Organization Behavior

By : Abhishek Pokhrel

Organizational Behavior
A field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups, and
structure have on behavior within
organizations, for the purpose of
applying such knowledge toward
improving an organizations
effectiveness.

Contd.
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.

Elaboration
a. Way of thinkingrequires clearly identifying
the level of analysis (individual, group,
organizational).
b. Multi-disciplinarydraws principles,
theories, and models from psychology,
sociology and cultural anthropology.
c. Humanistic orientationassumes that
individual feelings, attitudes, perceptions,
goals, etc., are important to the organization.

Contd..
d. Performance-orientedfocusing on whether
and why individual/group/organization
performance is high, moderate, or low.
e. External environmentsubstantially
impacts organizational behavior.
f. Scientific methodplays a critical role in OB
research.
g. Applications orientedconcerned with
providing useful/applicable answers to
management problems.

The goals of organizational

behaviour.
To describe systematically how
people behave under variety of
conditions
To understand why people behave as
they do
Predicting future employee behavior
Control at least partially and develop
some human activity at work.

Frame work of Organizational

Behaviour.

The
The
The
The

Autocratic Model
Custodial Model
Supportive Model
Collegial Model

The Autocratic Model

The basis of this model is power with
a managerial orientation of authority
The employees in turn are oriented
towards obedience and dependence
on the boss.
The employee need that is met is
subsistence. The performance result
is minimal

Contd..
Thus, the employees orientation
towards the managers/bosses is
obedience.
Employees give higher performance
either because of their achievement
drive or their personal liking to the
boss or because of some other factor

Contd..
Employees and ever changing
societal values and norms suggested
managers to adopt alternative and
better ways to manage people at
work.

The Custodial Model

The custodial model is based around the
concept of providing economic security for
employees through wages and other
benefits that will create employee
loyalty and motivation.
Many professional companies provide
health benefits, corporate cars, financial
packaging of salary, and so on these are
incentives designed to attract and retain
quality staff.

Contd..
The underlying theory for the organisation is that
they will have a greater skilled workforce, more
motivated employees, and have a competitive
advantage through employee knowledge and
expertise.
One of the downsides with the custodial model is
that it also attracts and retains low performance
staff as well. Or perhaps even deliver a lower
level of motivation from some staff who feel that
they are trapped in an organization because
the benefits are too good to leave

The Supportive Model

Quite opposite to the autocratic model, this
approach states that employees are selfmotivated and have value and insight to
contribute to the organization, beyond just
their day-to-day role.
The intent of this model is to motivate
employees through a positive workplace
where their ideas are encouraged and often
adapted. Therefore, the employees have
some form of buy-in to the organisation and
its direction.

The Collegial Model

The collegial model is based around
teamwork everybody working as
colleagues
The overall environment and
corporate culture need to be aligned
to this model, where everybody is
actively participating is not about
status and job titles everybody is
encouraged to work together to build
a better organisation.

Contd..
The role of the manager is to foster
this teamwork and create positive
and energetic workplaces. In much
regard, the manager can be
considered to be the coach of the
team.
As coach, the goal is to make the
team perform well overall, rather
than focus on their own performance,
or the performance of key individuals

Conclusion

Contributing Disciplines to the OB

Field

Psychology
Social Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology

Psychology
Psychology is the science that seeks
to measure, explain, and sometimes
change the behaviour of humans and
other animals.
To use psychological and
organizational theory and research to
improve organizational effectiveness
and the work life of all individuals.

Contd..
psychologists concern themselves with
studying and attempting to understand
individual behaviour
learning, perception, personality,
emotions, training, leadership
effectiveness, needs and motivational
forces, job satisfaction, decision-making
process, performance appraisals, attitude
measurement, employee selection
techniques, work design and job stress

Sociology
Sociology studies people in relation
to their social environment or
culture.
Sociology studies people in relation
to their fellow human beingsto
improve organizational performance.
Eg. Communication , Power,
intergroup behaviour, Organisational
change , organisational culture.

Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts
from psychology and sociology and that
focuses on the influence of people on one
another.
Major area: change how to implement it and
how to reduce barriers to its acceptance
Study areas: measuring, understanding and
changing attitudes, communication patterns,
building trust, the ways in which group
activities can satisfy individual needs, group
decision-making processes

Contd..
Eg. Behavioral change, attitude
change , communication , group
processes , group decision making

Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about
human beings and their activities.
Study on culture and environment
has helped us understand differences
in fundamental values, attitudes, and
behaviour between people in
different countries and within
different organisations

Approaches to Organization
Behavior
This approach recognizes that human
resources in an organization are the central
force. Their development will contribute to
the success of the organization
Human resources approach provides for the
changes in the managerial role. It requires
that the managers, instead of controlling
the employees, should provide active
support to them by treating them as part of
the group.

Contd..
By treating individuals as mature
adults, organization's can increase
productivity and at the same time
meet the needs of individuals for
independence and growth.

Productivity Approach
Productivity means the numerical
value of the ratio of output to input.
Higher the value of this ratio, greater
is the efficiency and effectiveness of
the management.
The traditional concept of
productivity was concerned with
economic inputs and output only

Contd..
These decisions relate to human,
social and economic issues. For
example if better organizational
behavior can reduce workers
turnover or the number of absentees,
a human output or benefit occurs.

Contingency Approach
The approach stresses that there is no
single way to manage effectively under
all circumstances. The methods of
behaviours which work effectively in one
situation may fail in another
The organizational structure and the
processes of management are governed
by the external environment and several
aspects of the internal environment.

Contd..
Effective management processes will
vary in different situations depending
on the individuals and groups in the
organisation, the nature of the job
and technology, the environment
facing the organisation and its
structure.

System Method
The systems approach is of the view
that an organization is a powerful
system with several subsystems
which are highly and closely
interconnected.
Any action taken to solve the
problems in one subsystem will have
its effect on the other subsystems as
well; since all the parts of the
organisation are closely connected

Contd..
Thus, this approach gives the
managers a way of looking at the
organization as a whole, whole
group, and the whole social system.
Organizations are termed as complex
systems comprising of interrelated
and interlocking systems.

Contd..

Management Function
Manager get thing done through
other people
They make decision , allocate
resources and direct the activities of
other to attain goal .
Basically management function can
be divided into Planning , organizing ,
leading and controlling.

Planning
Manager should make the best
possible forecast of events that could
effect the organization make the best
possible forecast of events that could
affect the organization and draw up
an operating plan to guide the future
decision.

Organizing
The manager must determine the
appropriate combination of
machines, material and human
necessary to accomplish the task

Leading / Commanding
The manager set a good example and
have direct , two-way communication
with sub-ordinates .
Manager must continually evaluate
both the organizational structure and
their sub-ordinate , and they should
not hesitate to change the structure if
they consider it faulty , or to fire the
sub-ordinate who are incompetent.

Controlling
Controlling ensures that actual
activities are consistent with
planning activities.
Everything should be subject to
control

Henry Fayol

Division of labor
Authority
Discipline
Unity of command
Unity of direction
Subordination of individual interest to
the common good

Remuneration
Centralization (de)
Hierarchy of authority
Order
Equity
Stability of staff
Initiative
Espirit de corps

Division of labor
This principle proposes that work can
be performed more efficiently and
more productivity if it is divided into
smaller elements and assigning
specific element to specific workers.

Authority
Managers requires formal and / or
informal authority to carry out their
managerial responsibilities.
They require the authority,
commensurate with responsibility , to
give orders so that tasks will be
accomplished.

Discipline
This principle suggests that, along
with good supervisors at all levels,
organizations require a set clearly
defined rules and procedures aimed
at attaining good employee discipline
and obedience.

Unity of Command
This is One man , one boss rule for
any action whatsoever, an employee
should receive orders from one boss
only

Unity of Direction
This principles proposes that there
should be only one plan and one
boss for each group of activities
having the same objectives .

Subordination of individual interest to

the common good
The goals of the organization must
take precedence over the interest of
individuals or group of individuals in
the organization
This principles proposes that
employees must sacrifice their
interest for the good of the
organization .

Remuneration
Compensation for work done should
be reasonable to both employee and
the organization and it should be
sufficiently motivational dont
underpay nor overpay employees.

Centralization
This principle suggests that too much
centralization leads to organizational
ineffectiveness and so does
decentralization .
Depends upon the human resource
and structure of the organization

Hierarchy of authority
Communication in organization
should be basically vertical : that
single uninterrupted chain of
authority should extend from highest
level to lowest position in
organization .
There should he horizontal
communication when need arises
and permission granted

Order
Organization materials should be in
the right place at right time and
employees should be assigned the
job best suited to them .
The principle provided a form of
formal organizational control .

Equity
Equity means fairness .

Stability of staff
Training new employees take time
and it is expensive. A high rate of
employee turnover would thus be
inefficient and should be avoided.

Initiative
Organization requires managers who
possess the ability to conceive new
ideas as well as the ability to
implement them

Esprit de corps
The maintenance of high morale and
unity among employee is imperative

Mintzbergs
Interpersonal
1. Figurehead
2. Leader
3. Liaison
. Informational
1. Monitor
2. Disseminator
3. Spokeperson

Contd..
Decisional
1. Entrepreneur
2. Disturbance Handler
3. Resource allocator
4. Negotiator

Figurehead
Description : Symbolic head; Obliged
to perform a number of routine
duties of a legal or social nature
Identifiable Activities: Ceremony ,
status, Greet visitors, sign legal
documents, attend ribbon cutting
ceremonies,
host receptions, etc.

Leader
Description : Responsible for the
motivation and activation of
subordinates, responsible for staffing,
training and associated duties
Identifiable Activities: Virtually all
managerial activities involving
subordinate

Liaison
Description : Maintains self developed
network of outside contacts and informers
who provide favors and information .
Establish and maintain contacts within
and outside the organization.
Identifiable Activities: Acknowledgement
of mail, external board work , other
activities involving outsiders

Monitor
Description : Seeks and receives
wide variety of special information
( much of it current ) to develop a
thorough understanding of the
organization and environment.
Identifiable Activities: Handling all
mail and contacts which are primarily
information, such as periodical news
and observational tours

Disseminator
Description :Transmits information received
from outsiders or from subordinate to members
of the organization. Some information factual,
some involving interpretation and integration.
Communicate/disseminate information to
others within the organization
Identifiable Activities: Forwarding mail into the
organization for informational purpose, verbal
contact , session and spontaneous
communication

Spokeperson
Description: Transmits information to
outsiders on the organizations plans,
policies, action and results ;serve as
expert on the organization industry.
Identifiable Activities: Board meeting,
handling mail and contact involving
transmission of information to
outsiders, pass on memo

Entrepreneur
Description : Search the organization
and its environment for opportunities
and initiates improvement projects
to bring about change; supervises
design of certain project as well
Identifiable Activities: Strategy and
review sessions involving initiation or
design of improvement projects

Disturbance Handler
Description: Responsible for
corrective action when the
organization faces important
,unexpected disturbances.
Identifiable Activities: Strategy and
review involving disturbances and
crises.
Settle conflicts between
subordinates; Choose strategic
alternatives;

Resource Allocator
Description: Responsible for
allocation of organization resources
of all kinds- in effect the making or
approving of all significant
organizational decisions.
Identifiable Activities: Scheduling
request for authorization , any
activity involving budgeting and the
programing of subordinates work

Negotiator
Description: Responsible for
representing the organization at
major negotiation .
Identifiable Activities: Negotiation

Challenges and opportunities for OB

Responding to globalization
Managing workforce diversity
Improving quality and productivity
Stimulating innovation and change
Coping with temporariness
Working in networked organization
Helping Employees balance work life
conflicts
Improving ethical behavior

Responding to globalization
Organization are no longer constrained by
national borders.
Eg. Mcdonalds sells hamburger in moscow.
ExxonMobil, a so called American company ,
receive almost 75% of its revenue outside
america. Honda builds cars in ohio, Ford in
brazil; Volkswagen in Mexico and both
Mercedes and BMW in RSA.
These example illustrate that the world has
become global village

Contd..
Increased Foreign Assignment
Working with people from different
culture.
Coping with Anti capitalism Backlash
Overseeing Movements of jobs to
countries with low cost labor.
Managing People during the war on
terror .

Coping with Anti capitalism Backlash

Capitalism focus on efficiency, growth and profits
may be accepted in the united states, Australia
and Hong Kong but these capitalistic value arent
as popular in places like France , the Middle east
and Scandinavian countries.
Finlands egalitarian values have created a soak
the rich mentality among politicians. For eg.
Finland richest men , who is making close to $9
million a year , was ticketed for doing 80 kilometer
per hour through a 40 kilometer zone in central
Helsinki, the Finnish court hit him with a fine of
$217,000

Managing Work Force

Diversity
Workforce Diversity :Organization are
becoming more heterogeneous mix
of people in terms of gender , age ,
race , ethnicity and sexual
orientation.
LGBT
Race: Hispanic , Asian , black

Embracing Diversity
Embracing Diversity : Previously
manager used melting point
approach. ie. People will assimilate
automatically.
But employee dont set aside their
cultural values, lifestyle preference
and difference when they come to
work.
So addressing their different
lifestyles, family needs and work

Improving Quality and

Productivity
Excess capacity translate into
increased competition . And
increased competition is forcing
manager to reduce costs and at the
same time, improve their
organizations productivity and the
quality of the products and services
they offer.

Stimulating Innovation and

change
Successful organization must foster
innovation and master the art of
change or theyll become candidates
for extinction.
Victory will go to the organizations
that maintain their flexibility,
continually improve their quality, and
beat their competition to the
marketplace with a constant stream
of innovative products and services

 Dominos single-handedly brought on

the demise of small pizza parlors
whose managers thought they could
continue doing what they had been
doing for years
A mazon.com is putting a lot of
independent bookstores out of
business as it proves you can
successfully sell books (and most
anything else) from a Web site

 After years of lackluster performance,

Boeing realized it needed to change its
business model. The result was its 787
Dreamliner and a return to being the
worlds largest airplane manufacturer.
The challenge for managers is to
stimulate their employees creativity and
tolerance for change. The field of OB
provides a wealth of ideas and techniques
to aid in realizing these goals.

Coping with temporariness

Globalization, expanded capacity,
and advances in technology have
required organizations to be fast and
flexible if they are to survive.
The result is that most managers and
employees today work in a climate
best characterized as temporary.

 Workers must continually update

their knowledge and skills to perform
new job requirements. Production
employees at companies such as
Caterpillar, Ford, and Alcoa now need
to operate computerized production
equipment. That was not part of their
job descriptions 20 years ago.

 employees were assigned to a

specific work group, gaining a
considerable amount of security
working with the same people day in
and day out. That predictability has
been replaced by temporary work
groups, with members from different
departments, and the increased use
of employee rotation to fill constantly
changing work assignments.

 Finally, organizations themselves are

in a state of flux. They continually
reorganize their various divisions, sell
off poorly performing businesses,
downsize operations, subcontract
noncritical services and operations to
other organizations, and replace
permanent employees with
temporary workers.

Working in networked organization

Networked organizations allow people to
communicate and work together even though they
may be thousands of miles apart.
The managers job is different in a networked
organization. Motivating and leading people and
making collaborative decisions online requires
different techniques than when individuals are
physically present in a single location. As more
employees do their jobs by linking to others
through networks, managers must develop new
skills. OB can provide valuable insights to help with
honing those skills

Helping Employees balance work life confli cts

The typical employee in the 1960s or

1970s showed up at a specified
workplace Monday through Friday
and worked for clearly defined 8- or
9-hour chunks of time. Thats no
longer true for a large segment of
todays workforce.
How do worklife conflicts come
about?

 First, the creation of global

organizations means the world never
sleeps. At any time on any day,
thousands of General Electric
employees are working somewhere.
The need to consult with colleagues
or customers eight or ten time zones
away means many employees of
global firms are on call 24 hours a
day

 Second, communication technology allows many

technical and professional employees to do their
work at home, in their cars, or on the beach in
Tahitibut it also means many feel like they never
really get away from the office
Finally, the rise of the dual-career couple makes it
difficult for married employees to find time to fulfill
commitments to home, spouse, children, parents,
and friends. Millions of single-parent households
and employees with dependent parents have even
more significant challenges in balancing work and
family responsibilities.

Improving Ethical Behavior

In an organizational world
characterized by cutbacks,
expectations of increasing
productivity, and tough competition,
its not surprising many employees
feel pressured to cut corners, break
rules, and engage in other
questionable practices

Contd..
Increasingly they face ethical dilemmas and
ethical choices
, in which they are required
to identify right and wrong conduct. Should
they blow the whistle if they uncover illegal
activities in their company? Do they follow
orders with which they dont personally
agree? Should they give an inflated
performance evaluation to an employee they
like, knowing it could save that employees
job? Do they play politics to advance their
career?