PART I - FUNDAMENTALS OF

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Chapter I - The Dynamics of people and
organizations

A primary goal of management education is to

develop students into managers who can think
ahead, exercise good judgment, make ethical
decisions, and take into consideration the
implications of their proposed actions
Jane Schmidt-Wilk
 Premises
Organizations are complex systems.
Need to understand how the system operates esp. in a socio-technical system
humanity and technology.
Human behavior in organizations is sometimes unpredictable
Behaviors may come from deep-seated needs, lifetime experiences and
personal value systems
Human behavior in a organization can be partially
understood
Applying the frameworks of behavioral science, management and other
disciplines.
There are no perfect solutions to organizational problems
Increase the understanding and skills work relationships can be
substantially upgraded
We do not have the luxury of not working with or relating to
other people.
Learn human behavior.
Explore how to improve the interpersonal skills
Begin to manage ones relationships with others at work.
 Understanding human behavior

Definition of OB
systematic study and careful application of knowledge about
how people as individuals and as groups act within
organizations.
Strive to identify ways in which people can act more efficiently
in organizations
A large number of research studies and conceptual
developments constantly adds up to its knowledge base.
An applied science

Provides useful set of tools at many levels of analysis from

individual, interpersonal relations, intergroup, and whole
system
 Organizational behavior is the systematic study of
human behavior, attitudes and performance within
an organizational setting;
drawing on theory methods and principles from
such disciplines as psychology, sociology and
cultural anthropology to learn about individual
perceptions, values, learning capacities and actions
while working in groups and
careful application of knowledge about how
people- as individuals and as groups- act within
the total organization;
analyzing the external environments effect on the
organization and its human resources, missions,
objectives and strategies.
 The above definition of OB highlights on its several aspects like:

a. Way of thinking requires clearly identifying the level of

analysis (individual, group, organizational).
b. Multi-disciplinary draws principles, theories, and models
from psychology, sociology and cultural anthropology.
c. Humanistic orientation assumes that individual feelings,
attitudes, perceptions, goals, etc., are important to the
organization.
d. Performance oriented focusing on whether and why
individual/group/organization performance is high,
moderate, or low.
e. External environment substantially impacts
organizational behavior.
f. Scientific method plays a critical role in OB research.
g. Applications oriented concerned with providing
useful/applicable answers to management problems.
 Goals of OB
Describe
how people behave under a variety of conditions.
Understand
Why people behave as they do.
Probe for underlying explanations
Predict
Predict future employee behavior (tardiness, productive &
unproductive etc.)
Provide preventive actions
Control
At least partially and develop some human activity at
work.
Managers need to remember that organizational
behavior is a tool for human benefit
Key Forces in OB
People
Make up the internal social system of an organization
Melting pot of diversity talents, background and perspectives to
their jobs
Managers need to be tuned in to these diverse patterns and trends.
Changes in the labor force
Decline in work ethic and rise in emphasis on leisure, self expression,
fulfillment and personal growth
Decreased automatic acceptance of authority and increase in the desire
for participation, autonomy and control.
Skills become obsolete due to rapid technological advances retrain or
be displaced
Security needs are prime concern and loyalty diminishes because of
downsizing and outsourcing
Absence of meaningful salary growth has placed renewed emphasis on
money as a motivator
Companies address diversity by becoming compassionate and caring,
building pride without de-valuing others, empowering some without
exploiting, demonstrating openness, confidence, authentic
compassion and vulnerability.
 Structure
Defines the formal relationship and use of people in organizations.
Effective coordination of work
Create complex problems of cooperation, negotiation and decision making
Technology
Provides he resources with which people work and affects the tasks they
perform
Benefit of technology does more and better work however it restricts people
in various ways
OBs challenge is to maintain the delicate balance between technical and social
systems.
Environment
Internal or external
Organizations are part of a larger system and factors influence them like:
Citizens expect organizations to be socially responsible
New products and competition for customers come from around the globe
(globalization)
The direct impact of unions diminishes
Dramatic pace of change in society.
The external environment influences the attitudes of people, affects working
conditions, and provides competitions for resources and power.
 Positive Characteristics of OB

Interdisciplinary in nature integrates behavioral

sciences, social sciences and other disciplines
Emerging knowledge, theories, models and
conceptual frameworks.
Increasing acceptance of theory and research by
practicing managers.
Willingness of managers to explore new ideas
More receptive to new models
Support related research
Hungrily experiment with new ideas
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field

Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
(contd)
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (contd)
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (contd)
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (contd)
Fundamental Concepts of OB
 Nature of people
The six basic concepts relevant to the nature of people
Law of individual differences - Each person is substantially
different from all others in terms of their personalities, needs,
demographic factors and past experiences and/or because they
are placed in different physical settings, time periods or social
surroundings. This diversity needs to be recognized and viewed
as a valuable asset to organizations.
Perception - Perception is the unique way in which each
person sees, organizes and interprets things based on their
background of individual differences. Each person reacts not to
an objective world, but to a world judged in terms of his/her
own beliefs, values and expectations.
Selective perception -people tend to pay attention to only those
things that are consistent with or reinforce their own expectations.
Selective perceptions may lead to misinterpretation of single events
at work or create a barrier in the search for new experience.
Managers need to recognize the perceptual differences among the
employees and manage them accordingly.
A whole person - People function as total human
beings. People are physical, mental, social and
spiritual beings and the organization actually
employs the whole person rather than certain
characteristics.
Motivated behaviour - Individuals behavior
are guided by their needs and the consequences
that results from their acts. In case of needs, people
are motivated not by what others think they ought
to have but by what they themselves want.
Motivation of employees is essential to the
operation of organizations and the biggest
challenge faced by managers.
 Desire for Involvement - Many employees
actively seek opportunities at work to become
involved in relevant decisions, thereby contributing
their talents and ideas to the organizations success.
Consequently, organizations need to provide
opportunities to the employees for meaningful
involvement.

Value of the Person - People want to be treated

with care, dignity and respect and increasingly they
are demanding such treatment from their employers.
They want to be valued for their skills and abilities
and to be provided with opportunities to develop
themselves.
Nature of Organization
3 Key Concepts

Social systems- Sociology tells that organizations are social

systems. Just have people have psychological needs they also
have social roles and status. Their behavior is influenced by
their group as well as their by their individual drives. Two
types of social systems exist side by side in the organization-
the formal (official ) social system and the informal social
system- each influencing and getting influenced by the other.
Mutual Interest - There is a mutuality of interest between
the organization and its employees. Organization needs
employees to reach its objectives and people need
organizations to help them reach individual objectives.
Mutual interest provides a superordinate goal one that can
be attained only through the integrated efforts of individuals
and their employees.
 Ethics - Ethics is the use of moral principles and
values to affect the behavior of individuals and
organizations with regard to choices between what
is right and wrong.
In order to ensure a higher standard of ethical performance
by managers and employees companies have established
codes of ethics, publicized statements of ethical values and
set up internal procedures to handle misconduct.
Since Organizational behavior involves people, ethical
philosophy is involved in one way or another in each action
they take.
When organizations goals and actions are ethical,
individual, organizational and social objectives are more
likely to be met.
 Four Basic approaches of Organizational behaviour

Human Resources ( supportive) approach - Employee

growth and development toward higher levels of
competency, creativity and fulfilment are encouraged
and supported because people are the central resource in
any organization and society.
Contingency approach - Different managerial behaviours
are required by different environments for effectiveness.
Results - oriented approach- Outcomes of organizational
behavior programs are assessed in terms of their
efficiency.
Systems approach- All parts of an organization interact
in a complex relationship. Systems approach takes an
across-the board view of people in organizations and
analyses issues in terms of total situations and as many
factors a s possible that may affect peoples behaviour.
 Framing the study of Organizational behaviour

The study of OB involves

A. The Organizations Environment
Forces present in the environment outside the
organization like
needs of the society
demands of customers or clients
legal and political constraints
economic and technological changes and
developments
interact with the organization and the management of
an organization must respond appropriately to it.
B. The Individual in the Organization
Individual performance forms the basis of
organizational performance.
The four key influences on individuals behavior and motivation
are:
a. Individual characteristics e.g., personality,
attitudes, perceptions, values.
b. Individual motivation interacts with ability to
work to determine individual performance.
c. Rewards/punishment use of behavior
modification techniques to enhance performance
and control misbehavior.
d. Stress
C. Interpersonal Influence and Group Behavior
Interpersonal influence and group behavior affect
organizational performance in the following way:

a. Group Behavior the dynamics of formal groups

(created by managerial decisions) and informal groups
(developing around members' common interests and
friendship) have an impact on the functioning of the
organization
b. Intergroup Behavior and Conflict groups can
cooperate and/or compete with each other in
organizations; conflict resulting from competition may
be either functional or dysfunctional, depending on the
organization.
c. Power and Politics the dynamics and effects of power,
authority and politics in the organization.
D. Organizational Processes, Structure and Design
A formal pattern of activities and interrelationship among the various
subunits of the organization. It includes:
a. Organizational Structure the components of the organization and how
these components fit together.
b. Job Design the processes managers use to specify the contents, methods,
and relationships of jobs and specific task assignments.
c. Organizational Processes four behavioral processes that contribute to
effective organizational performance are:
1. Leadership important for obtaining individual, group and
organizational performance. Defined by some in terms of specific traits
and behaviors; the combination of those behaviors; or dependent upon
the specific situation in which the leading is occurring.
2. Communication Process links the organization to its environment and
links parts within the organization to each other.
3. Decision - Making Process the dynamics, variety and techniques of
both individual and group decision - making.
4. Organizational Change and Development Processes planned attempts
to implement change that will improve overall individual, group, and
organizational performance. It involves the study of Organizational
structure and Design and Managing change and Innovation