Organizational Behavior:
An Introduction to
Your Life in Organizations
Chapter 19
OB is for Life
©2007 Prentice Hall
Preview
• Beyond this book, how can you continue to learn
about OB?
• What more do you need to know about the
scientific approach to human behavior?
• How do you read a scientific journal article?
• What are some current controversies that may
affect the study and practice of OB in the future?
• What resources can you use to learn even more
about human behavior in organizations?
©2007 Prentice Hall
Beyond this book, how can you
continue to learn about OB?
• Hone your interpersonal and organizational
understanding and skills.
• Gain experience. Look for feedback on your
strengths and weaknesses. Identify your unique
challenges and work on them.
• Launch your career successfully, building the
necessary expertise, reputation, and networks to
create a power base to advance yourself, or
perhaps run your own company
• Refer back to what you have studied
©2007 Prentice Hall
What more do you need to know
about the scientific approach to
human behavior?
• Researchers can give a broader picture
that allows you to weigh alternatives
• Researchers pursue answers to questions
in a systematic way
• Think of them as hypotheses to be further
tested in the real world situation you are
facing
©2007 Prentice Hall
How do social scientists test
hypotheses?
• Field studies: interact with their subjects in
their real life organizations
• Questionnaire studies: ask participants to
fill out a survey
• Laboratory experiments: research is done
in settings that allow the researcher to
rigorously control the conditions
• Examining secondary-source materials
©2007 Prentice Hall
Analyzing hypotheses
• Qualitative methods are based on an
individual’s or individuals’ observations
and interpretations
• Quantitative methods use statistical
analysis to summarize and analyze
measurable data points to yield results
©2007 Prentice Hall
What are some key ethical issues in
social science research?
• Researchers performing studies on human
subjects must take precautions that protect their
subjects from physical and psychological harm
• The possibility of manipulating data to get
desired results
• Suppressing data that might not be desirable to
a funding authority
• The fact that many published studies are not
replicated
• The possibility of manipulating the peer review
process
©2007 Prentice Hall
How are articles structured?
• The first part is the abstract, which tells you the purpose
of the study and its major findings
• The first part of the body of the article is the introduction
• This section is followed by a discussion of the theoretical
background of the research
• Next is a methodology section covering which research
method was used for collecting data
• Next you will come to the results section, which presents
the conclusions
• This is followed by a discussion section that includes
implications of the study
©2007 Prentice Hall
How do articles integrate practical
applications?
• Level 1: Your goal is to learn the implications of
this research for practitioners
• Level 2: Your goal is to understand exactly how
useful this research is as a guide to practical
applications
• Level 3: Your goal is to understand the research
methodology and findings in every detail in order
to build on them for future research
©2007 Prentice Hall
What are some basic types of
statistical analyses?
• Multiple regression is used when a researcher
wants to explain the relationship between
multiple independent variables and a dependent
variable
• Correlation shows the relationship between two
variables
• Factor analysis finds relationships between and
among variables and then organizes similar
variables into factors
• Meta-analysis is a way to synthesize the results
of many previous studies
©2007 Prentice Hall
What are the different roles of
academic and practitioner journals?
• Academic journals are those journals in
which research and the research process
are the primary focus.
• The vast majority of academic journals are
blind peer reviewed
• Practitioner journals focus less on the
process of research and more on the
findings
©2007 Prentice Hall
What are some current controversies that
may affect the study and practice of OB
in the future?
• Who should organizations serve? Stockholders
or the greater public good?
• Critical theorists would like to see OB take a
more challenging approach toward business
organizations
• What should OB professors study and teach?
What has been learned through social science
or what has been learned through managerial
experience?
• What you see is what you have learned to look
for. But is it the truth? Views of modernism and
postmodernism
©2007 Prentice Hall
What resources can you use to learn
even more about human behavior in
organizations?
• Further education – courses or degrees
• Further reading – books (classics and
new), magazines, journals
• Use the human resource management
(HRM) department in your company
• Current Techniques and Fads – consider
the validity and fit for your organization
©2007 Prentice Hall
Apply what you have learned
• Advice from the Pro’s
• Gain Experience
©2007 Prentice Hall
Summary – Beyond this book, how
can you continue to learn about OB?
• Deepen your knowledge of OB history, the
latest research, and current controversies
• Understand current research more
completely by understanding its context in
history
• In the companies for which you work or
will work, use organizational resources to
help you
©2007 Prentice Hall
Summary – What more do you need
to know about the scientific
approach to human behavior?
• How researchers test hypotheses
• What types of statistical analysis are
common
• Understand ethical issues in the treatment
of human subjects
©2007 Prentice Hall
Summary – How do you read a
scientific journal article?
• Understand the parts of a journal article: the
abstract, introduction, theoretical background,
methodology, results and discussion
• Learn to read scientific studies for their practical
implications
• Grasp at least the basics of statistical analysis,
including multiple regression, correlation, factor
analysis, and meta-analysis
• Understand the difference between a scholarly
journal and a practitioner journal
©2007 Prentice Hall
Summary – What are some current
controversies that may affect the study
and practice of OB in the future?
• Who should organizations serve?
• What should OB professors study and
teach?
• What different perspectives should be
included in organizational research?
©2007 Prentice Hall
Summary – What resources can you
use to learn even more about human
behavior in organizations?
• Look to your human resources
management group for expertise
• Read the history and current science
• Observe on your own
• Staying up on the current fads can build
your reputation as an effective manager
©2007 Prentice Hall