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of its main stakeholders. Organization Behaviour (OB), is being introduced for the first time in this study programme of Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration. The introduction of this course is intended to help students understand better the way individual behaviours influence organizations and the way they are in turn influenced by the organization activities, philosophies, culture and products.. Theories on OB will help students acquire skills, competences and understanding on how to manage diverse behavioural patterns that evolve in the organizations through its members and how to manage these behavioural divergences.

In the last century, organizations have become the most prevalent social structure in people's lives. From the health organizations that see us into this world, to the educational organizations that shape our knowledge and behaviour, to the spiritual organizations that support our faiths, to the business organizations for which we work, the time we spend organizing, being organized, or just in an organization consumes much of our lives. Recall Etzioni’s famous dictum that “We are born in organizations, live and work in organizations and when we die we shall get our last service in an organization”. Organizations are such an integral part of our existence that we often and naturally assume that we understand organizations and the people working in them. Far too often, that assumption is erroneous. Organizations and people are complex entities that are not only difficult to understand, but also difficult to manage. This course is therefore designed to explore human behaviour in organizations in order to improve how we manage behaviour and increase organizational effectiveness. The course introduces the student to multidisciplinary approaches to human behaviour in organizational settings. Attention will be paid to both public and private sector organizations. A variety of issues will be examined from the perspective of the

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manager as well as those of the worker, the client and the citizen.The course focuses on three major levels of analysis dealing with human behaviour in an organizational context: individual, interpersonal/group, and organizational. Each of these levels is examined in depth to examine factors predicting or explaining behaviour at work.

2.0 Course Objectives

The major objective of OPA 204 is to provide an overview of the influential theoretical perspectives of organizational behaviour. The course is also intended to offer a set of conceptual frameworks, methodological approaches, and analytical skills which are useful in increasing our understanding of human behaviour in organizations. Furthermore, the course aims to challenge the student to think analytically and creatively about significant issues facing organizational stakeholders now and in the future.

3.0 Assessment Criteria

Main Term Tests carry 30% of the total points while the annual examination carries the remaining 70%.

4.0 Indicative Content

1.0 Introduction to the Field of Organization Behaviour 2.0 Characteristics of People

3.0 Perceptions

4.0 Team Dynamics in Organizations 5.0 Foundations of Employee Motivation 6.0 Management of Change in organizations 6.0 Leadership in Organizations

8.0 Communication in Organizations 9.0 Organization Culture

10.0 Managing Diverse workforce

1.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 1.0 Introduction

As earlier introduced in Etzioni’s statement above, people are creatures within

organizations. But most importantly organizations are what they are because one of the key constituents is people i.e. we talk of organizations as social system within which people are coordinated in certain ways so as to achieve organizational goals. The study of organization behaviour is mainly concerned with how people within organizations

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terms of their structure and processes. All managers or public administrators are in the process of influence behaviour towards directions that will meet the organizational goals

1.2 Objectives

• Define Organization Behaviour

• Discuss the scope of Organization Behaviour • Discuss the importance of studying OB

• Explain the relationship of OB and other Social sciences • Explain the main theoretical perspectives in studying OB 1.3 Content

Definition of Organization Behaviour

The Field of Organization Behaviour (Scope) Importance of studying OB

OB and other Social Sciences

Theoretical perspectives in studying OB 1.4 References

Newstrom, J.a lvis, K. (2002) Organization Behaviour: Human Behaviour at Work. 11th ed BurrRidgeIII, Mc Graw Hill: Irwin

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th ed. Thomson. South Western. West

Armstrong, M. (2008).A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice11th ed..Kogan Page Ltd, London. Chapter 17

Johns G., and Saks, A. M. (2010),Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work, 8th ed.,Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, Inc.

Maslow, A. H., “A Theory of Human Motivation” as reprinted (from Psychological Review, Vol. 50, July 1943) in Jay M. Shafritz and Albert C. Hyde (2007), Classics of Public

Administration, 6th ed., Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, pp. 110-118

2.0 Characteristics of People 2.1 Introduction

Organizations are social organisms which affect the behaviour of people working in them as are also affected by the people through the behaviour they bring into the organizations. People come to the organization with diverse characteristics which in turn are shaped by the organizations so that they can become accepted members of those organizations. Organizations are constituted by set of rules, regulations and policies which are meant to shape the behaviour of the

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behaviour, ability, intellect, background and culture, Their differences in terms of gender, age, race disability are also other factors which make individuals look different. This makes fundamentally important to take these diverse characteristics into account when dealing with people within organizations. This lecture deals with characteristics of people, specifically addressing individual differences, attitudes and the way they influence on behaviour, some of key theories and roles are also covered in this lecture.

2.2 Objectives

Identify the key attributes that differentiate people in the organizations

Discuss the bases of individual differences e.g. ability, intelligence, personality

Define key concepts like personality, attitudes, role ambiguity, role incompatibility etc. Discuss the influence of the attributes on behaviour

Identify key theories that deal with personality and attribution theory. 2.3 Content

• Individual differences – as affected by people’s abilities, intelligence, personality etc • Attitudes and personality on behaviour

• Theoretical perspectives on personality a

• Attribution theory and how it affects judgement about people. • Role ambiguity, incompatibility and conflict

• Implications for administrators or managers. 2.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. Thomson, South Wester. West UK

Armstrong, M. (2008).A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice11th ed..Kogan Page Ltd, London. Chapter 17

Gomez-Mejia, L. R., David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy (2005), Management: People, Performance, Change, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Johns G., and Saks, A. M. (2010),Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work, 8th ed.,Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, Inc.

3.0Perceptions 3.1 Introduction

Perception is an important and critical aspect of understanding behaviour in organizations. Perception is a cognitive process which involves people’s sense making from the environment. The [process involves the selection, organizing and as information that is drawn from the environment. Based on the individual differences discussed above, perceptions are also bound to

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differ from one individual to another. Attitudes and perceptions are closely related as the two affect each other i.e. attitudes affect perception and perceptions affect attitude. For example a person whose attitudes are such that supervisors are seen as judge supervisors as insensitive to the needs of the subordinates in organization A, will move to organization B and his/her attitude will continue to to affect the way this person perceives superiors in the new organization. In a class of OB at OUT one student who has just completed the course might affect the attitudesual differences in of new students, by passing on information new students that OB is boring and uninteresting, and if the new students do not take his words seriously, they will come to discover that OB is stimulating and challenging. This is because of the individual differences in attitudes, personality, values, interests etc, people will see and interpret things differently, and hence different perceptions on the same thing. In work places we often find people whose behaviour is pleasant, stubborn and aggressive to certain situations. It is important for administrators to be conversant with the factors which influence people’s attitudes and their perceptions.

This lecture will address the main aspects pertaining tp perception i.e. what they are, differences in perception selectivity, perceptual distortion, attribution and related theories. Course objective

3.2 Objective

Towards the end of this lecture the learner should be able to: • Define perception and explicate the perceptual process

• Explain the perceptual selectivity process and perceptual distortion process • Discuss how attribution acts people’e judgements on behaviourff

• Discuss the relationship between learning and change of behaviour • Explain the main causes of stress at work place and how to manage it 3.3 Content

3.1 Perception as a concept and process 3.2 Perceptual Selectivity, distortion and 3.3 Attribution

3.4 Personality Traits

3.5 Learning and effect on behaviour 3.6 Stress and Stress Management 3.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th ed. Thomson. South Western. West

Armstrong, M. (2008).A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice11th ed..Kogan Page Ltd, London. Chapter 17

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4.1 Introduction

Teams as social groupings in work organizations is a phenomenon which is becoming

increasingly important for achieving work related goals. Teams have an important role to play in work organizations, not only for accomplishing goals, but also, for shaping the behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of team members towards a particular issue. Teams are different from groups, in that teams have ties based on shared values, attitude and perception of a particular issue. It is that element of cohesiveness ( in terms of shared mission and responsibility within teams ) that differentiates them from other types of groupings. For example you may have a group discussion for OB course who meet regularly to discuss key issues in the OB course. But they may not have a shared mission of all group members attaining an A grade, but for the sake of sharing knowledge. This lecture deals with identifying types of teams, applications of teams in facilitating effectiveness in work assignments, and in facilitating behavioural change within team members as a condition for conformity. Successful administrators are advised to use team

approach in achieving group and organizational goals. 4.2 Objectives

After studying this lecture the learner should be able to: • Explain what a team is.

• Identify the type of teams in the work organization • Discuss the characteristics of teams

• Explicate the process of team formation and their benefits to an organization • Describe the source of team cohesiveness

• Discuss the causes of team conflicts and how to manage such conflicts 4.3 Content

• Nature of teams and the main types

• Importance of teams in work organizations • Team characteristics

• Team formation and development • Team cohesiveness and norms

• Causes of team conflicts and how to manage such conflicts

4.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th ed. Thomson. South Western. West

Armstrong, M. (2008).A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice11th ed..Kogan Page Ltd, London. Chapter 17

Gomez-Mejia, L. R., David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy (2005), Management: People, Performance, Change, New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Johns G., and Saks, A. M. (2010), Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work, 8th ed.,Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, Inc.

5.0 Foundation of Motivation in Organizations 5.1Introduction

Motivation is one among the major drivers of change processes in organizations. It may be used to make people change their behaviour towards hard work, commitment to the organizarion or towards improved productivity. Motivation refers to forces or drivers within an individual or external to the individual which arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a particular course of action willingly, without resistance. The role of managers is to use motivation to accomplish organizational goals without resistance or apprehension. In this lecture we address the issues of Motivation in terms of what it is, foundations of motivation, theoretical perspectives on motivation and Job design for motivation.

5.2 Objectives

• Define Motivation from different perspectives

• Explain how the traditional administration of Motivation differs from the current approach

• Identify and describe content theories of motivation • Identify and describe process theories of motivation

• Discuss major approaches of job design and how job design influences motivation • Discuss the role of empowerment in motivation of employees

5.3 Content

• Concept of Motivation • Foundations of Motivation

• Theoretical Approaches to Motivation • Content perspectives on Motivation • Process perspectives on Motivation • Job design for Motivation

• Motivation in the new work places (empowerment, participatory approach, team approach) etc.

5.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th ed. Thomson. South Western. West

Armstrong, M. (2008).A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice11th ed..Kogan Page Ltd, London. Chapter 17

Gomez-Mejia, L. R., David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy (2005), Management: People, Performance, Change, New York: McGraw-Hill

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6.0 Managing Change in Organizations 6.1 Introduction

Change is one of the prerequisites for organizations to cope with changing circumstances and to be able to address the desires and expectations of the members working in the organization. It is by accepting these realities that organizations can survive in the turbulent environment and continue to prosper. Organizations as social organisms experience upheavals and turbulences which compel them to and work place in which ideas, information and relationships are becoming critically important adapt to the ever changing circumstances if they are to survive. Changes in organizations are being driven by the advances in science and technology and by the shift from technology driven to ideas and information society. These changes will by and large affect the behaviour of the members of the organization as well as their relationships. This lecture key issues related to management of change, starting by defining change, highlighting the main forces of change; identifying the various approaches to change, why people resist change and approaches to limiting resistance to change.

6.2 Objectives

• Define organizational change and explain the forces of change • Describe a four stage sequential model of planned change • Identify the sources of change and the need for change • Discuss the main approaches for introducing changes

• Explain the sources of resistance to change and the way to eliminate or reduce them 6.3 Content

6.1Change Defined

6.3 Forces and need for change

6.4 Describe a model of planned change (environmental forces, need for change, initiating change and implementation of change)

6.5 Approaches to change (bottom up, top down, horizontal etc) 6.6 Resistance to change

6.7 Types of change (technology, structure and people/culture change)

6.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th Thomson. South Western. West Scott, W.R. 1992. Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Opens Systems

Rosebloom, D.H. & Goldman, D.D (1993) Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics and Law in the Public Sector Mc Graw Hill New York 7.0 Leadership in Organizations

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“Organizations succeed or fail because of their leadership.”This statement continues to prevail as most organizations need leadership to turn them around and transform them. Thi is true also with influence on individual’s behaviour and attitudes. In addressing the aspect of leadership, three main aspects come into surface namely: people, influence and goals. As discussed earlier, people come to organizations bearing different patterns of behaviour, attitudes and perceptions. Principally, it is the role of organizational leadership to exercise the power of influence to affect these behaviours and perceptions so that they can be directed towards the desired goals of, organization. Leadership is a dynamic endeavour and it involves yje use power and influence to affect the behaviour of other people in the organization. This lecture addresses four main themes namely: the conceptualization of leadership, identifying the sources of leaders’ powers, identify the personal characteristics of a leader and an explanation of how leadership behaviour is affected by situational aspects in the organization.

7.2 Objectives:

• Define leadership and explain its importance to organizations • Explain the importance of leadership in organizations

• Identify the five sources of power and how each causes different surbordinate behaviour •

7.3 Content

7.1 Nature of Leadership in organizations 7.2 Meaning of Leadership

7.3 Importance of leadership in organizations 7.4 Sources of power of the leader

- Position Power legitimate, reward and coercive power - Personal Power – expert and referent power

7.4 References

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th Thomson. South Western. West

Norman F. (2007) Public Sector management, (5th Ed), British library Catalog Publishing Data, Britain.

Larry D.T. (2002) Leadership and Public Bureaucracies, International Publishers, Wales. Northouse, P.G. (2007) Leadership: Theory and Practice.4th ed. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, London

8.0 Communicating in Teams and Organizations 8.1 Introduction

The importance of communication has been likened to blood in human body and the way blood is supplied to the body through blood vessels and veins. Implying that once a certain part of the body fails to receive sufficient supply of blood it ceases to function. Communication in organizations is even more important as it helps modify or change behaviour through persuasion,

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negotiation, directing and discussion. Communication is one important tool with which organizational leaders or managers use to achieve organizational goals through people working in the organization, Moreover, it is believed that organizational harmony is a function of communication in organizations.

8.2 Objectives

After studying this lecture the learner should be able to: • +Define communication

• Explain why communication is necessary for effective management of the people and teams in organizations

• Discuss the means of communication in persuading, negotiations and in influencing behaviour generally

• Describe the communication process and the channels used for communicating • Describe the barriers of communication and how to eliminate them

8.3 Content

8.3.1 Meaning of Communication 8.3.2 Communication process

8.3.3 Importance of Communication in the organization

8.3.4 Use of communication in persuading, negotiating and influencing behaviour 8.3.5 Barriers to communication and how to eliminate or reduce them

8.4 References

™ Prince Jide, A, The Hand Book on management theories, USA 2011. ™ Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th Thomson. South Western. West

™ Rosebloom, D.H. & Goldman, D.D (1993) Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics and Law in the Public Sector Mc Graw Hill New York 9.0 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

9.1 Introduction

Organizations as social organisms develops and sustain certain patterns of behaviour, customs, values, practices and history, which in combination, constitute what is commonly known as organizational culture. These shared abstractions and attitudes pervade the whole or part of an organization, such that it is normally seen as part of life experience of members of the

organization; and normally it is expressed by “this is how we do things here or this is how we treat each other here”. The implication is that culture is context specific and how it nd differs from one organization to another or from one department or section of an organization to another. Culture in the context of OB course is the most fundamental driver because it is associated with the change of people’s mindset; which affects the whole spectrum of behaviour

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change in the organization. This lecture will address few working definitions of what culture is, how it develops and its significance; components of culture and important tools for changing people and culture through training and development and Organization Development (OD).

9.2 Objectives

At the end of this lecture learners should be able to: • Define culture from different dimensions

• Explain the development of organizational culture and describe its significance • Identify and list the components of culture

• Identifying important tools for supporting culture through training and development and organizational development (OD)

9.3 Content

9.3.1 Concept of organizational culture

9.3.2. Development and significance of culture 9.3.3. Components of culture

9.3.4. Important tools for supporting culture 9.4 References

Neal M &Etal, hand Book of Organization Culture & Climate, Sage Publication Inc, India 2003.

Michael M. A. A Hand Book on Human Resource management, Kogan Printer, Enland. 2009.

Edgar, H.S. (New Revised Edition), The Corporate Culture, Survival Guide, Jossey HB Printing, USA 2009.

Robert A.s. Leadership and Organization Climate, south printers, England 2002. Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th Thomson. South Western. West

Scott, W.R. 1992. Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems 10.0 Managing diverse Workforce in Organizations

10.1 Introduction

Diversity in the current environment is a phenomenon to reckon with. No manager can afford to ignore this fact, let alone the consequences brought to the organization by diversity. Workforce diversity is eminent in all walks of life, in the population, in the market place, in families, in colleges, in religious organizations, in sports and culture. This widespread of diversity is posing high magnitude of challenges on managers with regard to the best way of managing the

challenges posed by diversity. Diversity in work place manifests itself in gender, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, education, life style (lesbianism/gayism) and economic

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status among others. This diversity orientation is further manifested in recruitment, training and fully utilizing their full potential while accommodating their differences. This lecture will address the theme of diversity, in terms of what it entails, its causes and consequences. We Shall address the methods for managing diversity and approaches for making work environment more diversity friendly.

10.2 Objectives

Towards the end of this lecture students should be able to : • Conceptualization of diversity

• Explain the dimensions of diversity:

- Primary – age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, physical ability, gender - Secondary – income, work background, geographical location, religious beliefs,

education, marital status, parental status etc. • Discuss the challenge managers face with diversity

• Explaining the prevailing attitudes toward diversity and the judging the validity of ethnorelativism over ethnocentricism

• Explaining the importance of Affirmative action • Discussing the current response to Diversity 10.3 Content

• Discussing the current response to Diversity • Meaning and dimensions of Diversity

• Attitudes towards Diversity (ethnocentricism vs ethnorelativism) • Managerial challenges with diversity

• Importance of Affirmative action and its limitations • Current responses to diversity

10.4 References:

Gilbert, J.A & Ivancevich, J.. (2000) “Valuing Diversity: A Tale of Two Organizations” Academy of Management Executive 14, No 1 (2000) pp 93 – 105

Grossman, J,R. (2000) ‘Is Diversity Working?” Human Resource Magazine (March, 2000) pp 47 – 50.

Daft, L.R. (2004) Management. 6th Thomson. South Western. West

Cox, H.T. (2000) “Managing Cultural Diversity: Implications for Organizational Competitiveness” Academy of Management Executive 5 No 3 (1991)

References

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