Introduction to Organization Behavior Chapter

Q1. Define organization behavior?

Answer: Organization is the study and application of knowledge about how people- as individual and as groups- act within organization.

Explanation:

• Human Objectives
• Organization Objectives
• Social objectives

It is the study of human and group behavior within organizational settings. The study of organization behavior involves looking at.

• Attitudes
• Interpersonal relationship
• Productivity

Q2. Goals of organization behavior.

Answer: There are four goals of OB.

1. To describe
2. To understand
3. To predict
4. To control

To describe: The first objective is to describe, systematically, how people behave under a variety of conditions. Achieving this goal allows managers to communicate about human behavior at work using a common language.  

To understand: The second goal is to understand why people behave as they do. Managers would be highly frustrated if they could only talk about behavior of their employee.

To predict: Prediction 0f future about employee behavior is another goal of organization behavior. Identity, Managers would have the capacity to predict which employees might be dedicated and productive or which ones might be absent, tardy, or disruptive on a certain day. So that managers could tack preventive actions.

To control: The final goal of organization behavior is to control, at least partially, and develop some human activity at work. Since managers are held responsible for performance outcomes, they are vitally interested in being able to make an impact on employee behavior, skill development, team efforts and productivity.

Q3. Forces of organization behavior.

Answer: There are some forces which affect the nature of organization today.

These are act---

1. People
2. Structure
3. Technology
4. Environment

People: People make up the internal social system of the organization. That system consists of individual and groups, and large groups as well as small ones. There are unofficial, informal groups and more official, formal ones. Groups are dynamic. They form, change, and disband. People are the living, thinking, feeling beings who work in the organization to achieve their objectives. We must remember that organizations exist to serve people, rather than people existing to serve organizations.

Structure: Structure defines the formal relationship and use of people in organizations. Different jobs are required to accomplish all of an organization’s activities. There are managers and employees, accountants and assemblers. These people have to be related in some structural way so that their work can be effectively coordinate. These relationships create complex problems of cooperation, negotiation, and decision making.

Technology: Technology provides the resource with which people work and affects the tasks that they perform.

Environment: It can be divided into two categories.

1.      Internal environment: It includes the structure.

2.      External environment:  It includes government, competitors, social pressure

Q4. Fundamental Concept of organization behavior.

Answer: Organizational behavior has fundamental concepts revolving round the nature of people and the nature of the organization.

The Nature of People

Individual differences The idea of individual differences is supported by science. All people are different, and this diversity should be recognized and viewed as a valuable asset to organizations. The idea of individual differences comes originally from psychology. Individual differences mean that management can motivate employees best by treating them differently. This belief that each person is different from all others is typically called the law of individual differences.

Perception: Their view of their objective environment is filtered by perception, which is the unique way in which each person sees, organizes, and interprets things. They tend to act on the basis of their perceptions. Essentially, each person seems to be saying, “I react not to an objective world, but to a world judged in terms of my own beliefs, values, and expectations.” This way of reacting reflects the process of selective perception.

A Whole Person: Although some organizations may wish they could employ only a person’s skill or brain, they actually employ a whole person rather than certain characteristics.

Motivated Behavior: From psychology, we learn that normal behavior has certain causes. These may relate to a person’s needs or the consequences that result from acts. In the case of needs, people are motivated not by what we think they ought to have but by what they want. To an outside observer, a person’s needs may be unrealistic, but they are still controlling. This fact leaves management with two basic ways to motivate people. It can show them how certain actions will increase their need fulfillment, or it can threaten decreased need fulfillment if they follow an undesirable course of action. Clearly, a path toward increased need fulfillment is the better approach, and this illustrates that motivation is essential to the operation of organizations.

Desire for Involvement: Many employees today are actively seeking opportunities at work to become involved in relevant decisions, thereby contributing their talents and ideas to the organization’s success. They hunger for the chance to share what they know and to learn from the experience. Consequently, organizations need to provide opportunities for meaningful involvement. This can be achieved through employee empowerment—a practice that will result in mutual benefit for both parties.

Value of the Person: They want to be valued for their skills and abilities, be provided with opportunities to develop themselves, and be given reasonable chances to make meaningful contributions—now.

The Nature of Organizations

Social Systems: In fact, two types of social systems exist side by side in organizations. One is the formal (official) social system, and the other is the informal social system.

All parts of the system are interdependent, and each part is subject to influence by any other part. Everything is related to everything else.

Mutual Interest: Organizations need people, and people need organizations. Organizations have a human purpose. They are formed and maintained on the basis of some mutuality of interest among their participants. Managers need employees to help them reach organizational objectives; people need organizations to help them reach individual objectives. If mutuality is lacking, trying to assemble a group and develop cooperation makes no sense, because there is no common base on which to build.

Ethics: When the organization’s goals and actions are ethical, it is more likely that individual, organizational, and social objectives will be met. People find more satisfaction in work when there is cooperation and teamwork. They are learning, growing, and contributing. The organization is also more successful because it operates more effectively. Quality is better, service is improved, and costs are reduced.

Q5. Models of organization behavior.

Answer:

There are five major models or frameworks that organizations operate out of:

1. The Autocratic Model - The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.

2. The Custodial Model - The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive cooperation.

3. 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.

4. The Collegial Model - The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork. The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline. The employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is moderate enthusiasm.

5. The System Model – It is the result of a strong search for higher meaning at work by many of today’s employees; they want more than just a paycheck and job security from their jobs. Since they are being asked to spend many hours of their day at work, they want a work context there that is ethical, infused with integrity and trust, and provide an opportunity to experience a growing sense of community among coworkers.

Q6. Different between models of organization behavior.

FIVE MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR DIFFERENCES

	Autocratic	Custodial	Supportive	Collegial	System
Basis of Model	Power	Economic resources	Leadership	Partnership	Trust, community, meaning
Managerial-  orientation	Authority	Money	Support	Teamwork	Caring, compassion
Employee orientation	Obedience	Security and benefit	Job performance	Responsible behavior	Psychology ownership
Employee psychological result	Dependence on boss	Dependence on organization	Participation	Self-discipline	Self Motivation
Employee needs met	Subsistence	Security	Status and recognition	Self-actualization	Wide range
Performance result	Minimum	Passive cooperation	Awakened drives	Moderate enthusiasm	Passion and commitment to organizational goals