Rack BB1 – Organizational Behavior (Micro-Individual)

TAOP Resources Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

What is Organizational Behavior (OB) and Where Does the Behavior of the Individual Fit?

Organizational Behavior (OB) is a broad interdisciplinary field that explores how people interact within organizational settings. It examines the behavior of individuals and groups within organizational contexts and draws from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and management science, to understand how people think, feel, and act in workplace environments.

Because many of the classic texts we cover fall under OB’s broad umbrella, we saw fit to divide our episodes by levels of analysis. This rack contains resources devoted to understanding OB at the individual member (micro) level, while other racks covers the group and team (meso) level and organization-system (macro) level.

Understanding individual behavior is arguably most fundamental aspect of OB. This involves exploring factors such as personal motivations and attitudes, individual perception and decision-making processes, personality traits and their impact on workplace performance, and cognitive factors like emotional intelligence and its role in professional interactions.

The values and contributions of micro-level OB research are many. Studies have provided great insights into understanding human behavior and why people act they way they do in organizational settings. By understanding individual motivations and how they interact with group and organizational dynamics, it might be possible to motivate employees better, improve their productivity, and increase satisfaction. It can also help with better job design and understanding the impacts of organizational changes or leader actions.

Useful applications of OB at the micro level abound. Consider a hypothetical tech start-up that is experiencing rapid growth. OB principles might help leaders with designing the organization with clear, tailored divisions of work that balance creativity with efficiency as the start-up grows. OB can also help manage the psychological challenges of dealing with the rapid scaling, and eventually (hopefully) stabilization after the growth spurt.

Some of the practical questions that OB studies might help answer include the following: How do different personalities and traits influence interactions within the organization? To what extent do factors outside the workplace influence worker behavior? What motivates people outside of their salary?

What are Some OB Theories at Micro Level?

This is a short list. Several of these have already been covered in this program (Episodes are linked and also available in the resources below):

Social Exchange Theory. One of the earliest and most influential works on Social Exchange Theory (SET) can be traced back to George C. Homans, who laid the groundwork for the theory in his seminal work, Social Behavior as Exchange (Homans, 1958). Homans argued that social behavior is based on the exchange of rewards and costs, emphasizing that individuals seek to maximize rewards while minimizing costs in their interactions. His work introduced key concepts such as the “profit” of social exchanges, which refers to the balance of rewards and costs that individuals perceive in their relationships. This foundational perspective has influenced subsequent research on organizational behavior, particularly in understanding employee motivation and interpersonal dynamics within workplaces.

Peter M. Blau further expanded on Homans’ ideas in his book Exchange and Power in Social Life (Blau, 1986/2017). Blau introduced the distinction between economic and social exchanges, arguing that social exchanges are characterized by subjective, relationship-oriented interactions that involve socio-emotional benefits, mutual trust, and commitment. His work emphasized the importance of reciprocity in social exchanges, suggesting that individuals are motivated to maintain balanced relationships where the benefits received are commensurate with those given.

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory was developed by Graen and Uhl-Bien as a significant application of Social Exchange Theory in organizational behavior (Graen & Uhl‐Bien, 1995). LMX theory posits that leaders develop unique relationships with each of their subordinates, characterized by varying levels of trust, respect, and obligation. This theory emphasizes the importance of high-quality exchanges between leaders and followers, which can lead to enhanced employee performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The LMX framework has been widely studied and has provided valuable insights into the dynamics of leadership and followership within organizations.

Theories of Motivation. Maslow’s (1943) theory of motivation proposed that human needs are organized in a somewhat hierarchical structure. The theory separate needs into various intensities from the physiological needs such as food and shelter, safety needs such as a stable environment, social needs like belonging and social interactions, esteem needs such as recognition, and full self-actualization such as finding meaning and growth. However, as we discussed in Episode 3, this theory does not include the pyramid! That was introduced by other authors and Maslow himself did not agree with it!

Frederick Herzberg (Herzberg, et al., 1959) discovered that workplace satisfaction is influenced by two distinct types of factors: motivational factors like achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth; and hygiene factors like policies and procedures, salaries, job security, and others. Motivational factors produced satisfaction and enabled work while hygiene factors reduced dissatisfaction and lifted barriers to the work. As we discussed in Episode 101, removing dissatisfiers doesn’t automatically create satisfaction. Organizations must actively implement motivational factors to truly engage employees.

Developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, self-determination theory explores intrinsic motivation by highlighting three core psychological needs — autonomy or feeling in control of one’s actions, competence or experiencing effectiveness and mastery, and relatedness or feeling connected to others (Deci & Ryan, 2013/1985).

Meanwhile, Victor Vroom’s (1960) expectancy theory suggests that motivation is a function of three key perceptions: expectancy or belief that effort will lead to good performance, instrumentality or belief that performance will result in rewards, and valence or the value placed on the expected reward. So for example, an employee considering extra effort on a project might ask themselves questions like “can I actually do an excellent job?” (Expectancy), “will doing an excellent job lead to a promotion?” (Instrumentality), and “do I want that promotion?” (Valence).

Personality Theories and Assessments. These types of theories try to capture and explain individual differences that can contribute to innate behaviors that are either helpful or challenging in particular organization settings. There are many personality models and instruments available — we will only mention a couple. One is the Big Five Personality Traits of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (McCrea & Costa, 2003). Each can be measured on a scale of “high” to “low” but these do not necessarily convey goodness or badness. For example, being low on Openness can be beneficial for individuals working in predictable and stable environments while high Neuroticism can indicate high drive, tolerance for risk, and self-awareness.

Another is Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory that refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others (Goleman, 1995). This concept has gained attention in organizational studies as leaders with high emotional intelligence are believed to be more effective in fostering positive workplace relationships and creating supportive work environments, while employees with high EI are presumed to be better equipped to navigate workplace challenges, resolve conflicts, and build strong relationships with colleagues.

Social Cognitive Theory. Albert Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory emphasizes learning through observation, self-efficacy and belief in one’s capabilities, and reciprocal determinism such as interaction between personal factors, behavior, and environment. For example, mentorship programs leverage social cognitive principles by allowing employees to learn through role models.

Contemporary Research Areas

Micro-level OB research is highly active and there are many practical applications and concerns, including some of the “hot topics” in Aisle C.

Digital Transformation, Technological Integration, and the Gig Economy. Also see Rack CD. This research area explores the profound impact of digital technologies on organizational life. How can organizations leverage technological advancements while maintaining human-centric workplace experiences? Scholars are particularly interested in understanding the complex interactions between human workers and increasingly sophisticated technological systems.

Some areas of interest include the psychological and social implications of remote and hybrid work models, how artificial intelligence transforms organizational processes and decision-making, the development of digital leadership competencies, and others. There are also the impacts of the gig economy such as considerations regarding technological platforms and workforce coordination, career development in fluid work environments, and emerging non-traditional workforce models (also see Rack CW on the meaning of work).

Employee Well-being and Mental Health Frameworks. Also see Rack CE. The well-being and mental health of employees has long been deemed to be important, but is a moving target. Our Episode 109 covered the evolution of the mental health professions and showed how personal problems and the expertise to treat them have co-evolved over time. Research in organizations has recently focused on how to sustain and improve mental health given the unique conditions of contemporary work environments, preventing burnout or other signs of dissatisfaction, enhancing work-life balance, and improve individual resilience against adversity.

Character and Ethical Behavior. Also see Racks CE and CW. Researchers are exploring the ethical dimensions of organizational behavior with increasing sophistication to include ethical decision-making processes, leadership integrity and trust mechanisms, and addressing antecedents to unethical behaviors such as committing fraud or petty criminal activities in the workplace. On the affirming side, studies have shown that leaders who exercise integrity, humility, and accountability are more likely to foster a positive organizational culture and inspire trust among their followers (Nurhaeni et al., 2022). For instance, the concept of “agile leadership” emphasizes the importance of personal values in shaping leadership styles that are responsive to the challenges of a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment (Nurhaeni et al., 2022).

Another area of inquiry involves the ethical climate within organizations and its impact on employee behavior, particularly whistle-blowing intentions. Research by Zhou et al. (2018) highlights the psychological mechanisms that link ethical climate to employees’ willingness to report unethical behavior. This study suggests that a positive ethical climate can empower employees to act in accordance with their moral values, thereby promoting transparency and accountability within the organization.

Neuroscience and Organizational Behavior. An interdisciplinary approach integrating neurological insights into workplace behaviors that provide enhanced understandings of all the above. What are the cognitive processes in organizational contexts and how do they drive worker behavior, conceptions of leadership and motivation, learning (and forgetting), and matters of character and ethics? Cognitive neuroscience is contributing to our understanding oghow individuals make decisions in organizational contexts. For example, Rilling and Sanfey (2011) discuss the neural systems involved in social decision-making, emphasizing the role of the prefrontal cortex in regulating emotions and making prudent choices.

There is also research pursuing physiological indicators of one’s perceptions and reactions to events in organizational settings. Balconi et al. (2018) explore the use of physiological measures during performance assessments to glean insights about how managers can design and conduct such assessments while taking their employee’s reactions into account. Meanwhile, oxytocin (a.k.a., the “trust hormone”) has been the subject of research exploring its impact on social interactions within organizations. Scholars are examining potential research protocols to learn the role oxytocin may play in collective bargaining, perhaps influencing negotiation behaviors and outcomes based on levels of trust among the parties (Tremblay et al., 2017).

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

111: Visible & Invisible Work – Susan Leigh Star

In this episode, we focus on the emerging discourse from the 1990s on how automated systems would potentially change the very meaning of work. The discussion is on a seminal work of Susan Leigh Star and co-author Anselm Strauss, “Layers of Silence, Arenas of Voice: The Ecology of Visible and Invisible Work,” published in CSCW’s flagship journal, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, in 1999. The article focuses on the challenges and risks of automating work processes without due consideration of all the invisible work done in an organization that systems designers might overlook.

101: The Motivation to Work — Frederick Herzberg

Frederick Herzberg’s “The Motivation to Work” presents the results of over 200 interviews with engineers and accountants working in the Pittsburgh area regarding what satisfied and dissatisfied them on the job. They would find that factors leading to satisfaction, such as achievement and performance, were very different than those leading to dissatisfaction, such as company policies or relationships with co-workers and managers. The result became known as Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction, also known as the motivator-hygiene theory.

89: Administrative Behavior in Public Sector — Herbert Kaufman

This month’s episode examines a classic study in public administration, Herbert Kaufman’s “The Forest Ranger: A Study in Administrative Behavior,” published in 1960. The U.S. Forest Service was a widely distributed organization with its many Rangers individually assigned to manage large tracts of public land. It would have been easy for the Forest Service to lose control and fragment, but it did not. Kaufman’s study showed how and why the various techniques used by the Forest Service kept the Rangers integrated under a common vision.

66: Workplace Isolation – Forester

In this episode (which took place in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic), we explore the social and emotional impacts to the worker on having to work from home. For some workers, the concept of telework is hardly new. But many other vocations place great value on regular social contact with clients and customers. These include teachers, doctors, lawyers, public servants, and many others. The sudden thrust to teleworking for an unknown period of time has raised questions as to how these workers are coping with the new normal.

61: Power & Influence in Organizations — Dan Brass

What is power and influence? Although power appears as a multilevel concept, the early organizational literature tended to view it as wielded by people–measured as skills, traits, or competencies. This would change in the 1980s, in large part to a classic empirical study providing evidence that one’s position within an organizational structure was more likely to translate into one’s source of power. Dan Brass’ article, “Being in the Right Place: A Structural Analysis of Individual Influence in an Organization” from Administrative Science Quarterly is the subject of this episode.

57: Reward Systems – Steven Kerr

Why do organizations espouse one thing but do another? This is essentially what Steven Kerr asks in his popular 1975 article in the Academy of Management Journal, “On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B,” on reward systems. Using examples ranging from politics and war to business and public sector settings, Kerr found a common pattern: that the organization’s goals are too often not supported by the things they actually reward and encourage.

Reflections on the “Human Capital Hoax”

In this response to our Episode 36 on the “Human Capital Hoax,” listener Benoit Gautier critiques Fleming’s article that it is presenting a distorted view of the gig economy.

39: Carnegie Mellon Series #4 – Organizational Choice

The podcasters discuss a fascinating article, “A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice,” published in Administrative Science Quarterly back in 1972 by Michael Cohen, James March, and Johan Olsen. This is another episode from the Carnegie-Mellon University tradition, alongside Episode 4 on Organizational Routines and Episode 19 on Organizational Learning. This installment addresses organizational decision making and choice and, like the others in this series, it changed the way people think about organizations and organizational behavior.

38: Socialization and Occupational Communities – Van Maanen

In this episode, we examine John Van Maanen’s classic ethnographic study of police recruits from an urban police department in the U.S. “Police socialization: A longitudinal examination of job attitudes in an urban police department,” published in Administrative Science Quarterly in 1975, presents Van Maanen’s study on the socialization process of new police officers from their training and indoctrination at the police academy to their early months on the beat.

35: The Managed Heart – Arlie Hochschild

The Managed Heart, originally published in 1983 by Dr. Arlie Hochschild, introduced the concept of emotional labour as a counterpart to the physical and mental labour performed in the scope of one’s duties. The importance of emotional labour is made clear in Dr. Hochschild’s descrption of flight attendants, who regardless of the dispositions of airline passengers, turbulence in the flight, or personal stress is required to act and behave in ways that minimize passenger anxiety and encourage them to fly with that airline again. Thus, the book explores the challenges of stress, protecting one’s personal identity and private life, differentiated (and often unfair) gender roles, miscommunication between supervisors and workers or workers and clients, and others.

33: Foreman – Master and Victim of Doubletalk

This episode covered Fritz J. Roethlisberger’s classic 1945 article from Harvard Business Review (HBR), “The FOREMAN: Master and Victim of Double Talk.” The article resulted from a study concerning the dissatisfaction of foremen in mass production industries at the time. Foremen suffered under low pay and poor wartime working conditions. Meanwhile, management addressed the foremen’s concerns through short-sighted “symptom-by-symptom” corrective actions to little effect. As a result, foremen were leaning toward unionization, while management found itself unable to keep pace with the social implications of rapidly advancing technologies on the supervisory structure.

26: Enacted Sensemaking in Crisis Situations — Karl Weick

We discuss another JMS classic, Karl Weick’s “Enacted Sensemaking in Crisis Situations,” that examines how that the central mechanisms behind failure and incidents is given by the interaction between humans and technology (and not by technology in itself). Weick’s study examined the the Bophal Disaster, a gas leak incident that took place in 1984 in India and shows how individuals enacted rather than encountered the events.

3: Theory of Human Motivation – Abraham Maslow

We discuss “A Theory of Human Motivation” by Abraham H. Maslow, one of the most famous psychology articles ever written. Originally published in 1943, it was in this landmark paper that Maslow presented his first detailed representation of Self-Actualization – the desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming – at the pinnacle of a hierarchy of human needs. What Maslow is most famous for, however, is the pyramid of human needs.

Aisle B – Major Theoretical Perspectives and Schools

Curated list of resources regarding major theories and schools of thought in organization studies. Groups a wide range of theoretical perspectives in line with common categorizations; other perspectives are welcome.

Rack BA — Classic Organization and Management Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major “classical” theories that initiated the field of organization studies, beginning with Taylorism and scientific management and continuing with the theories Fayol, Weber, and others.

Rack BB1 – Organizational Behavior (Micro-Individual)

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories of organization behavior such as emotions, sensemaking, socialization and organizational climate, and many others.

Rack BB2 — Organizational Behavior (Meso-Groups and Teams)

Curated list of resources regarding theories on groups, teams, and other small collections of individuals within an organizational context, from the worker level to top management teams.

Rack BB3 — Organizational Behavior (Macro-Org/System)

Curated list of resources on open systems theory and its many descendents such as general systems theory, cybernetics, and organizational ecology

Rack BC — Contingency Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories regarding the organizational context and how particular situations influence organizational structures, behaviors, and so on. Includes classic contingency theories and pragmatism.

Rack BD — Organizational Design

Curated list of resources on theories related to organizational structures and design, including control structures, power, and job design

Rack BG — Organizational Development and Change

Curated list of resources regarding various theories regarding the external environment in organizations, such as labor relations, resource dependence theory, and others.

Rack BH – Human Dimension – Culture, Climate, Identity

Curated list of resources regarding sustainability and corporate social responsibility such as sustainable business practices, responses to climate change, sociomateriality, and ethical considerations

Rack BI — Institution Theory

Curated list of resources on theories related to strategic management, including competitive forces models, resource-based perspectives, and organizational strategies and strategic change

Rack BL — Leadership Theories

Curated list of resources on theories related to leadership in organizations including classic trait theory, behavioral theories of leadership, and transactional / transformational leadership

Rack BM – Modern Management Theories

Curated list of resources regarding the major schools of thought and the theoretical perspectives they established. Includes the Carnegie-Mellon School, Aston School, and others.

Rack BQ — Postmodern and Critical Theories

Curated list of resources on postmodernist views of organizations and organizing and contrasting them with the modernist view. Includes critical management studies and complexity theory

References

Balconi, M., Venturella, I., Fronda, G., & Vanutelli, M. (2018). Who’s boss? physiological measures during performance assessment. Managerial and Decision Economics, 40(2), 213-219. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.2997

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Blau, P. (2017). Exchange and power in social life. Routledge.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer Science & Business Media.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.

Graen, G. and Uhl‐Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5

Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley.

Homans, G. C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. American journal of sociology, 63(6), 597-606.

Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Eastford, CT: Martino Fine.

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (2003). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203428412

Nurhaeni, I., Nurdin, A., Wiratama, P., & Kurniawan, Y. (2022). Gendered-perspective agile leadership in the vuca era during the covid-19 pandemic. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik, 26(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.70490

OpenAI. (2024). What are the major theoretical streams in organizational behavior; What are the top five foundational texts in organizational behavior theories in organization studies from before 1970; What are the major theoretical streams in organizational behavior at the micro level. ChatGPT (November 2022 version) [Large Language Model].

Rilling, J. & Sanfey, A. (2011). The neuroscience of social decision-making. Annual Review of Psychology, 62(1), 23-48. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131647

Scite. (2024). What are the major theoretical streams in organizational behavior; What are the top five foundational texts in organizational behavior theories in organization studies from before 1970; What are the major theoretical streams in organizational behavior at the micro level; What are the foundational works related to social exchange theory; What are the major personality theories associated with organization studies; What are researchers presently studying regarding individual character and ethics within organization studies; What are neuroscience researchers studying regarding individual micro-level behaviors within organization settings. Scite (April 2024 version) [Large Language Model].

Tremblay, J., Rivard, S., & Gosselin, E. (2017). Oxytocin and collective bargaining: propositions for a new research protocol. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 07(07), 893-909. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2017.77063

Zhou, L., Liu, Y., Chen, Z., & Zhao, S. (2018). Psychological mechanisms linking ethical climate to employee whistle-blowing intention. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(2), 196-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp-09-2017-0292

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Rack BB1 – Organizational Behavior (Micro-Individual)

TAOP Resources Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References

What is Organizational Behavior (OB) and Where Does the Behavior of the Individual Fit?

What are Some OB Theories at Micro Level?

Contemporary Research Areas

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

Available Resource Pages

References

Jump to: Importance | Theories | Research Areas | TAOP Episodes | References