OB-MOD-1
“OB is a branch of social science that attempts to
build theories, concepts and models so that we can
understand, predict and control human behavior in
an organization ”
Raman J. Aldag.
Scope of OB
Personality
Attitude
Motivation Individual Level
Learning
Perception
Group
Team Group Level
Power
Leadership
Communication
Organizational Culture Organizational Level
Organizational Development
Importance of OB
It builds better relationship by achieving people’s, organizational, and
social objectives.
It covers a wide array of human resource like behavior, training and
development, change management, leadership, teams etc.
It brings coordination which is the essence of management.
It improves goodwill of the organization.
It helps to achieve objectives quickly.
It makes optimum utilization of resources.
It facilitates motivation.
It leads to higher efficiency.
It improves relations in the organization.
It is multidisciplinary, in the sense that applies different techniques,
methods, and theories to evaluate the performances.
5 Contributing Disciplines to the Organization Behavior Field
Psychology.
Sociology
Economics.
Anthropology.
Political Sciences.
MODELS of OB
Limitations of OB
Organizational behavior is a subject that helps and individual to understand human behavior only
in the worth of place, he/she may be a failure in personal life.
Due to organizational behavior employees are always under presser and are stressful due to
constant observations.
The dual personality of managers are often bewildering (confused).
Organizational behavior is selfish and exploitative.
Because of organizational behavior expect quick fix solution for the problems
The behavior of an employee changes according to organizational growth and economic
condition
Organizational behavior will not totally removed conflicts fluctuation it can only reduce them
Organizational behavior will not solve the problem of unemployment
Historical Development of OB
Scientific Management (F.W.Taylor, 1911)
The four principles of Taylor’s scientific management:
Carefully study the jobs to develop standard work practices.
Standardize the tools used by workers.
Select each worker scientifically
.Management and workers cooperate to ensure that work is done according to standard procedures.
Management plans and makes task assignments; workers carry out assigned task.
Administrative Theory (H.Fayol, 1919)
Division of Work
Authority and Responsibility
Discipline
Unity of Command
Unity of Direction
Subordination of Individual Interest
Remuneration
The Degree of Centralization
Scalar Chain
Order
Equity
Stability of Tenure of Personnel
Initiative
Esprit de Corps
Hawthorne Studies
The Hawthorne studies were conducted on workers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company by
Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger in the 1920s. The Hawthorne studies were part of a refocus on managerial
strategy incorporating the socio-psychological aspects of human behavior in organizations.
Some of the major phases of Hawthorne experiments are as follows: 1. Illumination Experiments 2. Relay
Assembly Test Room Experiments 3. Mass Interviewing Programme 4. Bank Wiring Observation Room
Experiment.
Illumination Experiments:
Illumination experiments were undertaken to find out how varying levels of illumination (amount of light at the
workplace, a physical factor) affected the productivity. The hypothesis was that with higher illumination,
productivity will increase
Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments:
Relay assembly test room experiments were designed to determine the effect of changes in various job conditions
on group productivity as the illumination experiments could not establish relationship between intensity of
illumination and production
Mass Interviewing Programme:
During the course of experiments, about 20,000 interviews were conducted between 1928 and 1930 to determine
employees’ attitudes towards company, supervision, insurance plans, promotion and wages.
Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment:
These experiments were conducted to find out the impact of small groups on the individuals.
The following were the main conclusions drawn by Prof. Mayo on the basis of Hawthorne studies:
Social Unit
Group Influence
Group Behavior
Motivation
Supervision
Working Conditions
Employee Morale
Communication
Balanced Approach
Frameworks of OB
Cognitive Framework
Cognition can be simply defined as the act of knowing an item of information. In
cognitive framework, cognitions precede behavior and constitute input into the person’s
thinking, perception, problem solving, and information processing.
Behavioristic Framework
Behavior could be best understood in terms of stimulus and response (S-R). Learning
occurred when the S-R connection was made.
Social Cognitive Framework
Social learning theory takes the position that behavior can best be explained in terms of
a continuous reciprocal interaction among cognitive, behavioral, and environmental
determinants.
