Organisational Behaviour – Scope

The scope of the organizational behavior is as under:

Impact of personality on performance

Employee motivation

Leadership

How to create effective teams and groups

Study of different organizational structures

Individual behavior, attitude and learning

Perception

Design and development of effective organization

Job design

Impact of culture on organizational behavior

Management of change

Management of conflict and stress

Organizational development

Organizational culture

Transactional analysis

Group behavior, power and politics

Job design

Study of emotions
Organisational Behaviour – Nature: A Separate Field of Study and Not a
Discipline Only, An Interdisciplinary Approach, An Applied Science and a Few
Others

Organizational behaviour has emerged as a separate field of study.

The nature it has acquired is identified as follows:

1. A Separate Field of Study and Not a Discipline Only:

By definition, a discipline is an accepted science that is based on a theoretical

foundation. But, O.B. has a multi- interdisciplinary orientation and is, thus, not
based on a specific theoretical background. Therefore, it is better reasonable to
call O.B. a separate field of study rather than a discipline only.

2. An Interdisciplinary Approach:

Organizational behaviour is essentially an interdisciplinary approach to study

human behaviour at work. It tries to integrate the relevant knowledge drawn
from related disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology to make
them applicable for studying and analysing organizational behaviour.

3. An Applied Science:

The very nature of O.B. is applied. What O.B. basically does is the application of
various researches to solve the organizational problems related to human
behaviour. The basic line of difference between pure science and O.B. is that
while the former concentrates of fundamental researches, the latter concentrates
on applied researches. O.B. involves both applied research and its application in
organizational analysis. Hence, O.B. can be called both science as well as art.

4. A Normative Science:

Organizational Behaviour is a normative science also. While the positive science

discusses only cause effect relationship, O.B. prescribes how the findings of
applied researches can be applied to socially accepted organizational goals. Thus,
O.B. deals with what is accepted by individuals and society engaged in an
organization. Yes, it is not that O.B. is not normative at all. In fact, O.B. is
normative as well that is well underscored by the proliferation of management
theories.

5. A Humanistic and Optimistic Approach:

Organizational Behaviour applies humanistic approach towards people working in

the organization. It, deals with the thinking and feeling of human beings. O.B. is
based on the belief that people have an innate desire to be independent, creative
and productive. It also realizes that people working in the organization can and
will actualise these potentials if they are given proper conditions and
environment. Environment affects performance or workers working in an
organization.

6 A Total System Approach:

The system approach is one that integrates all the variables, affecting
organizational functioning. The systems approach has been developed by the
behavioural scientists to analyse human behaviour in view of his/her socio-
psychological framework. Man’s socio- psychological framework makes man a
complex one and the systems approach tries to study his/her complexity and find
solution to it.

Some of the important characteristics of organisational behaviour are discussed

as follows:

1. Organisational behaviour is a rational thinking, not an emotional feeling about

people. The major goals of organisational behaviour are to explain and predict
human behavioural in organisations. It is action-oriented and goal-directed.

2. Organisational behavioural seeks to balanced human and technical values at

work. It seeks to achieve productivity by building and maintaining employee’s
dignity, growth and satisfaction, rather than at the expense of these values.
3. Organisational behaviour integrates behavioural sciences. Many of its core
concepts are borrowed from others fields and discipline like social psychology,
sociology, and anthropology, etc.

4. Organisational behaviour is both a science and an art, the knowledge about

human behaviour in organisations leans towards being science. Modern
organisational behaviour is, at once, empirical, interpretative, and critical. It is an
interpretative science in the pursuit of knowledge and meaning.

The basic purpose is to make meaningful the facts of organisational life. Modern
OB is an optic perspective; a process for looking at events, a way of life. It has
empirical facts, and interesting interpretations and powerful paradigms.

However it is an inaccurate science to provide specific answers to specific

organisational problems. As such very little can be prescribed to consistently
predict relationships between a variable on broad scale. The skills in applying the
knowledge clearly lean towards being art.

5. Organisational behaviour exists at multiple like levels. Behaviour occurs at the

individual, the group, and the organisational systems levels. Behaviour that is
attributable to each of these levels can be both identified and isolated but at the
same time these three levels interact with each other and OB-being affected by
the behaviour of individuals, group level behaviour is affected by the
organisational level phenomena and so on.

6. Organisational behaviour does not exist in vacuum. Organisations are made up

of both social and technical components and therefore characterized as social-
technical systems. The operational implication of this is that any approach of
looking at behaviour must also take into account the technical component of
organisation especially such issues as the nature of work and the technology.
Organisations at the same time, must take into account the constructs of the
working environment, for example, the extent to which the market and the
product is changing.
Following points discuss the three levels briefly:

1. Individual Level – Deals with the concepts at the individual level. Examples of
individual-level concepts are perception, personality, learning, motivation, and
attitude.

2. Group Level – Deals with the concepts at the group level. Examples of group-
level concepts are team, conflict, leadership, power, and politics. Group-level
concepts may include how groups are formed, how to make effective teams, how
individually and collectively the group activities can be improved, how to motivate
employees, and which type of group would be suitable for a particular
assignment.

3. Organizational Level – Deals with the concepts at the organizational level.

Examples of organizational-level concepts are change management and
organizational culture. Other topics discussed at organizational level include the
concept of organization, different organizational models, and organizational
change along with its impact and implementation. The working conditions and
stress management are also discussed at the organizational level.

Organisational Behaviour – 10 Important Objectives

There are several objectives of organisational behaviour and some of them are
briefly stated here:

(i) To analyse different perspective and potentialities to create and develop the
ethical values in an organisation,

(ii) To analyse the potentialities towards the ways and means to conduct and
organise the systems, methods and approaches for organisation development in
an organisation,

(iii) To analyse the potentialities to develop process, methods and approaches of

formal and informal patterns of organisation and society,

(iv) To analyse how to make perspective methods and process of effective

communication to formulate ethical norms in an organisation,
(v) To analyse various aspects and factors affecting the group cohesiveness,

(vi) To analyse the ways and means to develop different ethical aspects for group
dynamism,

(vii) To analyse the mutual interest of individual and group. Mutual interest is
represented by the statement ‘Organisation needs people, and people also need
organisation’,

(viii) To analyse and evaluate the role of different key elements like people,
structure, technology interactive behaviour and environment etc.

(ix) To analyse and evaluate the behavioural approaches in organisation. In

context of that all of them are based on ‘Art’ and ‘Science’,

(x) To analyse different aspects of work environment which duly affects the
behavioural patterns and attitudes of persons.

As such, the key elements of organisational behaviour are stated here:

Element # 1. People:

People makes the interactive and behavioural platform in any organisation and
people consists in the form of individuals and group. The role and behaviour of
people identifies, recognise and develop the interactive relations towards
behavioural attitudes in society.

Element # 2. Structure:

The formal relationship of people makes the structural design in organisation. The
managerial and organisational levels are decorated by specific job as well as level
to be incurred in structural design. The rights and responsibilities are also being
determined in a particular group or structure.

Element # 3. Technology:
The technology represent all the resources with which people work and affects
the task that they perform. The role and utilisation of technology has a significant
influence on the performance of people and thereby to achieve perfections in the
betterment of interactive behaviour.

Element # 4. Interactive Behaviour:

In any organisation, the interactive relations and behaviour between individual

and groups as well as the relations by formal and informal ways also have an
important role to make perspectives in organisational behaviour. The mutual
behaviour among people may be developed by the identification, existence and
interactive role in any organisation and society.

Element # 5. Environment:

All organisations operates within internal and external environment. The

existence, structural design, work performance, mutual relations and behavioural
patterns are duly influenced by the internal and external environmental factors.