Organizational Behavior: Leadership, Decision Making, and Innovation

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of organizational behavior, focusing on leadership theories, decision-making processes, and innovation. It summarizes three articles that highlight various aspects of organizational behavior, including the impact of transformational and transactional leadership on innovative behavior, the techniques for effective group decision-making, and the evolution of leadership theories in applied psychology. The analysis delves into the arguments presented by the authors, counterarguments, and individual viewpoints, culminating in recommendations for managers to implement organizational behavior principles effectively. The essay emphasizes the importance of group decision-making, transformational leadership, and psychological empowerment in fostering a positive and productive organizational environment, noting the evolution of these concepts and their impact on organizational success. The essay concludes by advocating for organizations to adopt strategies that promote employee engagement, adaptability, and effective leadership to achieve optimal results.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Introduction
Organizational behavior (OB) is a concept that involves the ways by which people within
an organization interact with each other. OB is studied by almost every organization in the
contemporary world to gain an advantage over other companies. A study on the ways individuals
behave in an organization influences many aspects of that organization including motivation,
leadership, performance, structure of the job and communication amongst others. In this
assignment, three different articles on organizational behavior shall be discussed that highlight
various aspects of it.
The assignment will first provide a detailed summary of the articles chosen followed by
focusing on the key ideas mentioned. The next section will encompass the analysis of the three
articles. The analysis shall include the arguments presented by the authors in the article followed
by counter arguments from other authors and individual viewpoint as well. In the succeeding
sections, recommendations for managers in an organization on the ways to implement OB will
be given. The articles chosen for the said assignment include Transformational and
Transactional Leadership and Innovative Behavior: The moderating role of psychological
empowerment by Pieterse et al. (2010). The second article is titled Decision Making in
Organizations by Lunenburg (2011) and the third article is by Lord et al. (2017) titled
Leadership in Applied Psychology: Three Waves of Theory and Research.
Summary of the articles
The first article that is authored by Pieterse et al. (2014) focuses on innovative behavior
in an organization and the role of psychological empowerment in ensuring innovative behavior.
The article talks about the two styles of leadership – transformational and transactional – that are

2ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
influenced by innovative behavior implementations. The authors included the findings of a study
conducted by them to estimate the influence of innovative behavior on the two leadership styles.
The study revealed that transformational leadership demonstrates a positive connection with
innovative behavior whereas transactional leadership shows a negative relationship (Lunenburg,
2011). They also note that transformational leadership demonstrates positive relationship only in
circumstances when psychological empowerment is on the higher side. Transactional leadership
on the other hand, demonstrates negativity when the same conditions are applied to it. Concept
of innovative behavior refers to a multi-stage process of identifying issues, generating ideas and
implementing those with support. The article clearly connects the two concepts of leadership and
innovative behavior. It states that transformational leadership is entirely based on creating
innovative things and hence innovating behavior would have positive impact on it. The authors
found that innovative behavior is damaging to transactional leadership because the followers
with a higher rate of psychological empowerment start to feel controlled and dominated (Pieterse
et al., 2010)
The second article authored by Fred Lunenburg has as its focus, the decision-making
process within organizations (Lunenburg, 2011). The author presents certain techniques with
which organizations could counter the dysfunctions that arise from decision-making within
groups. Lunenburg mentions the techniques such as brainstorming, Delphi technique, devil’s
advocacy, nominal group technique and dialectical inquiry. At the beginning, the author provides
systematic explanation of all the terms especially the key theoretical concept, which is decision-
making. According to the author, group decision-making means the involvement of all members
in the process of making decisions for the organization (Lunenburg, 2011). The author then
makes the readers aware of the various degrees at which decision-making takes place. The first

3ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
degree is the consultative decision making where the leader consults with the group prior to
making any decision. The second degree is the democratic decision-making where the group is
entrusted with the authority to make the decision. The final one is the consensus decision-making
where the leader shares the issues with the entire group and they make the decision
collaboratively. In the later parts of the article, the author elaborates on the types of techniques to
deal with dysfunctions that sometimes arise in an organization (Lunenburg, 2011).
The third article is centered on the topic of leadership and the theories and researches that
were carried out throughout the decade. The chief concept of this article is leadership and its
consequent researches in applied psychology. The authors mention the three waves of research
and theory that was entirely dedicated to leadership (Lord et al., 2017). The first wave, according
to the authors, commenced during the post Second World Era and continued until 1961. This era
witnessed scholars producing works that highlighted the role of leadership in different fields. The
second wave that roughly began during the late 1960s and continued until the late 1980s saw
scholars shifting their focus to gender roles in leadership. This gave rise to the social cognitive
theories. Finally, the third wave – from 1999 to 2007 – witnessed the introduction of concepts
like leadership styles, LMX, teamwork and leadership and so on. To the authors, it is fascinating
to witness the future direction of leadership and organizational behavior and the impact it will
have on organizations. The article mainly aimed at analyzing the studies that were done on
leadership from the perspective of psychology (Lord et al., 2017).
Article analysis
The articles that have been identified will be analyzed in this section of the paper. This
analysis is very much helpful for determining the essential things in the organizational decision

4ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
making and the culture that the organizations should follow. It is a very important issue that the
important decisions in the modern day organizations are not taken by a single person or the
leader. Rather these decisions are taken by the teams and the core committees for the benefits of
the organization. Most of the organizational managers have identified that the decision making
process is one of the most difficult processes in the organizations. It is very clear from the
perspective of the managers that all the employees should be able to communicate through all the
departments and they should contribute their opinions in all the relevant decision making
processes.
One of the most important terms used in this article named Decision Making in
Organizations is group decision making (Lunenburg, 2011). The employees should get divided
in several groups and they should take the decisions jointly. The skills should be developed
among the employees so they make a thorough analysis of all the issues about the internal and
external environments. This will be very effective for them to consult with the other members of
the group. The group decision making is surely very much efficient than the individual decision
making process. It is because all the group members have proper knowledge about the ways the
final decisions can be taken (Lunenburg, 2011). This is why they look to focus on the various
issues and risks that are associated with the situations. The group can take the final decision after
evaluating certain issues. The final decision will be much effective if it comes from the group
decision making. All the group members will then agree to this decision. The cultural diversity is
considered to be one of the barriers for the group decision making in the organizations
(Lunenburg, 2011).
The second article here is the Leadership in Applied Psychology: Three Waves of Theory
and Research (Lord et al., 2017). The focus is on the various issues related to leadership around

5ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
the world. The traits of leadership depend on different issues. The impact of proper leadership is
multifarious across the organizations. The behavior of the leaders is very important for deciding
the ways the organizations should go (Lord et al., 2017). The psychology of the leaders will have
to be kept in mind because the leaders always tend to inspire the employees in the most ways.
The leaders will have to coordinate with the other employees so they can take the decisions
together. The role of the leaders is to inspire the employees and lead them to achieve the
organizational targets (Lord et al., 2017).
The employees should always work together and this should be very motivational. The
more the leaders will motivate the employees, the more they will contribute positively. The
leaders must follow the various leadership techniques so they can provide the motivation to the
employees. The employees in the organizations must have good interpersonal relationship. This
will lead to better understanding for the employees about their proper job roles and
responsibilities. The leaders are also responsible for developing the progressive personalities
among the employees (Lord et al., 2017). The three waves relating to leadership have been dealt
with in this section. These are leadership behavior and follower attitudes, extensions and
limitations of leadership style approaches and finally an expanding focus for leadership. The
important leadership theories have been discussed in this section. The successful leaders always
follow the transformational leadership. The leaders must show their charisma to transpire the
common knowledge of the employees. If the leaders can motivate the employees positively they
will give their best efforts to give the organization with the best productivity (Lord et al., 2017).
The transformational leaders always motivate and teach them the value of the social identities
within the society. One of the most noted theories in this context is the leader-member exchange
theory. This theory demonstrates the relationship between the leaders and members of the group

6ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
and how they exchange their ideas to get the best results for the organization and create a long
lasting impression on the minds of both.
The third article is the Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative
behavior: The moderating role of psychological empowerment (Pieterse et al., 2010). The
leadership psychology has been very important for the organizational leaders in the most ways. It
is the role of the leaders to motivate the employees through proper behavior. The employees
should be able to display an innovative behavior that will cater to the development of the
organization in the best ways (Pieterse et al., 2010) The business environment in the
contemporary times is continuously changing. This is why the global business leaders will have
to adjust to all these changes. This will be helpful for them to train the employees to adapt to
these changes. If the leaders are innovative, this will have a huge impact on the way the
employees will behave. The behavior of all of the employees is very much influential for the
success of the organization (Pieterse et al., 2010) The transformational leadership is one of the
most followed leadership styles in the globe. The leaders have to sacrifice the self-gain and act as
the role model for all the organizations. The employees look to innovate through the
transformational leadership of their managers. The transactional leadership reflects on the
individual development of the employees following the growth rate of the organizations.
However, the transactional leadership does not engage its ideas with the innovative behavior of
the employees rather it stresses on their self-interests.

7ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Recommendations
After analyzing the three articles, it is evident that group decision-making, transformational
leadership and leadership theories and research are important in organizational behavior
research.
 Managers should form groups within the organization that are given the responsibility to
make important decisions like promoting a service or product, recruiting and retaining
employees and so on.
 Organizations should conduct surveys of employees at regular intervals to identify the
limitations and work upon it.
 Further, it is also recommended that organizations should choose leaders that are capable
of adjusting to changing situations and motivating employees.
 Leaders should also realize the various potential of their subordinates and then utilize
those within specific areas to ensure maximum results.
Conclusion
With an analysis of the three articles, it can be stated that the common theme in all the
three was the evolution of organizational behavior and leadership theories. The articles provided
deep insights into the organizational elements that are key determinants of success. Another
thing to note in the three articles was the importance given to psychological effectiveness in
ensuring high level of proficiency within organizations. While the article authored by Pieterse et
al. (2010) and Lord et al. (2017) talked specifically about leaderships, role of psychology and the
findings of earlier researches on the topic, the article by Lunenburg (2011) majorly relied on
decision-making in organizations. The main aim of the essay was to analyze critically the

8ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
theoretical concepts present in all the three articles by comparing and contrasting those. The
essay provided a brief overview of the articles and then proceeded on to giving analyzing the
points mentioned. The points mentioned in the articles are very essential for modern leaders to
apply in their organizational functions to make it efficient. The recommendations provided in the
essay point to the agreement of the writer of the essay with the points elaborated in the articles. It
must be added that the essay has been limited to the evaluation of the three mentioned articles
and no further researches on what other scholars had to say about the concepts were performed.
Therefore, the essay does not claim to provide concrete evidence of the effectiveness of the
suggestions and recommendations provided by the authors of the three articles. Further research
in this area is suggested.
References
Lord, R. G., Day, D. V., Zaccaro, S. J., Avolio, B. J., & Eagly, A. H. (2017). Leadership in
applied psychology: Three waves of theory and research. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 102(3), 434.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Decision making in organizations. International journal of
management, business, and administration, 15(1), 1-9.

9ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Pieterse, A. N., Van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M., & Stam, D. (2010). Transformational and
transactional leadership and innovative behavior: The moderating role of psychological
empowerment. Journal of organizational behavior, 31(4), 609-623.