Introduction

Why do people behave the way they do? What causes different people to react differently to the same situation? Why are some Organizations more successful than others, even though they appear to be managed in the same manner? All of these questions – and more – are the substance of what organizational behavior is all about.

Organizational behavior helps firms achieve effectiveness in their activities. Organizations comprise people and OB helps in utilizing these resources for achieving organizational effectiveness. People generally possess physical strength, skills of some kind, executive skills, and organizing abilities, OB helps harness these qualities and use them for achieving organizational goals.

The definitions of OB are many. However three features need to be emphasized in any definition

• OB is the study of human behavior

• The study is about behavior in the organizations

• Knowledge about human behavior would be useful in improving an organizations effectiveness

Combining the above three features, OB may be understood to be the study of human behavior in organizational setting, of the interface between human behavior and the organization, and of the organization itself. Knowledge gained from such a study is useful in improving organizational effectiveness.

Those who study organizational behavior—which now includes you—are interested in several outcomes such as work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) as well as job performance (e.g., customer service and counterproductive work behaviors). A distinction is made in OB regarding which level of the organization is being studied at any given time. There are three key levels of analysis in OB. They are examining the individual, the group, and the organization. For example, if I want to understand my boss’s personality, I would be examining the individual level of analysis. If we want to know about how my manager’s personality affects my team, I am examining things at the team level. But, if I want to understand how my organization’s culture affects my boss’s behavior, I would be interested in the organizational level of analysis.

OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving organizations effectiveness 

Definition of organizational behavior

Organizational behavior (OB) is defined as the systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work.

The term ‘organizational behavior’ is defined by Stephen P Robbins as "a field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups and structures on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s effectiveness".

To sum up, OB obviously comprises individual behavior, group behavior and of the organization itself. Understanding of the concept is complete when all the three are studied carefully. The study of individual behavior alone is incomplete because the actions of the employee influence and are influenced by the organizations where he or she works. Again studying only organizations without learning about the people amounts to looking at only part of the picture. 

Nature of organizational behavior

Organizational behavior has emerged as a separate field of study. The nature it has acquired is identified as follows:

1. A Separate Field of Study and not a Discipline Only

By definition, a discipline is an accepted science that is based on a theoretical foundation. But, O.B. has a multi-interdisciplinary orientation and is, thus, not based on a specific theoretical background. Therefore, it is better reasonable to call O.B. a separate field of study rather than a discipline only.

2. An Interdisciplinary Approach

Organizational behavior is essentially an interdisciplinary approach to study human behavior at work. It tries to integrate the relevant knowledge drawn from related disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology to make them applicable for studying and analyzing organizational behavior.

3. An Applied Science

The very nature of O.B. is applied. What O.B. basically does is the application of various researches to solve the organizational problems related to human behavior. The basic line of difference between pure science and O.B. is that while the former concentrates of fundamental researches, the latter concentrates on applied researches. O.B. involves both applied research and its application in organizational analysis. Hence, O.B. can be called both science as well as art.

4. A Normative Science

Organizational Behavior is a normative science also. While the positive science discusses only cause effect relationship, O.B. prescribes how the findings of applied researches can be applied to socially accepted organizational goals. Thus, O.B. deals with what is accepted by individuals and society engaged in an organization. Yes, it is not that O.B. is not normative at all. In fact, O.B. is normative as well that is well underscored by the proliferation of management theories.

5. A Humanistic and Optimistic Approach

Organizational Behavior applies humanistic approach towards people working in the organization. It, deals with the thinking and feeling of human beings. O.B. is based on the belief that people have an innate desire to be independent, creative and productive. It also realizes that people working in the organization can and will actualize these potentials if they are given proper conditions and environment. Environment affects performance or workers working in an organization.

6. A Total System Approach

The system approach is one that integrates all the variables, affecting organizational functioning. The systems approach has been developed by the behavioral scientists to analyze human behavior in view of his/her socio-psychological framework. Man's socio-psychological framework makes man a complex one and the systems approach tries to study his/her complexity and find solution to it.

Scope of organizational behavior

The three internal organizational elements viz., people, technology and structure and the fourth element, i.e., external social systems may be taken as the scope of O.B.

1. People

   The people constitute the internal social system of the organization. They consist of individuals and groups. Groups may be large or small, formal or informal, official or unofficial. They are dynamic. They form, change and disband. Human organization changes every day. Today, it is not the same as it was yesterday. It may change further in the coming days. People are living, thinking and feeling being who created the organization and try to achieve the objectives and goals. Thus, organizations exist to serve the people and not the people exist to serve the organization.

2. Structure

Structure defines the sole relationship of people in an organization. Different people in an organization are given different roles and they have certain relationship with others. It leads to division of labor so that people can perform their duties or work to accomplish the organizational goal. Thus, everybody cannot be an accountant or a clerk. Work is complex and different duties are to be performed by different people. Some may be accountant; others may be managers, clerks, peons or workers. All are so related to each other to accomplish the goal in a co-ordinated manner. Thus, structure relates to power and duties. One has the authority and others have a duty to obey him.

3. Technology

Technology imparts the physical and economic conditions within which people work. With their bare hands people can do nothing so they are given assistance of buildings, machines, tools, processes and resources. The nature of technology depends very much on the nature of the organization and influences the work or working conditions. Thus, technology brings effectiveness and at the same restricts people in various ways.

4. Social System

Social system provides external environment which the organization operates. A single organization cannot exist also. It is a part of the whole. One organization cannot give everything and therefore, there are many other organizations. All these organizations influence each other. It influences the attitudes of people, their working conditions and above all provides competition for resources and power.

O.B. is the study of human behavior at work in organizations. Accordingly, the scope of O.B. includes the study of individuals, groups and organization/structure. Let us briefly reflect on what aspects each of these three cover.

Organizations operate their functional activities by some elements, which affect organizations.

Goals of organizational behavior

There are some goals of organizational behavior which are as follows:

1. Describe

The first goal is to describe, systematically how people behave under a variety of conditions. Achieving this goal allows managers to communicate about human behavior at work using a common language.

2. Understand

A second goal is to understand any people behave as they do. The managers would be frustrated if they could talk about behavior of their employees, but not understand the reasons behind those actions.

3. Predict

   The managers would have capacity to predict which employees might be dedicated and productive or which ones might have absent, cause problem. And thus the managers could take preventive actions.

4. Control

The final goal of OB is to control and develop some human activity at work. Since managers are held 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 the actions they and their employees take, and organizational behavior can aid them in their pursuit of this goal.

Fundamental Concepts of Organizational Behavior

In every field of social science, or even physical science, has a philosophical foundation of basic concepts that guide its development. There are some certain philosophical concepts in organizational behavior also. The concepts are

1. Individual differences

Every individual in the world is different from others. This idea is supported by science. Each person is different from all others, probably in million ways, just as each persons DNA profile is different.

The idea of individual difference comes originally from psychology. From the day of birth, each person is unique, and individual experiences after birth tend to make people even more different.

2. Perception

People’s perceptions are also differ when they see an object. Two people can differently present a same object. And this is occurring for their experiences. A person always organizes and interprets what he sees according to his lifetime of experience and accumulated value.

Employees also see work differently for differ in their personalities, needs, demographics factors, past experiences and social surrounding.

3. A whole person

An employee’s personal life is not detached from his working life. As an example, A women who attend the office at 8:30 AM is always anxious for her children’s school time (if her children able to attend the school or not). As a result, its impact falls on her concentration that means her working life. For this reason, we cannot separate it. So manager should treat an employee as a whole person.

4. Motivated behavior

An employee has so many needs inside him. So, they want to fulfill those needs. That’s why; they had to perform well in the organization. Some motivations are needed to enrich the quality of work. A path toward increased need fulfillment is the better way of enriches the quality of work.

5. Desire for involvement

Every employee is actively seeking opportunities at work to involve in decision-making problems. They hunger for the chance to share what they know and to learn from the experience. So, organization should provide them a chance to express their opinions, ideas and suggestion for decision-making problem. A meaningful involvement can bring mutual benefit for both parties.

6. Value of the person

    An employee wants to be treated separately from other factor of production (land, capital, labor). They refuse to accept the old idea that they are simply treated as economic tools because they are best creation of almighty Allah. For this reason, they want to be treated with carrying respect, dignity and other things from their employers and society.

Importance of Organizational Behavior

1)   It builds better relationship by achieving people, organizational, and social objectives.

2)   It covers a wide array of human resource like behavior, training and development, change management, leadership, teams etc.

3)   It brings coordination which is the essence of management.

4)   It improves goodwill of the organization.

5)   It helps to achieve objectives quickly.

6)   It makes optimum utilization of resources.

7)   It facilitates motivation.

8)   It leads to higher efficiency.

9)   It improves relations in the organization.

10)    It is multidisciplinary, in the sense that applies different techniques, methods, and theories to evaluate the performances.

Evolution of OB 

Organizational behavior was evolved through different approaches initiated by different theorists. The Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the essence of leadership. Aristotle addressed the topic of persuasive communication. The writings of 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli laid the foundation for contemporary work on organizational power and politics. In 1776, Adam Smith advocated a new form of organizational structure based on the division of labour. One hundred years later, German sociologist Max Weber wrote about rational organizations and initiated discussion of charismatic leadership. Soon after, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced the systematic use of goal setting and rewards to motivate employees. In the 1920s, Australian-born Harvard professor Elton Mayo and his colleagues conducted productivity studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant in the United States. With this epoch making study the focus of organisational studies shifted to analysis of how human factors and psychology affected organisations. This shift of focus in the study of organisations was called the Hawthorne Effect. The Human Relations Movement focused on teams, motivation, and the actualization of goals of individuals within organisations. The Human Relations Movement focused on teams, motivation, and the actualization of goals of individuals within organisations. 

Origin to the study of Organisational Behaviour can trace its roots back to Max Weber and earlier organisational studies, it is generally considered to have begun as an academic discipline with the advent of scientific management in the 1890’s, with Taylorism representing the peak of the movement. Thus, it was Fredrick Winslow Taylor who introduced the systematic use of goal setting and rewards to motivate employees that could be considered as the starting of the academic discipline of Organisational Behaviour. 

Proponents of scientific management held that rationalizing the organization with precise sets of instructions and time-motion studies would lead to increased productivity. Studies of different compensation systems were also carried out to motivate workers. 

Studies conducted by prominent scholars like Chester Barnard, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Mas low, David Mc Cellan and Victor Vroom contributed to the growth of Organisational Behaviour as a discipline. 

Limitations of Organizational Behavior

1. Behavioral bias 

It further causes dependence, dis-contentment, indiscipline, and irresponsibility

2. Law of diminishing returns

It says that beyond a certain point, there is a decline in output even after each additional good or positive factor.

3. Unethical practices and manipulation of people

Knowledge of motivation and communication acquired can be used to exploit subordinates in an Organization by the manipulative managers.