Question: Organizational Behavior is the

foundation stone on which the health of any

organization depends. Discuss.

Answer: Organizational Behavior is an important concept for any

organization, since it deals with the three determinants of behavior
in organizations: Individuals, Groups and Structure. Organizational
Behavior then applies the knowledge gained about individuals, groups
and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations
work more effectively. In a nut shell, OB is concerned with the study
of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects
the organizations performance. Seeing as OB is concerned with
employee related situations, it tends to emphasize behavior related to
jobs, work, absenteeism, employment turnover, human performance
and management.

The organization's base rests on management's philosophy, values,

vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is
composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the
social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership,
communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The
workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their
degree of motivation. The final outcomes are performance, individual
satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these
elements combine to build the model or framework that the
organization operates from.

The ability to use the tools of organizational behavior to understand

behavior in organizations is one reason for studying this subject. A
second reason is to learn how to apply these concepts, theories, and
techniques to improve behavior in organizations so that individuals,
groups, and organizations can achieve their goals. Managers are
challenged to find new ways to motivate and coordinate employees to
ensure that their goals are aligned with organizational goals.
Organizational Behavior addresses following points:

• Organizational behavior studies the factors that impact

individual and group behavior in organizations and how
 organizations manage their environments. Organizational
behavior
Provides a set of tools—theories and concepts—to understand,
analyze, describe, and manage attitudes and behavior in
organizations.

• The study of organizational behavior can improve and change

individual, group, and organizational Behavior to attain
individual, group, and organizational goals.

• Organizational behavior can be analyzed at three levels: the

individual, the group, and the Organization as a whole. A full
understanding must include an examination of behavioral
factors at each level.

• A manager’s job is to use the tools of organizational behavior to

increase effectiveness, an Organization’s ability to achieve its
goal. Management is the process of planning, organizing,
leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial,
material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness.

In view of the fact that OB is the grounds on which an organization

builds itself, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology play a vital role
in understanding workplace behavior and employee related
situations.

• Psychology - is a science which seeks to measure,

explain and sometimes change the behavior of humans.
Early organizational psychologists concerned themselves
with the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other factors
which could have an effect on efficient workforce
performance. More recently, contributions in the field of
organizational psychology have expanded to learning,
perception, personality, emotions, job satisfaction,
decision making processes, leadership, needs and
motivational forces, employee selection techniques and
job stress.

• Sociology- Studies people in relation to their social

environment or culture. Sociologists have contributed to
 OB through their study of group behavior in organizations,
both formal and complex. Sociology has contributed to
research on organizational culture, formal organization
theory and structure, organizational techniques,
communications, power and conflict.

• Anthropology- is the study of societies to learn about

human beings and their activities. Work on this field has
helped understanding differences in fundamental values,
attitudes and behavior between people in different
countries and within different organizations.

Question: Discuss the learning’s of Organizational

Behavior, which you may have found, as a budding
manager, will be useful for your personal growth.

Answer: Organizational Behavior, an indigenous learning of

techniques which deals with the knowledge gained about individuals,
groups and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make
organizations work more effectively. Through these methods a budding
manager can gain several virtues to induce personal growth of self and
group related issues.

Since managers are individuals who achieve goals through other

people, OB makes us aware of the various roles we need to play as
managers to encourage the workforce to work with more satisfaction
and profitability.

As managers we will participate in several roles, mainly being:

• Interpersonal Roles: All managers are required to

perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in
nature. All managers also have a leadership role. This
role includes hiring, training, motivating and disciplining
employees.
• Informational Roles: All managers, to some degree,
collect information from outside organizations and
institutions. Managers then act as a conduit to transmit
info to organizational members.
• Decisional role: Here managers deal with various affairs
such as, overseeing new projects, taking corrective
measure in an unforeseen event and discuss issues and
 bargain with other units to gain advantages for their
own unit.

These roles demand a deep understanding of human behavior in both

individual and group forms, and so OB provides us with the means of
tackling these issues with confidence and confidence. Understanding OB
has never been more important for managers than it is today. In today’s
world, the people of earth are much closer than before and managers
need to deal with a vast array of diversities, such as,
• Culture
• Demography
• Religion
• Higher demand of customer satisfaction
• Coping with rapid changes in technology
• Balancing Stress related lifestyle of the workers
• Ethical behaviour

As an up-and-coming manager, the teachings of OB can significantly

increase one’s personal sensibilities and outlook on these topics.

1. Working with people from different cultures: What might seem

motivating to a manager might not appeal to his workforce at all. Or
a manager’s style of communication may be straightforward, but the
workforce may find it threatening and uncomfortable. As a manager
one must learn how to adapt his managerial style to their cultural,
geographic and religious disparities.

2. Workforce diversity: Organizations are increasingly becoming a more

heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, race, age, ethnicity
and sexual orientation. No longer can these disparities and clichés
be ignored, these people are in the real world educated and ready to
work. So mangers must recognize the fact that they don’t leave their
lifestyles, cultural values and perception at home, so we as
managers must learn to accommodate this diverse group of people
by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs and work styles.

3. Customer Service: Many an organization has failed because its

employees failed to please its customers. Management needs to
create a customer-responsive culture. OB can provide considerable
guidance in guidance in helping managers create such cultures-
cultures in which employees are friendlier and courteous, accessible,
knowledgeable and prompt in responding to customer needs, in
order to please the patron.
 4. Ethics: Today’s manager needs to create an ethically healthy climate
for his employees, where they can work productively and confront a
minimal level of uncertainty regarding what constitutes right and
wrong behaviour.

Organizational behavior is the path to understanding how elements of the

work place fall into place. As a nascent manager one can develop the self
with the help of these learning’s and partake in managerial roles
confidently.

References:
• Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge and Seema Sanghi – Organizational
behavior – Edition 13 – India.
• www.wikipedia.org
• www.wikiversity.org
• www.skagitwatershed.org
• www.google.com
Organizational Behavior
PGP 2009 – 2011
Section C
Roll No. 66
Rohan Chowdhry