CH 1: INTRODUCTION TO OB

Determinants of behavior in an organization

◻OB studies human behaviour at individual level,

group level and organisational level.

Basically, organisations are made up of peoples,

therefore managers in the organisation must know
how they behave in an organisation to make
organisation productive.

1. Individuals
2. Groups and
3. Structure
Elements of Organizational Behavior

1. People: People make up the internal social system of the

organization. They consists of individuals and groups. Groups
may be formal or informal.
2. Structure: Structures define the formal relationship between
people in an organization.
3. Technology: Technology consist of physical objects, activities
and process, knowledge, etc through which people accomplish
their tasks to achieve organizational objectives.
4. Environment: All organizations operate within an external
environment. It is part of a larger system that contains
thousand of other elements..
 Organizational Behavior (OB)
◻The attitudes and behaviours of individuals and
groups in organizations
◻Why study OB?
✓Effective and competitive organizations
✓Help you to retain the people who came up with the
good ideas
✓Useful in any job, organization, industry, anywhere
 Evolution of OB
Classical View (Early 1900s)
◻Attempts to prescribe the “correct” way to manage
an organization and achieve its goals
◻High specialization of labour (each dept tended to
its own business, and decision making was
centralized)
◻Bureaucracy
⬜ Max Weber
⬜ Strict chain of command, detailed rules, high specialization, centralized
power, and selection and promotion based on technical competence
◻Scientific Management
⬜ Frederick Taylor
⬜ Use of careful research to determine degree of specialization
 Evolution of OB
Human Relations Movement
◻Hawthorne Studies – research conducted at the
Hawthorne plant of Western Electric in the 1920s
that examined how psychological and social
processes affect productivity
◻How physical environment affects productivity
◻Effect of interest being shown in them
◻Advocates management styles that are more
participative and oriented towards employee needs
 Evolution of OB
◻Where are we today???
◻The Contingency Approach
⬜No one is the best way to manage
⬜Management style depends on the demands of the
situation
Limitations of OB
◻Theoretical soundness open to doubt
◻Behavior flavour
◻Manipulative behavior