INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Learning Objectives
After reading this lesson, you should be able to understand:

The major environmental challenges and the paradigm shift that the
management faces today

The management perspective of organizational behaviour

The historical background of modern organizational behaviour

The modern approach to organizational behaviour

The knowledge and information explosion, global competition, total quality and diversity
are some of the bitter realities that the managers are facing today. There are many
solutions being offered to deal with these complex challenges. Yet the simple but most
profound solution may be found in the words of Sam Walton, the richest person in the
world and the founder of Wal-Mart. Sam was once asked the key to successful
organizations and management. Sam quickly replied, "People are the key".
The term paradigm comes from the Greek word 'paradigma', which means
''model, pattern or example". First introduced over thirty years ago, by the philosophy
and science historian Thomas Khun, the term "paradigm" is now used as, a broad
model, a framework, a way of thinking, and a scheme for understanding reality. The
impact of information technology, total quality and diversity mentioned earlier has led to
a paradigm shift.
NEW PARADIGM
The organizational behaviour has a goal lo help the managers make a transition to the
new paradigm. Some of the new paradigm characteristics include coverage of secondgeneration

information

technology

and

total

quality

management

such

as

empowerment, reengineering and benchmarking, and learning organization for

managing diversity of work. The new paradigm sets the stage for the study,
understanding, and application of the time-tested micro-variables, dynamics and macrovariables. One must know why management needs a new perspective to meet the
environmental challenges and to shift to a new paradigm.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR MANAGEMENT
Management is generally considered to have three major dimensionstechnical,
conceptual and human. The technical dimension consists of the manager's expertise in
particular functional areas. They know the requirements of the jobs and have the
functional knowledge to get the job done. But the practicing managers ignore the
conceptual and human dimensions of their jobs.
Most managers think that their employees are lazy, and are interested only in
money, and that if you could make them happy in terms of money, they would be
productive. If such assumptions are accepted, the human problems that the
management is facing are relatively easy to solve.
But human behaviour at work is much more complicated and diverse. The new
perspective assumes that employees are extremely complex and that there is a need
for theoretical understanding given by empirical research before applications can be
made for managing people effectively.
MODERN APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
The modern approach to organizational behaviour is the search for the truth of why
people behave the way they do. The organizational behaviour is a delicate and complex
process. If one aims to manage an organization, it is necessary to understand its
operation. Organization is the combination of science and people. While science and
technology is predictable, the human behaviour in organization is rather unpredictable.
This is because it arises from deep needs and value systems of people.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR MODERN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Scientific Management Approach

Scientific management approach was developed by F.W. Taylor at the beginning of the
20th century. This theory supported the use of certain steps in scientifically studying
each element of a job, selecting and training the best workers for the job arid making
sure that the workers follow the prescribed method of doing the job. It provided a
scientific rationale for job specialization and mass production. His assumption was that
employees are motivated largely by money. To increase the output, Taylor advised
managers to pay monetary incentives to efficient workers.
Yet, his theory was criticized by many employers and workers. Workers objected
to the pressure of work as being harder and faster. Critics worried that the methods took
the humanity out of labor, reducing workers to machines responding to management
incentives. Therefore, Taylor's view is now considered inadequate and narrow due to
the points given by the critics.
Bureaucratic Approach
While scientific management was focusing on the interaction between workers and the
task, me researchers were studying how to structure the organization more effectively.
Instead of trying to make each worker more efficient, classical organization theory
sought the most effective overall organizational structure for workers and managers.
The theory's most prominent advocate, Max Weber, proposed a 'bureaucratic
form' of structure, which he thought would work for all organizations. Weber's idea!
bureaucracy was , logical, rational and efficient. He made the naive assumption that one
structure would work best for all organizations.
Henry Ford, Henry Fayol and Frederick W. Taylor, the early management
pioneers, recognized the behavioral side of management. However, they did not
emphasize the human dimensions. Although there were varied and complex reasons for
the emerging importance of behavioral approach to management, it is generally
recognized that the Hawthorne studies mark the historical roots for the field of
organizational behaviour.

Hawthorne Studies
Even, as Taylor and Weber brought attention with their rational, logical approaches to
more efficient productivity, their views were criticized on the ground that both
approaches ignored worker's humanity.
The real beginning of applied research in the area of organizational behaviour
started with Hawthorne Experiments. In 1924, a group of professors began an enquiry
into the human aspects of work and working conditions at the Hawthorne plant of
Western Electric Company, Chicago. The findings of these studies were given a new
name 'human relations' the studies brought out a number of findings relevant to
understanding human behaviour at work. The Human element in the workplace was
considerably more important. The workers are influenced by social factors and the
behaviour of the individual worker is determined by the group.
Hawthorne studies have been criticized for their research methods and
conclusions drawn. But their impact on the emerging field of organizational behaviour
was dramatic. They helped usher in a more humanity centered approach to work.

APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

There are mainly four approaches to organizational behaviour. They are:
Human resources approach

Contingency approach

Productivity approach

Systems approach

Human Resources Approach

The human resources approach is concerned with the growth and development of
people towards higher levels of competency, creativity and fulfillment, because people
are the central resource in any organization. This approach help employees become
better in terms of work and responsibility and then it tries to create a climate in which
they can contribute to the best of their improved abilities. This approach is also known

as 'supportive approach' because the manager's primary role changes from control of
employees to providing an active support for their growth and performance.
A Contingency Approach
A contingency approach to organizational behaviour implies that different situations
require different behavioral practices for effectiveness instead of following a traditional
approach for all situations. Each situation must be analyzed carefully to determine the
significant variables that exist in order to establish the more effective practices. The
strength of this approach is that it encourages analysis of each situation prior to action.
Thus, it helps to use all the current knowledge about people in the organization in the
most appropriate manner.
Productivity Approach
Productivity is a ratio that compares units of output with units of input. It is often
measured in terms of economic inputs and outputs. Productivity is considered to be
improved, if more outputs can be produced from the same amount of inputs. But
besides economic inputs and outputs, human and social inputs and outputs also arc
important.
Systems Approach
A system is an interrelated part of an organization or a society that interacts with
everyone related to that organization or society and functions as a whole. Within the
organization 'people' employ 'technology' in performing the 'task' that they are
responsible for, while the 'structure' of the organization serves as a basis for coordinating

all

their

different

activities.

The

systems

view

emphasizes

the

interdependence of each of these elements within the organization, if the organization

as a whole is to function effectively. The other key aspect of the systems view of
organization is its emphasis on the interaction between the organization and its broader
environment,, which consists of social, economic, cultural and political environment
within which they operate.

Organizations arc dependent upon their surrounding environment in two main

ways: First, the organization requires 'inputs' from the environment in the form of raw
material, people, money, ideas and so on. The organization itself can be thought of as
performing certain 'transformation' processes, on its inputs in order to create outputs in
the form of products or services. Secondly, the organization depends on environment
such as, public to accept its output. The systems view of organization thus emphasizes
on the key interdependencies that organizations must manage. Within themselves the
organizations must trade off the interdependencies among people, tasks, technology
and structure in order to perform their transformation processes effectively and
efficiently. Organizations must also recognize their interdependence with the broader
environments within which they exist.
CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
A Separate Field of Study
Organizational behaviour can be treated as a distinct field of study. It is yet to become a
science. Now efforts are being made to synthesize principles, concepts and processes
in this field of study.
Interdisciplinary Approach
Organizational behaviour is basically an interdisciplinary approach. It draws heavily from
other disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology. Besides, it also takes
relevant things from economics, political science, law and history. Organizational
behaviour integrates the relevant contents of these disciplines to make them applicable
for organizational analysis. e.g. it addresses issues, which may be relevant to the case,
such as the following:

What facilitates accurate perception and attribution?

What influences individual, group and organizational learning and the

development of individual attitudes toward .work?

How do individual differences in personality, personal development, and career

development affect individual's behaviours and attitudes?

What motivates people to work, and how. does the organizational reward system
influence worker's behaviour and attitudes?

How do managers build effective teams?

What contributes to effective decision-making?

What are the constituents of effective communication?

What are the characteristics of effective communication?

How can power be secured and used productively?

What factors contribute to effective negotiations?

How can conflict (between groups or between a manager and subordinates) be

resolved or managed?

How can jobs and organizations be effectively designed?

How can managers help workers deal effectively with change?

An Applied Science
The basic objective of organizational behaviour is to make application of various
researches to solve the organizational problems, particularly related to the human
behavioral aspect.
Normative and Value Centered
Organizational behaviour is a normative science. A normative science prescribes how
the various findings of researches can be applied to get organizational results, which
are acceptable to the society. Thus, what is acceptable by the society or individuals
engaged in an organization is a matter of values of the society and people concerned.
Humanistic and Optimistic
Organizational behaviour focuses the attention on people from humanistic point of view.
It is based on the belief that needs and motivation of people are of high' concern.
Further, there is optimism about the innate potential of man to be independent, creative,
predictive and capable of contributing positively to the objectives of the organization.

Oriented towards Organizational Objectives

Organizational behaviour is oriented towards organizational objectives. In fact,
organizational behaviour tries to integrate both individual and organizational objectives
so that both are achieved simultaneously.
A Total System Approach
An individual's behaviour can be analyzed keeping in view his psychological framework,
interpersonal-orientation, group influence and social and cultural factors; Thus,
individual's nature is quite complex and organizational behaviour by applying systems
approach tries to find solutions for this complexity.

LESSON 2
FOUNDATION OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Learning Objectives
After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

Define and explain the meaning of organizational behaviour

Understand the nature and importance of organizational behaviour

Relate the organizational behaviour to managers job

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT
Management is commonly defined as "Getting work done through other people". This
simple definition explains the significance of the role of people. The work will not be
done unless "people" want to do the work and if the work is not done then there will be

no organisation. Hence, the cooperation of the workers is crucial to the success or

failure of the organisation.
DEFINITION OF ORGANISATION
According to Gary Johns, "Organisations are social inventions for accomplishing goals
through group efforts". This definition covers wide variety-of groups such as businesses,
schools, hospitals, fraternal groups, religious bodies, government agencies and so on.
There are three significant aspects in the above definition, which require further
analysis. They are as follows:

Social Inventions: The word "social" as a derivative of society basically means

gathering of people. It is the people that primarily make up an organisation.

Accomplishing Goals: All organisations have reasons for their existence. These
reasons are the goals towards which all organisational efforts are directed. While
the primary goal .of any commercial organisation is to make money for its
owners, this goal is inter-related with many other goals. Accordingly, any
organisational goal must integrate in itself the personal goals of all individuals
associated with the organisation.

Group Effort: People, both as members of the society at large and as a part of
an organisation interact with each other and are inter-dependent. Individuals in
themselves have physical and intellectual limitations and these limitations can
only be overcome by group efforts.

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Organisational behaviour is concerned with people's thoughts, feelings, emotions and
actions in setting up a work. Understanding an individual behaviour is in itself a
challenge, but understanding group behaviour in an organisational environment is a
monumental managerial task.
As Nadler and Tushman put it, "Understanding one individual's behaviour
is challenging in and of itself; understanding a group that is made up of different
individuals and comprehending the many relationships among those individuals

is even more complex. Ultimately, the organisation's work gets done through
people, individually or collectively, on their, own or in collaboration with
technology. Therefore, the management of organisational behaviour is central to
the management taska task that involves the capacity to "understand" the
behaviour patterns of individuals, groups and organisations, to ''predict'" what
behavioural responses will be elicited by various managerial actions and finally
to use this understanding and these predictions to achieve "control".
Organisational behaviour can then be defined as: "The study of human behaviour
in organisational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the
organisational context, and the organisation itself."
The above definition has three partsthe individual behaviour, the organisation
and the (interface between the two. Each individual brings to an organisation a unique
set of beliefs, values, attitudes and other personal characteristics and these
characteristics of all individuals must interact with each other in order to create
organisational settings. The organisational behaviour is specifically concerned with
work-related behaviour, which takes place in organisations.
In addition to understanding; the on-going behavioural processes involved, in
'their own jobs, managers must understand the basic human element of their work.
Organisational behaviour offers three major ways of understanding this context;
people as organisations, people as resources and people as people.
Above all, organisations are people; and without people there would be no
organisations. Thus, if managers are to understand the organisations in which they
work, they must first understand the people who make up the organisations.
As resources, people are one of the organisation's most valuable assets. People
create the organisation, guide and direct its course, and vitalise and revitalise it. People
make the decisions, solve the problems, and answer the questions. As managers

increasingly recognise the value of potential contributions by their employees, it will

become more and more important for managers and employees to grasp the
complexities of organisational behaviour.
Finally, there are people as people - an argument derived from the simple notion
of humanistic management. People spend a large part of their lives in ; organisational
settings, mostly as employees. They have a right to expect something in return beyond
wages and benefits. They have a right to expect satisfaction and to learn new skills. An
understanding of organisational behaviour can help the manager better appreciate the
variety of individual needs and' expectations.
Organisational behaviour is concerned with the characteristics and behaviours of
employees in isolation; the characteristics and processes that are part of the
organisation itself; 'and the characteristics and behaviours directly resulting from people
with their individual needs and motivations working within the structure of the
organisation. One cannot understand an individuals behaviour completely without
learning something about that individual's organisation. Similarly, he cannot understand
how the organisation operates without; studying the people who-make it up. Thus, the
organisation influences and is influenced by individuals.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
The key elements in the organisational behaviour are people,, structure, technology and
the environment in which the organisation operates.

People: People make up the internal and social system of the organisation. They
consist of individuals and groups. The groups may be big or small; formal or
informal; official or unofficial. Groups are dynamic and they work in the
organisation to achieve their objectives.

Structure: Structure defines the formal relationships of the people in

organisations. Different people in the organisation are performing different type of
jobs and they need to be (elated in some structural way so that their work can be
effectively co-ordinated.

Technology: Technology such as machines and work processes provide the

resources with which people work and affects the tasks that they perform. The
technology used has a significant influence on working relationships. It allows
people to do more and work better but it also restricts' people in various ways.

Environment: All organisations operate within an external environment. It is the

part of a larger system that contains many other elements such as government,
family and other organisations. All of these mutually influence each other in a
complex system that creates a context for a group of people.

NATURE OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Each individual brings to an organisation a unique set of personal characteristics,
experiences from other organisation, the environment surrounding the organisation and 1
they also posses a personal background. In considering the people working in an
organisation, organisational behaviour must look at the unique perspective that each
individual brings to the work setting.
But individuals do not work in isolation. They come in contact with other
individuals and the organisation in a variety of ways. Points of contact include
managers, co-workers, formal policies and procedures of the organisation, and various
changes implemented by the organisation. Over time, the individual, too, changes, as a
function of both the personal experiences and the organisation. The organisation is also
affected by the presence and eventual absence of the individual. Clearly, the study of
organisational behaviour must consider the ways in which the individual and the
organisation interact.
An organisation, characteristically, exists before a particular person joins it and
continues to exist after he leaves it. Thus, the organisation itself represents a crucial
third perspective from which to view organisational behaviour.
NEED FOR STUDYING ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

The rules of work are different from the rules of play. The uniqueness of rules and the
environment of organisations forces managers to study organisational behaviour in
order to learn about normal and abnormal ranges of behaviour.
More specifically, organisational behaviour serves three purposes:

What causes behaviour?

Why particular antecedents cause behaviour?

Which antecedents of behaviour can be controlled directly and which are beyond
control?

A more specific and formal course in organisational behaviour helps an individual to

develop more refined and workable sets of assumption that is directly relevant to his
work interactions. Organisational behaviour helps in predicting human behaviour in the
organisational setting by drawing a clear distinction between individual behaviour and
group behaviour.
Organisational behaviour does not provide solutions to all complex and different
behaviour puzzles of organisations. It is only the intelligent judgement of the manager in
dealing with a specific issue that can try to solve the problem. Organisational behaviour
only assists in making judgements that are derived from tenable assumptions;
judgement that takes into account the important variables underlying the situation;
judgement that are assigned due recognition to the complexity of individual or group
behaviour; judgement that explicitly takes into account the managers own goals,
motives, hang-ups, blind spots and weaknesses.
IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organisational behaviour offers several ideas to management as to how human factor
should be properly emphasised to achieve organisational objectives. Barnard has
observed that an organisation is a conscious interaction of two or more people. This
suggests that since an organisation is Ihe interaction of persons, they should be given
adequate importance in managing the organisation. Organisational behaviour provides

opportunity to management to analyse human behaviour and prescribe means for

shaping it to a particular direction.
Understanding Human Behaviour Organisational behaviour provides understanding the human behaviour in all directions in which the human beings interact.
Thus, organisational behaviour can be understood at the individual level, interpersonal
level, group level and inter-group level.
Organisational behaviour helps to analyse 'why' and 'how' an individual behaves
in a particular way. Human behaviour is a complex phenomenon and is affected by a
large number of factors including the psychological, social and cultural implications.
Organisational behaviour integrates these factors to provide* simplicity in understanding
the human behaviour.

Interpersonal Level: Human behaviour can be understood at the level of

interpersonal interaction. Organisational behaviour provides means for
understanding the interpersonal relationships in an organisation. Analysis of
reciprocal relationships, role analysis and transactional analysis are some of the
common methods, which provide such understanding.

Group Level: Though people interpret anything at their individual level, they are
often modified by group pressures, which then become a force in shaping human
behaviour, Thus, individuals should be studied in groups also.. Research in group
dynamics has contributed vitally to organisational behaviour and shows how a
group behaves in its norms, cohesion, goals, procedures, communication pattern
and leadership. These research results are advancing managerial knowledge of
understanding group behaviour, which is very important for organisational morale
and productivity.

Inter-group Level: The organisation is made up of many groups that develop

complex relationships to build their process and substance. Understanding the
effect of group relationships is important for managers in today's organisation.
Inter-group relationship may be in the form of co-operation or competition.

The co-operative relationships help the organisation in achieving its objectives.

Organisational behaviour provides means to understand and achieve co-operative
group relationships through interaction, rotation of members among groups, avoidance
of win-lose situation and focussing on total group objectives.

Controlling and Directing Behaviour: After understanding the mechanism of

human behaviour, managers are required to control and direct the behaviour so
that it conforms to the standards required for achieving the organisational
objectives. Thus, managers are required to control and direct the behaviour at all
levels of individual interaction. Therefore, organisational behaviour helps
managers in controlling and directing in different areas such as use of power and
sanction, leadership, communication and building organisational climate
favourable for better interaction.

Use of Power and Sanction: The behaviours can be controlled and directed by
the use of power and sanction, which are formally defined by the organisation.
Power is referred to as the capacity of an individual to take certain action and
may be utilised in many ways. Organisational behaviour explains how various
means of power and sanction can ,be utilised so that both organisational and
individual objectives are achieved simultaneously.

Leadership: Organisational behaviour brings new insights and understanding to

the practice and theory of leadership. It identifies various leadership styles
available to a manager and analyses which style is more appropriate in a given
situation. Thus, managers can adopt styles keeping in view the various
dimensions of organisations, individuals and situations.

Communication: Communication helps people to come in contact with each

other. To achieve organisational objectives, the communication must be effective.
The communication process and its work in inter-personal dynamics have been
evaluated by organisational behaviour.

Organisational Climate: Organisational climate refers to the total organisational

situations affecting human behaviour. Organisational climate takes a system

perspective that affect human behaviour. Besides improving the satisfactory

working conditions and adequate compensation, organisational climate includes
creation of an atmosphere of effective supervision; the opportunity for the
realisation of personal goals, congenial relations with others at the work place
and a sense of accomplishment.

Organisational

Adaptation:

Organisations,

as

dynamic

entities

are

characterised by pervasive changes. Organisations have to adapt themselves to

the environmental changes by making suitable, internal arrangements such as
convincing employees who normally have the tendency of resisting any changes.
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
Organisational behaviour can be viewed from different perspectives or levels of
analysis. At one level, the organisation can be viewed as consisting of individuals
working on tasks in the pursuit of the organisational goals. A second level of analysis
focuses upon the interaction among organisational members as they work in' teams,
groups and departments. Finally, organisational behaviour can be analysed from the
perspective of the organisation as a whole.

Organisation at the Individual Level: Organisational behaviour can be studied

in the perspective of individual members of the organisation. This approach to
organisational behaviour draws heavily on the discipline of psychology and
explains why individuals behave and react the way they do to different
organisational policies, practices and procedures. Within this perspective,
psychologically based theories of learning, motivation, satisfaction and
leadership are brought to bear upon the behaviour and performance of individual
members of an organisation. Factors such as attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and
personalities are taken into account and their impact upon individuals behaviour
and performance on the job is studied.

Organisation at the Group Level: People rarely work independently in

organisations; they have to necessarily work in coordination to meet the
organisational goals. This frequently results in people working together in teams,
committees and groups. How do people work together in groups? What factors

determine whether group will be cohesive and productive? What types of tasks
could be assigned to groups? These are some of the questions that can be
asked about the effective functioning of groups in organisations. An important
component of organisational behaviour involves the application of knowledge and
theories from social psychology to the study of groups in organisations.

Organisation at the Organisational Level: Some organisational behaviour

researchers take the organisation as a whole as their object of study. This j
macro perspective on organisational behaviour draws heavily on theories and
concepts from the discipline of 'sociology'. Researchers seek to understand the
implications of the relationship between the organisation and its environment for
the effectiveness of the organisation. Emphasis is placed upon understanding
how organisational structure and design influences the effectiveness of an
organisation. Other factors such as the technology employed by the organisation,
the size of the organisation and the organisation's age are also examined and
their implications for effective organisational functioning are explored.

These different perspectives on the study of organisational behaviour are not in conflict
with one another. Instead they are complementary. A full and complete understanding of
the nature of organisations and the determinants of their effectiveness requires a
blending of knowledge derived from each perspective.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organisational behaviour starts with the following six fundamental concepts revolving
around the nature of people and organisations:
The nature of people:

Individual differences

A whole person

Motivated behaviour

Value of the person

The nature of organisation:

Social system

Mutual interest

Individual Differences: Individuals are different in their physical and mental

traits. They are different not only in the physical appearance such as sex, age,
height, weight, complexion and so on but also different in their psychological trait
such as intelligence, attitude, motivation and perception. This belief that each
person is different from all others is typically called the 'Law of Individual
Differences'. Individual differences mean that the management has to treat them
differently to get the best out of them.

A Whole Person: Though the organisation may feel that they are employing only
the individual's skill or intelligence, in fact, they employ the 'whole person'. This
means that individual does not have only the skill and intelligence but he has a
personal life, needs and desires as well. In other words, his personal life cannot
be separated from his work life since people function as total human beings.

When management practices organisational behaviour, it is not only trying to

develop a better employee but it also wants to develop a 'better person' in terms of
all round growth and development. The benefit will extend beyond the firm into the
larger society in which each employee lives.

Motivated behaviour: It is the urge of the individual to satisfy a particular need

that motivates him to do an act. The motivation could be positive or negative.
Motivation is essential for the proper functioning of organisations. The
organisation can show to its employees how certain actions will increase their
need fulfilment.

Value of the Person: It is more an ethical philosophy. It stresses that people are
to be treated with respect and dignity. Every job, however simple, entitles the
people who do it to proper respect and recognition of their unique aspirations and
abilities. Since organisational behaviour involves people, ethical philosophy is
involved in one way or the other.

The nature of an organisation can be understood with the help of tjie description of
following two points:

Social System: A system is a group of independent and interrelated elements

comprising a unified whole. In context with an organisation, the individuals of a
society are considered as a system organised by a characteristic pattern of
relationships having a distinctive culture and values. It is also called social
organisation or social structure. It can be further divided into following categories:

o Feudal system: This is a social system, which is developed in Europe in the 8th
Century. A political and economic system based on the holding of. land and
relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service
of tenants, and forfeiture.
o Patriarchate: This is social system, in which a male is considered to be the
family head and title or surname is traced through his chain. In other words,
power lies in his hands.
o Matriarchate: This is social system, in which a female is considered to be the
family head and title or surname is traced through her chain. In other words,
power lies in her hands.
o Meritocracy: This is a social system, in which power vests in the hands of the
person with superior intellects.
o Class Structure: This is a social system of different classes with in a society.
o Segregation: This is a social system, which provides separate facilities for
minority groups of a society.

Mutual Interest: Organisational relationships are most likely to be strong if

different groups can negotiate strategies. This can be defined as the interests
that are common to both the parties and are related to the accomplishment of
their respective goals. This space for sharing ideas builds trust. Individuals who
have shared mutual interests are likely to make their organisation the strongest,
because even though the views are different they have a shared concern for
similar objectives. It is important for the individuals to think about their issues
openly, and to incorporate the perspectives of their colleagues. This helps to
build sustainable and harmonious activities that can operate in the mutual direct
interests of the organisation.

Holistic Organisational Behaviour: When the above six concepts of organisational

behaviour are considered together, they provide a holistic concept of the subject.
Holistic organisational behaviour interprets people-organisation relationships in terms of
the whole person, whole group, whole organisation and whole social system.
Thus, the blending of nature of people and organisation results in an holistic
organisational behaviour.

LESSON 3
Models of organizational behaviour

Learning Objectives
After reading this lesson, you should be able to understand:

The concept of organizational behaviour system

The different models of organizational behaviour

The importance of organizational behaviour to managers

The future of organizational behaviour

Organizations have undergone tremendous change in the behaviour of their

employee's. Earlier employers had no systematic program for managing their
employees instead their simple rules served as a powerful influence on employees.
However, today increasing many organizations are experimenting with new ways to
attract and motivate their employees.
CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR SYSTEM
Organizations achieve their goals by creating, communicating and operating an
organizational

behaviour

system.

Organizational

behaviour

system

defines

organizational structure and culture and explains their impact on employees. The figure
3.1 shows the major elements of a good organizational behaviour system:

These systems exist in every organization, but sometimes in varying forms. They have
a greater chance of being successful, though, if they have been consciously created,
regularly examined and updated to meet new and emerging conditions. The primary
advantage of organizational behaviour system is to identify the major human and
organizational variables that affect organizational outcomes. For some variables
managers can only be aware of them and acknowledge their impact whereas for other
variables, managers can exert some control over them. The outcomes are measured in
terms of quantity and quality of products and services, level of customer service,
employee satisfaction and personal growth and development.
These systems exist in every organization, but sometimes in varying forms. They
have a greater chance of being successful, though, if they have been consciously
created, regularly examined and updated to meet new and emerging conditions. The
primary advantage of organizational behaviour system is to identify the major human
and organizational variables that affect organizational outcomes. For some variables
managers can only be aware of them and acknowledge their impact whereas for other
variables, managers can exert some control over them. The outcomes arc measured in

terms of quantity and quality of products and services, level of customer service,
employee satisfaction and personal growth and development.
ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM
The system's base rests in the fundamental beliefs and intentions of those who join
together to create it such as owners and managers who currently administer it. The
philosophy of organizational behaviour held by management consists of an integrated
set of assumptions and beliefs about the way things are, the purpose for these
activities, and the way they should be. These philosophies are sometimes explicit and
occasionally implicit, in the minds managers.
Organizations differ in the quality of organizational behaviour that they develop.
These differences are substantially caused by different models of organizational
behaviour that dominant management's thought in each organization. The model that a
manager holds usually begins with certain assumptions about people and thereby leads
to certain interpretations of organizational events.
The following four models of organizational behaviour are as follows:
A. Autocratic model
B. Custodial model
C. Supportive model
D. Collegial model
Autocratic Model
In an autocratic model', the manager has the power to command his subordinates to do
a specific job. Management believes that it knows what is best for an organization and
therefore, employees are required to follow their orders. The psychological result of this
model on employees is their increasing dependence on their boss. Its main weakness is
its high human cost.
Custodial Model
This model focuses better employee satisfaction and security. Under this model
organizations satisfy the security and welfare needs of employees. Hence, it is known

as custodian model. This model leads to employee dependence on an organization

rather than on boss. As a result of economic rewards and benefits, employees are
happy and contented but they are not strongly motivated.
Supportive Model
The supportive model depends on 'leadership' instead of power or money. Through
leadership, management provides a climate to help employees grow and accomplish in
the interest of an organization. This model assumes that employees will take
responsibility, develop a drive to contribute and improve them if management will give
them a chance. Therefore, management's direction is to 'Support' the employee's job
performance rather than to 'support' employee benefit payments, as in the custodial
approach. Since management supports employees in their work, the psychological
result is a feeling of participation and task involvement in an, organization.
Collegial Model
The term 'collegial' relates to a body of persons having a common purpose. It is a team
concept. Management is the coach that builds a better team. The management is seen
as joint contributor rather than as a boss. The employee response to this situation is
responsibility. The psychological result of the collegial approach for the employee is
'self-discipline'. In this kind of environment employees normally feel some degree of
fulfillment and worthwhile contribution towards their work. This results in enthusiasm in
employees' performance.
FOUR MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Basis

Autocratic
of Power

Custodial
Economic

Supportive
Leadership

Collegial
Partnership

Support

Teamwork

Participation

Self-discipline

Model
Managerial-

Authority

resources
Money

orientation
Employee

Dependence

Dependence

psychological

on boss

on

result

organization

Employee

Subsistence

Security

Status

needs met
Performance

Minimum

Passive

recognition
Awakened

Moderate

cooperation

drives

enthusiasm

result

and Self-actualization

It is wrong to assume that a particular model is the best model. This is because a
model depends on the knowledge about human behaviour in a particular environment,
which is unpredictable. The primary challenge for management is to identify the model it
is actually using and then assess its current effectiveness.
The selection of model by a manager is determined by a number of factors such
as, the existing philosophy, vision and goals of manager. In addition, environmental
conditions help in determining which model will be the most effective model.
IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR TO MANAGERS
Managers perform four major functions such as planning, organizing, directing and
controlling. In addition to these functions there are ten managerial roles, which can be
defined as organized set of behaviors identified with the position. These roles are
developed by Henry Mintzberg in 1960s after a careful study of executives at work. All
these roles, in one form or other deal with people and their behaviour. These ten
managerial roles are divided into three categories. The first category called the
interpersonal roles arises directly from the manager's position and the formal authority
given to him. The second category, the informational role arises as a direct result of the
interpersonal roles and these two categories give rise to the third category called
decisional roles. Figure 3.2 shows the categories of managerial roles.

The roles, in the context of organizational behaviour, are as follows:

Interpersonal Roles
In every organization managers spend a considerable amount of time in interacting with
other people both within their own organizations as well as outside. These people
include peers, subordinates, superiors, suppliers, customers, government officials and
community leaders. All these interactions require an understanding of interpersonal
behaviour. Studies show that interacting with people takes up nearly 80% of a
manager's time. These interactions involve the following three major interpersonal roles:

Figure/lead Role: Managers act as symbolic figureheads performing social or

legal obligations. These duties include greeting visitors, signing legal documents,
taking important customers to lunch, attending a subordinate's wedding and
speaking at functions in schools and churches. All these, primarily, are duties of a
ceremonial nature but are important for the smooth functioning of an
organization.

Leadership Role: The influence of the manager is most clearly seen in the
leadership role as a leader of a unit or an organization. Since he is responsible

for the activities of his subordinates therefore he must lead and coordinate their
activities in meeting task-related goals and motivate them to perform better. He
must be an ideal leader so that his subordinates follow his directions and
guidelines with respect and dedication.

Liaison Role: The managers must maintain a network of outside contacts. In

addition, they need to have a constant contact with their own subordinates, peers
and superiors in order to assess the external environment of competition, social
changes or changes in governmental rules and regulations. In this role, the
managers build up their own external information system. This can be achieved
by attending meetings and professional conferences, personal phone calls, trade
journals and informal personal contacts with outside agencies.

Information Roles
A manager, by virtue of his interpersonal contacts, emerges as a source of information
about a variety of issues concerning an organization. In this capacity of information
processing, a manager executes the following three roles.

Monitor Role: The managers are constantly monitoring and scanning their
internal and external environment, collecting and studying information regarding
their organization. This can be done by reading reports and periodicals,
interrogating their liaison contacts and through gossip, hearsay and speculation.

Information
information

Disseminator Role: The

regarding

changes

managers

in policies

or

must

other

transmit

matters

to

the
their

subordinates, their peers and to other members of an organization. This can be

done through memos, phone calls, individual meetings and group meetings.

Spokesman Role: A manager has to be a spokesman for his unit and represent
his unit in either sending relevant information to people outside his unit or making
some demands on behalf of his unit.

Decision Roles

A manager must make decisions and solve organizational problems on the basis of the
environmental information received. In that respect, a manager plays four important
roles.

Entrepreneur Role: Managers, as entrepreneurs are constantly involved in

improving their units and facing the dynamic technological challenges. They are
constantly on the lookout for new ideas for product improvement or product
addition. They initiate feasibility studies, arrange capital for new products
ask

for suggestions

from

the

employees

to

and

improve organization. This

can be achieved through suggestion boxes, holding strategy meetings with

project managers and R&D personnel.

Conflict Handling Role: The managers are constantly involved as judge in

solving

conflicts

among the

employees and

between

employees

and

management. Mangers must anticipate such problems and take preventive

action and take corrective action once the problem arises. These problems may
involve labor disputes, customer complaints, employee grievances, machine
breakdowns, cash flow shortages and interpersonal conflicts.

Resource Allocation Role: The managers establish priorities among various

projects or programs and make budgetary allocations to different activities of an
organization based on these priorities.

Negotiator Role: The managers in their negotiator role represent their

organization in negotiating deals and agreements within and outside of an
organization. They negotiate contracts with the unions. Sales managers may
negotiate prices with prime customers. Purchasing managers may negotiate
prices with vendors.

All these ten roles are important in a manager's job and are interrelated, even though
some roles may be more influential than others depending upon the managerial
position. For example, sales manager gives more importance to interpersonal roles,
while the production manager may give more importance to decisional roles.
LIMITATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Organizational behaviour cannot abolish conflict and frustration but can only
reduce them. It is a way to improve but not an absolute answer to problems.

It is only one of the many systems operating within a large social system.

People who lack system understanding may develop a 'behavioral basis', which
gives them a narrow view point, i.e., a tunnel vision that emphasizes on satisfying
employee experiences while overlooking the broader system of an organization
in relation to all its public.

The law of diminishing returns also operates in the case of organizational

behaviour. It states, that at some point increase of a desirable practice produce
declining returns and sometimes, negative returns. The concept implies that for
any situation there is an optimum amount of a desirable practice. When that point
is exceeded, there is a decline in returns. For example, too much security may
lead to less employee initiative and growth. This relationship shows that
organizational effectiveness is achieved not by maximizing one human variable
but by working all system variables together in a balanced way.

A significant concern about organizational behaviour is that its knowledge and

techniques could be used to manipulate people without regard for human
welfare. People who lack ethical values could use people in unethical ways.

FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

The growing interest in organizational behaviour stems from both a philosophical desire
by many people to create more humanistic work places and a practical need to design
more productive work environments. As a result of these forces, organizational
behaviour is now a part of the curriculum of almost all courses including engineering
and medical.
The field of organizational behaviour has grown in depth and breadth. The keys
to its past and future success revolve around the related processes of theory
development, research and managerial practice.
Although organizational behaviour has certain limitations, it has a tremendous
potential to contribute to the advancement of civilisation. It has provided and will provide
much improvement in the human environment. By building a better climate for people,
organizational behaviour will release their creative potential to solve major social

problems. In this way organizational behaviour will contribute to social improvements.

Improved organizational behaviour is not easy to apply but opportunities are there. It
should produce a higher quality of life in which there is improved harmony within each
individual, among people and among the organizations of future.