Organizational Behavior

Question: Organizational Behavior is the foundation stone on which the health of any organization depends. Discuss.

Answer: Organizational Behavior is an important concept for any organization, since it deals with the three determinants of behavior in organizations: Individuals, Groups and Structure. Organizational Behavior then applies the knowledge gained about individuals, groups and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more effectively. In a nut shell, OB is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance. Seeing as OB is concerned with employee related situations, it tends to emphasize behavior related to jobs, work, absenteeism, employment turnover, human performance and management. The organization's base rests on management's philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcomes are performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from. The ability to use the tools of organizational behavior to understand behavior in organizations is one reason for studying this subject. A second reason is to learn how to apply these concepts, theories, and techniques to improve behavior in organizations so that individuals, groups, and organizations can achieve their goals. Managers are challenged to find new ways to motivate and coordinate employees to ensure that their goals are aligned with organizational goals. Organizational Behavior addresses following points:

• Organizational behavior studies the factors that impact individual and group behavior in organizations and how

organizations manage their environments. Organizational behavior Provides a set of tools—theories and concepts—to understand, analyze, describe, and manage attitudes and behavior in organizations. • The study of organizational behavior can improve and change individual, group, and organizational Behavior to attain individual, group, and organizational goals. • Organizational behavior can be analyzed at three levels: the individual, the group, and the Organization as a whole. A full understanding must include an examination of behavioral factors at each level. • A manager’s job is to use the tools of organizational behavior to increase effectiveness, an Organization’s ability to achieve its goal. Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness. In view of the fact that OB is the grounds on which an organization builds itself, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology play a vital role in understanding workplace behavior and employee related situations. •

Psychology - is a science which seeks to measure, explain and sometimes change the behavior of humans. Early organizational psychologists concerned themselves with the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other factors which could have an effect on efficient workforce performance. More recently, contributions in the field of organizational psychology have expanded to learning, perception, personality, emotions, job satisfaction, decision making processes, leadership, needs and motivational forces, employee selection techniques and job stress.

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Sociology- Studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. Sociologists have contributed to

OB through their study of group behavior in organizations, both formal and complex. Sociology has contributed to research on organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational techniques, communications, power and conflict. •

Anthropology- is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Work on this field has helped understanding differences in fundamental values, attitudes and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.

Question: Discuss the learning’s of Organizational Behavior, which you may have found, as a budding manager, will be useful for your personal growth. Answer: Organizational Behavior, an indigenous learning of techniques which deals with the knowledge gained about individuals, groups and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more effectively. Through these methods a budding manager can gain several virtues to induce personal growth of self and group related issues. Since managers are individuals who achieve goals through other people, OB makes us aware of the various roles we need to play as managers to encourage the workforce to work with more satisfaction and profitability. As managers we will participate in several roles, mainly being: Interpersonal Roles: All managers are required to perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature. All managers also have a leadership role. This role includes hiring, training, motivating and disciplining employees. • Informational Roles: All managers, to some degree, collect information from outside organizations and institutions. Managers then act as a conduit to transmit info to organizational members. • Decisional role: Here managers deal with various affairs such as, overseeing new projects, taking corrective measure in an unforeseen event and discuss issues and •

bargain with other units to gain advantages for their own unit. These roles demand a deep understanding of human behavior in both individual and group forms, and so OB provides us with the means of tackling these issues with confidence and confidence. Understanding OB has never been more important for managers than it is today. In today’s world, the people of earth are much closer than before and managers need to deal with a vast array of diversities, such as, • Culture • Demography • Religion • Higher demand of customer satisfaction • Coping with rapid changes in technology • Balancing Stress related lifestyle of the workers • Ethical behaviour As an up-and-coming manager, the teachings of OB can significantly increase one’s personal sensibilities and outlook on these topics. 1. Working with people from different cultures: What might seem

motivating to a manager might not appeal to his workforce at all. Or a manager’s style of communication may be straightforward, but the workforce may find it threatening and uncomfortable. As a manager one must learn how to adapt his managerial style to their cultural, geographic and religious disparities. 2. Workforce diversity: Organizations are increasingly becoming a more

heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, race, age, ethnicity and sexual orientation. No longer can these disparities and clichés be ignored, these people are in the real world educated and ready to work. So mangers must recognize the fact that they don’t leave their lifestyles, cultural values and perception at home, so we as managers must learn to accommodate this diverse group of people by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs and work styles. 3. Customer Service: Many an organization has failed because its

employees failed to please its customers. Management needs to create a customer-responsive culture. OB can provide considerable guidance in guidance in helping managers create such culturescultures in which employees are friendlier and courteous, accessible, knowledgeable and prompt in responding to customer needs, in order to please the patron.

4. Ethics: Today’s manager needs to create an ethically healthy climate

for his employees, where they can work productively and confront a minimal level of uncertainty regarding what constitutes right and wrong behaviour. Organizational behavior is the path to understanding how elements of the work place fall into place. As a nascent manager one can develop the self with the help of these learning’s and partake in managerial roles confidently.

References: • • • • •

Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge and Seema Sanghi – Organizational behavior – Edition 13 – India. www.wikipedia.org www.wikiversity.org www.skagitwatershed.org www.google.com

Organizational Behavior PGP 2009 – 2011 Section C Roll No. 66 Rohan Chowdhry