The study of Organizational Behaviour
(OB) is very interesting and challenging too. It is related to individuals, group of people working together
in teams. The study becomes
more challenging when situational factors interact. The study of
organizational behaviour relates to the expected behaviour of an individual in
the organization. No two individuals are likely to behave in the same manner in
a particular work situation. It is the predict ability of a manager
about the expected
behaviour of an individual. There are no absolutes
in human behaviour. It is the human
factor that is contributory to the productivity hence the study of human behaviour is important. Great importance therefore
must be attached to the study.
Researchers, management practitioners, psychologists, and social scientists
must understand the very credentials of an individual, his background, social framework,
educational update, impact of social groups and other situational factors on
behaviour. Managers under whom an
individual is working should be able to explain, predict, evaluate and modify
human behaviour that will largely depend upon knowledge, skill and experience
of the manager in handling large group of people in diverse situations. Pre-
emptive actions need to be taken for human behaviour forecasting. The value
system, emotional intelligence, organizational culture, job design and the work
environment are important causal agents in determining human behaviour. Cause and effect relationship plays an
important role in how an individual is likely to behave in a particular
situation and its impact on productivity. An appropriate organizational culture can modify individual
behaviour. Recent trends exist in
laying greater stress on organizational development and imbibing a favorable organizational culture in each individual. It also involves fostering a team spirit and motivation
so that the organizational objectives are achieved. There is a need for commitment on the part of the management that should be continuous
and incremental in nature. The scope of the organizational behaviour is as under:
(a) Impact
of personality on performance
(b) Employee motivation
(c) Leadership
(d) How to create effective
teams and groups
(e)
Study of different
organizational structures
(f) Individual
behaviour, attitude
and learning
(g) Perception
(h)
Design and development of effective organization
(i)
Job design
(j) Impact
of culture on organizational behaviour
(k) Management of change
(l)
Management of conflict and stress
(m) Organizational development
(n)
Organizational culture
(o)
Transactional analysis
(p)
Group behaviour, power and politics
(q)
Job design
(r) Study
of emotions
The field of the organizational
behaviour does not depend upon deductions based on gut feelings but attempts to
gather information regarding an issue in a scientific manner under controlled
conditions. It uses information and interprets the findings so that the behaviour
of an
individual and group can be
canalized as desired. Large numbers
of psychologists, social scientists and academicians have carried out research
on various issues related to organization behaviour. Employee performance and job satisfaction are determinants of accomplishment of individual and organizational goals.
Organizations
have been set up to fulfill needs of the people. In today’s competitive world, the organizations have to be growth-oriented. This is possible
when productivity is ensured with respect to quantity of product to be produced with zero error quality. Employee absenteeism and turnover has a
negative impact on productivity.
Employee who absents frequently cannot contribute towards productivity and
growth of the organization. In the same manner, employee turnover causes increased
cost of production. Job satisfaction is a major factor to analyze
performance of an individual towards
his work. Satisfied
workers are productive workers who contribute towards building an
appropriate work culture in an organization. Organizations are composed of
number of individuals working independently or collectively in
teams, and number of such teams makes a department and numbers of such
departments make an organization. It is a formal structure and all departments
have to function in a coordinated manner to achieve the organizational
objective. It is therefore important
for all employees to possess
a positive attitude
towards work. They need to function
in congenial atmosphere and accomplish assigned
goals. It is also important for managers to develop
an appropriate work culture. Use of authority,
delegation of certain powers to subordinates, division of labour, efficient communication, benchmarking, re-engineering, job re-design and empowerment are some of the important factors so that an organization can function as well-oiled machine. This is not only applicable
to manufacturing organizations but also to service and social organizations.
DEFINITIONS
“Organizational
behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals,
groups and organizational structure have on behaviour within the organization, for the purpose
of applying such knowledge towards
improving an
organizational effectiveness”. The above definition has three main elements; first organizational behaviour
is an investigative study of individuals and groups, second, the impact of organizational structure on
human behaviour and the third, the
application of knowledge to achieve
organizational effectiveness. These
factors are interactive in nature and the
impact of such behaviour is applied to various systems so that the goals are
achieved. The nature of study of organizational behaviour is investigative to
establish cause and effect relationship.
OB
involves integration of studies undertaken relating to behavioral sciences
like psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, social psychology and political science.
Therefore, organizational behaviour
is a comprehensive field of study in which individual, group and organizational
structure is studied in relation to organizational growth and organizational
culture, in an environment where impact of modern technology is great. The aim
of the study is to ensure that the human behaviour contributes towards growth
of the organization and greater
efficiency is achieved.
Organizational behaviour can
be defined
as – “the study and application of knowledge about
human behaviour related
to other elements
of an organization such as structure, technology and social systems (LM
Prasad). Stephen P Robins defines “Organizational
behaviour as a systematic study of
the actions
and attitudes that people exhibit within organizations.” It has been observed that we generally form our opinion based on the
symptoms of an issue and do not really go to the root cause of the happening.
Science of organizational behaviour is applied in nature. Disciplines like
psychology, anthropology and
political science have contributed in terms of
various studies and theories to the field of organizational behaviour. A leader should be
able to communicate with his subordinate and keep them in picture as to the
happenings in the organization. People promote organizational culture for
mutual benefit. Politics is often used to create conflict with the aim of
enlarging self-power base to the detrimental of organizational growth.
Politics, in Indian context has made inroads based on religion, caste system
in the decision making process
which has led to formation of informal groups in the organization that often
exploit the organization for fulfillment of personal goals at the cost of organizational goals. Conflict and manipulating power bases need to be handled
in an appropriate manner to modify human behaviour and stimulate various
individuals towards achieving higher
productivity. Power dynamics plays
a significant role in organization situations
in different environment.
Contributing Fields to Organizational Behaviour
Psychology: Psychology is an applied science,
which attempts to explain human behaviour
in a particular situation and predicts actions of individuals.
Psychologists have been able to modify individual behaviour largely with the help of various
studies. It has contributed
towards various theories on learning, motivation, personality, training and development, theories
on individual decision making, leadership, job satisfaction, performance appraisal,
attitude, ego state, job design, work stress and conflict management.
Studies of these theories can improve personal skills, bring change in attitude and develop positive approach
to organizational systems. Various
psychological tests are conducted in the organizations for selection of
employees, measuring personality attributes and aptitude. Various other dimensions of human
personality are also measured. These instruments are scientific in nature and have been finalized after a great deal of research. Field of psychology continues
to explore new areas applicable to the
field of organizational behaviour.
Contribution of psychology has enriched
the organizational behaviour
field.
Sociology: Science of Sociology studies the impact
of culture on group behaviour and has contributed to a large extent to the field of group-dynamics, roles that individual plays in the organization, communication, norms, status, power, conflict management, formal
organization theory, group processes
and group decision-making.
Political science: Political science has contributed to the field of Organizational behaviour. Stability of government at national
level is one major factor for promotion of international
business, financial investments, expansion and
employment. Various government rules
and regulations play a very decisive role in growth of the organization. All organizations have to abide by the rules of the government of the day.
Social
psychology: Working organizations are formal assembly
of people who are
assigned specific jobs and play a vital role in formulating human behaviour. It is a subject where concept of psychology and sociology are blend to achieve better
human behaviour in organization.
The field
has contributed
to manage
change, group decision-making, communication and ability of people in the organization, to maintain social norms.
Anthropology: It is a field of study relating to human activities in various cultural and environmental frameworks. It
understands difference in behaviour based on value system of different
cultures of various countries. The study is more relevant to organizational
behaviour today due to globalization, mergers and acquisitions of
various industries. The advent of the 21st century
has created a situation wherein cross-cultural people will have to work in one particular industry. Managers
will have to deal with individuals and groups
belonging to different ethnic cultures and exercise adequate control or even
channelise behaviour in the desired direction
by appropriately manipulating various cultural factors. Organization behaviour has used
the studies on comparative attitudes and cross-cultural transactions. Environment
studies conducted by the field
of anthropology
aims to
understand organizational human behaviour so that acquisitions and mergers are smooth.
Organizations are bound by its culture that is formed by human beings.
BEHAVIOUR MODEL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL
EFFICIENCY
Organizational behaviour is a study and application of managerial skills and knowledge
to people in the organization to investigate individual and group behaviour. Various concepts and models in the field of organizational behaviour
attempt to identify, not only the human
behaviour but also modify their attitude and promote skills so that they can
act more effectively. This is done
scientifically; therefore, organizational behaviour field is a scientific discipline.
The knowledge and models are practically applied to workers, groups and
organizational structure that provide tools for improved behaviour and dynamics
of relationship. The field of organizational behaviour also provides various
systems and models for international relationship that are applied
to organizations.
Leaders must look for indicators (effects) of individual behaviour and of groups
in any organization. Indicators have a root cause beneath.
As a leader, it is that symptom, which must be evaluated, and cause of
human behaviour established so that if the behaviour is good, the manager can establish the norms of behaviour. If the behaviour is not conducive to achieve the organizational
objective then suitable alternative model can be applied to channelize individual behaviour towards an appropriate organizational value system and thus individual behaviour
modified. An organization has three basic elements namely,
people, structure, and technology. An organization must have suitable organizational
structure, with appropriate number of tier and
reporting system properly explained. Principle of unity of command,
delegation of authority and responsibility,
formulation of objectives and its allotment to various groups is very important so that workers
achieve a required level of
job satisfaction. They must be trained to handle sophisticated machines and equipment. It is the people, their value system,
and faith in the leadership that make an organization. Leader must be able to describe, understand, predict and control individual
behaviour in the organization. This is explained
in the succeeding paragraphs.
(a) Describe: Study of organizational behaviour is based on scientific methods,
which have been applied
on human beings.
It is a science, that analyses as to how people
behave in different situations in the organization. A manager should be able de-
scribe the behaviour of each of the individuals under his command, identify
attitude, and be able to pinpoint his behaviour so that the situation in the organization is under control.
(b) Understand: Leaders must understand human behaviour as to why people be- have
in particular manner
and try to identify reasons
so that corrective actions can be taken.
(c) Predict: By frequent closer interaction, a leader is in a position to identify the nature
of workers.
Some are more productive while the others are
tardy and disruptive. In such situation, a leader should be able to
handle each individual differently so that his or her actions can be channalized to higher productivity.
(d) Control: Managers in the organizations should train their subordinates continuously; aim being development of skills, promotion
of productivity and improvement
of individual behaviour. It is a continuous process
on the part of manager. He must
lay down control measures so that the energy of workers is diverted towards
organizational objectives. Communication should be used to ensure that the behaviour
of individual is controlled. Environment has a great impact on human behaviour. Appropriate internal environment would
help organizations to built favourable work environment that will help
individuals and groups within organizations to work effectively towards higher productivity.
Organizational Components that Need to be Managed
People
People are the main component
of any organization that has to be managed. Every individual
has a personal goal to be achieved.
Organizations must identify
the need spectrum of individuals and take suitable
steps for its fulfillment to enable them to perform
effectively so that they complete their
allotted task in time. Relationship between the workers,
with subordinates and superiors should be established based on full understanding and complete
faith based on mutual trust so that it is easy to communicate and understand each other’s
views. Work teams and Groups
play a vital role in the organization. Individual may have to keep his personal interest aside
if it conflicts with team or group goals. It is the team goals, accomplishment of which contribute
towards achieving organizational goals. Apart from managing internal workforce,
it is also important to manage customers
who are the end persons using organization’s products or services. Utmost interest
of stakeholders, government, employees, social groups and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) must be kept in mind as they play a dominant
role in the society. Apart from the above, adequate
consideration should also be given to competitors, regulatory agencies, labour force, suppliers
and resource persons.
Structure
There are two types of organizations,
formal and informal. Informal organizations do not have a specified structure. Formal organizations are build based
upon the objective set for it.
Organizational structure in such organization is hierarchical in nature, with
people at each level having their own objectives, which contributes towards
fulfillment of overall organizational objectives. In such organization people
at lower levels report to higher level managers. The tier system has the
principle of unity of command inbuilt in it. The organization structure may
depend upon the size, number of products/services produced, skill and
experience of the employees, managerial staff and geographical location of the
organization. An organization may have several levels and pyramid like organizational
structure or flat structure. The efficiency of the organization will depend
upon the free flow of the information, efficient communication system
prevailing in the organization, well-defined
authority and responsibility supported by detailed
policies, rules and regulations. The organization must have well laid out systems, which are understood by workers,
supervisors and managers. The leader must keep open mind while dealing with subordinates and exercise full control over various systems,
levels and ensure planned productivity and achieve high level of job satisfaction.
Technology
Managing technology is an important job
of any management. It is an important element of any unit. Selection
of technology, procurement, installation, operation and maintenance is important and no compromise
should be made in procuring latest or advanced technology. Various systems and sub- systems
should support technology that exists in an
organization. Based on the technology, an organization should formulate job structure and resultant procurement of human
resource so that they are complimentary to each other. Adequate attention is also be paid to service industry. For example an appropriate drill,
procedures are installed in hospital industry to ensure that the patients’
record is maintained properly. On line operations of all systems
relating to admission record, past treatment, drugs, availability of beds,
schedule of operations maintained so that the level of patients satisfaction is
raised. In minimum number of days, maximum numbers of patients should be
treated. Various processes required
to regulate these functions form the important
part of service industry.
Jobs
Job is an assignment assigned
to an individual. It encompasses various tasks within it. For example, Personnel manager wants to
fill up twelve vacancies in production department within three months. Job
will have
various tasks inbuilt in it
like designing
of job
specification, selection of media, advertising vacancies, scheduling of selection and recruiting
process. Manager, therefore
have to manage various tasks to accomplish a particular job. This may form a part of managerial functions. Adequate delegation, supervision, application
of various control techniques makes the
job simpler for the manager.
Introduction of computers have made managerial functions simpler, as required information is available for decision
making.
Processes
Management of processes and its inter-dependence is very crucial
to high productivity and
higher job satisfaction. What is important for a manager is to ensure high
morale of the work force. To ensure
this, he must identify various managerial dictums. Select appropriate
subordinates to carry out a job based on aptitude, personality traits, mental
build up and attitude. He should also involve himself and lead subordinates by
personal example. In defense services, it is the quality of leadership, that
motivates troops to achieve near impossible task where everything appears to be
going wrong. Various role models
assist leaders in identifying as to which
process, method or approach would
be suitable to mould
subordinates in suitable frame that may be required by any organization.
Nothing motivates workers better if you give them their entitlements in full
and train them to take up higher jobs. By doing so, manager must develop and
build an organizational culture that will bind employees to a common cultural
bond. During day-to-day functions, managers must be transparent and maintain a
high degree of value system and display ethical behaviour. There are no short cuts to this and will pay rich dividends
in times to come.
External Environment
What we have so far discussed is
various components of an organization that should be managed properly. External environment also plays an
important role in managing the points discussed above. When we talk about managing people in the organization, what we
have to study and manage is the influence of culture and its impact on the individual. A manager should examine as to how he is
going to cope up with the changes. Study of external
environment is very wide and encompasses economic, cultural, social, government
rules and regulations, legal aspects, political climate, demographics and its impact.
If one scans the external
environment that is prevailing in Indian context, one will find that
individuals are racing to catch up the upper class as it relates to standards of living,
material possession, higher education, attempt to copy western culture, food habits, dressing
pattern and the like. Beauty parlors, pubs and cyber cafes around each corner are an ample
evidence of the impact
of external environment. This trend has an impact on what products
or services are on priority
in the society and indicates the behaviour of an individual. If the above factors
are evaluated appropriately, a
manager will be able to examine and predict human behaviour in the organization. It is therefore important to evaluate market situation,
competitors, and availability of raw material, technology, availability of skilled, semi skilled
and non-skilled personnel. In addition, evaluate prevailing culture and
how individuals are likely to respond to the call of the organization. Some
factors like government rules, and political stability
keep changing, the organizations must cater for such contingencies. Manager must therefore keep in mind the internal
and external factors
and make the best
amalgam and work to achieve
organizational effectiveness.
SUMMARY
Study of organizational behaviour is very interesting. It is the
art on the part of manager
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