What is Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations.
Another Definition of Organizational Behavior :
Is the study of both group and individual performance and activity within an organization. Internal and external perspectives are two theories of how organizational behavior can be viewed by companies.
The study of people at work is generally referred to as the study of organizational behavior. Organizational behavior is the systematic study of the actions and attitudes that people exhibit within organizations.
It studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have on human behavior within organizations. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management. Organizational behavior complements organizational theory, which focuses on organizational and intra-organizational topics, and complements human-resource studies, which is more focused on everyday business practices.
Each person regularly uses intuition or our “gut feelings” in trying to explain phenomena. For example, a friend catches a cold and we’re quick to remind him that he “didn’t take his vitamins”. The field of organizational behavior seeks to replace intuitive explanations such as this example with systematic study. The objective, of course, is to draw more accurate conclusions (Wilson 1994)
What does organizational behavior study? Actions (or behaviors) and attitudes. The behaviors that get the bulk of attention in organizational behavior are three, which have proven to be very important determinants of employee performance. They are productivity, absenteeism, and turnover (Wilson 1994). The importance of productivity is obvious.
Managers are clearly concerned with the quantity and quality of the work their employees are performing. But absence and turnover are particularly cause for concern because of the adverse effect it may have on an employee’s productivity. In terms of absence, it’s hard for an employee to be productive if he or she isn’t at work. High rates of employee turnover increase costs and tend to place less experienced people into jobs (Daniels 1994).
OB is also concerned with employee job satisfaction, which is an attitude. There are three reasons why managers should be concerned with their employees’ job satisfaction. First, there is a link between satisfaction and productivity. Second, satisfaction appears to be negatively related to absenteeism and turnover. Third managers have a humanistic responsibility to provide their employees with jobs that are challenging and rewarding (Daniels 1994).
The second part of organizational behavior’s definition that needs to be explained is “organization”. For our purposes organizational behavior is specifically concerned with work-related behavior-and that takes place in organizations. An organization is a formal structure of planned coordination, involving two or more people, in order to achieve a common goal (Daniels 1994).
Why Organizational Behavior is an important & interesting subject for people to study about?
Organizational behavior is about studying and understanding people and human nature. Do employees ever make efforts on behalf of their employing organization’s interests or fellow employees’ interest when it is not in their direct self-interest to do so? This question exists in any organization must be address. The problem addressed here is a conflict of self-interest. The question here should be very interesting to people in organization. People should try to understand and address counter intuitive behavior in certain situation (Young 1998). For instance, why does moral hazard exists in organization?
Organizational behavior success or failure depends on its goal setting, such as group cohesiveness and productivity. In a case study of 2 groups several researchers have suggested that goal acceptance moderates the relationship between group cohesiveness and group productivity. In Study 1, goal acceptance was found to moderate the relationship between group cohesiveness and the quantity of performance of 40 machine crews in a paper mill located in the northeastern United States.
In Study 2, the extent to which leaders fostered the acceptance of group goals was found to moderate the relationships between group cohesiveness and quantitative measures of group productivity in 71 insurance agency units located throughout the United States. The companies’ success or failure in this study will be explained in organizational behavior (Jacob 1985).
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