1. Current Issues In Organizational
Behavior
Chapter 2

2. Study Questions
• What is a High Performance Organizations
• What is multiculturalism and how can workforce be
managed
 Why is globalization significant for organizational
behavior?
 What is culture and how can we understand cultural
differences
 How does cultural diversity affect people at work?
 Why is globalization significant for organizational
behavior?
 What is culture and how can we understand cultural
differences
 How does cultural diversity affect people at work?

3. High-performance organizations
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Are designed to bring out the best in people and produce sustainable
organizational results
Characteristics of high performance organizations
Value people as assets, respect diversity, and empower members to use
talents to advance organizational and personal performance
Mobilize teams that build synergy from talents of members that have the
freedom to exercise self direction and initiative to maximize their
performance contributions
Utilize the latest in information and production technologies, achieving
success in bringing people and technology together in a performance
context
Thrive on learning with norms and cultures that encourage knowledge
sharing and enable members to experience continuous growth and
development
Are achievement oriented, sensitive to external environment, and focused
on total quality management and being the best in delivering customer
satisfaction

4. High-performance organizations
 Stakeholders.
– The individuals, groups, and other organizations affected by an organization’s
performance.
– The interest of key stakeholders can be described in terms of the
organization’s multiple responsibilities for value creation
 Value creation.
– The extent to which an organization satisfies the needs of strategic
constituencies.
– In respect to product output , business create value for customers through
product price and quality
– For owners value is represented by realized profits and investment returns
– In respect to inputs, business create value for suppliers through the benefit s
of long-term relationship
– Value for communities derives from the citizenship displayed in using and
contributing to public service
– In respect of throughput business create value for employees through wages,
satisfaction, and development opportunitiies

6. High-performance organizations
 Total quality management (TQM).
– A total commitment to:
• High-quality results.
• Continuous improvement.
• Customer satisfaction.
– Meeting customers’ needs.
– Doing all tasks right the first time.
– Continuous improvement focuses on two questions:
• Is it necessary?
• If so, can it be done better?

7. High-performance organizations
 Human capital.
– The economic value of people with job-relevant abilities,
knowledge, ideas, energies, and commitments.
– Recognition that that people are indispensible resources
– Only through human efforts can the great advantages be
realized from other material resources of organization such as
technology, information, raw materials, and money
 Knowledge workers.
– People whose minds rather than physical capabilities create
value for the organization.
 Intellectual capital.
– The performance potential of the expertise, competencies,
creativity, and commitment within an organization’s workforce.

8. High-performance organizations
 Empowerment.
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HPO’s unlock the intellectual capital
through empowerment
– Allows people, individually and in groups, to use their talents and
knowledge to make decisions that affect their work.
 Social capital.
the value of human assets is also mobilized through social
capital
– The performance potential represented in the relationships maintained
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among people at work.
When relationships are strong , positive, genuine, and reciprocal
everyone involved gains performance advantages by working with others
HPO mobilize social capital through a commitment to teams and
teamwork, arranging the flow of work around business processes and
empowering teams to implement them
Focusing on teams they achieve
Greater flexibility
Internal coordination
Innovation
Speed
Flat organization structure

9. High-performance organizations
 Learning and high-performance cultures.
– Uncertainty highlights the importance of organizational
learning.
– It is a way to achieve positive adaptation through constant
knowledge acquisition and utilization in change environments
– High-performance organizations are designed for organizational
learning.
– They have a value driven culture that emphasize information
sharing, teamwork, empowerment, participation and learning
– The leaders set examples for others by embracing change and
communicating enthusiasm to all members for solving problems
and growing with new opportunities
– A learning organization has a culture that values human capital
and invigorates learning for performance enhancement.

11. Multiculturalism and Diversity
 Workforce diversity.
– Describes differences among people with respect to age, race,
ethnicity, gender, physical ability, and sexual orientation.
– When it comes to people and their diversity positive
organization culture tap the talents, ideas, and creative
potential of all members
 Multiculturalism.
– Refers to pluralism and respect for diversity and individual
differences in the workplace.
 Inclusivity.
– The degree to which the organization’s culture respects and
values diversity and is open to anyone who can perform a job,
regardless of their diversity attributes
– HPOs with positive cultures set high expectation of inclusion
and respect for diversity are in best position to unlock the full
potential of intellectual and social capital

12. Multiculturalism and Diversity
 Diversity biases in the workplace.
– Prejudice.
 Holding of negative, irrational opinions and attitudes regarding members of
diverse populations
– Discrimination.
 Actively disadvantages individuals by treating them unfairly and denying them
full benefits of organizational membership
– The glass ceiling effect.
 Existence of invisible barrier that prevents from rising above a certain level of
organizational responsibility
– Sexual harassment.
 Form of unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favor , and other
sexually laced communication
– Verbal abuse.
 Cultural jokes
– Pay discrimination.

13. Multiculturalism and Diversity

14. Multiculturalism and Diversity
 Managing diversity.
– Developing a work environment and organizational culture
that allows all organization members to reach their full
potential.
 A diversity mature organization is created when:
– Managers ensure the effective and efficient utilization of
employees in pursuit of the corporate mission.
– Managers consider how their behaviors affect diversity.
 Well-managed workforce diversity increases human
capital.

15. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Ethical behavior.
– “Good” or “right” as opposed to “bad” or “wrong” in a
particular setting.
– To agree on whether or not a specific action is ethical or
not is not always an easy matter
 Is it ethical to withhold information that might
discourage a well qualified job candidate from joining
your organization
 Is it ethical to ask someone to take a job you know will
not be good for his/her career progress
 Is it ethical to ask so much of people that they have
continually have to choose between having a career and
having a life
 The public demands that people in organizations act
according to high moral standards.

16. Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Moral management and Ethics Mindfulness
• Scholar Archie B. Carroll draws a distinction between immoral
managers, a moral managers, and moral managers
 Immoral managers.
– Do not subscribe to any ethical principles; pursuit of self-interest.
– this manager essentially chooses to act unethically
 Amoral managers.
– Fails to consider the ethics of a decision or behavior
– This manager acts unethically at times but unintentionally
– Common form of unethical lapses includes
 Prejudice that derives from unconscious stereotypes
 Showing bias based on in-group favoritism
 Claiming too much personal credit for one’s performance
contributions
 Moral managers.
– Incorporate ethical principles and goals into their personal behavior
– For this , ethical behavior is a goal, a standard, and even a matter of
routine

17. Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Ethics Mindfulness :
 An enriched awareness that causes one to
consistently behave with ethical consciousness
 A moral manager or moral leader always acts as
an ethical role model, communicates ethics value
and messages, and champion ethics mindfulness
 This results in the “virtuous shift” in an
organization culture within which people act
ethically as a matter of routine

19. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Ways of thinking about ethical behavior.
– Utilitarian view –– the greatest good for the greatest
number of people.
 Assess the moral aspects of their decisions in terms of
consequences they create
 In utilitarianism the need for many outweigh the needs for
few
– Individualism view –– best serving long-term self-interests.
 In principle, at least, someone who acted unethically in the
short run such as denying a qualified minority employee a
promotion should not succeed in the long run because
short-run actions will not be tolerated

20. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Thus, if everyone operated with long-term self interest in mind , their short–
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run actions would be ethical
Moral-rights view –– respects and protects the fundamental rights of all
human beings.
This view is tied very closely to to the principle of basic human rights, such as
liberty and fair treatment by the law
In organizations such principles is reflected by the issues as rights to privacy,
due process, freedom of speech
Ethical behavior does not violate any of these fundamental human rights
Justice view –– fair and impartial in the treatment of all people.
Based on the concept of equitable treatment for all concerned
Procedural justice is the degree to which rules and procedures specifie4d by
the policies are properly followed in all cases to which they are applied
Distributive justice the degree to which all people are treated the same under
policy
Interactional justice is the degree to which people are treated with dignity
and respect

21. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Ethical dilemmas.
– Occur when someone must choose
whether or not to pursue a course of
action that, although offering the
potential of personal or organizational
benefit or both, may be considered
unethical.

22. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Rationalizations for unethical behavior.
– Pretending the behavior is not really unethical or
illegal.
– Saying the behavior is really in the organization’s
or person’s best interest.
– Assuming the behavior is acceptable if others
don’t find out about it.
– Presuming that superiors will support and protect
you.

23. Ethics and Social Responsibility
 Organizational social responsibility.
– The obligation of organizations to behave in
ethical and moral ways as institutions of the
broader society.
– Managers should commit organizations to:
• Pursuit of high productivity.
• Corporate social responsibility.
– A whistleblower exposes others’ wrongdoings in
order to preserve high ethical standards.

24. Global context 0f OB
 Most organizations must achieve high
performance within a complex and
competitive global environment.
 Globalization refers to the complex economic
networks of international competition,
resource suppliers, and product markets.

25. Global context 0f OB
 Forces of globalization.
– Rapid growth in information technology and
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electronic communication.
Movement of valuable skills and investments.
Increasing cultural diversity.
Implications of immigration.
Increasing job migration among nations.
Impact of multicultural workforces

26. Global context 0f OB
 Globalization is contributing to the
emergence of regional economic alliances.
 Important regional alliances.
– European Union (EU).
– North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
– Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (APEC).

27. Global context 0f OB
 Outsourcing.
– Contracting out of work rather than accomplishing it with
a full-time permanent workforce.
 Off shoring.
– Contracting out work to persons in other countries.
 Job migration.
– Movement of jobs from one location or country to another

28. Global context 0f OB
 Global managers.
– Know how to conduct business in multiple
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countries.
Are culturally adaptable and often multilingual.
Think with a worldview and are able to map
strategy in the global context.
Have a global attitude.
Have a global mindset.

29. Culture & Cross cultural
Understanding
 Culture.
– The learned, shared way of doing things in a
particular society.
– The “software of the mind.”
– Helps define boundaries between different groups
and affects how their members relate to one
another.
– Cultural intelligence is the ability to identify,
understand, and act with sensitivity and
effectiveness in cross-cultural situations.

30. Popular Dimensions of Culture
 Language.
– Perhaps the most visible aspect of culture.
– Whorfian hypothesis — considers language as a major
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determinant of thinking.
Low-context cultures — the message is conveyed by the
words used.
High-context cultures — words convey only a limited part
of the message.
Western cultures are mostly low context cultures
Asian and Middle Eastern cultures are low context

31. Popular Dimensions of Culture
 Time orientation.
– Polychronic cultures.
• Circular view of time.
• Time is cyclical and goes around and around
• No pressure for immediate action or performance
• One will have another chance to pass the same way
again. If opportunity is lost today no problem, it may
again return tomorrow.
• Emphasize present and often do more than one thing
at a time

32. Popular Dimensions of Culture
 Time orientation. (cont.)
– Monochronic cultures.
• Linear view of time.
• Past is gone, the present is here briefly and future is
almost upon us
• Create pressure for action and performance.
• People appreciate schedules and appointments, talk
about saving and wasting time
• Long-range goals and planning is a way for managing
future

33. Popular Dimensions of Culture
 Use of space.
– Proxemics.
• The study of how people use space to communicate.
• Reveals important cultural differences.
– Concept of personal space varies across cultures.
– Personal space can be thought of as the bubble that surround us
– Arabs and south Americans shorter distance
– North Americans greater distance
– Asians even further than North Americans
– Space is arranged differently in different cultures.
– In Polychronic cultures space is arranged in such a way that many
activities can takes place at a time ( Italian and Spanish towns are
arranged around central squares “Plazas”)
– In Monochronic cultures ( America) towns have traditional main
street laid out in linear fashion

34. Popular Dimensions of Culture
 Religion.
– A major element of culture.
– Can be a very visible aspect of culture.
– Influences codes of ethics and moral behavior.
– Influences conduct of economic matters.

35. Values and National Culture
– Cultures vary in underlying patterns of
values and attitudes.
– Hofstede’s five dimensions of national
culture:
• Power distance.
• Uncertainty avoidance.
• Individualism-collectivism.
• Masculinity-femininity.
• Long-term/short-term orientation.

36. Values and National Culture
 Power distance.
– The willingness of a culture to accept status and
power differences among members.
– Respect for hierarchy and rank in organizations.
– Example of a high power distance culture —
Indonesia.
– Example of a low power distance culture —
Sweden.

37. Values and National Culture
 Uncertainty avoidance.
– The cultural tendency toward discomfort with risk
and ambiguity.
– Preference for structured versus unstructured
organizational situations.
– Example of a high uncertainty avoidance culture
— France.
– Example of a low uncertainty avoidance culture —
Hong Kong.

38. Values and National Culture
 Individualism-collectivism.
– The cultural tendency to emphasize individual or
group interests.
– Preferences for working individually or in groups.
– Example of an individualistic culture — United
States.
– Example of a collectivist culture — Mexico.

39. Values and National Culture
 Masculinity-femininity.
– The tendency of a culture to value stereotypical
masculine or feminine traits.
– Emphasizes competition/assertiveness versus
interpersonal sensitivity/relationships.
– Example of a masculine culture — Japan.
– Example of a feminine culture — Thailand.

40. Values and National Culture
 Long-term/short-term orientation.
– The tendency of a culture to emphasize futureoriented values versus present-oriented values.
– Adoption of long-term or short-term performance
horizons.
– Example of a long-term orientation culture —
South Korea.
– Example of a short-term orientation culture —
United States.

42. Understanding Cultural Differences
 Understanding cultural differences helps in dealing
with parochialism and ethnocentrism.
– Parochialism — assuming that the ways of one’s own
culture are the only ways of doing things.
– Ethnocentrism — assuming that the ways of one’s culture
are the best ways of doing things.
• It is parochial for a traveling American business man
to insist that all his business contacts speak English
• It is ethnocentric for him to think that any one who
dines with a spoon instead of knife and fork lacks
proper table manners

43. Understanding Cultural Differences
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A frame work developed by Fons Trompenaar
offers a vantage point in understanding and
dealing with cultural differences
• He suggests that culture varies the way its
members solve problems of three major types
1. Relationship with people
2. Attitudes towards time
3. Attitudes towards the environment
• Trompenaar identifies five major cultural
differences in how people handle relationships
with other people

44. Understanding Cultural Differences
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Universalism vs. Particularism:
Relative emphasis on rules and regulations and consistency versus relationship
and flexibility
Individualism vs. Collectivism:
Relative emphasis on individual freedom and responsibility vs. group interest
and consensus
Neutral vs. affective
Relative emphasis on objectivity and detachment vs. emotion and expressed
feelings
Specific versus diffuse
Specific cultures have large public space, readily let others enter and share and a
small private space which they guard closely and share only with close friends
Diffuse culture is one in which both public and private space similar in size and
guard their public space carefully because entry into public space affords entry
into private space
In diffuse culture outsiders should respect a persons age, title and background
connection. In dealing with people from specific culture, outsiders should get to
the and be efficient, minimize titles and achievements that are irrelevant to the
situation

45. Understanding Cultural Differences
5. Achievement versus ascribed
 In achievement culture a person is accorded
status on how well they have perform their
function
 In ascription culture status is accorded on the
basis of who or what the person is
 Ascription culture accord status on age,
gender, or social connections