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ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior is the study and application of
knowledge about how people – as individuals and as groups –
act within organizations.

Organizational Behavior is a scientific discipline in which a large number

of research studies and conceptual developments are constantly adding to
its knowledge base.

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Managers are responsible for performance outcome, they are vitally
interested in being able to make an impact on employee behavior,
skill development, team effort , and productivity.

Managers need to be able to improve results through actions they and

their employees take, and Organizational Behaviors can aid them in
their pursuit of this goal.

Organizational Behavior is a human tool for human benefit.

Organization Behavior applies broadly to the behavior of people in all

types of organizational, business, government, schools and Service
organizations.

Wherever organizations are , there is a need to ‘’Describe, Understand,

Predict and (Control) better manage human behavior.
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FORCES

A collect set of Forces affects the nature of organization today can be classified as:

- People
- Structure
- Technology
- Environment
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People
People make up the internal Social System of the Organization. That System consists
of individuals and groups. There are formal and informal groups.

Groups are dynamic. They form, change, and disband.

People are the living, thinking, feeling beings who work in the organization to
achieve their objectives.

Remember that Organizations exist to serve people, rather than people existing to
serve organizations.

The Workforce of today organizations are richly diverse (Employees have a wide
array of educational background, talents and perspectives )

Managers need to be tuned in to these diverse pattern and trends and be prepared to
adapt to them.

Management Leadership practices must change to match the new conditions.

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Structure

Defines the formal relationship and use of people in organizations.

Different Jobs are required to accomplish all of an organization’s activities. Thus,

there are managers, employees , accountants and assemblers etc., in an organization.

People in the Organization have to be related in some structural way so that their
work can be effectively coordinated .

Technology
Technology provides the resources with which people work and affects the tasks that
they perform. The Technology used has a significant influence on working
relationships.

The great benefit of technology is that it allows people to do more and better work ,
but it also restricts people in various ways . It has cost as well as benefits.
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Environment
All organizations operate within an internal and an external environment.

A single organization does not exist alone. It is part of a larger System that contains
many other elements, such as government, the family, and other organizations.

Numerous changes in the environment create demands on organizations.

Individual organizations, such as a Factory, or a school, cannot escape being

influenced by the external environment. It influences the attitudes of people , affects
working conditions, and provides competition for resources and power.
The Nature of People
- Individual differences
- Perception
- A whole Person
- Motivated Behavior
- Desire for involvement
- Value of the People

Individual Differences
People have much in common but each person in the world is also
individually different. This belief that each person is different from all other
is typically called the ‘Law Of Individual Differences’

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Perception

People look at the world and see things differently. Even when they are
presented with the same object, two people may view it in two different ways.
Their view of their objective environment is filtered by perception, which is the
unique way in which each person sees, organizes, and interprets things.

Employees see their work worlds differently for a variety of reasons since
they may differ in personalities, needs, demographic factors , and past
experiences, or they may find themselves in different physical settings , time
periods, or social surroundings. whatever the reason, they tend to act on the
basis of their perceptions.

Managers must learn to expect perceptual differences among their

employees , accept people as emotional beings, and manage them in
individual ways.
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A Whole Person

Organizations employ a Whole person not only a person’s skills or brain. A

persons home life cannot be separated from his/her work life.

When Managers practices Organizational Behaviour, it is actually trying to

develop a better employee, but it also wants to develop a better person in
terms of growth and fulfilment.

Jobs shape people somewhat as they perform job, management needs to

care about the job’s effect on the whole person.

If the whole person can be improved, then benefits will extend beyond the
firm into larger society in which each employees lives.
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Motivated Behavior
Normal behavior has certain causes. These may relate to a person’s needs or
the consequences that result from acts.

In the case of needs , people are motivated not by what we think they ought to
have but by what they themselves want. To an outside observer , a person’s
need may be unrealistic, but they are still controlling.

Motivation is essential to the operation of organizations. No matter how much

technology and equipment an organization has , these resources can not be put to the us
until they are released and guided by people who have been motivated.

Desire for Improvement

Many employees today are actively seeking opportunities at work to become involved in
relevant decisions, thereby contributing their talents and ideas to the organization’s
success. Desire for improvement can be achieved through employee empowerment.
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Value of the Person
People deserve to be treated differently from other factors of production
(Land, Capital, technology) because they are of a higher order in the universe.

Because of this distinction , people want to be treated with caring, respect, and
dignity; increasingly they demand such treatment from their employers. They refuse
to accept the old idea that they are simply economic tools.

People want to be valued for their skills and abilities and to be provided with
opportunities to develop themselves.
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The Nature of Organizations

The three key concepts are:

• Social Systems

• Mutual Interest

• Ethical Treatment
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Mutual Interest
Organizations need people and people need organizations. Organizations have a
human purpose. They are formed and maintained on the basis of some Mutuality of
Interest among their participants.

Managers need employees to help them reach organizational objectives. And People
need organizations to help them reach individual objectives.

Mutual interest provides a super ordinate goal for employees, the organization, and society
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Ethics

In order to attract and retain valuable employees in an era in which good workers are
constantly recruited away Ethical Treatment is necessary.

To succeed organizations must treat employees in an ethical fashion.

Companies have established Codes of Ethics , publicized statements of ethical

values, provided ethics training, reward employees for notable ethical behavior,
publicized positive role models and a set of internal procedures to handle
misconducts.

When the organization’s goal and actions are ethical, mutuality creates a
Triple Reward System in which Individual, Organizational and social objectives are all
met. People find more satisfaction in work when there is cooperation and teamwork.
They are learning growing and contributing. The organization is also more successful
because it operates more effectively.
Society itself is the most beneficiary of the Triple Reward System. Because it has better
products and services, more capable citizens and overall climate of cooperation and
progress.
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BASIC APPROACHES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIORS

1. HUMAN RESOURCES APPROACH

The Human Resource Approach is Developmental.

- It is concerned with the growth and development of people toward higher levels of
competency, creativity, and fulfillment, because people are the central resource in any
organization and any society.

The Human Resource Approach , on the other hand, is Supportive.

- It helps employees become better, more responsible people, and then tries to create a
climate in which they may contribute to the limits of their improved Abilities.

Essentially, the Human Resources approach means that better people achieve
better results.
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2. A CONTINGENCY APPROACH

Different Managerial Behaviors are required by different environments for

effectiveness.

Managers need to know under what conditions they should choose one behavioral
Approach over another and the contingency framework can help them to do this.

The Strength of Contingency Approach is that it encourages analysis of each

situation prior to action while at the same time discouraging habitual practice based
on universal assumptions about people.

The Contingency approach is also more interdisciplinary, more system oriented, and
more research oriented than the traditional approach.
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3. RESULTS-ORIENTED APPROACH

Outcomes of Organizational Behavior programs are assessed in

terms of their efficiency.

All Organizations need to achieve some relevant outcomes, or

results. So this Result orientation is a common thread woven
through Organizational Behavior.

Productivity is the key issue in this approach.

Productivity measures are intertwined in the popular practice of

Total Quality Management (TQM) .

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TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

Total Quality Management is an integrated attempt to improve the quality of a firm’s

products and services through a variety of techniques and training.

TQM focuses on:

- High Customer satisfaction through listening carefully to customers
- Building partnership with suppliers
- Searching for continuous improvements in operational methods.
- Training employees in the understanding and use of statistical tools
- Meaningfully involving employs in team-based systems.

A FORMULA

The interaction of Motivation and Ability determines a person’s Potential

Performance in any activity:
1. Knowledge * Skill = Ability
2. Attitude * Situation = Motivation
3. Ability * Motivation = Potential Human Performance
4. Potential Performance * opportunity = Organizational Results
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4. A SYSTEMS APPROACH

Treating an organization as a System is critically important to its success

The Systems Approach compels Managers to take Holistic view of the subject.

Holistic Organizational Behavior interprets people – organization

relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole
organization, and whole social System.

It takes an across-the-board view of people in organizations in an effort to

understand as many of the factors as possible that influence people’s
behavior.

Issues are analyzed in terms of the total situation affecting them rather than
in terms of an isolated events or problems.
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BEHAVIORAL BIAS

People who lack System understanding may develop a Behavioral Bias,

which gives the a narrow viewpoint that emphasizes employee experiences
while overlooking the broader system of the organization in relation to all its
publics.

This condition is a reflection of Tunnel Vision, in which people have narrow

viewpoints, as if they were looking through a tunnel. Tunnel vision restricts
objectivity.

Behavioral Bias can be so misapplied that it harms employees as well as

organization. So people in spite of their good intentions, so overwhelm
others with care that the recipients of such care are reduced to Dependent -
unproductive- indignity.

People become content, not fulfilled. They find excuse for failure rather than
take responsibility for progress. They lack self discipline and self respect.
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THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS

Overemphasis on an Organizational Behavior practice may produce negative results

as indicated by the Law Of Diminishing Returns.

Law Of Diminishing Returns states that at some point, increases of desirable

Practice produce declining returns, eventually zero returns, and then negative
returns as more increases are added.

The concept implies that for any situation there is an optimum amount of a
desirable practice, such as recognition or participation
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UNETHICAL MANIPULATION OF PEOPLE

The philosophy of Organizational Behavior is supportive and oriented toward human

Resources. It seeks to improve the human environment and help people grow toward
their potential.

However, a significant concern about Organizational Behavior is that its knowledge

and techniques can be used to manipulate people unethically as well as help them
Develop their potential.

People who lack ethical values could use people in unethical ways.

The possibility of manipulation means that people in power in organizations must

maintain high ethical and moral integrity and not misuse their power.

As the general population learns more about Organizational Behavior, it will be more
difficult to manipulate people, but the possibility is always there. That is why the
society needs Ethical Leaders (Managers). Ethical Managers will not manipulate people.