Introduction to OB

1. Intro to OB
Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals,
groups and organizational structure have on behavior within the organization, for the
purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organizational effectiveness.
Foundation of OB
• Individual difference
• Whole person
• Behavior of individual
• Individual has dignity
• Organizations are social systems
• Mutuality of interest
• Holistic organization behavior
• Need for management i.e. planning, organizing, leading, controlling.
Interdisciplinary influence
Psychology: Psychology is broadly speaking concerned with the study of human behaviour, with
traits of the individual and membership of small social groups. The main focus of attention is on
the individual as a whole person. Organisational Behaviour learns a great deal in issues like
personality, perception, emotions, attitude, learning, values, motivation, and job satisfaction etc.
from the field of psychology.
Sociology: Sociologists are more concerned with the study of social behaviour, relationships
among social groups and societies, and the maintenance of order. The main focus of attention is
on the social system. Organisational Behaviour has developed by taking many issues from
sociology. Some of them are: group dynamics, communication, leadership, organisational
structures, formal and informal organisations, organisational change and development etc.
Social Psychology: Social Psychology examines interpersonal behaviour. The social
psychologists are concerned with intergroup collaboration, group decision making, effect of
change on individual, individual’s responsiveness to change, and integration of individual needs
with group activities.
Anthropology: Anthropologists are more concerned with the science of mankind and the study
of human behaviour as a whole. Issues like, individual culture, organisational culture,
organisational environment, comparative values, comparative attitudes, cross-cultural analysis,
are common to the fields of anthropology and OB. As far as OB is concerned, one of the main
issues demanding attention is the cultural system, the beliefs, customs, ideas and values within a
group or society, and the comparison of behaviour among different cultures. People learn to
depend on their culture to give them security and stability, and they can suffer adverse reactions
to unfamiliar environments.
Political Science: Political Science as a subject has many ingredients, which directly affect
human behaviour in organisations since politics dominates every organisation to some extent.
Many themes of interest directly related to OB are, power and politics, networking, political
manipulation, conflict resolution, coalition, and self-interest enhancement.
Economics: Economic environment influences organisational climate. OB has learned a great
deal from such economic factors as labour market dynamics, cost-benefit analysis, marginal
utility analysis, human resource planning, forecasting, and decision making.
Engineering: Industrial Engineering area has contributed a great deal in the area of man-machine
relationship through time and motion study, work measurement, work flow analysis, job design,
and compensation management. Each of these areas has some impact on OB.
Medicines: Medicines is one of the newest fields which is now being related to the field of OB.
Issues like work related stress, tension and depression are common to both: the area of medicine,
and OB.
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2. Semantics: Semantics helps in the study of communications within the organisation.
Misunderstood communication and lack of communication lead to many behaviour related
problems in the organisation. Accordingly, adequate and effective communication is very
important for organisational effectiveness
Scope of OB
• Individual perspective
o Personality
o Attitude
o Perception
o Learning
o Motivation
o Stress management
o Job satisfaction
• Interpersonal
o Team dynamics
o Inter-group conflict
o Communication
o Leadership
• Organizational
o Design
o Structure
o Hierarchy
{{Individual behaviour ; Inter-personal behaviour ; Group behaviour and group dynamics ;
Organisational issues; Environmental issues.}}
Nature of Organisational Behaviour:
· Interdisciplinary Approach: Organisational Behaviour integrates knowledge from various
relevant disciplines. This issue will be clear to you after reading the section on genesis of
Organisational Behaviour in this unit.
· An Applied Science: Organisational Behaviour is oriented towards understanding the forces
that affect behaviour so that their affects may be predicted and guided towards effective
functioning of organisation. This issue will be clearer to you after reading the section on goals of
Organisational Behaviour in this section.
· Behavioural Approach to Management: Organisational Behaviour is directly connected
with the human side of management, but it is not the whole of management. Organisational
Behaviour is related with the conceptual and human dimensions of management.
· Concern with Environment: Organisational Behaviour is concerned with issues like
compatibility with environment e.g. person-culture fit, cross-cultural management etc.
· Scientific Method: Organisational Behaviour follows the scientific method and makes use of
logical theory in its investigation and in answering the research questions. It is empirical,
interpretive, critical and creative science.
· Contingency Approach: There are very few absolutes in Organisational Behaviour. The
approach is directed towards developing managerial actions that are most appropriate for a
specific situation.
· A Systems Approach: Organisational Behaviour is a systematic vision as it takes into
account all the variables affecting organisational functioning.
· Value Centred : Organisational Behaviour is a value-centred science.
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3. · Utilizes two Kinds of Logic: It utilizes both objective and subjective logic. Objectivity is
concerned with reaching a fact through empirical analyses. Subjectivity is concerned with
deciding about an issue through intuition, common sense, experiences, gut feeling, metaphors,
learning from stories and cases, persuasive literature etc.
Importance of OB
Challenges and opportunities
The following are some of the significant problems:
i) Improving People Skills
ii) Improving Quality and Productivity
iii) Managing Workforce Diversity
iv) Responding to Globalization
v) Empowering People
vi) Coping with Temporariness
vii) Stimulating Innovation and Change
viii) Emergence of the e-organization
ix) Improving Ethical Behavior
Attitudes
- Definition
Attitudes can be defined as an individual’s feelings about or inclinations towards other
persons, objects, events, or activities. Attitudes encompass such affective feelings as likes
and dislikes, and satisfactions and dissatisfactions.
- Components
o Cognitive (thinking)
Cognitive component deals with thinking, evaluation, comparison, rational and logical
issues with respect to the targeted object. This will facilitate to form a strong belief or
further strengthen the belief system towards various objects.
o Affective (feeling)
Affective component deals with feelings or emotional issues of the targeted objects.
o Conotive (behavior)
This refers to intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something.
- Nature of attitudes
- How are attitudes formed?
o Family members
o Reference group
o Peer group influence
o Socialization and learning process
- Social learning
o Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is passive. Something happens and we react in a specific way. It is
elicited in response to a specific, identifiable event. It is a type of conditioning in which
an individual responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a
response.
o Operand / Instrumental conditioning
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4. Operant Conditioning: A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads
to a reward or prevents a punishment. Operant conditioning argues that behavior is a
function of its consequences. People learn to have to get something they want or to avoid
something they don't want.
o Observational learning
Learning from observation and direct experience. Although social-learning theory is an
extension of operant conditioning – that is, it assumes that behavior is a function of
consequences – it also acknowledges the existence of observational learning and the
importance of perception in learning. People respond to how they perceive and define
consequences, not to the objective consequences themselves.
o Social comparison
- Attitudes and behaviors
o Situational aspects
o Attitudinal aspects
- Theory of reasoned action
- Theory of planned behavior
- Locus of control
An individual’s generalized belief about internal vs external control is called locus of
control.
- Cognitive, affective, behavior
- ABC model
Purpose: to understand the complexity of an attitude.
Components:
A: affect -> (measured by – physiological indicators, verbal statements about feelings)
B: Behavior intentions (mb – observation behavior, vsa intentions)
C: Cognition (mb- attitude scales, vsa belief)
- Theory of cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance refers to any incompatibility between their behavior and attitudes
or incompatibility among a various attitudes. In general, people always prefer a
consistency or equilibrium in their life. Festinger argued that any form of incompatibility
will lead to a state of discomfort in the minds of people and people will try to attempt to
reduce the dissonance and seek a stable state where there is a minimum level of
dissonance.
- Formation via direct learning and social learning
- Vicarious learning via role models
- Process of social learning
o Attention
o Retention
o Reproduction
o Motivation
- Functions of attitude
o Adjustment
o Ego defense
o Expressive
o Knowledge
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5. - Manager’s need to know about attitudes
- Types of job related attitudes
o Job satisfaction
 Locke’s value theory
 Consequences
 Dimensions
• Pay
• Work itself
• Promotional opportunities
• Org policies and procedures
• Work environment
o Job involvement
o Org commitment
- What is positive attitude?
- Measure attitude
o Self report
o Indirect tests
o Direct observation techniques
o Psychological reaction
- How to change attitudes
o Fill in the information gaps
o Resolving discrepancies
o Peers impact
o Co-opting research
- Values and Ethics
Values: Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is
personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state
of existence.
Value System: A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual's values in terms of their
intensity.
Values are important to the study of organizational behavior because they lay the
foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation and because they influence
our perceptions.
- Characteristics of values
o Difference and similarity between values and attitudes
- Types of values
o Rokeach value survey – distinguished types of values as -
 Terminal values
 Instrumental values
Terminal Values: Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to
achieve during his or her lifetime.
ex
A comfortable life (a prosperous life)
An exiting life (a stimulating, active life)
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6. A sense of accomplishment (lasting contribution)
A world at peace (free of war and conflict)
A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)
b) Instrumental Values: Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one's
terminal values.
ex
Ambitious (hardworking, aspiring)
Broad-minded (open-minded)
Capable (competent, effective)
Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
Clean (neat, tidy)
- Other category values
o Theoretical
o Economic
o Aesthetic
o Social
o Political
o Religious
- Personal values
- Intended values
- Adopted values
- Operative values
- Ethics
Ethics is the study of moral values and moral behavior. Ethical behavior is acting in ways
consistent with one’s personal values and commonly held values of an organization and
society.
Values are systems of beliefs that affect what the individual defines as right, good, fair.
Ethics reflects the way the values are acted out.
- Behavioral intentional model
o Attitudes, values, OB
- Building an ethical climate
o O’brien -> establish ethics
o Personal commitments
 Localness
 Merit
 Openness
 Leanness
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