Published by: Prastu Regmi
Published date: 23 Jul 2024
Organizational Behavior has included two terms in it:
Organization: (Relate to work) It is a group of people who are collected to work for a common goal with collective efforts. Organization works through two concepts i.e. coordination and delegation among its group members.
Behavior: ( Way of Action) It is a verbal or physical response shown by a person as a consequence of the impact of his/her surroundings.
Organizational Behavior:
According to Luthans, “OB can be defined as the understanding, predicting, and managing human behavior in an organization."
According to McShane and Glinow, “OB is the study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations.”
In this category, there are four basic assumptions:
a. Individual difference
Individuals differ in physical characteristics intelligence, ability, attitudes, personality, skills, and so on. Managers need to consider these differences because they affect the job behavior of employees. Therefore every person should be selected, trained, and treated based on what kind of person he is.
b. A whole person
This concept signifies that the behavior of a person at work can’t be in isolation. When an employee comes to the workstation as a complete person he/she has his/her background, sentiments, emotions, feelings, etc. Therefore, managers need to help the all-round development of the man rather than a particular aspect of a person.
c. Caused behavior (motivation)
People’s behavior is caused by needs that can be directed and controlled to get desired results. Therefore, managers need to motivate employees and determine what managerial action satisfies human needs and what actions threaten their need fulfillment.
d. Value of the person (human dignity)
This concept tells that a person should be treated differently as compared to other resources in the organization. People's feelings, aspirations/desires, sentiments, skills, etc should be recognized in the organizations. People should be treated with respect, dignity, and equity.
This category contains two basic assumptions about organizations:
a. Social System
A social system coordinates the activity of its members for the achievement of common goals. Within a formal social system, there also exists an informal social system. Every sub-system influences other sub-systems and is influenced by every other part, the organization is dynamic.
b. Mutual Interest
This concept is represented by the statement that “organizations need people and people also need organizations”. Employees need organization as a means to achieve their goals and organizations need people to achieve organizational goals. The interests of both parties must be protected. Both organizations and people benefit from their association.
1. Psychology
Psychology studies the behavior of different people in various conditions such as normal, abnormal, social, industrial legal, childhood, adolescence, old age, etc. It also studies processes of human behavior, such as learning, motivation, perception, individual and group decision-making, patterns of influences change in organization, group process, satisfaction, communication, selection, and training. The major contributions of psychology in the field of OB (Organizational Behavior) have been concerned with are following:
2. Social Psychology
Social psychology analyzes the behavior at the group level. It has made a remarkable contribution in the areas of measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes, communication patterns, group decision-making processes, etc. useful in the areas of measuring and understanding changing attitudes; communication patterns; how group activities can satisfy individual needs, and group decision-making processes. The major contributions of social psychology to OB are as follows:
3. Sociology
It studies people about their fellow human beings. It has generalized human nature, social interaction, culture, and social organizations. It is the study of society, social institutions, and social relationships. It can be described as an academic discipline that utilizes the scientific method to accumulate knowledge about a person’s social behavior. The main contributions of sociology to the field of OB are as follows:
4. Anthropology
It examines all the behaviors of man that have been learned, including all the social, technical, and family behaviors that are a part of the broad concept of culture. It analyses the behavior of people at group and organizational levels. It is the study of society to learn about human beings and their activities. The major contributions of Anthropology in the field of OB are as follows:
OB is an exciting and complex field of study. The specific concepts and topics that constitute the field can be divided into three specific levels.
These three levels are:
1. Individual level:
At the individual level, organizational behavior involves the study of learning, perception, creativity, motivation, personality, turnover, task performance, cooperative behavior, deviant behavior, ethics, and cognition.
2. Group or interpersonal level
At the group level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of group dynamics, intra- and inters group conflict and cohesion, leadership, power, norms, interpersonal communication, networks, and roles.
3. Organizational level
Structural dimensions such as distribution of authority and power, communication, and organizational culture provide perspective for understanding the nature of OB. Independent variables such as organization structure, organization design, organizational culture, and organizational change and development will have a great impact on the work behavior(the dependent variables) of employees working in an organization.
1. Inputs
Inputs are the variables that lead to processes.
Individual inputs: Variables like diversity, personality, and values are the factors in individual inputs.
Group level inputs: Group structure, group roles, and team responsibilities.
Organization-level inputs: Organizational structure and culture are the components of organizational-level inputs in the OB system.
2. Processes
Processes are the actions that individuals, groups, and organizations take to transform inputs into outputs.
Individual level process: It includes emotions and moods, motivation, perception, and decision-making.
Group-level processes: These include communication, leadership, power and politics, conflict, and negotiation.
Organization-level processes: It include the entire human resource management and change management practices to motivate and direct human behavior for organizational change, effectiveness, and performance.
3. Outcomes
The outcomes of the OB system are the results desired to be achieved in the organization.
Individual level outcomes: Individual level outcomes of the OB system are individual attitudes, job stress, task performance, citizenship behavior, and withdrawal behavior.
Group level outcomes: Group level outcomes comprise group cohesion. functionality and team performance.
Organization level outcomes: As a whole in organizational outcomes productivity, organizational profitability, and effectiveness.