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Organizational Behaviour:
Definition, Characteristics
and Nature
Definitions:
Organisational behaviour is a subset of management
activities concerned with understanding, predicting and
influencing individual behaviour in organisational setting.
Callahan, Fleenor and Kudson.
Organisational behaviour is a branch of the Social Sciences
that seeks to build theories that can be applied to predicting,
understanding and controlling behaviour in work
organisations.Raman J. Aldag.
Organisational behaviour is the study and application of
knowledge about how people act within an organisation. It is a
human tool for human benefit. It applies broadly to the
behaviour of people in all types of organisation. Newstrom
and Davis.
The people constitute the internal social system of the organization. They
consist of individuals and groups. Groups may be large or small, formal or
informal, official or unofficial. They are dynamic. They form, change and disband.
Human organization changes everyday. Today, it is not the same as it was
yesterday. It may change further in the coming days. People are living, thinking
and feeling being who created the organization and try to achieve the objectives
and goals. Thus, organizations exist to serve the people and not the people exist
to serve the organization.
2. Structure
Structure defines the sole relationship of people in an organization. Different
people in an organization are given different roles and they have certain
relationship with others. It leads to division of labour so that people can perform
their duties or work to accomplish the organizational goal. Thus, everybody
cannot be an accountant or a clerk. Work is complex and different duties are to
be performed by different people. Some may be accountant, others may be
managers, clerks, peons or workers. All are so related to each other to
accomplish the goal in a co-ordinated manner. Thus, structure relates to power
and duties. One has the authority and others have a duty to obey him.
3. Technology
Technology imparts the physical and economic conditions within which people
work. With their bare hands people can do nothing so they are given assistance
of buildings, machines, tools, processes and resources. The nature of technology
depends very much on the nature of the organization and influences the work or
working conditions. Thus, technology brings effectiveness and at the same
restricts people in various ways.
4. Social System
Social system provides external environment which the organization operates.
A single organization cannot exist also. It is a part of the whole. One organization
cannot give everything and therefore, there are many other organizations. All
these organizations influence each other. It influences the attitudes of people,
their working conditions and above all provides competition for resources and
power.
O.B. is the study of human behaviour at work in organizations. Accordingly, the
scope of O.B. includes the study of individuals, groups and
organization/structure. Let us briefly reflect on what aspects each of these three
cover.
Individuals
Organizations are the associations of individuals. Individuals differ in many
respects. The study of individuals, therefore, includes aspects such as
personality, perception, attitudes, values, job satisfaction, learning and
motivation.
Groups of Individuals
Groups include aspects such as group dynamics,
communication, leadership, power and politics and the like.
group
conflicts,
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8. Rational Thinking:
Organisational behaviour provides a rational thinking about
people and their behaviour. The major objective of
organisational behaviour is to explain and predict human
behaviour in organisations, so that result yielding situations
can be created.
Nature of Organisational Behavior:
Organisational behaviour in the study of human behaviour in
the organisations. Whenever an individual joins an
organisation he brings with him unique set of personal
characteristics, experiences from other organisations and a
personal background. At the first stage organisational
behaviour must look at the unique perspective that each
individual brings to the work setting.
The second stage of organisational behaviour is to study the
dynamics of how the incoming individuals interact with the
broader organisation. No individual can work in isolation. He
comes into contact with other individuals and the organisation
in a variety of ways. The individual who joins a new
organisation has to come into contact with the co-workers,
better approach/way to manage people?" The quest for a better way provided a
foundation for evolvement to the supportive type of model of organizational
behaviour.
The Supportive Model
The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support.
The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation.
The employee need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result
is awakened drives.
The supportive model is founded on leadership, not on money or authority. In
fact, it is the managerial leadership style that provides an atmosphere to help
employees grow and accomplish their tasks successfully. The managers
recognize that the workers are not by nature passive and disinterested to
organizational needs, but they are made so by an inappropriate leadership style.
The managers believe that given due and appropriate changes, the workers
become ready to share responsibility, develop a drive to contribute their mite and
improve themselves. Thus, under supportive approach, the management's
orientation is to support the employee's job performance for meeting both
organizational and individual goals.
However, the supportive model of organizational behaviour is found more
useful and effective in developed nations and less effective in developing nations
like ours because of employee's more awakening in the former and less one in
the latter nations.
The Collegial Model
The collegial model is an extension of the supportive model. As the literal
meaning of the work 'college' means a group of persons having the common
purpose, the collegial model relates to a team work/concept. The basic
foundation of the collegial model lies on management's building a feeling of
partnership with employee. Under collegial approach, employees feel needed
and useful. They consider managers as joint contributors to organizational
success rather than as bosses.
Unit 2
Meaning and Definition of Perception:
Perception is the process through which the information from
outside environment is selected, received, 13rganizat and
interpreted to make it meaningful to you. This input of
meaningful information results in decisions and actions.
A few definitions of perception as given by different
authors are as explained below:
Perception may be defined as a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to
give meaning to their environment.
In simple words we can say that perception is the act of
seeing what is there to be seen. But what is seen is
influenced by the perceiver, the object and its environment.
The meaning of perception 13rganizati all these three points.
Nature of Perception:
Perception has been explained by Ajit Singh as follows:
Perception refers to the interpretation of sensory data. In
other words, sensation involves detecting the presence of a
stimulus whereas perception involves understanding what the
stimulus means. For example, when we see something, the
visual stimulus is the light energy reflected from the external
world and the eye becomes the sensor. This visual image of
the external thing becomes perception when it is interpreted in
the visual cortex of the brain. Thus, visual perception refers to
interpreting the image of the external world projected on the
retina of the eye and constructing a model of the three
dimensional world.
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Importance of Perception:
(i) Perception is very important in understanding the human
15rganiza, because every person perceives the world and
approaches the life problems differently- Whatever we see or
feel is not necessarily the same as it really is. It is because
what we hear is not what is really said, but what we perceive
TYPES OF GROUP
Introduction
Within many 19rganization19 different groups are formed at different levels, formal
groups, informal groups, primary groups and secondary groups. Some groups maybe
deliberately formed, some groups are formed through an informal setting. Below we
discuss briefly four forms of groups which are found within a company.
Formal Group
A formal group is created within an 20rganization to complete a specific role or task.
This may be a one off objective such as the launch of a particular product or service or
a permanent/ongoing objective such as the provision of Information Technology (IT).
Informal Group
Informal groups are established by individuals who decide they want to interact with
each other. Informal groups usually do not have a specific purpose; often the group
forms because the group members regularly happen to be in the same location or
because they enjoy each others company. For example people may form a group
20rganiz they sit close together in an office or live together in a house.
Primary Group
A primary group is made up of a small group of people who interact regularly. A small
team with a leader is an example of a primary group. A family can also be called a
primary group. Within the primary group, values, beliefs and culture are all very
important.
Secondary Group
When a large number of people get together (who do not normally get together) it is
called a secondary group. Secondary group members do not get the opportunity to get
to know each other as well as primary group members because the interaction with
each other is less than in a primary group. When a secondary group is formed,
individuals usually have their own agenda and goals. The relationship they form is not
long term and social interaction within a secondary group is likely to be low.
Group cohesiveness can be defined as a bond that pulls people toward
membership in a particular group and resists separation from that group. In
addition, group cohesion generally has three characteristics. They include the
following:
Interpersonal Attraction
This means group members have a preference or want to interact with each
other. Group members enjoy this interaction and seek it out.
Group Pride
This involves group members viewing their membership to a specific group with
fondness. They feel proud of their group membership, and staying in the group
feels valuable.
Commitment to the Work of the Group
Group members value the work of the group and believe in its goals. They are
willing to work together to complete tasks which are aligned with these group
goals, even through adversity.
Factors
The ability of a group to be more or less cohesive is dependent on several
factors. Here are some important factors that have been found to impact group
cohesiveness.
Similarity
When the group members are similar, its easier for the group to become
cohesive. The similarity can be due to several factors, such as having similar
values, beliefs, life circumstances, or pressing life issues.
Example: A group of patients with depression might be more cohesive than a
group of ten members each with different mental health diagnoses.
Group Openness to New Members
When a group is open and welcoming to new members, group members more
easily develop cohesion. Often over time, group membership will change due to
various life circumstances or changing individual needs.
Example: Joshs bowling team lost Frank when he moved out of town. James
joined the team in Franks place. The rest of the bowling team welcomed James
with open arms. James felt accepted and began to really look forward to bowling
nights.
Trust
When group members feel they can trust each other, group cohesiveness is more
easily developed.
Example: A veteran shares with his PTSD support group things he did in Iraq for
which he feels guilty. The other veterans in the group provide reassurance and
dont judge him. The group is closer as a result.
Stage of the Group
When a new group forms, there tends to be an initial burst in group cohesiveness
because the first goal of any group is often to form.
Example: Jaime joined a new weight loss group to help her keep her weight loss
on track. When Jaime and the other new group members went to the first
meeting, they started sharing their weight loss struggles. Jaime instantly felt close
to the other members and was happy she joined the group.
Past Group Experiences
When members of a new group have had previous positive group experiences,
they are more easily able to establish group cohesion. When members have had
past group experiences that were unfavorable, they will resist developing
cohesion.
Then, you can move on generating all possible solutions (alternatives) for
the problem in hand.
Conclusion
When it comes to making decisions, one should always weigh the positive
and negative business consequences and should favour the positive
outcomes.
This avoids the possible losses to the organization and keeps the company
running with a sustained growth. Sometimes, avoiding decision making
seems easier; especially, when you get into a lot of confrontation after
making the tough decision.
DELPHI TECHNIQUE
The aim is to clarify and expand on issues, identify
areas of agreement or disagreement and begin to
find consensus.
Conclusion
Use the Delphi Technique for creating Work
Breakdown Structures, identifying risks and
opportunities, compiling lessons learned and
anytime you would usually conduct a brainstorming
session.
Predicting the future is not an exact science, but
the Delphi Technique can help you understand the
Power vs Authority
Although power and authority stem from the same concept, they are both very
different as they contain deeper meanings. When we talk about leadership and
influence, it becomes necessary to differentiate power and authority in order to
comprehend their true meanings and application.
The main difference between power and authority is the degree of control and
influence they offer to the possessor. While authority is the sanctioned right given
to a person to get things done in an official capacity, power is the ownership of
authority and control to influence the opinions, movements and behaviors of
others.
Power has a wider scope and enables one to do what they want instead of
looking out to see if they are doing it the right way. It might not always be given,
but it comes to people who are experts in their field or have a significant amount
of money and do not look up to anyone. Authority, on the other hand, is the right
given to a person to give orders to subordinates and get things done by them. An
official cannot perform his duties without adequate authority.
While a person will get authority only with some kind of position, either official or
non-official, power is something that comes with personality, charisma or
personal attributes too. A company president can order a change in design or a
police officer might arrest an offender because they have the authority to do so,
but a person can exert his power of knowledge to influence the thoughts and
ideas of others and that person could just as easily be a middle school teacher or
a debater too.
A manager will get his authority from the higher authorities who will outline what
he must do and how he does it. Authority comes from hierarchy and designation
while power is all-encompassing and broad and does not depend on anyone.
Either a person has power or either he has no power. It comes from a higher
level than authority and has an extensive approach.
Power is a further-reaching concept than authority and offers much more
influence, control and domination as it can be both personal as well as official,
while authority is restricted to formal use only in official organizations and offices.
Authority can be taken away as it is official and not personal and once a person
is stripped of his title or designation, his or her authority comes to an end.
However, power cannot be taken away easily because it is personal and a
person remains powerful if he has money, for example, even if he has no
designation to support him.
Comparison Chart
Power
Authority
making commands.
The scope of power cannot be written down or The scope of authority can be written down and
explained because it is too broad a concept.
If you really want to know what people think, just ask them. You may receive
feedback that youre not listening or showing appreciation as well as you could
be. If youve established an environment of honest and open communication, you
should be able to ask about your good qualities and the areas you need to
improve on. Your staff will appreciate your effort.
o
Risk taking You can learn how to assess risk and run scenarios that will
help you make better decisions. Great leaders take the right risks at the right
time.
Vision and goal setting A team depends on its leader to tell them where
they are going, why they are going, and how theyre going to get there. People
are more motivated when a leader articulates his or her vision for a project or for
the organization, along with the steps or goals needed to achieve it.
Honesty & Integrity: are crucial to get your people to believe you
and buy in to the journey you are taking them on
Vision: know where you are, where you want to go and enroll your
team in charting a path for the future
Inspiration: inspire your team to be all they can by making sure
they understand their role in the bigger picture
Ability to Challenge: do not be afraid to challenge the status quo,
do things differently and have the courage to think outside the box
Communication Skills: keep your team informed of the journey,
where you are, where you are heading and share any roadblocks
you may encounter along the way
the manager. It permits quick decision-making, as only one person decides for
the whole group and keeps each decision to him/herself until he/she feels it
needs to be shared with the rest of the group.[19]
Unit - 4