ORGANISATION
BEHAVIOUR
(UNIT-1)
Dr. Fehmina Khalique
Introduction, nature and scope of OB,
Challenges and opportunities for OB,
Organization Goals, Models of OB.
ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR - MEANING
OB is the study and application of knowledge
about how people, individuals, and groups act in
organizations.
It interprets people-organization relationships in
terms of the whole person, whole group, whole
organization, and whole social system.
Its purpose is to build better relationships by
achieving human objectives, organizational
objectives, and social objectives.
OB-Concept and Definition
According to Aldag and Brief OB is defined as:
“Is
a branch of the social sciences that seeks to build theories that
can be applied to predicting, understanding and controlling
behaviour in work organizations’.
According to Callahan, Fleenor and Kudson OB is:
“OrganizationalBehaviour is a subset of management activities
concerned with understanding, predicting and influencing individual
behaviour in organizational settings”.
According to above definitions ingredients of OB are same, that is:
Studying, understanding and controlling human behaviour
The study is about behaviour in organizations
It studies human behaviour at individual level, group level and
organizational level.
Knowledge about human behaviour would be useful in improving
an organization’s effectiveness.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATION
BEHAVIOUR
People: People make up the internal social
system of the organization. They consist of
individuals and groups who perform various
activities in the organizations.
Structure: Structure defines the official
relationships of people in the organization.
Jobs and Tasks: Job refers to the sum total
of an individual’s assignment at the
workplace. Tasks refer to the various
activities that need to be performed to get
the job done.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATION
BEHAVIOUR
Technology: Organizations have
technologies for transforming inputs into
outputs.
Environment: All organizations operate
within an external environment. A single
organization does not exist alone. It is
affected by political, economic , social,
political environment.
Nature and Scope of OB
1. A field of Study and not a Discipline- OB can be treated as a distinct field of study and not a
discipline or even emerging discipline.
OB, because of its broad base, recent emergence and interdisciplinary orientation, is not
accepted as science.
2. Interdisciplinary Approach- OB is basically an interdisciplinary approach.
An interdisciplinary approach integrates the relevant knowledge drawn from different disciplines
like psychology, sociology and anthropology.
3. An Applied Science- The basic objective of OB is to make application of various researches to
solve the organizational problems particularly related to human behaviour aspect.
4. Humanistic and Optimistic-
OB focuses the attention on people from humanistic point of view.
It is based on the belief that needs and motivation of people are of high concern.
5. Oriented towards Organizational Objective-
OB, being an applied science and emphasising human aspect of the organization, is oriented towards
organizational objectives.
6. A total Systems Approach-
The systems approach is an integrative approach which takes into account all the variables affecting
organizational functioning.
FIELDS CONTRIBUTING TO OB
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology deals with studying the human
behavior that seeks to measure, explain and
sometimes change the behavior of humans.
Learning
Personality
Perception
Motivation
SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is the study of social systems in which
the individuals fill their roles.
Group behavior
Group dynamics
Organizational culture
Organizational theory and structure
Power
Conflict
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
It has been defined as the scientific investigation of
how the thoughts, feelings and behavior of
individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined
or implied presence of others,
Persuasion
Influence
Stereotype
Inter-group behavior
Decision making
ANTHROPOLOGY
The main aim of anthropology is to acquire a
better understanding of the relationship between
the human being and the environment.
Culture
Values
Attitudes
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political scientist study the behavior of individuals
and groups within a political environment.
Conflict and conflict resolution tactics
Allocation of power
ECONOMICS
Market conditions
Transaction costs
Uncertainity
Opportunity etc
Importance of OB
It helps an individual understand oneself. It
is a systematic study of the actions and
attitudes that people exhibit within
organisation.
It helps managers in getting the work done
through effective ways.
It helps to develop work-related behaviour
and job satisfaction.
It helps in building motivating climate
It helps in building cordial industrial
relations.
Importance of OB
It helps in predicting behaviour and applying it in some
meaningful way to make organisations more effective.
It implies effective management of human resources.
Self development
Personality development
Development of human values and ethical perspective
Managing stress and achieving mental hygiene
Creative use of emotions
Creating learning individual and learning organisation
IMPORTANCE OF OB
Leadership
Motivation and morale
Job satisfaction
Effective communication
Interpersonal effectiveness including
persuasion, coaching, counselling, mentoring,
goal setting, decision making, politicking,
negotiation, conflict handling.
Team building
Models of OB
The five models of organisational
behaviour are the:
• autocratic model,
• custodial model,
• supportive model,
• collegial model and
• system model.
Autocratic model
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 system was common in factories
in the industrial revolution era.
One of the problems with the autocratic model
is that the management team is required to
micromanage the staff.
The autocratic model is also a detractor to job
satisfaction and employee morale.
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.
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.
One of the downsides with the custodial model is
that it also attracts and retains low performance
staff as well.
Supportive model
Itis 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.
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
Thecollegial model is based around teamwork
– everybody working as colleagues.
Therole 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.
Thecollegial model is quite effective in
organisations that need to find new
approaches – marketing teams, research and
development, technology/software
System model
Theintent of the system model is to try and
balance the goals of the individual with the
goals of the organisation.
Individualsobviously 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.
Thesystem 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.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
1. Responding to economic pressures
Deep and prolonged recession in 2008
that spread worldwide
In difficult economic times, effective
management is an asset. During these
times, the difference between good and
bad management can be the difference
between profit and loss.
In good times, understanding how to
reward, satisfy, and retain employees is
at a premium. In bad times, issues like
stress, decision making, and coping
come to the fore.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
2. Responding to globalization
Increased foreign assignments
Organizations are no longer constrained by national
borders.
Once you’re in another country, you’ll have to manage a
workforce very differently in needs, aspirations, and
attitudes from those you are used to back home.
Working with people from different cultures
Even in your own country, you’ll find yourself working with
bosses, peers, and other employees born and raised in
different cultures.
Management practices need to be modified to reflect the
values of the different countries in which an organization
operates.
Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor
Managers are under pressure to keep costs down to
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
3. Managing workforce diversity
Workforce diversity is one of the most important and broad-
based challenges currently facing organizations.
While globalization focuses on differences between
people from different countries, workforce diversity
addresses differences among people within given
countries.
Workforce diversity acknowledges a workforce of
women and men; many racial and ethnic groups;
individuals with a variety of physical or psychological
abilities; and people who differ in age and sexual
orientation.
Managing this diversity is a global concern.
Three demographic forces will shape India’s labor force
in this decade: more women in the workforce,
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
4. Improving customer service
Today the majority of employees in developed
countries work in service jobs.
The service industry in India contributed 54.6
per cent of the country’s GDP and employed 34
per cent of the labor force in 2009.
Examples of people in the service industry
include technical support reps, fast food counter
workers, waiters, nurses, financial planners, and
flight attendants.
Employee attitudes and behavior are associated
with customer satisfaction.
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
5. Improving people skills
People skills are essential to managerial effectiveness.
OB provides the concepts and theories that allow
managers to predict employee behavior in given
situations.
6. Stimulating innovation and change
Successfulorganizations must foster innovation and
master the art of change.
Employees can be the impetus for innovation and
change or a major stumbling block.
Managers must stimulate employees’ creativity and
tolerance for change.
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
7. Coping with “temporariness”. Organizations must be flexible
and fast in order to survive. In such a scenario:
Jobs must be continually redesigned.
Tasks are being done by flexible work teams rather
than individuals.
Companies rely more on temporary workers.
Workers need to update knowledge and skills.
Work groups and organizations are in a continuing
state of flux.
Managers and employees must learn to cope with
temporariness.
Learning to live with flexibility, spontaneity, and
unpredictability has become part of one’s job.
OB provides help in understanding a work world of
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
8. Working in networked organizations
Networked organizations are becoming more pronounced.
Manager’s job is fundamentally different in networked organizations.
Challenges of motivating and leading “online” require different
techniques.
9. Helping employees balance work-life conflicts
The creation of the global workforce means work no longer sleeps.
Workers are on-call 24-hours a day or working nontraditional shifts.
Communication technology has provided a vehicle for working at any time
or any place.
Employees are working longer hours per week— India ranks among the
hardest working nations globally with an average workweek of 50 hours.
The lifestyles of families have changed—creating conflict: more dual-
career couples and single parents find it hard to fulfill commitments to
home, children, spouse, parents, and friends.
Balancing work and life demands now surpasses job security as an
employee priority.
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
10. Creating a positive work environment
Organizations like the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services realized
that creating a positive work environment could be a competitive
advantage.
Positive organizational scholarship or behavior studies what is ‘good’
about organizations.
This field of study focuses on employees’ strengths versus their
limitations as employees share situations in which they performed at
their personal best.
11. Improving ethical behavior
Ethical dilemmas are situations in which an individual is required to
define right and wrong conduct.
Good ethical behavior is not so easily defined.
Organizations are distributing codes of ethics to guide employees
through ethical dilemmas.
Managers need to create an ethically healthy climate.
THANK YOU
