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MGT 241

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

TU BIM · Semester 2 · BIM curriculum effective from 2021

Requirement
required
Credits
3
Study Guide
11 units available

Chapter notes

Authoritative study guide across 11 syllabus units

Open a unit to read its study notes.

Unit 1: Introduction to Organizational Behavior· 6 LHs· ~8 marks

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Pass path: Define Organizational Behavior (OB), list the 3 levels of OB analysis (Individual, Group, Organization System), and explain Cognitive Dissonance. Top path: Analyze the OB system model (Inputs-Processes-Outcomes), evaluate multidisciplinary contributions (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology), and assess modern managerial challenges (workforce diversity, digital transformation, ethical dilemmas).

Part 1: Core Concepts (2 Marks)

  • ★ Organizational Behavior (OB): A field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and improving human behavior in organization settings by examining individual, group, and structural impacts on effectiveness.
  • ★ Levels of OB Analysis: The three systemic tiers of organizational study:
    1. Individual Level: Perception, values, personality, motivation, learning.
    2. Group Level: Team dynamics, leadership, power, communication, conflict.
    3. Organization System Level: Structure, culture, organizational change, HR policies.
  • ★ Cognitive Dissonance: An incompatibility or contradiction an individual perceives between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes (Leon Festinger). Creates psychological discomfort driving attitude realignment.

Part 2: Structural Frameworks (10 Marks)

The Organizational Behavior System: Input-Process-Output Framework

When asked to evaluate the OB system and contributing behavioral disciplines:

  1. System Definition: Organizations function as open systems taking human, capital, and cultural inputs from the environment, converting them through behavioral processes, and yielding multi-level outcomes.
  2. Structural Dimensions:
    • Inputs (Independent Variables):
      • Individual level: Diversity characteristics, personality, values, baseline emotions.
      • Group level: Group structure, group roles, team responsibilities.
      • Organizational level: Organizational structure, design, corporate culture.
    • Processes (Mediating Variables):
      • Individual level: Perception, decision-making, motivation, communication.
      • Group level: Leadership, negotiation, conflict management, power politics.
      • Organizational level: Human resource policies, change management practices.
    • Outcomes (Dependent Variables):
      • Attitudes and stress: Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, employee burnout.
      • Task performance: Productivity, work quality, innovation.
      • Citizenship behavior (OCB) vs. Counterproductive work behavior (CWB).
      • Withdrawal behaviors: Turnover, absenteeism.
  3. Contributing Disciplines:
    • Psychology: Micro-level focus on learning, perception, personality, emotion, training, work stress.
    • Social Psychology: Group dynamics, attitude change, communication channels, behavioral integration.
    • Sociology: Formal organizational theory, organizational technology, bureaucracy, power struggles.
    • Anthropology: Cross-cultural analysis, organizational culture, comparative values in global enterprise.
  4. Contemporary Managerial Challenges in Nepal:
    • Managing generational diversity (Gen Z vs. traditional hierarchy in banking/IT).
    • Remote/hybrid work coordination and electronic communication monitoring.
    • Retention of technical talent amidst mass outward migration (brain drain).

Part 3: Distinction Tables

Dimension Individual-Level Analysis Group-Level Analysis
Focus Micro-level cognitive processes and traits Meso-level social interactions and collective dynamics
Core Variables Personality, perception, individual motivation, learning Leadership, cohesion, team conflict, norms, power
Primary Discipline Clinical and cognitive psychology Social psychology and sociology
Diagnostic Goal Predict individual task accuracy and tenure Optimize team synergy and collaborative problem-solving
Dimension Belief Attitude
Nature Cognitive acceptance that a proposition is true or factual Evaluative judgment (favorable or unfavorable) toward an object
Components Purely informational/cognitive Tripartite: Cognitive (thought), Affective (feeling), Behavioral (action intent)
Malleability Changes upon presentation of objective empirical proof Deeply ingrained; requires emotional persuasion or dissonance reduction

Part 4: Worked Problems & Exam Traps

Problem 1 (Standard): Tripartite Model of Attitudes

Identify the three components of an employee’s attitude who says: “My supervisor promotes favorites without merit (1), which makes me furious and resentful (2); I am handing in my resignation letter on Monday (3).”

  • Step 1 (Cognitive Component): The belief, opinion, or knowledge segment. Statement (1) represents the cognitive evaluation of unfair promotional criteria.
  • Step 2 (Affective Component): The emotional or feeling segment. Statement (2) represents the affective state of anger and resentment.
  • Step 3 (Behavioral Component): The intention to behave in a certain way. Statement (3) represents the behavioral action plan of submitting resignation.

Exam Traps

Students lose marks here because they describe OB as pure commonsense intuition rather than a systematic empirical science. In questions requiring levels of analysis, students fail to classify concepts into Individual, Group, and System tiers, providing unstructured generic paragraphs.