Organizational behavior 7e by luthans chap002

Chapter Two

Environmental Context:
Information, Technology,
Globalization, Diversity,
and Ethics

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


Learning Objectives
• Examine the role of information technology.
• Present developments in knowledge
management and human capital/intelligence.
• Discuss the impact of globalization.
• Identify the meaning of diversity and its
importance.
• Discuss the meaning of ethics and major factors
of ethical behavior.
• Describe major areas of ethical concern and
steps taken to effectively address it.
• Examine specific ethical issues.


Introduction
• Environmental context for organizational
behavior is markedly different from past.
• Management is forced to rethink
approaches to operations and human

resources because of:
– Information technology, globalization,
diversity, and ethics.

• Organizations are now more responsive to
both external and internal environments.


Role of Information Technology
• E-business
– Still portrayed as a recent phenomenon and is almost
equated with today’s Internet.

• Knowledge management
– Tangible knowledge assets captured and retained in
organization structures and systems.
– Intangible knowledge or intelligence possessed by
employees and other stakeholders.

• Human/Intellectual capital
– Can be thought of as investors in the business
expecting a return on investment.


Globalization
• Third phase of globalization - Friedman.
– Fueled by information technology available to
everyone in the world.

• Implications for organizational behavior

are profound and direct.
– Cultures around the world impact the
organizational behavior of managers and
employees quite differently.


Major Reasons for Increasing Diversity


Diversity in Workplace
Continued

• Developing the multicultural organization
– Reflects the contributions and interests of
diverse cultural and social groups.
– Acts on a commitment to eradicate social
oppression.
– Includes the members of diverse cultural and
social groups.
– Follows through on broader external social
responsibilities.


Diversity in Workplace
Continued

• Individual approaches to managing
diversity
– Learning
– Empathy

Organizational Approaches to
Managing Diversity
• Most common techniques include:
– Testing
– Training
– Mentoring
– Work/Family Programs


A Flextime Framework


Innovative Work/Family Programs


Ethics and Ethical Behavior
• Factors determining ethical behavior:
–
–
–
–

Individuals and groups
Cultural
Organizational
External environment

• Other factors leading to ethical problems in

organizations:
– Peer pressure on people to be less ethical.
– Difference in views from one person to another.


Ethics and Ethical Behavior
Continued

• The impact of ethics on “bottom-line”
outcomes
– Increasing evidence that ethics programs and
being ethical pays off for organizations.

• Employee privacy issues
– Computer technology
– Mandatory drug testing
– Efforts of organizations to control the lifestyles
of their employees.


Questions