Business
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior is the study of how individuals and groups behave within an organization. It encompasses topics such as leadership, communication, motivation, and decision-making. Understanding organizational behavior is crucial for businesses as it helps in creating a positive work environment, improving productivity, and managing conflicts effectively.
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12 Key excerpts on "Organizational Behavior"
eBook - PDF- Mary Uhl-Bien, Ronald F. Piccolo, John R. Schermerhorn, Jr.(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
What Is Organizational Behavior? Organizational Behavior is the study of human behavior in organizations, focusing on individ- uals, teams, interpersonal processes, and organizational structures. It is an interdisciplinary body of knowledge with strong ties to the behavioral sciences—psychology, sociology, and an- thropology—as well as to social sciences such as economics and political science. What makes the OB field unique is its potential to integrate insights from related disci- plines and apply them to real-world organizational problems and opportunities. The ultimate goal of studying OB is to improve the performance of people, groups, and organizations, thus to improve the quality of work life overall. Understanding OB will also help you develop the skills needed for a successful career. Because you are learning about behavior, you will no doubt sharpen your life skills, as well. Why Is Organizational Behavior Important? The topics studied in Organizational Behavior include personality, motivation, organizational culture, ethics, teamwork, and leadership. These are critically important for long-term career and life success. Learning about OB will provide foundational knowledge about human behav- ior, and prepare you to adapt and thrive in a dynamic and complex workplace. Trends in the Workplace It is clear that the world is changing all around us. The avail- ability of globally accessible information networks has made the world smaller. In the modern 1.1 Organizational Behavior 1-3 workplace, you are likely to hear about the importance of networking, connecting, ideating, collaborating, linking, supporting, seeking, and innovating. These and other similar behaviors drive communities of action where people share knowledge and skills with others to tackle complex problems with shifting priorities. 5 Success in your career and throughout life requires ongoing learning and continuous at- tention to trends, practices, and opportunities.
eBook - ePubOrganizational Behavior 3
Historical Origins, Theoretical Foundations, and the Future
- John B. Miner(Author)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Organizational Behavior 3 PART I THEORY, RESEARCH, AND KNOWLEDGE OF Organizational BehaviorWhat is Organizational Behavior? It is a social science discipline—much like cultural anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. This means that it utilizes the scientific method to establish truth and to validate its theories. It is a discipline that historically has had its intellectual home in business schools. It is a new discipline relative to the other social sciences, having its origins in the mid-twentieth century. The key points are that it is a science and that it has a history, which, though short, has been quite turbulent.Although the exact boundaries of the discipline are somewhat fuzzy (see Blood 1994), Organizational Behavior’s focus is clearly on the world of organizations. The concern is first with the behavior and nature of people within organizations, and second with the behavior and nature of organizations within their environments. The term Organizational Behavior initially referred only to the behavior and nature of people in organizations. Given the fuzziness of its boundaries, the discipline always had a tendency to stretch beyond that domain, however. By the time it approached twenty-five years of age it clearly had staked a claim to incorporating the behavior and nature of organizations as well (see Miles 1980). This is historically consistent in that both the study of the behavior and nature of people and the study of the behavior and nature of organizations emerged in the business schools in the same places at the same times.In line with its professional school origins, Organizational Behavior is an applied discipline, concerned with matters of practice and application. Despite this orientation, it currently has relatively few members who actually devote their primary professional efforts to the practice of Organizational Behavior in business and other organizational settings; rather, most are concentrated in academia—teaching, writing, and conducting research. In my opinion this is unfortunate; the field would be better off not by reducing its academic efforts, but by expanding its practitioner efforts. We will return to this theme in various ways throughout this book.
eBook - ePubOrganizational Behaviour
Performance Management in Practice
- Richard Pettinger(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Chapter 3 . Organizations have to be capable of responding to changes and pressures in their environment; and they also have to be able to change themselves in order to meet fresh challenges and developments. Organizations have to be capable of accommodating advances in human and technological knowledge, and in harmonizing these to best effect in the pursuit of successful activities.The overall context is bounded by the need for managerial expertise in integrating all of the lessons into a body of understanding that forms the basis for the study of knowing how people think, behave, act and react in a variety of situations.xxiv
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1 Introduction
DOI: 10.4324/9780203857595-2Organizational behaviour is concerned with the study of the behaviour and interaction of people in restricted or organized settings. It involves the understanding of, and prediction of, the behaviour of people, and of the means by which their behaviour is influenced and shaped.Organizations are bodies or entities created for a stated purpose. They may consist of one or more people. In the case of the sole trader or single operator, he/she needs to build relationships with suppliers, contractors, customers, clients and the community. For those that consist of more than one person, internal as well as external relationships have to be created and maintained. Organizations therefore consist of individuals, groups and relationships. Objectives, structures, systems and processes are then created to give life, direction and order to activities and interactions.Organizational behaviour is therefore of great concern to anyone who organizes, creates, orders, directs, manages or supervises the activities of others. It is also of concern to those who build relationships between individuals, groups of people, different parts of organizations, and between different organizations themselves because all of these activities are founded on human interaction.
eBook - PDFOrganizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior
Evidence-based Lessons for Creating Sustainable Organizations
- Steve M. Jex, Thomas W. Britt, Cynthia A. Thompson, Cynthia A Thompson(Authors)
- 2024(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
For exam- ple, researchers trained in both fields belong to the same professional organizations, pub- lish in many of the same journals, and many of the brightest scholars trained in I-O Psychology (the broader field of which organizational psychology is part of) have chosen to work in business schools due to more attractive salaries (Aguinis et al., 2014). Organizational Behavior IN CONTEXT Just as organizational psychology exists within the broader field of I-O Psychology, and even broader field of psychology, organ- izational behavior exists within a broader context. However, compared to organiza- tional psychology, it is a little less clear what exactly that broader context is. As stated earlier, most doctoral programs in organiza- tional behavior are housed in departments of management, which are housed in schools of business. Given that, it would seem quite reasonable to consider organiza- tional behavior as a sub-field of manage- ment. While there is considerable variability in the sub-fields represented in departments of management, most have the following sub-fields in addition to Organizational Behavior: Human Resource Management, Strategic Management, and Entrepreneurship. Each of these is defined below and shown how it is related to Organizational Behavior. The field of Human Resource Management is identical to the Industrial side of the field of I-O Psychology. That is, the focus is on HR functions such as selection, learning and development, performance appraisal, compensation and benefits, labor relations, managing diversity equity and inclusion, and managing work-life programs. The one difference, albeit a subtle one, is that Human Resource Management programs, especially at the master’s level, are focused on training future human resource manag- ers as opposed to future organizational researchers. However, like doctoral pro- grams in I-O Psychology, some doctoral programs in Human Research Management
eBook - ePub- Ivan P. Pavlov, Herbert A. Simon(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Chapter Three Human Behavior and OrganizationTHE present chapter will focus attention upon the individual employee of governmental organizations, upon the forces that account for his behavior, and upon the influences that the organization brings to bear on him in order to secure his contribution to the organization's tasks. At first sight there hardly seems to be a problem here. If we employ a man to direct activities at a playground, of course he will spend his time each day from nine to five at the playground; of course he will organize and direct play activities there; of course he will carry out the policies formulated by the directors of the organization who are responsible for planning its program. Only the many instances of organization failure—instances where an organization does not carry out its task or where it succeeds at an excessive economic and human cost—warn us that there is really nothing automatic about the process.Organizational Behavior is such an obvious part of everyday experience that we are seldom conscious of the psychological reasons for its successes and failures. We sometimes forget that an organization is a group of people behaving. These people are not tools or machines. They have feelings, hopes, and fears. They get sick, hungry, angry, frustrated, happy, sad. Their behavior is subject to a whole range of influences extending back to their births (and before, many psychologists believe) and impinging upon them from all directions at every moment. Their behavior in organizations is a resultant of all these influences. Some of the more important of the influences will be described in this chapter.Characteristics of Behavior in Organizations
A person can do but a limited number of things at any particular time. However, there are a nearly unlimited number of things he might be doing at that time. To explain a person's behavior, we must understand why he is doing what he is doing in a particular way rather than something else or in another way.
eBook - ePubApplied Behavior Science in Organizations
Consilience of Historical and Emerging Trends in Organizational Behavior Management
- Ramona A. Houmanfar, Mitch Fryling, Mark P. Alavosius, Ramona A. Houmanfar, Mitch Fryling, Mark P. Alavosius(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
12Interbehavioral Psychology and Organizational Behavior Management Mitch Fryling, Linda J. Hayes, and Will FlemingDOI: 10.4324/9781003198949-12Organizational Behavior management (OBM) is a subfield of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that focuses on the study of behavior within organizational settings (Wilder et al. in this text). As a distinct area of application within ABA, OBM has many unique features. For instance, while it may be argued that all settings are complex in the sense that they are multi-factored, behavior occurring in organizational settings may be especially prone to influence from contextual factors. Though the field of behavior analysis may be increasingly interested in studying contextual variables, the study of behavior in organizations requires us to think more contextually than many in behavior analysis are accustomed to doing. Moreover, this complexity is related to how we think about behavior more generally, including what we are studying and how we go about studying it. We draw attention to these conceptual hurdles not only because they are relevant to the development and refinement of the philosophical foundation of ABA and OBM specifically, but also because humans spend much of their lives behaving in organizational settings and organizations are involved in many of the most important issues in society today. As such, getting a better grasp on what we are studying in OBM has social implications, influencing the focus of research and the development of applied technology.The aim of the present chapter is to highlight some themes in the OBM literature, emphasizing the conceptual problems they raise, and to propose potential solutions and future directions. Our chapter is conceptual in nature, and is informed by interbehaviorism (Kantor, 1953) and Interbehavioral Psychology (Kantor, 1958). In particular, we address matters related to the complexity of the subject matter in OBM, the relationship of OBM to basic behavioral principles, and interdisciplinary science.
eBook - ePub- Brian Lehaney, Phil Lovett, Mahmood Shah(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Factors in the internal and external environments can affect organizational behaviour and change management. Ineffective change can result in loss of time, resources, money and trust, and these can be disastrous for an organization. Organizational structures have changed radically in the last quarter of the twentieth century. During industrialization, structures tended to be bureaucratic, power came from the top, tasks were of a routine level and most employees were not supposed to take part in decision-making processes. This trend continued directly after the Second World War, when it was initially thought that methods of managing military operations could be used in civilian organizations. It soon became apparent that this was not the case. As Western economies shifted from industry to services, and knowledge workers became more common, different approaches to management had to be developed. Today, employees are not simply practitioners, they now have closer social relations with the external environment, and organizations need to consider employee satisfaction and commitment as a strategic element to increase participation, increase productivity and decrease employee turnover.This chapter discusses concepts of organization structure and behaviour, the practice of organizing within the workplace and some of the human resource functions that relate to OB. Areas of interest include theories of organizations, approaches to management – including classical, scientific and human relations – and contingency theory. The nature of organizations, organizational goals, strategies and responsibilities, managerial behaviour and leadership are covered. Topics include design of structure, objectives, functions, span of control, chain of command, patterns of work, organization structure and change management. The chapter concludes with human resource aspects, such as the individual in the organization, work motivation and rewards.10.3 Organizational culture
Organizational culture may be considered as a set of values, beliefs, understandings and ways of thinking that are shared by members of an organization. Such culture will be taught to new members of the group, and used to help face external problems together and to protect the group from outsiders – for example, to protect resources. Culture is also used to present a common image to those outside the group, to deter people the group may consider undesirable and to attract those the group considers desirable.
- Jane W. Gibson, Richard M. Hodgetts(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
It is often called a study of organization behavior and the term organization may be taken to mean the system, or pattern, of any set of group relationships in a company, a government agency, a hospital, or any o t h e r kind of undertaking. S o m e t i m e s the term is used as C h e s t e r Barnard employed it, meaning the cooperation of two or more persons, and formal organization as an organization with conscious, deliberate, joint pur-pose [ 1 9 3 8 , p. 6 5 ] . Chris Argyris has even used the t e r m organization to include all the partici-pants in a group undertaking [1957, p. 2 3 9 ] . It is not difficult to see that a practicing man-ager would not likely recognize that organiza- 1. The Management Theory Jungle Revisited 7 tions cover such a broad area of group behavior patterns. At the same time, m a n y of the problems of managers do arise from group behavior patt-erns, attitudes, desires, and prejudices, some of which c o m e from the groups within an enter-prise, but m a n y c o m e from the cultural environ-m e n t of people outside of a given company, department, or agency. W h a t is perhaps most disturbing about this school of thought is the tendency of its m e m b e r s to draw an artificial and inaccurate line b e t w e e n organization behavior and managing. G r o u p behavior is an important aspect of m a n a g e m e n t . B u t it is not all there is to management. T H E C O O P E R A T I V E S O C I A L S Y S T E M A P -P R O A C H . A modification of the interpersonal and group behavior approaches has been the focus of some behavioral scientists on the study of h u m a n relationships as cooperative social sys-tems. T h e idea of h u m a n relationships as social systems was early perceived by the Italian sociol-ogist Vilfredo Pareto. His work apparently af-fected modern adherents to this school through his influence on C h e s t e r Barnard.
eBook - PDFProgress in Behavior Modification
Volume 12
- Michel Hersen, Richard M. Eisler, Peter M. Miller, Michel Hersen, Richard M. Eisler, Peter M. Miller(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
Organizational Behavior MANAGEMENT LEE W. FREDERIKSEN AND RICHARD P. JOHNSON Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia I. Definition 68 II. Historical Development 69 III. Theoretical Perspectives 73 A. Organizational Behavior 73 B. Applied Behavior Analysis 77 C. Emerging Approaches 78 IV. Methodology 82 V. Review of the Literature 84 A. Business-Industrial Settings 85 B. Human Service Settings 97 VI. Conclusions and Future Directions 109 References 112 Application of the principles and procedures of behavior modifica-tion has historically been centered on clinical populations. The retarded, the mentally ill, delinquents, and individuals with behavior problems are all common target populations. With increasing frequency, however, these same principles have been applied to nonclinical populations. One rapidly growing area of application is the behavior of people working in organiza-tional settings. This area of application has gone by a number of names. Organizational Behavior modification, behavioral systems analysis, Organizational Behavior analysis, performance improvement, and con-tingency management are examples of the range of labels that have been applied. However, the most widely accepted term to describe this field of endeavor is Organizational Behavior management (OBM). The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the rapidly developing field of OBM. To achieve this objective, a definition and the historical context of OBM will first be presented. Next, its characteristics and contributions in the areas of theory, methodology, and empirical find-ings will be reviewed. Greatest emphasis will be placed on the systematic 67 iOGRESS IN BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION, VOLUME 12 Copyright © 1981 by Academic Press, Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISBN 0-12-535612-9
eBook - PDF- James L. Bowditch, Anthony F. Buono, Marcus M. Stewart(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
C H A P T E R O N E Management and Organizational Behavior M anagement education and development have traditionally emphasized what might be termed the content of managerial work. Indeed, much of management edu- cation today continues to focus on upgrading the technical competence of managers and managers-to-be in such areas as accounting, finance, marketing, operations, and information technology–related services. This focus on content has been referred to as the what of a manager’s job, encompassing such concerns as: developing appropri- ate procedures for auditing and inventory control; creating new marketing programs; establishing management information systems, just-in-time inventory, and produc- tion systems; enhancing global supply chain efficiencies; and other specific aspects of managerial work. 1 While the technical aspects of management are, of course, quite important for the successful functioning of an organization, understanding the process of management or the how of a manager’s job is also a critical component of management educa- tion. Within this process view of management, attention is often given to the roles, behaviors, and skills that are necessary for effective managerial performance. Some of these behavioral skills are communicating with peers, subordinates, and bosses; obtaining and sharing information; running meetings; allocating resources to differ- ent groups; and handling conflict within or between teams. 2 This understanding of management processes, often referred to as Organizational Behavior (OB), thus ex- tends managerial education to the study of people, groups, and their interactions in organizations. Recent analyses of our changing business environment reflect the importance of this dimension of management, and corporations are demanding a much broader range of skills and competencies from their business professionals.
eBook - PDF- Mary Uhl-Bien, Ronald F. Piccolo, John R. Schermerhorn, Jr.(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
45 https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/rationalizations. 46 This is based on the NYT article “What Happened the Day After I Was Sexually Harassed at the Pentagon,” Maya Guzdar, https:// www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/opinion/culture/sexually- harassed-pentagon.html?referringSource=articleShare. 2-1 Boguslaw Mazur/Alamy Stock Photo To understand behavior in organizations, we need to first consider the context in which it occurs. OB isn’t just about people and their person- alities. It’s also about understanding organizations and how they drive behavior within them. For example, strategy is important because it helps bring to life the organization’s mission, vision, and values. This makes working at Starbucks different from working at JP Morgan. Orga- nizational structure determines how people coordinate and interrelate with one another. People who like formality, standard procedures, and stability will much prefer working for an insurance company than a more uncertain and volatile tech startup. In this chapter we help you understand this by starting with the big picture of OB. This will help you know what kind of organization might be the best fit for you and the things you should pay attention to as you begin your exploration of OB. By the time you finish this chapter you should be more aware of critical factors that will help you drive success in organizations, including aligning your behavior with strategy, know- ing how to operate within the structure, and acting in line with cultural norms and values. LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this chapter, students will be able to: • Describe what strategy is and how it works. • Explain how organizations are structured to fit with the environment. • Outline how organizational culture affects people and performance.
eBook - PDF- James C. Naylor, Robert D. Pritchard, Daniel R. Ilgen(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
In fact, we are not sure what such a term means, except that the primary unit of interest, or focus, is not the individual but is instead some macro entity. In fact, we are some-what uncomfortable with the notion that we have a theory of organiza-tional behavior—a term that Karl Weick once referred to as being utter nonsense. A second point worth remembering is that whereas the theory was developed with the intent of creating a theory of individual behavior in organizations, it soon became clear that such a theory inevitably becomes a general theory of behavior. That is, work behavior is not idiosyncratic; it does not require a theory that would apply only to that specific context or environment. I f a theory is capable of dealing with individual behavior in an organization, it should be as capable of dealing with individual behav-ior outside the organization. What is unique about the environment in any type of organization that would call for a special theory of behavior peculiar only to that setting? Therefore, the theory presented here is proposed as a general theory of behavior applicable to the behavior of an individual in any context, within or outside the work environment, al-though admittedly our contextual emphasis will be that of the work setting. T h e theory presented in the following pages is a cognitive theory of behavior. It assumes that man is rational (or at least nonrandom) for the most part, and that as a systematic or nonrandom generator of behavior, man's actions are explained best in terms of conscious, thinking acts on the part of the individual. Furthermore, the theory is founded upon the concept that the basic conscious action of the individual is the action of 1. A Viewpoint Concerning Organizational Behavior 3 choice, or the process of choosing among alternatives.
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