Introduction to the Field of

Organizational Behavior

Dr. Vaneeta Aggarwal

 UNIT - I
Introduction to Organisational Behaviour

 Historical background of OB - Relevance of OB to

management functions – Contributing disciplines -
Challenges
 Personality: Determinants – Assessment – Trait
Theories – Psychoanalytical social learning –
Personality-Job fit.
 Perception: Process – Distortions – Factors
influencing perception
 Reference Books

 Robbins, S.P., Judge, T. and Vohra, Organizational

Behavior,14th Edition, Pearson, 2011.
 K. Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour, 10th
Edition,2012.
 Blanchard, K.H., Hersey, P. and Johnson, D.E.,
Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human
Resources,9th Edition, PHI Learning, 2008.
 Luthans, F. Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition, Tata
McGraw Hill Education, 2011.
 Greenberg ,J. and Baron, R.A., Behaviour in Organizations
 Nelson, quick and Khandelwal, ORGB, Cengage Learning.
 What are Organizations?

Groups of people who work interdependently

towards some purpose.

 Social Entities
 Goal directed
 designed as deliberately structured and co-ordinated
activity systems
 Structured patterns of interaction
 linked to the external environment
 NEED FOR ORGANIZATIONS

 Bring together resources to achieve desired

goals and outcomes
 Produce goods and services efficiently and
effectively
 Facilitate innovation
 Use modern manufacturing and information
technologies
 Contd…..

 Adapt to and influence a changing environment

 Create values for stakeholders
 Accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics
and the motivation and co-ordination of employees
 PERSPECTIVES ON
ORGANIZATIONS
CLOSED SYSTEM Vs OPEN SYSTEM
A closed system does not depend on its
environment, it would be autonomous, enclosed
and sealed off from the outside world.
 Open system must interact with the environment
to survive; it both consumes resources and exports
resources to the environment. It must continuously
adapt to the environment e.g. HMT closed system
The Systems Approach to Organizations
 Open System Organization

Outputs
Inputs Goals and Technical • Products
 Material Values Subsystem • Services
 Money
Subsystem • Human
 Human effort satisfaction
Managerial • Organization
 Information
Subsystem survival and
growth
• Social
Psychological Structural benefit
Subsystem Subsystem

Feedback
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF OB

 EFFICIENCY IS EVERYTHING
 SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT – F.W.TAYLOR
 According to him, decisions about organizations and
job design should be based on precise, scientific
study of individual situations.
 Managers must develop precise, standard procedures
for doing each job, select workers with appropriate
abilities, train workers in the standard procedures,
carefully plan work and provide wage incentives to
increase output. E.g.., Bethleham Plant
 Scientific Management

 Positive Attributes
 Facilitated job specialization and mass production.
 Demonstrated to managers their role in enhancing
performance and productivity.
 Negative Attributes
 Labor opposed scientific management because its explicit goal
was to get more output from workers.
 Critics argued that Taylor’s methods and ideas would
dehumanize the workplace and reduce workers to little more
than drones.
 Theorists later argued that Taylor’s views of employee
motivation were inadequate and narrow.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRINCIPLES

 Design and functioning of the Organization as

a whole.
 Henry Fayol Principles-Division of work,
Delegation of authority, Discipline, Unity of
command, unity of direction, Subordination of
individual interests to general interest,
Remuneration, Centralization, scalar Chains,
Order, Equity, stability of tenure of Personnel,
Initiatives, Esprit de corps
 BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATIONS

 Max Weber emphasized designing and managing

organizations on an impersonal, rational basis
through such elements as clearly defined authority
and responsibility, formal record keeping and
uniform application of standard rules.
 Human Relations and Behavioral
Approach
HAWTHORNE STUDIES
 The publication of these findings led to a revolution
in worker treatment and laid the groundwork for
subsequent work examining treatment of workers,
organizational behaviour and human resource
management.
 Human Relations Movement

Ten year study

Four experimental & three control groups

Five different tests

Test pointed to factors other than illumination for productivity

1st Relay Assembly Test Room experiment, 6 years

Interpretation, money not cause of increased output

Factor that increased output, Human Relations

Illumination Studies – 1924-1927
 Illumination Studies – 1924-1927

 Conducted at “Hawthorne Works”, a Western Electric

factory outside Chicago
 Measured Light Intensity vs. Worker Output

 Result – Each change (including decreases) resulted

in higher output and reported greater employee
satisfaction

 Conclusions:
 Light intensity has no conclusive effect on output
Relay Assembly Test Experiments
1927-1929
 Relay Assembly Test Experiments
1927-1929

 Group of 6 Women – (5) Assemblers and (1) Layout Operator

 One Observer – Explained every incremental change and recorded

results

 Manipulated factors of production to measure effect on output:

 Pay Incentives
 Length of Work Day & Work Week
 Use of Rest Periods
 Company Sponsored Meals

 Management Visits / Special Attention

 Result – Most changes resulted in higher output and reported
greater employee satisfaction
 CONCLUSIONS

 Experiments yielded positive effects even with

negative influences – workers’ output will increase as
a response to attention

 Strong social bonds were created within the test

group. Workers are influenced by need for
recognition, security and sense of belonging
Mica Splitting Test Group - 1928-1931

 Measured output changes with changes in work

conditions only:
 Special Observation Room
 Length of Work Day
 Use of Rest Periods
 Workers stayed on established Piece-rate compensation
 Result - Productivity increased by 15% over
standard output base
 Conclusions:
 Productivity is affected by non-pay considerations
 Social dynamics are a basis of worker performance
 Plant Interview Program – 1925-1932

 1925-1927 – Objective Questions

 Work Conditions
 Work Relationships
 Yes/No Answers

 1928-1932 – Conversational / Non-directive

 Attentive Sympathetic Listening
 Concern for personal needs
 Increased in time from 30-90 minutes

 Result – Remarkable positive employee perceptions:

 Working Condition Improved (no real changes)
 Better Wages (no real changes)

 Conclusions:
 New Supervisory Style improved worker morale
 Complaints reflected personal and/or social barriers that needed
attention in order to raise productivity
Bank Wiring Observation Group – 1931-1932

 14 Male Workers

 Few Special Conditions

 Segregated work area
 No Management Visits
 Supervision would remain the same
 Observer would record data only – no interaction with workers

 New incentive pay rate was established for the small group

 Any increases in output would be included in departmental pay

incentives

 Result – Negative changes in output

 Conclusions:
 Well established performance norms existed in
the group
 Informal Social Organization dictated little
deviation from established production standards
– Systemic Soldiering
 Informal Social Organizations protect workers
from managers who
 Raise production standards
 Cut pay rates
 Challenge workplace norms
 “The Hawthorne Studies”

 Illumination Study (November 1924)

 Designed to test the effect of lighting intensity on worker productivity

 Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1932)

 Assembly of telephone relays
 Production and satisfaction increased regardless of manipulation
 Workers’ increased production and satisfaction related to supervisory
practices
 Human interrelationships are important contributing factors to worker
productivity
 Bottom Line: Supervisory practices increase employee morale AND
productivity
 Interviewing Program (1928-1930)
 Investigate connection between supervisory practices and employee
morale
 Employees expressed their ideas and feelings (e.g., likes and dislikes)
 Process more important than actual results
Hawthorne Studies - Implications

 Illumination Study (November 1924)

 The mere practice of observing people’s behavior tends to alter their behavior
(Hawthorne Effect)
 Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1932)
 Relationships between workers and their supervisors are powerful
 Human interrelationships increase the amount and quality of worker participation in
decision making
 Interviewing Program (1928-1930)
 Demonstrated powerful influence of upward communication
 Workers were asked for opinions, told they mattered, and positive attitudes toward
company increased

 Bank Wiring Room Observation Study (November 1931 - May 1932)

 Social groups can influence production and individual work behavior
 Informal organization constrains employee behavior within formal organizational structure,
Led future theorists to account for the existence of informal communication
 Taken together, these studies helped to document the powerful nature of
social relations in the workplace and moved managers more toward the
interpersonal aspects of organizing.
 Impact of the Hawthorne Studies

 Human Relations recognizes that there are other

factors beyond rational economics that drive
individual behavior.
 Productivity and satisfaction are inextricably
linked—You cannot forget the human side of the
equation!!
 The Emergence of Organizational Behavior
 Legacy of Scientific Management and Classical
Organizational Theory
 Rationality, efficiency, and standardization were the central
themes of both scientific management and classic organization
theory.
 The roles of individuals and groups in organizations were
either ignored or given only minimal attention.
 The Hawthorne Studies (1927–1932)
 Focused attention on the role of human behavior in the
workplace.
 Led directly to the emergence of organizational behavior as a
field of study.
The Emergence of Organizational Behavior

 The Human Relations Movement

 People respond primarily to their social environment.
 Motivation depends on social, not economic needs.
 Satisfied employees work harder than dissatisfied employees.
 Douglas McGregor – Theory X and Theory Y
 Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of needs
 Toward Organizational Behavior: The Value of People
 Organizational behavior reached maturity as a field of study in
the late 1950s .
 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

 A field of study that investigates the impact

that individuals, groups and structure have
on behaviour within organizations, for the
purpose of applying such knowledge toward
improving an organization’s effectiveness -
Stephen P. Robbins
The Nature of Organizational Behavior
Why Study Organizational Behavior

Understand
organizational
events

Organizational
Behavior
Research
Influence Predict
organizational organizational
events events
 The Rigour of OB

 OB looks at consistencies
 What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability?

 OB is more than common sense

 Systematic study, based on scientific evidence

 OB has few absolutes

 OB takes a contingency approach
 Considers behaviour in context
 Beyond Common Sense

 Systematic Study
 Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and
effects and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence
 Behaviour is generally predictable
 There are differences between individuals
 There are fundamental consistencies
 There are rules (written & unwritten) in almost every setting
There Are Few Absolutes in OB

x Contingency
Variables y
 The Independent Variables

Independent
Variables

Individual-Level Group-Level Organization

Variables Variables System-Level
Variables
The Dependent Variables

x
The Dependent Variables (cont’d)
The Dependent Variables (cont’d)
The Dependent Variables (cont’d)
The Dependent Variables (cont’d)
Contextual Perspectives on Organizational
Behavior

 The Systems Perspective

 A system is an interrelated set of elements that function
as a whole.
 The Systems Approach
 Provides a framework for understanding how the
elements of an organization interact among themselves
and with their environment.
 Contextual Perspectives on Organizational
Behavior

 The Universal Perspective

 Suggests that whenever a manager encounters a
problem, a universal approach exists that will lead to the
desired outcome.
 The Contingency Perspective
 Suggests that whenever a manager encounters a
problem, the approach to use is contingent on other
variables.
Contextual Perspectives on Organizational
Behavior
 Interactionalism: People and Situations

 First presented in terms of interactional psychology, this view

assumes that individual behavior results from a continuous
and multidirectional interaction between the characteristics of
the person and the characteristics of the situation.

 Interactionalism attempts to explain how people select,

interpret, and change various situations
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes
change the behavior of humans and other animals.

E X H I B I T 1–3 (cont’d)
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field
(cont’d)
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Contributing Disciplines to the OB
Field (cont’d)
Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology
and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one
another.
Contributing Disciplines to the OB
Field (cont’d)
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their
activities.
Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field (cont’d)
 SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

 OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within
an organization.
 OB focuses on improving productivity, reducing
absenteeism and turnover, and increasing employee job
satisfaction and organizational commitment.
 OB uses systematic study to improve predictions of
behaviour.
 Challenges: Globalization

 Economic, social, and cultural connectivity with

people in other parts of the world
 Effects of globalization on organizations:
 Greater efficiencies and knowledge sources
 Ethical issues about economies of developing countries
 New organizational structures and communication
 Greater workforce diversity
 More competitive pressure, demands on employees
 Information Technology

 Blurs temporal and spatial boundaries between

employees and organizations
 Re-designs jobs and power relationships
 Increases value of knowledge management
 Supports telecommuting
 Supports virtual teams
 Telecommuting

 An alternative work arrangement where employees

work at home or remote site, usually with a
computer connection to the office
 Tends to increase productivity and empowerment,
reduce stress and costs
 Problems with lack of recognition, lack of social
interaction
 Changing Workforce

 Primary and secondary diversity -- but concerns

about distinguishing people by ethnicity
 More women in workforce and professions
 Different needs of Gen-X/Gen-Y and baby-boomers
 Diversity has advantages, but firms need to adjust
 Employment Relationship

 Employability
 “New deal” employment relationship

 Continuously learn new skills

 Contingent work
 No contract for long-term employment

 Free agents, temporary-temporaries

 Minimum hours of work vary

 Employability vs Job Security

Job Security Employability

• Lifetime job security • Limited job security

• Jobs are permanent • Jobs are temporary

• Company manages career • Career self-management

• Low emphasis on skill • High emphasis on skill

development development
 Workplace Values & Ethics

 Values are long-lasting beliefs about what is

important in a variety of situations
 Define right versus wrong --guide our decisions
 Values relate to individuals, companies, professions,
societies, etc.
 Importance values due to:
 Need to guide employee decisions and actions

 Globalization increases awareness of different values

 Increasing emphasis on applying ethical values

 Ethics -- study of moral principles or values

 Knowledge Management Processes

Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge

acquisition sharing use

• Grafting • Communication • Awareness

• Individual learning • Communities of • Empowerment
practice
• Experimentation
 Corporate Social Responsibility

 Corporate Social Responsibility

 Organization’s moral obligation toward its
stakeholders
 Stakeholders
 Shareholders, customers, suppliers, governments
etc.
 Triple bottom line philosophy
 Economic, Social & Environmental
Challenges at Workplace
Organizational Level
• Productivity
• Developing Effective Employees
• Global Competition
• Managing in the Global Village

Group Level
•
•
Working With Others Workplace
Workforce Diversity

Individual Level
• Job Satisfaction
• Empowerment
• Behaving Ethically