UNIT -1 NOTES

Organisational behaviour is the study of individual and group behaviour in the workplace and their impact
on productivity and profitability.
In simple words, organisational behaviour:
 Studies individual and group human behaviour: Organisational behaviour closely analyses the
personal characteristics, education history, economic and cultural background etc., of an
individual to determine their behaviour in specific situations. It aims to get a grasp of the
intellectual and emotional quotient of people to understand their reactions.
 Studies the behaviour within an organisation: Organisational behaviour studies how
employees interact with each other while working and how people’s attributes influence their
work environment behaviour within an organisation. It digs deeper into an individual’s social
position and monitors their behavioural patterns while working with a group of people.
 Studies human behaviour’s impact on productivity and productivity: Organisational
behaviour studies the impact of personality traits, culture, education, background, etc., of the
organisation’s employees on the productivity of the organisation. It also studies how
organisations influence behavioural patterns of employees to bring about a change in people’s
attitudes, values, and behaviours for an increase in organisational productivity.
 In words of K Aswathappa, “OB is the study of human behaviour in organisational setting, of the
interface between human behaviour and organisation and of the organisation itself.”

 In words of Stephen P. Robbins, “OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups and structures have on behaviour within organisations for the purpose of
applying such knowledge towards improving an organisation’s effectiveness.”

 According to L. M. Prasad, “Organisational behaviour can be defined as the study and application
of knowledge about human behaviour related to other elements of an organisation such as
structure, technology and social systems.”

 According to Davis and Newstram, “Organisational behaviour is the study and application of
knowledge about how people act within organisations.”

According to Fred Luthans, “Behaviour is directly concerned with the understanding, prediction and
control of human behaviour in organisations.”

In words of John Newstram and Keith Devis, “Organisational behaviour is the study and application of
knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within organisations. It strives to identify
ways in which people can act more effectively.”

OB is the study of individual behaviour in isolation, when in group and as a part of an organisation. The
study of individual behaviour only, would be incomplete because behaviour is affected by the people
surrounding us as well as by the organisation, in which we work. Studying only individuals or only
organisations would be of no use. It is essential to study both simultaneously.
Personality, perception, learning, attitude, family background, training, motivation, job satisfaction,
performance appraisal, leadership effectiveness, norms, values and ethics are the factors which affect the
individual behaviour. Group dynamics, communication, organisational environment, individual and
organisational culture affect group behaviour. Organisational structure, power & politics, status, relation
with juniors & seniors, conflicts and culture affect the individual behaviour in the organisation.
The Three Levels Of Organisational Behaviour
OB focuses on studying three key levels of human behaviour within an organisation. These levels are:
 Individual Level: This level of organisational behaviour focuses on studying employees’ values,
attitudes, perceptions and personal traits to determine their behavioural patterns in the workplace.
Human psychology forms the basis of individual-level analysis.
 Group Level: The group-level or team-level analysis studies the behaviour of employees while
working in groups. Factors like communication, leadership, initiative, group dynamics, conflicts,
power etc., are studied at this level. It determines how people individually and collectively
interact in a group. Sociology and social psychology form the basis of team-level analysis.
 Organisation-level: This level deals with analysing the organisational structure, culture and
climate within an organisation. It studies how organisations differ based on their organisational
structure, work environment, human resource policies etc. Sociology and political science form
the basis of organisation system-level analysis.

Nature of Organisational Behaviour - OB

Nature of ob - organisational behaviour is explained as follows: Nature of organizational behaviour

The following points explain the nature of organisational behaviour in detail:
1) Fundamental Part of Management:
Organisational behaviour is a scientific study of how people behave in an organization and helps in
improving the focus of management on employees and setting provisions for them.

2) Multi-Disciplinary Approach:
Organisational behaviour has a psychological foundation and several behavioural and social sciences such
as psychology, sociology, and anthropology affect its functioning. Various concepts taken from these
behavioural and social sciences include learning, perception, motivation, attitude, etc.

3) Normative Science:
Organisational behaviour is considered a normative science because it helps in applying the results of
different studies in the working of the organization in such a way that it is compatible with society.
Hence, individual and social acceptance is also a key factor in the working and decision-making of an
organization.

4) Science and Art:

Organisational behaviour is considered a science as well as an art. Science because it involves the use of
scientific methods and art because it deals with the behaviour of individuals.
Organisational behaviour, OB is both a science as well as an art. The knowledge about human behaviour
proves it a science while application of this knowledge and skill clearly leads towards beings an art.

5) Optimistic and Humanistic Approach:

Organisational behaviour teaches managers to apply a humanistic approach toward the employees. It
focuses on the fact that it is very important to meet the need of employees and motivate them. It also
inculcates a positive work approach by stressing the inborn qualities like being independent, innovative,
predictive, and capable of giving positive input to the organization.

6) Focused on Organisational Objectives:

Organisational behaviour helps to combine both organizational and individual objectives in such a way
that both can be achieved at the same time.

7) Total System Approach:

Certain factors such as psychological structure, interpersonal orientation, group influence, and social and
personal factors are responsible for the complexity of an individual's behaviour. Thus, organizational
behaviour uses a systematic approach to understanding and finding solutions for complex individual
behaviour.

8) Action and Goal-oriented discipline:

Organisational behaviour, OB is an action-oriented and goal-directed discipline. The major goal of OB &
Nature of organisation is to explain and predict human behaviour in an organisational context, so that it
may be moulded to result-yielding situations. It provides rational thinking, not an emotional feeling about
people and their behaviour.

9) Social Science:
Organisational behaviour, OB is a social science because its main subject matter is people and their
behaviour. It is an elective field of study that integrates behavioural science like psychology, sociology,
anthropology, etc.

10) Integrating approach:

Organisational behaviour, OB is of integrating character. It seeks to balance human and technical values
at work. It tries to develop a new socio-technical system where human dignity may be preserved with
growth and development.
11) An Inexact Science:
Organisational behaviour, OB is an inexact science. It cannot provide specific answers to specific
organisational problems. The exact prediction of the behaviour of people in organisations is also not
possible. "It is possible to predict relationships between variables on a broad scale but it is difficult to
apply predictive models on an individual basis."
12) A Dynamic discipline:
Organisational behaviour is a very dynamic discipline. Its main focus is on human behaviour but does not
ignore the technical component of the organisations at all. It fully appreciates and recognizes the
constraints of the working environment.

13) Organisational behaviour - OB exists at multiple levels: Organisational behaviour, OB has a three-
tier system. It deals with individual behaviour, group behaviour, and organisational behaviour as a whole.
All these three levels interact with each other and OB tries to assimilate them for good results.

Characteristics of Organizational Behaviour OB

The characteristics of organisational behaviour are:

Characteristics of OB:

(a) It has assumed the status of a different field of study. It is a part of general management. It represents
the practical approach to management.

(b) It has a body of theory, research, and application related to the growing concern for people in the
workplace. Its study helps to understand human behaviour.
c) Study of organization principles and research experiences facilitate managers to think creatively to
solve human problems in organizations.

(d) This discipline is heavily influenced by many other behavioural sciences and social sciences like
psychology, sociology, and anthropology. As a distinct field of study, it tries to integrate different aspects
and levels of behaviour.

(e) It provides rational thinking about people. It focuses on three levels of behaviour. They are individual
behaviour, group behaviour, and organizational behaviour.
(f) It is mainly concerned with the behaviour of the people in the organizational setting. This can be
considered human behaviour in the workplace.

(g) Organizational behaviour seeks to satisfy both employee needs and organizational objectives. The
people of the organization fulfil their needs through organizational activities and the responsibility of the
organization is to provide the behavioural climate in the organization.
 The aim is to maintain a balance between human and technological values at work by combining
productivity with employee satisfaction.

(h) Organizational behaviour has a psychological foundation. Concepts like learning, perception, attitude,
motivation, personality ethics, etc. have been borrowed from psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
 It is an electric field of study that integrates the knowledge of behavioural science.

(i) Organizational behaviour is an art as well as a science. It is considered a science as it contains

knowledge about the behaviour of the people in the organization.
 It is an art because it involves the applications of science. In short, it is an inexact science and a
developing field of study.

(j) Organizational behaviour is dynamic rather than static. Every change in the social system is reflected
in the organizational behaviour through changes in the behaviour of the individuals.
(k) It tries to reduce wasteful activities through economic and psychological means and thus increase the
effectiveness of the people and the organisation.

Limitations of Organizational Behaviour OB

Limitation of organisational behaviour: There are many limitations of organizational behaviour.
Organisational Behaviour is a new and developing field of study which plays an active role in solving
human problems. By using this knowledge, the manager fulfils human needs as well as achieves
organizational goals and increases organizational effectiveness. This subject is full of limitations, the
main reason for which is the man and his dynamic behaviour.

Human behaviour is governed by thoughts and feelings and is largely dependent on circumstances.
Therefore, it is very difficult to understand, predict and control it in reality. Frustration, discontent, and
industrial conflicts cannot be completely resolved by this. This ideology is based on limited research
work and evidence. Therefore, it may not help achieve desired results in all situations, although
organizational behaviour has become a widely accepted subject and the approach still has some
limitations of ob.

Limitations of organisational behaviour are as follows:-

1. Emphasis on principles, not practice - Organizational behaviour is mostly a theoretical subject, it does
not lay much emphasis on improving behaviour.
2. Descriptive only, not prescriptive – Organizational behaviour is the only descriptive subject. It does not
offer any solutions, commands, or instructions for problem-solving, it is limited to the disclosure of
problems.

3. No improvement in industrial relations - Organizational behaviour has not been successful in

preventing industrial disputes, conflicts, and production block activities in the subject organization.
Despite implementing the procedures of organizational behaviour, there has been no reduction in
incidents like strikes, lockouts, and sabotage, in the institutions.

4. Dual Personality - The only dual character has been created in organizational behaviour management.
Managers talk only about ideals in the name of change or development, but their own behaviour is
double. They emphasize bringing changes in the behaviour and attitudes of the employees without
changing themselves. Managers give the status of servants to the employees and behave inhumanly. All
this reveals his dual personality.

5. Prejudice – There is a possibility of favouritism with some individuals in organizational behaviour.

Those who do not get justice, they remain dissatisfied. They do not take any interest in performing tasks
and discharging responsibilities.

Features of Organizational Behaviour

Features of Organisational Behaviour are explained as follows -

To better understand organizational behaviour, we are discussing its main features:-

1. Field of Study - Organizational behaviour is a field of study. This is a fairly new field but it is a
different subject of study. It is not yet a complete and valid science. Its knowledge has not yet been
organised and its principles, and concepts have been taken from other subjects.

2. Subject matter of study - Some special aspects are studied in organizational behaviour, which the
following are the main ones -

 Single person

 Group of persons
  Structure
 Technique
 Environment etc.

3. Optimism - The fundamental concept of organizational behaviour is centred on optimism. A basic

belief in the study and implementation of organizational behaviour is that every individual has infinite
potential and he is creative, productive, self-sufficient, and has a sense of cooperation in the organization.

4. Study of Employment Behavior - Organizational Behavior studies environment behaviour related to

employment. It studies the aspects related to employees' work, turnover, attendance, leadership,
productivity, communication system, group relationships, work stress, etc.

5. Applied Science - Organizational behaviour is an applied science. Its scientific base is being
strengthened by studies, research, and conceptual developments accomplished in its field. Research is
being done continuously about employee personality, values, perception, attitudes, motivation,
satisfaction, and other aspects of human behaviour.

6. Related to the environment - Organizational behaviour stresses understanding human behaviour by

studying the external and internal environment of the organization. Individual and group behaviour of a
person is influenced by the policies, environment, mutual thoughts as well as external conditions and
values of the organization.
7. Objectives - Organizational behaviour focuses on the study of individuals and groups, but its main
purpose is to cooperate in the fulfilment of the goals of the organization. It tries to merge the interests of
the "people" and the "organization" by taking a coordinated approach.

8. Art and Science - Organizational behaviour tries to find a definite relationship between the causes and
consequences of the behaviour of people. For this, it uses techniques, principles, and logic. In this way, it
embraces a scientific approach to behaviour.

9. Not Universal - The study of organizational behaviour can be universal, but the information or
knowledge obtained from it cannot be applied universally. The main reason for this is that human
behaviour is not the same in all organizations.

10. Systems Approach – Organizational behaviour adopts the systems approach as it considers each and
every factor affecting the functioning of the organization. It analyzes behaviour in terms of social,
psychological, and cultural factors.
11. Relevance Principal - Efforts are made to develop relevance-oriented managerial behaviour in the
organization. Through this study, an attempt is made to develop managerial behaviour according to the
possibilities and behaviour of the people. This maintains coordination between the behaviour and
managerial skills of the individuals.
12. HR Approach - Organizational behaviour embraces the HR approach. That is, it believes in the
development, good performance and growth of the employees.

13. Interdisciplinary - Organizational behaviour is an interdisciplinary study. The principles of

sociology, psychology, and anthropology are used in its study. Subjects like political science, economics,
history, etc. are also assumed to help in its study. Organisational behaviour can be studied and
implemented only by coordinating the knowledge, principles, and behaviour of all these subjects.

Five Models of Organisational Behaviour

The five models of organisational behaviour are the:
 autocratic model,
 custodial model,
 supportive model,
 collegial model and
 system model.
Autocratic model
Autocratic model is the model that depends upon strength, power and formal authority.
In an autocratic organisation, the people (management/owners) who manage the tasks in an organisation
have formal authority for controlling the employees who work under them. These lower-level employees
have little control over the work function. Their ideas and innovations are not generally welcomed, as the
key decisions are made at the top management level.
The guiding principle behind this model is that management/owners have enormous business expertise,
and the average employee has relatively low levels of skill and needs to be fully directed and guided. This
type of autocratic management system was common in factories in the industrial revolution era.
One of the more significant problems associated with the autocratic model is that the management team is
required to micromanage the staff – where they have to watch all the details and make every single
decision. Clearly, in a more modern-day organisation, where highly paid specialists are employed an
autocratic system becomes impractical and highly inefficient.
The autocratic model is also a detractor to job satisfaction and employee morale. This is because
employees do not feel valued and part of the overall team. This leads to a low-level of work performance.
While the autocratic model might be appropriate for some very automated factory situations, it has
become outdated for most modern-day organisations.
Custodial model
The custodial model is based around the concept of providing economic security for employees – through
wages and other benefits – that will create employee loyalty and motivation.
In some countries, many professional companies provide health benefits, corporate cars, financial
packaging of salary, and so on – these are incentives designed to attract and retain quality staff.
The underlying theory for the organisation is that they will have a greater skilled workforce, more
motivated employees, and have a competitive advantage through employee knowledge and expertise.
One of the downsides with the custodial model is that it also attracts and retains low performance staff as
well. Or perhaps even deliver a lower level of motivation from some staff who feel that they are “trapped”
in an organisation because the benefits are too good to leave.
Supportive model
Unlike the two earlier approaches, the supportive model is focused around aspiring leadership.
It is not based upon control and authority (the autocratic model) or upon incentives (the custodial model),
but instead tries to motivate staff through the manager-employee relationship and how employees are
treated on a day-to-day basis.
Quite opposite to the autocratic model, this approach states that employees are self-motivated and have
value and insight to contribute to the organisation, beyond just their day-to-day role.
The intent of this model is to motivate employees through a positive workplace where their ideas are
encouraged and often adapted. Therefore, the employees have some form of “buy-in” to the organisation
and its direction.
Collegial model
The collegial model is based around teamwork – everybody working as colleagues (hence the name of the
model).
The overall environment and corporate culture need to be aligned to this model, where everybody is
actively participating – is not about status and job titles – everybody is encouraged to work together to
build a better organisation.
The role of the manager is to foster this teamwork and create positive and energetic workplaces. In much
regard, the manager can be considered to be the “coach” of the team. And as coach, the goal is to make
the team perform well overall, rather than focus on their own performance, or the performance of key
individuals.
The collegial model is quite effective in organisations that need to find new approaches – marketing
teams, research and development, technology/software – indeed anywhere the competitive landscape is
constantly changing and ideas and innovation are key competitive success factors.
System model
The final organisational model is referred to as the system model.
This is the most contemporary model of the five models discussed in this article. In the system model, the
organisation looks at the overall structure and team environment, and considers that individuals have
different goals, talents and potential.
The intent of the system model is to try and balance the goals of the individual with the goals of the
organisation.
Individuals obviously want good remuneration, job security, but also want to work in a positive work
environment where the organisation adds value to the community and/or its customers.
The system of model should be an overall partnership of managers and employees with a common goal,
and where everybody feels that they have a stake in the organisation.

Contributing Disciplines to Organisational behavior - OB

Organisational Behaviour is an applied behavioral science based on contributions from numerous

behavioral disciplines.
These contributing disciplines to organisational behaviour - ob are described as follows:
Disciplines of OB:
Psychology
Medicine
Sociology
Social psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
Industrial Engineering
Economics

Figure: Contributing disciplines of organisational behaviour

Disciplines contributing to organisational behaviour are given below:

1) Psychology

Psychology is a behavioral science that studies the behavior of human beings in specific conditions and
predicts how the individual will react in such conditions. Psychology with its various studies and theories
has brought about an immense difference in human behavior.

Theories related to leadership, motivation, individual decision making, attitude, ego state, learning,
personality, performance appraisal, job satisfaction, training and development, work design, job stress,
and conflict resolution have been taken from psychology itself. If used efficiently these theories can bring
about changes in the attitude of employees and inculcate a positive approach towards the organization.
Several psychological tests are also undertaken on the prospective employees during the hiring process
which helps the managers to understand the employee's thought process and attitude in a better manner.
Apart from this, certain other aspects of human personality can also be measured with the help of this
science.

The major contribution of psychology in the field of Organizational Behavior OB have been concerned
are given below:
1. Learning
2. Personality
3. Perception
4. Individual decision-making
5. Job satisfaction
6. Motivation
7. Attitude measurement
8. Performance appraisal
9. Work design
10. Work strain
11. Emotions
12. Employee selected

2) Medicine

Medicine is an application of science that is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases so
that the health of an individual can be improved. It includes healing of both physical as well as
psychological diseases of the person. It observes an individual's behaviour and lifestyle patterns while
devising a strategy for the treatment of chronic diseases. This has led to the development of wellness
programs from the perspective of commercial medicine and these programs have led to a more intense
focus on employee health in the organization.

3) Sociology

Sociology is a social science that examines the influence of culture on groups and helps managers to
understand group dynamics, communication, customs, position,
authority, group processes, conflict resolution, formal organization theory, and group decision-making.
It is the study of social institutions, society, and social relationships. The main contributions of sociology
to the field of organisational behaviour are as follows:
Conflict
Intergroup behaviour
Formal organizational theory
Organizational change
Organizational culture
Organizational technology
Group dynamics
Power
Communication

4) Social Psychology

Organisations are a group of people with designated jobs and play an important role in developing human
behavior. Social psychology is a combination of psychology and sociology. It has helped in managing
changes, decision-making, communicating, and developing skills to sustain social norms.

The major contributions of social psychology to organisational behaviour OB are as follows:

Group process
Attitude change
Group decision making
Communication
Behaviour change

5) Anthropology

This field of applied science studies human behavior in several cultures and environments to understand
the differences between them. The study gained importance with the rise of globalization and merger and
acquisitions of many companies on a global level. At the beginning of 21" century people from different
countries and different backgrounds started working together under one roof. It is the manager's
responsibility to handle and control people from different ethnicities and guide their efforts in the
direction suitable for the growth of the organization.

Organizational behaviour teaches about the attitudes and transactions occurring in various cultures.
Environmental studies under anthropology help in understanding human behavior across cultures and
mergers and acquisitions become easier.

It is the study of society to learn about human beings and their activities. The major contributions of
Anthropology in the field of organisational behaviour are as follows:
Comparative values
Organization culture
Comparative attitudes
Organization environment
Cross-culture analysis

6) Political Science

A stable government helps businesses to grow internationally. A stable government at the national level
promotes international business, financial investments, expansion, and employment. Rules and
regulations formed by the government deeply influence the functioning and decision making of
organizations.

It is the study of the behaviour of people and groups within a political environment.

The main contribution of political science in the field of organisational behaviour has been concerned
with:
1. Conflict
2. Power
3. Intra-organizational policies

7) Industrial Engineering

Engineering deals with the study of energy and matter and helps in understanding job design. In the early
years of studying organizational behavior, Fredrick Taylor took basic engineering ideas and applied
them to human behavior at work. Since Fredrick was from an engineering background, hence he gave
special emphasis to human productivity and efficiency in work behavior. He provided OB with the
concept of performance standards i.e., a piece-rate system which was a huge contributor to the growth of
organizations.
8) Economics

Organisational climate is affected by the economic environment as well. Economic factors such as labour
market dynamics, cost-benefit analysis, marginal utility analysis, human resource planning, forecasting,
and decision-making also influence organizational behavior.
Determinants of Organisational Behaviour - OB

Key elements of organisational behaviour are shown in the figure below:

Determinants of organisational behaviour are as follows:

Organizational behavior determinants are:

 People
 Structure
 Technology
 Environment

1) People

The internal social system of an organization is made up of the people who work in it. This comprises
individuals, large/small groups, and informal/formal groups. It is the organization that exists to serve its
people and not vice versa. Today's organizations have changed and have become more diverse than
before. Present-day employees come up with a broad range of talents, educational backgrounds, and
perspectives. Hence, managers are required to transform themselves with the workforce to attain
maximum efficiency.
2) Structure

Relationships and roles of people in the organization are defined by structure. People working in an
organization perform different roles and have different relationships with each other. Division of work is
done based on the capabilities and designation of the employees so that organizational goals are met
efficiently. These may be managers, supervisors, clerks, etc. working in one direction to achieve the
organizational goals in an organized manner. Authority-responsibility relationships are the essence of
structure.

3) Technology

Technology plays a vital role in modern organizations. It empowers people for their work and also
influences their activities. Since work cannot be done with empty hands i.e., without equipment, hence
organizations use technology to build buildings, design machines, develop work processes and collect
resources. Technology in turn helps people to perform better. But technology has some side effects like it
is costly and limits people in certain ways i.e., it makes them dependent on machines. So, technology has
both pros and cons.

4) Environment

Operations of all organizations take place under internal and external environments. An organization is a
small part of a large system that contains elements such as government, family, and other organizations.
Changes in the external environment affect individual organizations such as schools or factories. It also
affects working conditions and people's behavior and provides struggle for resources and power. Thus,
organizations should adopt it while studying human behavior.

Challenges and Opportunities of Organizational Behavior (OB)

Organizational behavior (OB) simply is understanding the behavior of people in the workplace. It is OB
that helps managers to predict, understand, and control employees’ behavior within the workplace.
However, applying practices of organizational behavior the manager is not far from its emerging
challenges.
Due to the unpredictable and ever-growing changes in management practices, today managers are
knowingly or unknowingly facing behavioral challenges and issues in their organizations. These concerns
made them how to embrace these challenges and grab positive aspects from them.
These concerns have both challenges and opportunities for the managers and here we discuss how
organizational behavior offers to solve them.
Globalization
Globalization is the economic integration of a country’s economy at the global level. Globalization
assumes all businesses operate in a single place i.e. global village.
Globalization has enabled the availability of all types and all countries’ products in a single place.
Availability of international products in the domestic market and expansion of domestic products at the
international level has achieved through globalization.
Globalization has both challenges and opportunities for organizational behavior. Challenges such as it
have negatively impacted the market of local business, difficult for managers to cope with international
norms, values, and cultures, ever-growing competition, advancement of technology, etc.
It also provides opportunities such as a domestic product getting international customers, a place in the
international market, extended market, revenue, new investment opportunities, and better career
perspectives.
Managing Workforce Diversity
Workforce diversity means differences in people working in the organization such as in terms of age,
race, culture, gender, values, education, geography, income, and so forth. It is obvious that an
organization consists of diverse groups of people having different backgrounds.
The differences in people should be taken into consideration by the managers. The managers should
understand the backgrounds of their employees, plan accordingly, and develop teamwork and harmony in
the organization.
If done so, workforce diversity provides benefits such as group work, mutual understanding among
employees, increased creativity, productivity, and proper use of different talents. If not done so, inter-
personal conflicts, dissatisfaction, and turnover go on increasing.
Quality and Productivity
Quality is having a degree of excellence as compared to others and productivity means producing
maximum out of minimum input and cost.
Due to globalization, the demand of customers is ever-changing, they do not demand only
products/services rather they demand quality products/services.
Thus it is a growing concern for managers to give quality services/prodcuts and motivate employees so
that productivity can be achieved from employee’s best (100%) contribution.
Increasing quality and productivity in an organization helps managers to gain customers who last longer,
create a brand, a unique position in the market, and ignoring it organizations lose customers’ interest.
Improving Employees Skills
Today one thing is clear today’s business world is not the same as it was. Most businesses have moved to
the service and knowledge base sector and uncertainties are ever-increasing.
Changes in management practices, increasing competition, teamwork, decentralization, and quality
awareness have demanded a high level of skills and knowledge.
Thus managers are forced to improve their employee’s skills. For this, managers must train and re-
educate employees, less skilled employees must be trained, and skilled employees also should be trained
to be even better and adaptable. Managers should be responsive to employees’ skills and make them able
to compete with competitors.
Empowerment of Employees
“Give a person a fish, and you feed that person for a day, Teach a person to fish, and you feed that person
for life.” This line best describes the importance of empowering employees.
Today managers are not just managers they are leaders, coaches, and advisors to make employees
compete and satisfy them. Giving required decision-making powers and freedom to lower levels make
them discharge duties based on their competency.
Self-managed teamwork, self-appraisal, job enrichment, etc. are effective means a manager can empower
employees. It makes managers loose duties and employees get opportunities to apply their knowledge and
learn how to take responsibility and make the right decisions based on situations.
By doing so managers’ workloads are reduced and employees get freedom, feel motivated and discharge
duties as they want.
Managing Organizational Change
Change is important but not easy.
Today organizations are forced to change, and the unchanged organization does not seem to have
progress. Due to rapid change in environmental variables organization needs to assume change, change in
structure, change in culture, re-organization departments, underperforming units, and so on.
The study of organizational behavior helps to effectively cope with such challenges such as it helps to
understanding the cause and effect of change, how to react and initiate change, how to cope with change,
how to reduce resistance to change in the workplace, etc.
Moreover, managers and employees should be always prepared to adapt to change and thrive in such
environments.
Maintain Ethical Behavior
Ethics means knowing what is right and what is wrong. A manager should maintain and improve the
ethical behavior of employees.
The manager should ensure that employees are positive about the organization’s rules, regulations, and
policies. If not, he should find the causes and develops rules that best with employees’ ethics and the
organization’s ethics.
Since organizational ethics are different in different organizations, a manager must consider making
policies acceptable to employees. This increases satisfaction among employees and later improves
productivity.
During the work time employees may get into some dilemmas where they might not be able to
differentiate what is wrong and what is right, at this time manager’s prime duty is to get rid of such
dilemmas. Misuse of power and insider practices should be avoided in organizational settings.
In addition, managers should organize various workshops, seminars & training programs so that the
ethical behavior of employees will be maintained and improved.
The Emergence of Information Technology
The stake of information technology growing day by day for OB. The evolution of IT has moved OB’s
practice from manual to automatic, now different information is handled by computers, customers
services improved, digitalization is achieved, customers are getting information in real-time, and so on.
Now the manager’s task is to train employees on how to best use information technologies such as
computers and get productivity and customer satisfaction.