Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is a special
type of work behavior that is defined as an individual behavior
which is beneficial to the organization and is discretionary,
not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward
system. This behavior is rather a matter of personal choice,
such that its omission is not generally understood as punishable.
OCB is thought to have an important impact on the effectiveness
and efficiency of work teams and organizations, thereby
contributing to the overall productivity of the organization.
Over the years, the OCB has generated a considerable amount
of scholarly attention (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, and
Bachrach, 2000). The OCB has been defined as individual
behavior that promotes the goals of the organization by
contributing to its social and psychological environment
(Organ, 1997). It has been studied in a variety of domains
and disciplines such as human resources management, marketing,
economics, healthcare. This widespread interest in OCB primarily
stems from the fact that it leads to improved organizational
effectiveness (Podsakoff, Ahearne, and MacKenzie, 1997;
Podsakoff and MacKenzie, 1994).
Good organizational citizens work hard for their organization
and its mission. Bateman and Organ (1983) first used the
term "organizational citizenship" to define the
beneficial behavior of workers that was not prescribed but
occurred freely to help others achieve the task at hand.
We take the example of teachers for better understanding
of OCB. Teachers are professionals in the sense that they
study a relatively long time to master the fundamentals
of teaching (expertise) and their primary commitment is
to their students (service to clients). Teaching is a complex
activity that requires professional discretion.
Moreover, professional behavior cannot be readily reutilized
into a set of predetermined activities because complexity
is situational and requires judgment. Organizational citizenship
is a useful term to describe voluntary teacher behavior
that goes the `extra mile' to help students and colleagues
succeed.Many previous studies were performed in private sector
organizations where altruistic behavior towards co-workers
was not necessarily intertwined with behaviors that support
the organization and its mission. Teachers routinely perform
behaviors directed toward helping individuals, both students
and colleagues, as part of their professional identity (DiPaola
& Tschannen-Moran, 2001).
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