1 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR IN THE 1990S



1 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR in CHANGING tIMES

CHAPTER SCAN

THIS INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS FOR THESE CHANGING TIMES. IT BEGINS BY PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE INTERDISCIPLINARY ORIGINS OF THAT BEHAVIOR. NEXT, IT DESCRIBES THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND PRESENTS THE SIX FOCUS ORGANIZATIONS (BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, ENRON, HARLEY-DAVIDSON, HEWLETT-PACKARD, PATAGONIA, AND THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION). THIRD, IT POINTS OUT THE CRITICAL ROLE OF CHANGE AND CHALLENGE, FOLLOWED BY A DISCUSSION OF HOW PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR. THE CHAPTER FINISHES BY RELATING THE VARIOUS FEATURES OF THE BOOK TO LEARNING STYLES AND OUTLINING THE PLAN FOR THE BOOK.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Define organizational behavior.

2. Identify six interdisciplinary contributions to the study of organizational behavior.

3. Identify the important system components of an organization.

4. Describe the formal and informal elements of an organization.

5. Understand the diversity of organizations in the economy, as exemplified by the six focus organizations.

6. Recognize the challenge of change for organizational behavior.

7. Demonstrate the value of objective knowledge and skill development in the study of organizational behavior.

KEY TERMS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCES THE FOLLOWING KEY TERMS:

organizational behavior

change

challenge

psychology

sociology

engineering

anthropology

management

medicine

task

people

structure

formal organization

informal organization

Hawthorne studies

total quality management (TQM)

objective knowledge

skill development

the CHAPTER SUMMARized

I. THINKING AHEAD: CHANGING ADMINISTRATIONS, BUSINESS, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND

Patagonia

II. HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

Chapter one emphasizes the complexity of human behavior and group dynamics in organizations, and notes the impact of organizational variables. It describes human behavior as orderly and logical from the perspective of the organization, but stressful and confusing from the individual’s perspective. A special orientation of this text deals with approaches to learning and application of the skills necessary to become successful organizational members.

A. Understanding Human Behavior

Most of the theories and models of human behavior are categorized as either internal perspectives or external perspectives. Internal perspectives view behavior in terms of thoughts, feelings, past experiences, and needs of the individual. External perspectives explain behavior in terms of external events, consequences of behavior, and environmental forces. Example: "Mary is an excellent employee because she has a high need for achievement." (internal perspective), or in contrast, "Mary is an excellent employee because she is paid extremely well for her work." (external perspective).

B. Interdisciplinary Influences

Because of the complexity of organizations, several fields and disciplines of study have influenced the field of organizational behavior. Significant influences come from psychology, sociology, engineering, anthropology, management, and medicine. Definitions of the disciplines and contributions to organizational behavior are:

Psychology - the science of human behavior - Contributions in motivation, teamwork, power, leadership, training and development, and human resource planning.

Sociology- the science of society - Contributions in group dynamics, roles, norms, and standards of behavior.

Engineering - applied science of energy and matter - Contributions in understanding work design, human productivity and efficiency.

Anthropology - science of human learned behavior – Contributions in understanding patterns of behavior, organizational culture and organization performance.

Management – originally administrative science – Emphasizes design, implementation and management of administrative and organizational systems. First discipline to use organization as unit of analysis.

Medicine - applied science of healing or treatment of diseases - Embraces concerns for the physical and psychological health of individuals in organizations.

III. THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

To accurately understand organizational behavior, one must first understand of human behavior and the organizational context – the specific setting in which that behavior occurs.

A. Organizations as Open Systems

Organizations are systems of interacting components that are not limited to business structures, but include religious organizations, military organizations, and even family structures. Leavitt sets forth a basic framework for understanding organizations that emphasizes four major internal components, task, people, technology, and structure. These components, along with the organization's inputs, outputs, and key elements, make up the organizational system. The organizational system, in turn, interacts with its task environment. Every organization has a task that includes its mission and goals, or purpose for existing. The people in the organization are the human resources of the organization. The tools, knowledge, and/or techniques used by the organization constitute its technology, and the organization’s structure includes the design of work, departments, divisions, and the overall organization. Organizations receive inputs, convert them into throughputs, and deliver outputs to customers, consumers and clients in their task environments.

B. The Formal and Informal Organization

Organizations are combinations of formal and informal components. The formal organization includes the legitimate and official portions of organizations, such as policies, titles of organizational members, reporting lines, and performance appraisals. An outgrowth of the Hawthorne studies, the informal organization includes people's feelings, thoughts, and attitudes about their work, as well as their social interactions, and how these factors affect their behavior and performance. Intervention activities designed to improve organizational performance often focus on the informal organization, in the context of the formal organization.

C. Six Focus Companies

You might want to consider dividing the class into six teams and having one team examine each company in further detail for class presentations. This approach also helps students learn the advantages, disadvantages, and difficulties connected with groups and teamwork. The analysis of the group behavior could coincide with Chapter 9, Work Teams and Groups.

1. Brinker International

Multiconcept casual dining restaurant company

60,000 employees in 1,100+ units in 47 states and 20 countries

More than $1 million contributed to a variety of charities

2. Enron

Commodities provider (for example, steel, forest products, bandwidth)

$101 billion in revenues, $67 billion in assets, 20,000 employees

Named most innovative company in America since mid-1990s

3. Harley-Davidson

Manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles, financial services provider

$3 billion in net sales of more than 200,000 motorcycles per year by 2000

Harley Owners Group® (H.O.G.®) membership of 600,000 by 2000

4. Hewlett-Packard

Leader in technology and human resource management practices

$41 billion per year, seven product lines, 88,500 employees

First company to formalize telecommuting policies for employees

5. Patagonia

Privately held outdoor sports product manufacturing and sales firm

$180 million per year, 1,000 employees

Environmentally conscious; donated over $15 million to date

6. American Heart Association

Not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing disability and death from cardiovascular diseases

Majority of work accomplished by 4.2 million volunteers

$1.5 billion contributed to heart and blood vessel research since 1949

IV. THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE

Competition has increased dramatically since World War II, creating performance and cost pressures that impact peoples’ work behavior. However, the outcomes of these competitive pressures are not inevitably negative. The key is finding a balance between too much change resulting in chaos, and too little change resulting in stagnation.

A. International Competition in Business

The increasing pressure of international competition has made globalization of U.S. corporations a necessity. In addition, it has emphasized the need for employees at all levels to increase their productivity and add more value to the firm, as cost-cutting strategies highlight reductions in job security. Some view change as a threat, others view it as an opportunity. Either way, the substantial impact of these changes on organizational behavior must be considered.

B. Four Themes Related to Change

The following chapter addresses four themes, or driving forces, behind change at work: globalization, technology, diversity, and ethics. Existing theories of motivation, leadership, and group behavior may need to be revised to account for changing demographics.

C. Customer-Focused for High Quality

Quality has become a ‘hot topic’ in organizations when discussing what will make the organization more competitive. Total quality management (TQM) is defined as complete dedication to continuous improvement so that the customers' needs are met and their expectations exceeded.

D. Behavior and Quality at Work

Much of the quality literature is connected with engineering and just-in-time management techniques. However, many studies have verified that total quality improvement is only successful when employees have the skills and authority to respond to customer needs. Consequently, this has direct effects on the behavior of employees. The U.S. has recognized the value of quality and the Department of Commerce sponsors the annual Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

E. Managing Organizational Behavior in Changing Times

Four things make the management of organizational behavior challenging: (1) increasing globalization of organizations' operating territory, (2) increasing diversity of organizational workforces, (3) continuing technological innovation and need for accompanying skill enhancement, and (4) continuing demand for higher levels of moral and ethical behavior at work.

V. LEARNING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Because organizational behavior is a combination of abstract ideas and science, it takes a multidimensional approach to learning. It necessitates a mastery of objective knowledge, which results from research and scholarly activity. In addition, it requires skill development to incorporate the knowledge into applications for individuals. Furthermore, it requires the integration of objective knowledge and skill development to apply them both appropriately in specific organizational settings.

A. Objective Knowledge

Objective knowledge is the cognitive mastery of theories, conceptual models, and research findings developed through basic and applied research. The objective knowledge in each chapter is reflected in the notes used to support the text material. Critical thinking, based on knowledge and understanding, facilitates questioning and responsible application of research.

B. Skill Development

Skill development is the practice of what is known to be successful in the workplace. The AACSB, the accrediting body for business schools, is endorsing the concept that skills can be taught, and that practice improves one's ability as a manager. According to the Department of Labor, skills essential for workplace success include resource management skills, information management skills, personal interaction skills, systems behavior and performance skills, and technology utilization skills. Skill development, as an active component of the learning process, includes the following:

• each student must accept responsibility for his or her own behavior, actions, and learning;

• each student must actively participate in the individual or group structured learning activity; and

• each student must be open to new information, new skills, new ideas, and experimentation.

C. Application of Knowledge and Skills

Experiential learning provides students with the opportunity to practice new approaches of interaction and skills in the safe environment of the classroom, as opposed to a work setting with much more serious consequences. Training enables the learner to use knowledge or skills in specific applications. However, knowing the correct application to a problem setting is not the same as being able to apply the skills necessary to solve the problem. In contrast, the education of experiential learning increases the wealth of knowledge and skills from which the learner can draw in a variety of applications and problem-solving situations.

VI. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

VII. LOOKING BACK: A “Green” Business in More Ways than One

CHAPTER SUMMARY

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR IS INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR AND GROUP DYNAMICS IN ORGANIZATIONS.

The disciplines of psychology, sociology, engineering, anthropology, management, and medicine have contributed to the discipline of organizational behavior.

Organizations are open systems composed of people, structure, and technology committed to a task.

Organizations have formal and informal elements within them.

Manufacturing organizations, service organizations, privately owned companies, and nonprofit organizations all contribute to our national well-being.

The changes and challenges facing managers are driven by international competition and customer demands.

Learning about organizational behavior requires a mastery of objective knowledge and specific skill development.

REVIEW QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. DEFINE ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR. WHAT IS ITS FOCUS?

Organizational behavior is the study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizational settings. Organizational behavior research and theories are developed for applications in nonprofit as well as for-profit organizations.

2. Identify six disciplines relevant to the development of organizational behavior. How does each contribute?

Psychology - Contributes to understanding motivation, teamwork, power, leadership, training and development, and human resource planning.

Sociology - Contributes to understanding group dynamics, roles, norms, and standards of behavior.

Engineering - Contributes to understanding work design, human productivity and efficiency. Anthropology - Contributes to understanding patterns of behavior, organizational culture and organization performance.

Management - Emphasizes design, implementation and management of administrative and organizational systems. First discipline to use organization as unit of analysis.

Medicine - Embraces concerns for physical and psychological health of individuals in organizations.

3. What is an organization? What are its four system components? Give an example of each.

An organization is a system of people and technology designed to accomplish a goal. The four components that make up the systems framework are tasks (e.g., mission/purpose), people (e.g., employees), technology (e.g., tools and knowledge), and structure (e.g., work design, organizational design).

4. Briefly describe the elements of the formal and informal organization. Give examples of

each.

Formal elements of an organization include those that are officially recognized and have legitimacy such as job descriptions and policy manuals. Informal elements are unofficial aspects of the organization such as values, attitudes, and group norms.

5. Discuss the six focus organizations used in this book.

Brinker International – A multiconcept casual dining restaurant company with a focus on achievement and concern for the human side of life.

Enron – Commodities provider with over $101 billion in revenues. Named most innovative company in America since mid-1990s.

Harley-Davidson – Manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles with over $3 billion in net sales and membership of over 600,000 in Harley Owners Group® company sponsored motorcycle club.

Hewlett-Packard – Leader in technology and human resource management practices, with over 88,500 employees. First company to formalize telecommuting policies for its employees.

Patagonia – Privately held outdoor sports product manufacturing and sales firm. Environmentally conscious, having donated over $15 million to date to environmental concerns.

American Heart Association – Not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing disability and death from cardiovascular diseases, with over 4.2 million volunteers. $1.5 billion contributed to heart and blood vessel research since 1949.

6. Describe how competition and total quality are affecting organizational behavior. Why is managing organizational behavior in changing times challenging?

Dramatic increases in competition since World War II have resulted in the need for organizations to respond by increasing their focus on quality. This emphasis on quality not only reduces error rates in production, but also creates a ripple effect on motivation, leadership, followership, and other aspects of performance in organizations. One of the major outcomes of the quality focus is the emphasis on service provided by organizations.

DISCUSSION and communication QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. HOW DO THE FORMAL ASPECTS OF YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT AFFECT YOU? WHAT INFORMAL ASPECTS OF YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT ARE IMPORTANT?

Students without work experience may prefer to examine the university for formal and informal environment factors. The formal aspects of the university environment could include the university bulletin, specific requirements for graduation, and enrollment procedures. Informal aspects of the university environment could include the power that the student association has on campus, the norms of dress, and relationships between students and faculty.

2. What is the biggest competitive challenge or change facing the businesses in your industry today? Will that be different in the next five years?

Students without work experience may wish to consider the university setting to consider competitive challenges. This list may have items like tuition, work versus advanced education, job opportunities, or the status of similar universities.

Students with work experience may cite the need to change careers as a reason for returning to complete their undergraduate degrees. This exemplifies the competitiveness of all environments and shows how rapidly individuals must change to remain competitive. Many students returning to school may have considerable experience in a field that is "downsizing".

All businesses face issues regarding increased competition, locally, nationally, and internationally. Most organizations are dealing with potential ramifications of NAFTA agreements, for example, as well as changes in the concepts of loyalty and long-term commitments.

As we continue to solidify the change from a manufacturing society to an information society, the next five years will see the workforce continue to vary, with greater variety in jobs and careers than in any previous generation.

3. Describe the next chief executive of your company and what she or he must do to succeed.

Students may prefer to discuss the university president or dean of the college if they do not have work experience.

One of the discussions that could follow might correlate with current terminology that has become popular, such as visionary leaders, empowered workforces, and teamwork. Successful leaders will also need to recognize and understand the impacts of global competition and economic changes, the need to focus on quality, the importance of a diverse workforce, and the challenge of managing change.

4. Discuss two ways people learn about organizational behavior.

Learning about organizational behavior requires mastery of objective knowledge, which results from research and scholarly activities. Objective knowledge can be learned through training. In addition, it requires skill development and the mastery of abilities that are essential to successful function in organizations. Skill development is best accomplished through experiential learning.

It may be important to point out that taking one approach exclusively is only half a solution to a problem solving technique.

5. Which of the focus companies is your own company most like? Do you work for one of these focus companies? Which company would you most like to work for?

Few students will have work experience with the focus companies. Students who have experience, if they are still employed, may have a tendency to exaggerate their understanding of the company, and are probably very positive.

Students with work experience will probably identify the type of service or product that is provided early in the textbook overview of the companies.

Students may show their inclination for large or small organizations in their answers regarding the company for which they would prefer working. Additionally, they may show an inclination for the major they have selected and what they foresee the company doing with this functional area in their future.

6. Prepare a memo about an organizational change occurring where you work or in your college or university. Write a 100-word description of the change and, using Figure 1.1, identify how it is affecting the people, structure, task, and/or technology of the organization.

This is a good opportunity for students to practice writing in a concise, to the point, style. Be sure that students consider different aspects of people, structure, task, and technology as they develop the memo.

7. Develop an oral presentation about the changes and challenges facing your college or university based on an interview with a faculty member or administrator. Be prepared to describe the changes and challenges. Are these good or bad changes? Why?

Use this as an opportunity to work on oral presentation skills as well as to learn more about changes and challenges facing organizations. Encourage students to give each other feedback on the presentation itself as well as the content of the presentation. Compare and contrast the views of faculty and administrators. Discuss why similarities and differences exist in each group’s view of changes and challenges.

8. Prepare a brief description of a service or manufacturing company, entrepreneurial venture, or nonprofit organization of your choice. Go to the library and read about the organization from several sources, then use these multiple sources to write your description.

Discuss in class the similarities and differences students found between different service, manufacturing, entrepreneurial, or nonprofit organizations.

ETHICS QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. SUPPOSE TWO PEOPLE AT WORK HAVE A PERSONAL, INFORMAL RELATIONSHIP UNRELATED TO THE FORMAL STRUCTURE. FURTHER ASSUME THEIR RELATIONSHIP COULD AFFECT PEOPLE IN THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION. AS AN AWARE EMPLOYEE, SHOULD YOU TELL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNAWARE OF IT AND MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE RELATIONSHIP?

The most direct, positive approach would be to discuss the situation with the two individuals involved. Most individuals are aware of the potential ramifications of a relationship at work. Many organizations have policies about dating co-workers, or even dating professionals from competing organizations. Ask students if they believe this is an invasion of privacy. What do they perceive as the differences between dating peers, superiors, or subordinates in the organization?

2. Which disciplines are important in understanding moral and ethical issues for organizations and management?

Many disciplines have contributed to the understanding of ethical issues. Specifically, philosophy has provided the basic premises on ethical stands. Psychology, sociology, and anthropology bring a societal view of what is accepted within a culture. Religion provides a framework for morals within a value or belief system.

3. Suppose you would be able to beat the competition if you presented a prospective customer with negative information about the competition's quality program. Should you provide the information? Further assume that the information relates to safety. Would that make a difference in whether you told the customer?

The primary message in this question is for the students to begin developing their value perspectives on what is "fair" competition. To keep the discussion moving, it may be beneficial for students to tie their opinions to an example. Students will rapidly fall into pro or con categories that might be helpful to list on the board. This is also a good opening project for students to debate their views. They might benefit by having a devil's advocate join their group to argue the opposing position.

4. What are the most sensitive ethical issues in your business, industry, or organization today?

This will vary sometimes depending on the degree of work experience available in the class. It is interesting to divide the class into problems they see as "real experience problems" versus those that are picked up in the popular press.

A good approach to discussing issues can be generated by mentioning films such as The Firm, Trading Places, Glengary GlenRose, and Wall Street. Some of the issues that might be listed are computer espionage, industrial spying, theft, and environmental concerns.

CHALLENGES

1 ANALYZE YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF A CHANGE

Discuss how students’ perceptions of change will affect them, given the rapidly changing nature of the business environment they will enter after graduation.

1.2 LEARNING STYLE INVENTORY

Discuss how the variety of methods used to stimulate learning of course material (e.g., lectures, video presentations, case analyses, role-plays, and other experiential exercises) may facilitate learning for individuals with different learning styles.

EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES

1.1 WHAT’S CHANGING AT WORK?

This exercise enlightens students about the changes occurring in organizations. Encourage teams to question each other about the legitimacy of the changes identified. A debate could be set up to generate discussion about whether specific changes are good or bad. Students should consider both the good and the bad impacts of a particular change.

1.2 My Absolute Worst Job

Purpose: To become acquainted with fellow classmates.

Group size: Any number of groups of two.

Occasionally a student will reveal proprietary information about a company. It might be wise to preface the discussion by suggesting that students describe the type of job, rather than mentioning the name of the company.

There are many humorous and bonding examples that have come from this exercise. You might want to tell the students that there have been a variety of answers. Two of the more extreme were:

(1) Digging cemetery plots in August in St. Louis. (No explanation was needed why this was not a "good" job.)

(2) On the committee for a state's inaugural ball, where the governor did not show up until 2:00 a.m.

These are good examples to illustrate that stress is related to behavior and organizational factors, not just the type of job that an individual fulfills.

Students may also benefit from a discussion of elitism during the de-briefing of this exercise.

Students need to be reminded that although they personally may not want to work at McDonald's as a career, there are people who plan on making that organization their career.

We need to understand why other people may find what we think of as a "worst job," their ideal job.

Students may see some positions as "inherently worst jobs." Be sure to clarify that some individuals may take positions to fulfill financial obligations, and find their personal fulfillment through other means. The fact that they do not wish to "self-actualize" at work does not necessarily mean that they are not productive, valuable organizational members.

Recall that not all students will have work experience. It has been my experience that a large number of international students have little work experience because they go directly from secondary schools to college. You may need to make some allowances for these students so they do not feel like they are "in the wrong class because they are inexperienced." They could contribute by mentioning a job they would least like to do and why they would not want to have this position.

ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE

This exercise will give you an opportunity to discuss the elements of a quality learning environment. The basic question your group will need to answer first is whether good education provides a service or produces a product.

Creating a Quality Learning Environment

The exercise will give you the opportunity to discuss the elements of a quality learning environment. The basic question your group will need to answer first is whether good education provides a service or produces a product. Once you have made that decision, you will be able to address the questions in Step 2 of the exercise.

Step 1. The class will form into groups of approximately six members. Each group elects a spokesperson and answers the following question: Does education provide a service or produce a product? The spokesperson should be prepared to explain the group’s answer to this basic question during the cross-team exchange.

Step 2. Each group is to generate answers to the following questions. The group should spend approximately five minutes on each question and make sure that each person has made a contribution to the group’s response. The spokesperson for each group should be ready to share the group’s collective responses to those three questions.

a. What are the important characteristics of a high-quality learning environment? Members should focus on the physical, social, and psychological characteristics of the environment, as well as on behaviors of the students and instructor.

b. What format results in the best learning? For example, should lectures, debates, discussion, role-playing, and group activities be included? If so, in what proportions?

c. What problems or obstacles have you encountered previously to a high-quality learning environment? These may be related to the subject matter, evaluation processes, workload expectations, or other aspects of the classroom environment.

Step 3. Each group will share the results of its answers to the questions in Steps 1 and 2. Cross-team questions and discussion will follow.

Step 4. Your instructor may allow for a few minutes at the end of the class period to answer questions about his or her thoughts about the course or professional background and experience. Be prepared to ask questions at this time.

EXTRA EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES

The following alternative exercises to supplement the material in the textbook can be obtained from:

Marcic, Dorothy, Seltzer, Joseph, & Vaill, Peter. Organizational Behavior: Experiences and Cases, 6th Ed. South Western College Publishing Company, 2001.

Assumptions About People and Organizations. p. 1-4. Time: 25-50 minutes

Purpose: To develop awareness about organizational behavior issues.

What Does Learning Really Mean? p. 43-44.

Time: 45-60 minutes.

Purpose: To increase students’ awareness of the process of learning about human

behavior.

CASE QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS

ServiceMaster’s View About the Purpose of a Business

1. From your perspective, what role(s) should business play in the contemporary world?

Multiple perspectives exist concerning the possible roles that businesses can assume. Among these perspectives are the following:

A business is a producer of goods and/or a provider of services.

A business is an economic organization that generates profits and creates wealth.

A business is an economic organization that provides employment opportunities.

A business is an economic organization that is responsible primarily, if not solely, to shareholders.

A business is an organization with multiple responsibilities and multiple constituencies.

A business is an instrument of social change.

The students should identify both the roles they think are legitimate for businesses to pursue and the roles they think are not legitimate. They should examine their reasons for these judgments. Also, the students should consider whether the appropriateness of these roles might vary depending on the type of business (e.g., an automobile manufacturer versus a book or magazine publisher versus a pharmaceutical company, and so forth). The short-term and long-term implications of each perspective should be explored as well.

Discussion of this question could also be approached from a stakeholder viewpoint. Students could look through the lens of different stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, the community, etc.) and then discuss how each stakeholder would view the different roles of business.

2. What implications do ServiceMaster’s vision, mission, and four objectives have for the attitudes and job behavior of their employees?

ServiceMaster’s vision is: “To be an ever expanding and vital market vehicle for use by God to work in the lives of people as they serve and contribute to others.” Its mission statement is: “To create and build value for Shareholders, Customers, and Employees by providing a wide range of services to homes, institutions, business, and industry, both domestically and internationally within the framework of our values.” ServiceMaster’s objectives, beginning with the top priority, are:

To honor God in all we do.

To help people develop.

To pursue excellence.

To grow profitably.

The reference to God in both the vision statement and the first objective provides clear, if not compelling, direction for employees with regard to attitudes and behavior. This faith-oriented value is also reinforced with the mission statement’s emphasis on the company’s values. In addition, both the order of the objectives and their content have powerful implications for employees’ attitudes and work behavior.

The vision, mission, and objectives help to foster and reinforce employee attitudes that focus on valuing people and encouraging respect and dignity for everyone. Attitudes that support fair and just treatment are encouraged as well. Employees also would be expected to behave in ways that are consistent with these attitudes.

Putting people before profits communicates the worth of employees to the organization. Putting employees first reflects the realization that people are assets who have a significant effect on the corporate bottom line.

3. Would you like to work for a company like ServiceMaster? Why or why not?

This question provides an opportunity for students to examine their personal values regarding the type of organization for which they would like to work.

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