INTERODUCATION TO ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (OB)

Meaning: Organisational behaviour (OB) is the study and application of Knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act or behave within the organizations. It helps to identify ways in which people can act more affectively. Definitions: Newstrom and Davis defines organizational behaviour as, The study and application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within organizations. According to Fred Luthans Organisational behaviour can be defined as the understanding, predicting, and management of human behaviour in organizations. From the above definitions we can conclude that organizational behaviour is a scientific discipline concerned with development, research and application of knowledge aimed at increase the effectiveness of organisations though study of the human behaviour at many levels such as individual, group and organisational. Organisational behaviour studies human behaviour at the following levels:

Individual behaviour: OB is concerned with the behaviour of individuals with an organisation. Interpersonal behaviour: OB is concerned with interpersonal relationships within an organisation. For instance, OB helps managers to understand the behaviour of two employees when they interact with each other. Behaviour within groups: OB also studies the behaviour of formal (employees, supervisors, managers etc.) and informal groups (friends) in an organisation. Inter-group behaviour: Managers examine inter-group (between departments or groups at different levels) relationships, when there is a need to coordinate the efforts of two or more groups. Inter-organisational behaviour: OB examines the inter-organisational relationships in matters relating to mergers, joint ventures, etc.

Nature and Characteristics of OB: 1) Interdisciplinary in nature: Organisational behaviour is interdisciplinary in nature because it integrates the behavioural sciences with other social sciences, so as to understand people and organisations better. The major disciplines, which have contribution to OB are psychology, sociology, anthropology and political science. Psychology has contributed concepts of learning, perception, personality, leadership, and motivation, to the field of organisational behaviour. Some of the areas within OB that have received valuable input from sociologists are group dynamics, designed of work teams, organisational cultural, etc. Social psychologists have made significant contributions in the areas of attitude change, group decision-making, etc. Much

of our understanding of organisational culture, organisational environments and differences among national culture is the result of the work of anthropologists. Political science has contribution information about the allocation of power and conflict to organisational behaviour. 2) Interaction of theory, research and practice:

Theory: Organisational behaviour has grown because it has effectively combined theory development with research and managerial practice. Theories try to explain how and why people behave in a particular manner. Theory development occurs when important variables are identified and linked through tentative propositions. But mere theory development is not enough. It must be supported by research. Research: Research is the ongoing process of gathering and interpreting relevant evidence that will either support a behavioural theory or modify it. Research involves developing testable statements (hypothesis), which are then tested though data collection. Data is collected using case studies, field and laboratory experiments, surveys, etc. Both research and theory by themselves would be of little use without managerial practice. Practice: Practice is the conscious application of conceptual models and research results to improve individual and organisational performance. There is a healthy flow from theory and research to practice, and at the same time managers can also give feedback to improve theories and models. A major strength of organisational behaviour is the increasing acceptance of theory and research by practicing managers. Managers today are more receptive to new models. They support related research and experiment with new ideas. Thus, it can be concluded that as a result of the close interaction of theory, research, and practices; organisational behaviour has progressed substantially.

3) Goals: Most sciences share four goals to describe, to understand, to predict, and to control some phenomenon, OB also aims fulfilling the above goals. OB tries to describe how people behave under variety of conditions. OB makes an attempt to understand why people behave in a particular manner. OB makes an attempt to protect future employee behaviour. OB tries to control some human activity at work.

4) People (active factor): OB focuses primarily on people. Technology, structural relationships, environment and other elements are considered as they related to people. 5) Group / Individual behaviour: OB may be individual behaviour or group behaviour. The behaviour of individuals as well as that of groups in an organisation has direct bearing on the performance of the organisation. 6) Behaviour directing at different parties: OB related to behaviour of the members of the organisation toward each other, towards other groups in the organisation, and towards outsiders, including customers, suppliers, dealers, etc.

7) Employee and organisational needs: OB seeks to fulfill both employee needs as well as organisational objectives. It tries to have a balance between organisational productivity (in turn profit) and employees satisfaction. Historical Development OF OB The earlier management thinkers, such as Fredrick Taylor, Max Weber, Henri Fayol and others, recognized the behavioural side of management. However, they did not place much emphasis on the human dimension in organizations. They gave more importance to the role of hierarchical structure, specialization, and the management functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Fredrick Taylor (the father of scientific management) was primarily concerned with increasing productivity through greater efficiency in production through the application of scientific methods. Taylors approach of scientific management has been criticized as mechanical approach. He placed too much emphasis on efficiency without consideration the human element. Taylor considered workers as robots who could speed up the work at any cost. Taylor placed emphasis on higher pay to efficient workers. Therefore, Taylor is criticized for assuming that workers are motivated merely by monetary gains. He also advocated close cooperation between management and workers so as to bring harmony and to develop team sprit among the members of the organization. Taylor advocated the concept of mental revolution on the part of management and workers. The positive attitude would result in close cooperation between the management and the workers, which in turn would increase productivity and profits. Fatigue and motion studies (by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth) The husband and wife team made significant contribution of scientific management by way fatigue and motion studies. Through fatigue and motion studies, they were in a position to locate and eliminate unnecessary and wasteful movement on the job. According to the Gilberths, fatigue and motion were interlinked. Ever motion that was eliminated reduced fatigue. Using motion picture cameras, they fined to identify the most economical motion for each job in order to improve performance and reduce fatigue. The Gilberths advocated that motion study would raise workers moral because of physical benefits and because it showed managements concern for the workers. He also concluded that it is not the monotony of work that causes so much of worker dissatisfaction, but rather, managements lack of interest in workers. Henry Fayol (considered as the father of modern management) He emphasized that the purpose of the organisation was to get the work done in specialization, machinelike functions. He did not placed much emphasis that the organisation is made up of people. Fayol did mentioned certain principals, which were people oriented such as stability of tenure, equality, fair remuneration, balance between authority and responsibility, esprit de corps (team work). Human Relations Movement: The classical school (Taylors Scientific, management and Henri Fayols administrative management) did not give much importance to the human aspects of the workers. As a result, the classical approach failed to achieve the desired level of production efficiency and harmony between the management and workers. The failure of the classical approach led to the human relations movement. The human relation movement began with the Hawthorne experiments,

which were conducted at western electrical works in USA between 1942 and 1932. The human relations thinkers have made an attempt to integrate the research findings of psychology and sociology with management. They view organisation as a social system of interpersonal and inter group relationships. They placed emphasis on the management can manage people effectively and get the work done from them efficiently by fulfilling their social and psychological needs. Hawthorne Studies: It is generally believed that the Hawthorne studies mark the beginning of the study of OB. The Hawthorne experiments were conducted in the four phases as follows: Part I Illumination Experiments (1924-27): From 1924-27, the National research council made a study in collaboration with Western electric to determine the effect of different levels of illumination on productivity of labour. The lighting conditions for the test group of workers were varied, while it was kept constant for the control group of workers. The researchers found that the productivity of the test group improved with an improvement in lighting conditions, and surprisingly it also improved, when the lighting conditions were worsened. To complicate further, the productivity of the control group also rose, even when there were no change in the lighting conditions. The researchers concluded that something besides lighting was influencing the workers performance. Part II Relay assembly test room experiment (1927-29): In this experiment, Elton Mayo and his associates were involved. In this experiment, two groups of six females telephone relay assemblers each were placed in separate rooms and a number of variables were altered wages were increased; rest periods of varying length were introduced; the workday and work week shortened. The researchers who now acted as supervisors, also allowed the groups to choose their own rest periods and to have a say in other suggested changes. Productivity and moral of the group increased consistently during the period of experiment. The researchers also observed that even when the improvements in physical working conditions were withdrawn, productivity and moral of the group were maintained. The researchers, thus concluded that the social-psychological factors such as small informal groups, non-directive supervision, participation in work matters, etc., were responsible for improvement in productivity. Part III Mass Interviewing program (1928-31): A large number of workers were interviewed to find out the reasons for increased productivity. This program indicated that productivity could be increased, if people are allowed to talk freely about matters that are of importance to them. Part IV Bank wiring observation room experiment (1932): In this experiment of group of 14 male employees in the bank wiring room was placed under observation for 6 months. A workers pay was made dependable on the performance of the group as a whole. The researchers expected that the more efficient workers would put pressure on less efficient workers to complete the work. However, it was found that the group established its own standards of output and social pressure was used to achieve the standards of output. Conclusions of the Hawthorne Experiments:

1. The

social and physiological factors and not just physical working condition are responsible for workers productivity and job satisfaction. and performance more then the formal relations in the organisation.

2. The informal and interpersonal relations among workers influence the workers behaviour 3. Employees would perform better when they are given freedom to participate in decisionmaking affecting their interests.

4. Employees would also work more effectively, when they believe that the management is concerned of their welfare.

5. When Employees are treated with respect and dignity, their performance tends to improve
than otherwise.

6. Monetary incentive alone cannot increase the performance, but fulfillment of their social
and psychological needs is a must to enhance productivity.

7. Effective 8.

communication between the superiors and subordinates can improve the relations and overall productivity of the subordinates. Special attention and freedom to express their views on matters concerning to the workers can improve the overall performance of the workers.

The Basic philosophy of human relations approach is stated as follows:

1. Human

beings are not interested only in monetary gains, but also need recognition and appreciation. are human beings, and they are to be treated as human beings and not like machines. Managers should try to understand the feelings and emotions of the people, and accordingly manage them. Therefore, managers should encourage informal relations in the organisation and not just formal relations.

2. Workers

3. An organisation works not only though formal relations, but also though informal relations. 4. Workers 5. Workers
needs a high degree of job security and job satisfaction, the therefore, management should make efforts to ensure job security and to bring out job satisfaction to the workers. expect good communication on the part of managers, and therefore, managers should communicate effectively without feelings of ego and superiority complex. managers should work to sort out conflict and misunderstandings among the members of the organisation.

6. In any organisation, members would not like conflicts and misunderstandings, and therefore, 7. Workers 8.
would prefer freedom from strict supervision and therefore, managers should avoid strict supervision and control over the workers. Employees would like to participate in decision-making especially, in those matters affecting their interests, and therefore, management must encourage workers participation in management, so as to enhance productivity and job satisfaction.

Behavioural Science Approach: The study of the OB got further boosted due to development of behavioural science approach. The behavioural science approach is an extension of the human relation approach. Elton Mayo and his associates developed the use of the scientific method in their studies of human resources in the work environment. Later researchers, like Abraham Maslow, Douglas

McGregor and others, used more sophisticated methods and became known as behavioural scientists rather than human relations theorists. The behavioural science approach also known as human resource approach gave importance to the behaviour and performance of individuals and groups in organisations. The behavioural scientists brought two new dimensions to the study of management and organisations: The behavioural scientists like Abraham Maslow in his theory of hierarchy of human needs gave more importance to the self-actualization needs, apart from other needs. Application of the scientific investigation to determine the group behaviour of people in organisations.

Basic assumptions and propositions of behavioural science approach: Managements are responsible for the integration of Organisations social-technical systems. There are a number of factors that influence interpersonal behaviour of people and work in an organisation. Employees are motivated by social and psychological needs. Individual differ in perceptions, attitude, needs and values. These differences must be identified and recognized by management. Conflict and cooperation can co-exist in an organisation. There should be a fusion of personal goals and organisational goals in an organisation.

Importance of the study of organisational behaviour:

1. Productivity:

Productivity implies a concern for both effectiveness and efficiency. For example, a retail store is said to be effective when it meets the needs of its customers and successfully attains its sales target. It is efficient when it can meet the needs of its customers (attains the sales target) at a low cost. Therefore, it can be said that effectiveness related to achievement of goals, and efficiency is the relation between returns to costs. to report to work. At job level, A one day absence by an employee (managerial or non managerial) can cost the organisation a good amount of money. Absenteeism not only affects the work of the absentee employee but also the work of other employees who are connected directly or indirectly with the absentee employee. The organisation benefits when employee absenteeism is low. It is obvious difficult for an organisation to operate efficiently and to attain its objectives if employees fail to report to their jobs. The workflow get disturbed and often-important decisions get delayed. However, it is to be noted that not all absences are not bad. At times, it is good for the organisation that some employees remain absent. For example, the performance of a manager may improve, especially when the absenteeism may enable him / her to relax from stress. It would be better to remain absent rather than make a poor decision under stress.

2. Reduction in Absenteeism: Absenteeism refers to the failure on the part of the employees

3. Reduction

in Employee Turnover: Turnover is the permanent withdrawn from an organisation. It may be voluntary or involuntary. A high employee turnover results in increased costs such as recruiting, selection, and training. Employee turnover also affects the smooth functioning of an organisation, especially when experienced personnel leave. It

is to be noted that not all employee turnover is bad. Certain employees, who are inefficient or ineffective leaving the organisation, would be a blessing for the organisation. Such a situation provided an opportunity for other who are motivated and who can add new and fresh ideas to the organisation. Managers must not limit themselves to looking at overall turnover rates. They should ensure that the right people are continuing and the inefficient and ineffective people are leaving.

4. Organisational

Citizenship: It refers to the discretionary behaviour on the part of an employee, which is not part of his / her formal job requirements, but that in fact promotes the effective functioning of the organisation. Nowadays, organisations need employees who will do more then the usual job duties. In todays workplace, when the jobs are increasingly done in teams and where flexibility is crucial organisations need employees who will engage in good citizenship behaviours such as making constructive statements about their work group and the organisation, helping others in their team, volunteering for extra job activates, avoiding unnecessary conflicts, showing care for organisational property, following the rules and regulations, and gracefully tolerating the occasional work-related impositions and nuisances. It is found that organisations that have good organisational citizens outperforms. Satisfaction: It is an employees general attitude towards his her job. It is normally believed that satisfied employee are more productive than dissatisfied employees. Higher job satisfaction is associated with lower employee turnover. When an employee is satisfied with the job, he will not think in terms of quitting or searching for other jobs. He is less likely to find alternative, and therefore, less likely to quit. If an employee is dissatisfied, either because the job is not challenging, or he receives no recognition, or has conflicts with supervisors or peers, he will think of quitting. Also absenteeism may be high when job satisfaction is low. All absences, however, need not be due to low job satisfaction. A satisfied employee may also remain absent due to valid reasons such as healthy problems, important personal work, etc.

5. Job

Goals of Organisational Behavioural: Organisational behaviour has four main goals, which helps to study human behaviour, and to accomplish the goals of the organisation. The goals of OB are as follows:

1. To

Describe Behaviour: The first goal of OB is to provide a systematic and accurate description of human behaviour. It aims at describing individual behaviour under a variety of situations. At this stage, OB is concerned with HOW individuals behave and it is a necessary step before we try to understand the causes of behaviour. Once this goal is achieved, it is easier for managers to communicate about human behaviour. OB moves on to the next goal, namely, that of explaining manager is not satisfied by merely described the behaviour of know the reasons for the behaviour. At this stage OB is behaviour. For example, if an employees work behaviour productivity, like poor training, lack of motivation, etc. the behaviour. An inquisitive an employee. He is curious to concerned with the WHY of is described as that of low

2. To Understand Behaviour: Once a complete description of human behaviour is achieved,

3. To Predict Behaviour: Predicting future behaviour of employees or groups is an important

goal of OB. Managers should have the capacity to predict behaviour of individuals and / or groups within an organisation. For instance, managers may which employees might be

committed and productive, and which ones might be not. Predicting behaviour would enable the mangers to take preventive action.

4. To control Behaviour:

The final goal of OB is to control and change (wherever possible) the behaviour of employees, so that both the individuals as well as the organisation benefits. Here managers are concerned with How to change behaviour. For example, if the employees productivity is low due to poor training, then the manager would implement suitable training programs to increase productivity.

Contribution of different disciplines to Organisational Behaviour OR Contemporary importance of OB: OB is an inter-disciplinary approach. OB is an applied behavioural science that is built on the contributions from a number of behavioural disciplines, such as Psychology, Sociology, Social Psychology, Anthropology, Political Science etc.

1. Psychology:

Psychology is a behavioural discipline that seeks to measure, explain and sometimes modify the behaviour of human and other animals. The psychologists attempts to study and understand individual behaviour. Early organisational psychologists use to deal with the problems of fatigue, and other factors relevant to working conditions that could affect the efficient working of the organisation. Modern organisational psychologists are also concerned with work related factors such as learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurements, employee selection techniques, work design, and job stress. Sociology as a behavioural discipline studies people in relation to their fellow human beings. While psychology focus their attention on individual behaviour, the sociologists study the social system in which individuals perform their roles. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study of group behaviour in organisations, particular formal and complex organisations. Some of the areas within OB that have received valuable inputs from sociologist are group dynamics, design of work teams, organisational culture, formal organisational theory and structural organisational technology, communications, power and conflict. Psychology: Social psychology is a behavioural discipline that combines the concepts from both psychology and sociology. It focuses on the influence of individuals on one another. One of the major areas receiving considerable investigation from social psychologists has been changed, that is how to implement the change and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. The modern social psychologists are making significant contributions in the areas of measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes, communication patterns, building trust, the ways in which group activities can satisfy individuals needs, and group decision making processes. Anthropologists work on cultures and environments has helped to understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between the people in different countries and within different organisations. The contributions of anthropologists have helped us to understand organisational culture, organisational environments, and differences between national cultures.

2. Sociology:

3. Social

4. Anthropology: It is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.

5. Political

Science: It studies the behaviour of individuals and groups within a political environment. The political scientists have contributed to the understanding of behaviour in organisations, in areas such as structuring of conflict, allocation of power, and how people use power tactics for achievement of individual and organisational goals. The political scientists have done extensively research on power and politics in organisations.

Impact of technology on OB Technology refers to the processes used by an organisation to transform resources into goods and service. Technology is necessary because human beings have limitations. It has a significant influence on working relationships. It helps to develop a commutative edge in the market. Technological development results in

Automation: It means that the task is performed by machines in place of workers. It facilities simplification of tasks for workers. It results in more output. This is because machines help to produce number of units as compared to manpower. However, automation brings in the feelings of boredom and alienation among employees. Flat organisation: Due to technological development computers are extensively used in majority of activities in the organisation. This in turn lead to the flat organisation structure which involves few management levels with wider span of control. Computerisation leads to standardized activities, for which flat organisations are more suitable. Flat organisation facilities quick communication and better co-ordination among the various levels in the organisation. Learner Organisation: Technology has changed the organisation structure. There is a shift towards leaner organisation due to automation and downsizing. Downsizing means reducing the manpower of the organisation. As machines can do better, greater and quicker work as compared to workers, organisations have restored to downsizing.

Technology has positive as well as negative impact on OB A) Positive impact of technology -1. Speed of work is increased due to technology. A machine helps to do a task of several workers at increased speed. 2. Technology helps to produce goods at low cost of production. It produces goods on a large scale. Hence, it results in economies of large scale production and distribution. 3. The quality of work has improved due to technology. This is because; technology facilitates specialization and standardization of activities.

4. Computerisation

have result in quick data tabulation and analysis. Hence, quick and accurate decision-making is possible in organisation.

5. Technology generates higher efficiency in the organisation. Due to machines, workers experience less physical strain and are less fatigued. Hence, they can produce more output in less time. 6. Employee absenteeism upset the delivery schedules of the organisation. However, in the case of automation, the question of employee absenteeism and tardiness does not arises. In

fact, automation leads to large scale production, which facilitates delivery of goods at the right time. 7. Corporate Image is enhanced due to adoption of technology in organisation. This is because; technology leads to increase in quality, quantity and reduction in costs. 8. Technology helps to deliver qualitative goods at the right time, right price to the customers. This leads to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction may result in customer loyalty. B) Negative impact of Technology 1. Technology may result in downsizing. Downsizing affects social networking among employees due to less interaction. Hence, the employees may develop feelings of isolation and alienation. 2. Computers and other machines may develop physical stress among employees. The employees may experience eye irritation, backaches, etc. due to the use of technology. 3. Technology creates unemployment problem. Due to downsizing, employees are terminated and they may indulge in anti-social activities. This creates law and order problem in the society. 4. Introduction of technology involves high capital expenditure. This is because of high cost of installation of technology, and high cost of training to employees. 5. Due to constant technological changes, the machines go outdated very fast. Hence, the replacement of machines becomes necessary to face intense competition. The maintenance and replacement costs of machines is also very high. 6. It is debatable whether technology affects creativity or not. It can be said that technology affects creativity due to employees over dependence on machines. However, it is also seen that computers allow better thinking and creativity in the organisation. Organisational Effectiveness: Organisations are said to effective when they produce quality goods ands services at reasonable cost without compromising on profit-making. The other requirement of effectiveness is that the organisation should seek to satisfy their diverse stakeholders. Stakeholders are all the people and groups affected by, or can affect, an organizations decisions, policies, and operations. Some of the stakeholders are so primary that an organizations existence and activities depend on them. These stakeholders include customers, suppliers, employees, and investors. But an organizations stake goes beyond these primary interest groups and extends to such groups which are affected by the firms primary activities and decisions. These groups, called secondary stakeholders, included local communities, governments departments, foreign governments, social activist groups, media, and the general public. The connections of these groups with organizations are many and often conflicting. It is the duty of managers to keep all the stakeholders satisfied and the extent of satisfaction derived by stakeholders speaks about the effectiveness of an organization.

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