Stéphanie MITRANO-MÉDA
Organisational Behaviour
week 4: organisational environment

The Organisation :
an open system

The organisation in its environment
just like a living organism

Quality of water Fishing Regulations
other fishes PREDATORS
Food symbiosis

The organisation is an open system
inputs
value-added

The organisation is an open system
outputs

The organisation is an open system
cycle

Resource dependence

Some causes of resource dependence
The possession
of a resource
by one firm

Some causes of resource dependence
The importance
of a resource

Some causes of resource dependence
The
inability to obtain
a resource elsewhere

Stakeholders &
environmental forces

A stakeholder
Any person or organization,
who can be positively or negatively
impacted by, or cause an...
impact
... on the actions of a company,
government, or organization.

Employees
Stakeholders Managers
Owners
regulators Internal
stakeholders
External
stakeholders
Suppliers Organisation customers
competitors society

The forms of
environmental forces

Uncertainty
Lack of information in the
organisation about its environment.
Missing data

Complexity
Large
number
of cues

Instability
High rate
of change

Generosity,
helpfulness &
leniency
fice nce
Bene

Managing
environmental dependence

Anticipation
Scanning
the
environment

Anticipation
Forecasting

Negotiation
lobbying

Negotiation
Interlocking directorates

Negotiation
Public
Relations

Control
Contracts

Control
Joint
Ventures

Control
Buffer
s

Next week’s individual assignment subject
➊ Perceptions, attitudes &
➎
Conflicts in organisations
personality
hand in week 7
hand in week 3
➋ Individual & group ➏
decision making & ethics Learning and motivation
hand in week 8
hand in week 4
➌ Organisational ➐ Power, politics &
environment influence
hand in week 5 hand in week 9
➍ Organisational structure
➑ Leadership
hand in week 6 hand in week 10

Suggestions for individual assignment
Read chapter 13 in SNN.
• Choose an organisation (Euromed, a sports
club, or firm you know etc.) and write about
its environmental forces with references to
the course.
or
• Do the Closing Case in chapter 13
(p394-395).

Next week’s group assignment subject
➊ Individual & group
➍
decision making & ethics Conflicts in organisations
present in week 7
present in week 4
➋ Organisational ➎
environment Learning and motivation
present in week 5 present in week 8
➌
Organisational structure
➏ Power, politics &
influence
present in week 6
present in week 9
2 groups to present each week

Suggestions for group assignment
Read chapter 13 in SNN.
• Role play to illustrate the resource
dependency of an organisation.
or
• Present an analysis of an
organisation’s environmental
forces and potential strategies
to deal with them.

further
reading
about Chapter 13
today’s
lecture

Chapter 14
preparng
for
next week
Chapter 21