CHAPTER 1

A Prelude to Organisational Behaviour

Topic to be covered

1. What is OB
2. Importance & shortcoming
3. Contemporary OB.

Organisational Behaviour.
Organisations are as old as the human race itself. Archaeologists have discovered massive temples
dating back to 3500 BC that were constructed through organized action of many people. Organisational
Behaviour (OB) helps firms achieve effectiveness in their activities.
Definition and Meaning of OB
Definitions on OB are many. However, three features need to be emphasised in any definition:
OB is the study of human behaviour;
The study is about behaviour in organisations; and
Knowledge about human behaviour would be useful in improving an organisation’s
effectiveness.

OB refers to the behaviour of individuals and groups within organisations and the interaction between
organisational members and their external environments. There are broadly three levels of
organisational behaviour, which define the unique set of roles, responsibilities, and goals of people at
each level of the organisation.

1. Organisational Level
2. Group Level
3. Individual Level.
Importance of OB: (Why study OB)
OB is a subject which not only makes an individual a better employee of an organisation but makes
him or her a better person and a better citizen.
Attached1 (Importance + Shortcoming).

Contemporary OB:
Three aspects of the subject deserve mention here:

1. OB is interdisciplinary in focus;
2. A particular set of concepts is accepted as defining the scope of OB; and
3. OB assumes that there is no ‘one best’ answer to a problem.

An Interdisciplinary Focus: OB is an applied behavioural science. It has drawn heavily from a number
of applied behavioural sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. It has also drawn
from such subjects as political science, engineering and medicine
1. Psychology: It is the scientific study of mental functions and behaviour of human beings.
Human psychology helps in understanding motivation at work, interpersonal relationships,
training needs and effect of personality traits on behaviour.

Psychology is concerned with individual behaviour and has contributed greatly to the intra-
individual dynamics of human behaviour.

Social
Psychology Sociology
Psychology

Anthropology Engineering Political

Science

2. Sociology: If psychology is the study of individual behaviour, sociology addresses itself to the
study of group behaviour. Sociology helps in understanding the effect of industrialisation on
social behaviour of humans, labour as a class, etc. Sociologists have enriched organisational
behaviour through their contribution to the study of interpersonal dynamics like
 leadership,
 group dynamics,
 communication,
 formal and informal organisations, and the like.

3. Social psychology: It is the scientific study to understand and explain how the behaviour of
individuals is affected by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings
around them. Social psychology helps to gain an understanding of
 group behaviour,
 social perception,
 prejudices,
 leadership,
 conflict, etc., in a group.