Organizational Behavior Notes

ALL UG COURSES EXCEPT B.COM. (HONS.) AND B.COM. (PROGRAMME)

Basics of Organizational Behavior

• Generic Elective (GE).

• Semester – IV Course Credit – 4.

• University of Delhi.

• Department of Distance and Continuing Education.

• As per the UGCF-2022 and National Education Policy 2020.

Introduction to Organizational Behavior

• By Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Dr. Virender Kaushal, Ms. Ritika Sharma.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the concept, features, and importance of the term ‘organization’.

• Define organizational behavior and its emergence.

• Identify the key elements, nature, and scope of organizational behavior.

• Understand the relation between management and organization function.

• Understand the challenges faced by the organization in changing times.

Introduction

• Organizations are social systems run by people.

• Business organizations combine men, money, machinery, material, and management (five M’s).

• Management (people) handles the other four M’s.

• Organizational functioning depends on people's behavior.

• Human behavior is unpredictable.

• Understanding human behavior is important for managers to manage effectively.

• Managers need to understand:

  • Why people behave as they do at work.

  • What influences people’s behavior at work.

• This understanding forms the subject matter of organizational behavior (OB).

Concept of Organization

• Mooney and Reiley: "Organization is defined as the form of human association for attaining common objectives."

• Talcott Parsons: "Organization is defined as a social unit which is deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals."

• Wheeler: "Internal organization is the structural framework of duties and responsibilities required of personnel in performing various functions within the company…a mechanism for carrying out function to achieve the goals set-up by company management".

• Wheeler's view: Organization is fixing duties and responsibilities to achieve organizational goals.

• Different authors view organization from various perspectives, all agreeing on establishing official relationships among people to achieve organizational goals.

Features of Organization

1. Group of interrelated individuals: Organizations consist of interconnected people, not random collections.

2. Attainment of common goals: Organizations aim to achieve common goals; unclear goals hinder achievement.

3. Coordination: Coordination within the organization and among employees is essential, avoiding delays and confusions. Actions of one affect others.

4. Delegation of work: Organizations have hierarchical posts with different responsibilities; delegation distributes work.

5. Performance: Organizations aim to achieve goals through effective performance and human resource development; the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Importance of Organization

1. Clarity at the Workplace: Clarifies businesses, fosters accountability, develops connections among employees, creates a chain of command, and establishes a clear flow of information.

2. Optimum Utilization of Resources: Efficient use of financial and human resources through distribution of work and tracking completion while curbing waste.

3. Encourages Creativity: Stimulates employee innovation through task delegation and clearly defined job duties.

4. Brings Stability: Effective leadership, cooperation, and communication bring stability.

5. Personal Growth: Human development, training, and delegation of jobs reflecting long-term success; helps assemble skilled personnel, increasing productivity and income.

Organizational Behavior

• Study of individual behavior in isolation, in groups, and as members of an organization.

• Influenced by personality, perception, learning, attitude, family history, education, motivation, job satisfaction, performance evaluation, leadership effectiveness, norms, values, and ethics.

• Essential field of study relating to expected conduct.

• Understanding personal credentials, background, social context, educational status, and impact of social groups.

• Preventative measures and constant/progressive management commitment.

• Davis and Newstram: "Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people act within organizations."

• K Aswathappa: "OB is the study of human behavior in organizational setting, of the interface between human behavior and organization and of the organization itself."

Emergence of Organizational Behavior

• Traced to Max Weber and previous organizational research.

• Industrial Revolution (around 1760) led to new production methods and organizational structures.

• Max Weber examined new organizational structures, describing bureaucracy as the ideal form based on rational-legal principles and technological effectiveness.

• Scientific management and Taylorism in the 1890s initiated organizational behavior studies.

• Human relations movement (1930s-1950s) provided shape to Organizational behavior.

• Significant contributions from Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Maslow, David Mc Cellan, and Victor Vroom.

• Increased quantitative approach around the 1960s and 1970s with concepts like resource dependence and informal organizational structure.

• Organizational ecology, institutional theory, and contingency theory related to this time.

• Studied organizational change and cultural explanations of organizations in the 1980s.

• Qualitative research gained acceptance, influenced by anthropology, psychology, and sociology.

• Multidisciplinary field understanding how people behave in organizational situations.

Scope of Organizational Behavior

• Collecting data and interpreting findings to guide behavior.

• Measuring organizational success by employee job performance and satisfaction.

• Focusing on productivity, quality, zero errors, and avoiding absenteeism/turnover.

• Promoting a positive organizational work culture and employee job satisfaction.

• Coordinated effort for corporate goal achievement.

• Establishing appropriate workplace culture with effective leadership.

• Considering benchmarking, re-engineering, job re-design, and empowerment in manufacturing, services, and social work.

Nature of Organizational Behavior

• Independent: A multi- and interdisciplinary field not relying on a specific theoretical foundation.

• Multidisciplinary: Draws from psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

• Focused: Research aims to address organizational human behavior issues.

• Normative Science: Prescribes socially acceptable goals.

• Human Approach: Based on the natural urge for autonomy, creative expression, and productive endeavors.

• System Approach: Analyzes human behavior in light of their socio-psychological framework, considering all the variables.

Relationship Between Management and OB

• Competent manager and management are crucial for company success.

• Organizational behavior plays a key role in management/setting up a new business.

• Organizational behavior studies how different behaviors in organizations affect and are influenced by groups, individuals, and organizational structure.

Need of Management

• Management is necessary for planning, organizing, taking initiative, and selecting the best options.

• It is vital for personal life and daily activities.

• Multiple management levels oversee operations, streamlining approval procedures.

Functions of Management

• Planning: Systematic approach to making decisions that shape the future.

• Organizing: Defining, arranging, and coordinating work sub-divisions.

• Staffing: Recruiting, training, developing, compensating, and evaluating employees.

• Directing: Leading, communicating, motivating, and supervising.

• Controlling: Setting standards, measuring performance, identifying deviations, and taking corrective action.

• Management functions are interdependent.

Reasons why Organizational Behavior is an Integral Part of Management

1. Understanding the relationship between an organization and its employees: Aids in developing better human resource strategies, improving morale, fostering loyalty, and raising the value of human capital.

2. Motivating Employees: Understanding staff members and motivating them based on individual needs; improves company performance.

3. Improving Industrial Relations: Identifying root causes, predicting future directions, and managing effects to improve industrial/labor relations.

4. Effective Use of Human Resources: Inspiring and motivating staff members to work harder and more productively through better understanding and analysis.

5. Predicting Human Behavior: Preparing managers to increase productivity and profitability.

Key Elements of OB

• Four key elements: people, structure, technology, and environment.

People

• Organizations are run by people (individuals and groups).

• People differ from each other; managers cannot adopt one formula or standard across the board.

• OB begins with the individual.

• Individuals join organizations with their social background, likes/dislikes, pride/prejudices, and family life.

• Human behavior is caused and directed towards goals.

• People are living, thinking, feeling beings; treat them with human dignity.

Structure

• Organizations are social systems with formal and informal relationships.

• Different jobs are required, and people must be structurally related and coordinated.

• OB is based on mutuality of interest uniting people and the organization.

Technology

• Provides resources and affects tasks.

• Allows people to do more and better work but restricts people from doing things in various ways.

• Has costs and benefits.

Environment

• Organizations operate within internal and external environments.

• Organizations are part of a larger system influencing each other, such as government and family.

• Environment affects people by influencing their attitudes, working conditions, etc.

• Environment is the cause, and the organization is the effect.

Organizational Behavior in Changing Times

The Challenges Faced by Management

• Challenges: aging employees, changing expectations, declining loyalties, increasing diversity, and global competition.

Work-force Diversity

• Diverse groups differing in age, gender, race, ethnicity, and education.

• Organizations need to accommodate different lifestyles, cultural moorings, family needs, and work styles.

• Diversity can increase creativity and innovation if managed properly; otherwise, it can cause higher turnover, conflict, and ineffective communication.

Changing Demographics of Workforce

• Increasing number of women, young workers, aged people, and working couples.

• Employees need to be handled with circumspection.

Changing Employee Expectations

• Shift from job security and attractive remunerations to empowerment, equality, and quality of work-life (QWL).

• Employees expect equality with management.

• Monetary incentives alone are insufficient; new methods of motivation, such as job design, are crucial.

Ever Expanding Globalisation

• Business crosses national boundaries, making managing people more complex.

• Managers frequently transferred to other countries manage a workforce with different needs, aspirations, and attitudes.

• Managers need to understand and adapt to varying cultures accurately.

Towards Improving Quality

• The delivery of quality products and services directly impacts organizational success.

• Focus on ‘Total Quality Management’ (TQM) for constant customer satisfaction through continuous improvement.

• Price, brand loyalty, attractive design, and technical innovations are important, but delivering quality service in the exploding service sector is critical.

Summary

• Davis and Newstram: “Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people act within organizations.”

• Organizational behavior features include: being independent, multi-disciplinary, focused, human approaching, etc.

• Talcott Parsons: “Organization is defined as a social unit which is deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals.”

• Organization features: group of interrelated individuals, attainment of common goals, coordination, delegation of work, and performance.

• Organizational behavior levels include individual, group, and organizational.

• Organizational behavior is a key component of the majority of management programs for several reasons: Understanding the relationship between an organization and its employees, Motivating Employees, improving industrial relations, effective utilization of human resources, and predicting human behavior.

• Challenges faced by management in changing times: workforce diversity, globalization, quality focus, etc.

Individual Behavior

• Structure of personal and professional attributes.

Introduction to Personality

Attitude

Value

Job Stress, Conflict Management, Organizational Design and Dynamics, and many other topics.