The Organisation

An organization, according to George and Jones (2008), refers to the collection of people who
work together and coordinate their actions to achieve a wide variety of goals. To Bratton et al
(2007), it refers to a socially designed unit, or collectively, that engages in activities to accomplish
a goal or set of objectives, has an identifiable boundary, and is linked to the external society.

From the definition above, it can clearly be seen that the organisation does not exist on its own;
but also involves and is characterised by the members of the organisation and the interactions and
relationships which exist within and among them. These interactions result in the performance of
tasks which eventually lead to the achievement of organisational goals and objectives.

Organisational Behaviour

Wagner & Hollenbeck (2002) defined organizational Behavior as “a field of research which helps
us to understand, explain, predict and change human behavior in organizations”. By the same
authors in the light of that definition should be considered:

1. Organizational behavior directed at an individual, for example.: How people talk with
colleagues, working with the equipment or prepare repo1ts. This is also related to internal
positions, such as thinking, perception and decision making about organizational activities.
2. Organizational behavior, which includes analysis of how people act as individuals or as
members of the organization.
3. Organizational behavior, which refers to the group and the entire organization. Neither the
group nor the organizations do not behave the same. Nevertheless, the events occurring in
the organization, which cannot be explained by the behavior of individuals. Such events
can be explained only by collective or organizational processes.

George and Jones (2008) also defined Organisational Behaviour as the study of the many factors
that have an impact on how people and groups act, think, feel, and respond to work and
organisations, and how organisations respond to their environment.
From the above definitions, it can be said that Organizational behavior is the field that seeks to
establish that they affect individuals, groups and the environment in the behavior of individuals
within organizations, thus always seeking efficiency in the company's activities.

The study of the behavior of people within a company is a challenge never before thought of by
managers and today is one of the most important tasks the organization must seek to accommodate
people who are different because the human aspect is the determining factor in the ability to
achieve the goals of the organization.

Organisational Behaviour is therefore, a field that is very vital to understanding any organization
since an understanding of the field leads to an understanding of the complexities of the world of
work, how people undertake work (paid or unpaid), how individuals within the organization
interact with each other, how decisions are made and how the decisions affect members of the
organization as well as understanding the ambiguities of the social world and how to work with
and around these uncertainties.

Perspectives for viewing Organisational Behaviour

In order to truly understand the concept of Organisational Behaviour therefore, it is imperative to

define the organization from the perspective of all elements identified in the definition of
organizational behavior. It is also vital to identify the various levels which affect and influence
Organisational Behaviour including

a. The individual
It is important to note that organisations are made up of individuals who represent the
central feature of the organizational behavior. It is as a result of the interaction of between
individuals that key Organisational Behaviour is formed.

b. The Group
As individuals interact with each other or are assigned different roles, there is the tendency
of groups and associations arising from these interractions. Groups exist in all organisations
and are essential to their working and performance.
c. The organization and

d. The environment

With the above stated, Organisational Behaviour can be looked at in the various perspectives;