Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to discretionary behaviors by employees that are not required but promote effective functioning, such as going above and beyond formal job duties. Noble's study found a relationship between OCB and education level but not gender or field of study. Kernodle's study found relationships between OCB and leader-member exchange as well as union commitment and employee performance. OCB is relevant for organizations, managers, educators and understanding workplace behaviors.

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR (OCB)Deborah Noble, D.B.ATom Kernodle, Ph.D.

2. What is OCB?Individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and promotes the effective functioning of the organizationBehavior in which the employee goes beyond the call of dutyBehavior in which the employee goes beyond the boundaries of their formal job description

3. Citizenship in OrganizationsAs organizations face the business trends and challenges of the workplace of the new century, as well as the need for continuous innovation and acclimation to the effects of leaner workforces, team members are more likely to start displaying more “Good Soldier,” or “Extra-role” behaviors. Employees who go beyond the “call of duty” or “boundaries of their formal job descriptions” are engaging in a relatively new type of organizational behavior known as Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). This concept, developed by contemporary management researchers and writers, is used to describe the expectations of positive initiative on the part of workers to facilitate production (Hodson, 2001). Borman and Motowidlo (1997) propose that contextual activities such as volunteering to carry out task activities that are not formally part of the job as well as helping and cooperating with others in the organization to get tasks done, will become more and more important in organizations.

4. Citizenship in OrganizationsSince Dennis Organ coined the term, “Organizational Citizenship Behavior,” in 1983 (Smith, Organ & Near, 1983), the concept has been an important topic of inquiry in business research. While several studies have linked OCB to individual success in organizational settings, the concept has been largely ignored in business education. OCB is very relevant to the theme of this AAOS conference in that it is largely about connections, commitment and the responsibilities that we have to our organization, customers, society and the world. The exercises presented in this workshop will encourage the participants to deeply explore their workplace citizenship behavior in terms of :Altruism Courtesy Sportsmanship Civic Virtue Conscientiousness

5. Dimensions-AltruismAltruism includes all discretionary behaviors that have the effect of helping a specific other person with an organizationally relevant task or problem.

6. Dimensions-CourtesyCourtesy is the discretionary enactment of thoughtful and considerate behaviors that prevents work-related problems for others.It includes such actions as “touching base” with those parties whose work would be affected by one’s decisions or commitments.

7. Dimensions-Civic VirtueCivic virtue is the responsible participation in the political life of the organization. It captures the voluntary participation in, and support of, organizational functions of both a professional and social nature and in general, looking out for the organization’s best interests.

8. Dimensions-SportsmanshipThis factor consists almost entirely of negatively worded items - that is, some actions that people refrain from doing. Those participants who demonstrate sportsmanship avoid complaining, petty grievances, railing against real or imagined slights, and making federal cases out of small potatoes.

9. Dimensions-ConscientiousnessThis factor seems to capture the various instances in which organization members carry out certain role behaviors well beyond the minimum required levels.

10. NOBLE STUDYMeasured the relationship between each OCB dimension and:Education LevelField of StudyGender

11. NOBLE FINDINGSThere is no significant relationship between Field of Study and OCB DimensionsThere is no significant relationship between Gender and OCB Dimensions

12. NOBLE FINDINGS (con’t)There is a significant relationship between OCB and Level of EducationIndividuals with Doctorate degrees scored higher than those with lesser degreesIndividuals without college degrees scored higher than those with Master’s or Undergraduate degrees

13. KERNODLE STUDYMeasured the relationship between: Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and each OCB dimensionUnion Commitment and each OCB dimensionEach OCB dimension and Employee Performance

14. KERNODLE FINDINGSThere is a significant positive relationship between Leader-Member Exchange and OCB DimensionsThe better the relationship between a manager/supervisor and the employee, the more likely the employee will be to exhibit OCBsThe poorer the relationship, the less likely the employee will be to exhibit OCBs

15. KERNODLE FINDINGS (con’t)There is a significant negative relationship between Union Commitment and OCBThe more committed an employee is to his/her labor union, the less likely he/she will be to exhibit OCBsThe less committed an employee is to his/her labor union, the more likely he/she will be to exhibit OCBs

16. KERNODLE FINDINGS (con’t)There is a significant positive relationship between OCB dimensions and Employee PerformanceThe more likely an employee is to exhibit OCBs, the higher performance the employee will haveThe less likely an employee is to exhibit OCBs, the lower performance the employee will have

17. WHO CARES?Organizations – They can get more productivity out of their employees by fostering a different type of work environmentManagers – Can focus on building stronger relationships with their employeesEducators – Can incorporate OCB skills as part of student development

18. REFERENCESBorman, W. C. & Motowidlo, S. J. (1997). Task performance and contextual performance: The meaning for personnel selection research. In W. C. Borman & S. J. Motowidlo (Series Eds.) & J. Hogan (Vol. Ed.), Human performance: Vol. 10. Organizational citizenship behavior and contextual performance (2nd ed., pp. 99-109). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Hodson, R. (2001). Dignity at work. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: Good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books D. C. Heath and Company.Organ, D. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & Mackenzie, S. B. (2005). Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: Its Nature, Antecedents, and Consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Smith, C.A., D.W. Organ, & Near, J. P. (1983). Organizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68(4), 653-663.