Organizational Behavior
Unit 1
Lecture 1: Introduction to OB
“People are an organization’s most important assets!”
• The case of Malden Mills Ltd., Massachusetts, USA
• The message is loud and clear:
“If you act ethically and treat people well , you can expect them to
treat you well in return”
• Success in any work setting depends on a respect for people and
an understanding of human behaviour in complex organizational
systems.
• In the current work scenario, the pathways to high performance
are complex, challenging, and success is not guaranteed.
The public at large: -
• Increasingly expects high performance and high
quality to go hand in hand;
• Considers ethics and social responsibility to be core
values;
• Recognizes the cultural diversity among people; and
• Recognizes the imprint of globalization on everyday
lives and organizational competitiveness.
• With such a background, the body of knowledge we call
‘Organizational Behaviour’ offers great insights.
• Organizational Behaviour: Study of individuals and
groups in organizations.
• Organizational Behaviour: A multidisciplinary field
devoted to understanding individual and group
behaviour, interpersonal processes, and organizational
dynamics.
• Ultimate goal of OB is to improve the performance of
people, groups, and organizations and to improve the
quality of work life overall.
Organization & Organizational Behavior
• An organization is a structured social system consisting of
groups and individuals working together to meet some
agreed-upon objectives.
• Organizations consist of people who; as individuals or in
groups, strive to attain common goals.
• In short, OB deals with human behavior in organizations.
• Its approach is multi disciplinary that tries to understand
human behavior in organizational settings by
systematically studying individual-group and
organizational processes.
Definition of OB
“Organizational Behavior is concerned with
the study of what people do in an
organization and how that behavior affects
the performance of the organization.”
(Robbins, 1989)
What OB is all about
Image Source:
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• OB is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to the
systematic study and careful application of
knowledge about how people as individuals and
as groups act within organizations.
• OB is both research and application oriented.
• Three basic levels of analysis in organizational
behavior are individual, group and
organizational.
Levels of Analysis in OB
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• It is useful to study behavior of individuals within
an organization. OB is also helpful for the
understanding of the complexities involved in
interpersonal relations, when two people (co-
workers, boss subordinate etc.) interact.
• At the next level, organizational behavior is
useful for examining the dynamics of
relationships within small groups, both formal
teams and informal groups.
• Further, when there is a coordinated effort
between two or more groups, managers
become interested in the intergroup
relations that emerge.
• Lastly, organizations can also be whole
systems that have inter organizational
relationships
Objectives of OB
• Like all other sciences, organizational behavior has
certain specific objectives. These are: -
1. To systematically describe how people behave under a
variety of conditions. Realization of this objective helps
managers to communicate about human behavior at work
using a common language.
2. To understand the reasons behind people’s behaviour. The
goal of OB is not only to describe human behaviour at
workplace but also to understand and explain it. It helps us
in understanding the subtle nuances and explanations
behind an employee’s behavior
3. Predicting future behavior of employees. The
ability to predict an employee’s behavior is
useful for two reasons: -
(a) it helps to forecast the efficiency/ productivity/
dedication/ regularity level of an employee
which can be helpful for recruitments,
assessments, job specifications, enhancements,
and promotions.
(b) it helps to prevent ineffective, tardy and
disruptive employee behavior by taking
corrective measures.
4. To influence and develop human activity at work
based on interpretation and application of
organizational research.
Managers are expected to develop: -
• viable methods of performance improvement
• conducive behavior at work
• optimum skill development
• efficiency
• team-work
They can do so by understanding and applying concepts
like motivation, conflict resolution, communication,
leadership etc. at workplace.
• In short, OB helps managers to develop the
ability to improve workplace conditions/
environments through effective employee
behavior.
• Knowledge of OB can be applied to all kinds of
professions and organizations, whether
government, private or service.
• Irrespective of the type of an organization,
there is a need to understand, predict and
develop work-conducive human behavior.
Why study OB?
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Forces that effect Organizations
• There are multiple forces that affect
organizations. These can be classified into four
categories: -
• People
• Structure
• Technology
• Environment
• All these areas are interrelated and ultimately
influence OB.
PEOPLE
• The internal social system of any organization consists
of individuals.
• Individuals think, feel and react in different ways. They
come from different educational/cultural backgrounds.
There are individual variations in their talents,
perspectives, value-systems, interests and lifestyles.
• Organizations need to use these unique characteristics
to their benefit and be prepared to adapt to them.
STRUCTURE
• Structure implies a formal relationship and use of
people in organizations.
• People in different roles are connected in some
structured way so that there is coordination in the
organization.
• These interconnections present the organization with
challenges of cooperation, negotiation and decision
making.
TECHNOLOGY
• Technology empowers people and affects the
tasks and the ways in which they are performed.
• Technology can radically and impressively alter
any industry or activity that depends heavily on
the flow of information.
• The technological advancements pose challenge
to OB practitioner in terms of maintaining
balance between technical and social systems.
TECHNOLOGY
• Technology empowers people and affects the
tasks and the ways in which they are performed.
• Technology can radically and impressively alter
any industry or activity that depends heavily on
the flow of information.
• The technological advancements pose challenge
to OB practitioner in terms of maintaining
balance between technical and social systems.
ENVIRONMENT
• No organization exists in isolation. It is a part of
a larger system.
• This system consists of many elements such as
government, rival organizations etc.
• Globalization, CSR etc. pose challenge to
organizations. No organization can escape being
influenced by the external environment.
TO SUMMARIZE
• OB is the systematic study and careful application
of knowledge about how individuals and groups act
in organizations.
• The primary goals of OB are to make the employers
(managers) more effective at describing,
understanding, predicting and controlling human
behavior.
• The key elements to consider are people, structure,
technology and the environment.
THIS PRESENTATION IS ENTIRELY BASED ON THE
FOLLOWING SOURCE
Bir, P. (Publication date unknown). Psychology, Paper 12
Organisational Behaviour, Module 1 Introduction to
Organisational Behavior. e-PGPathshala. Retrieved from
[Link]
