MODULE 1 - OB-Lesson Plan-Revised 2022
MODULE 1 - OB-Lesson Plan-Revised 2022
MODULE 1 : INTRODUCTION TO OB
Organisational Behaviour
“Organisational behaviour is directly concerned with the understanding, production and control
of human behaviour in organisations.”—Fred Luthans.
“Organisational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals,
groups and structure have on behaviour within the organisations for the purpose of applying
such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.”—Stephens P. Robbins.
Organisational behaviour is the basis of human resource management and development. The
former is concept oriented whereas the latter is concerned with the technology of human
development. The variables influencing human development are scientifically studied under
organisational behaviour.
Human resource management, is activated, directed and channelized by the application of the
knowledge of organisational behaviour which has become a field of study, research and
application for the development of human resources and the organisation as a whole. Thus, we
can say that all these terms are interrelated but not synonymous with each other.
The second stage of organisational behaviour is to study the dynamics of how the incoming
individuals interact with the broader organisation. No individual can work in isolation. He
comes into contact with other individuals and the organisation in a variety of ways. The
individual who joins a new organisation has to come into contact with the co-workers,
managers, formal policies and procedures of the organisation etc.
Over the time, he is affected by his work experience and the organisation as well as his personal
experiences and maturity. On the other hand, the organisation is also affected by the presence or
absence of the individual. Thus, it is essential that OB must study the ways in which the
individuals and organisation interact with each other.
The organisational behaviour must be studied from the perspective of the organisation itself
because an organisation exists before a particular individual joins in and continues to exist after
he or she has left the organisation. Thus, OB is the study of human behaviour in the
organisation, the individual-organisation interaction and the organisation itself. And these
factors are influenced by the external environment in which the individuals and the
organisation exist.
Thus, we can say that we cannot study individual behaviour completely without learning
something about the organisation. On the other hand, we cannot study the organisations without
studying the behaviour of the individuals working in it. This is because the organisation
influences and is influenced by the people working in it. Moreover, both the individuals and the
organisation are influenced by the external environment. Thus, the field of organisational
behaviour is a complex field. It seeks to throw light on the entire canvas of human factor in the
organisations which will include the causes and effects of such behaviour.
STRUCTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION
Mechanistic Structure
The mechanistic organizational structure is the most common business structure and is
typically used in a manufacturing environment. This type of organizational structure is
bureaucratic, which means it employs a highly centralized authority figure. A set of formal
procedures, functions and processes are implemented throughout the organization under a
mechanistic organizational structure.
In this type of organization, employees tend to work separately on their own tasks, which are
handed down through a chain of command. Company-wide decisions are left to employees who
reside at the top of the hierarchical chain and communication is passed from the top down.
Written communication tends to dominate within this type of structure.
An organizational chart in the mechanistic organizational structure would typically include the
Chief Executive Officer, executives, supervisors, managers and support personnel. Individual
specialization is prominent among employees at every level within this structure. An
organization is typically made of a network of positions based on an employee’s specialization
within the company. Usually, each person handles one task within the network of business
functions.
Within this structure, employees have little daily interaction with members of the structure’s
upper executives. Those upper-level employees normally hold tight control over the employees
below them, outlining processes and rules that must be adhered to throughout daily business
operations.
Organic Structure
Businesses with an organic structure often encourage group participation and the sharing of
work responsibilities. Communication channels are open to employees, managers and business
owners and contact between all levels of employees usually occurs on a regular basis.
Lower-level employees tend to have more face-time with executives than in a mechanistic
organization. The type of communication most often used in organic structures is verbal.
The flat nature of organic businesses allows this type of organizational structure to be more
flexible to change if needed. Employees take part in a joint specialization based on the jobs at
hand, providing expertise on a wide array of functions within the business. Status is tied to the
perceived intelligence and aptitude of the employee rather than their position within the
company. In an organic structure, the business is made up of a network of people or teams who
work together in varying capacities to achieve the goals of the business.
OB AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN MANAGEMENT
Understanding why people behave the way they do and studying the complex nature of
human being in an organisation is important to better manage and increase the value of the
human capital in an organisation. Organisational Behaviour helps us understand this by
studying the cause and effect of human behaviour within an organisation.
Some of the reasons why Organisational Behaviour is an integral part of most management
programmes is as follows:
1. Understanding the relationship between an organisation and its employees: The study
of Organisational Behaviour helps in the better understanding of the relationship between an
2. organisation and its employees thereby helping in the development of better Human
Resource strategies in creating a better work environment, employee loyalty and increasing
the overall value of the human capital for the organisation.
.
3. Motivating employees: Studying Organisational Behaviour help managers to better
understand their employees and motivate them, applying different motivational tools as per
individual requirements resulting in the better performance of the organisation as a whole.
.
4. Improving industrial/ labour relations: Organisational Behaviour help in understanding
the cause of a problem, predict its future course and control its consequences. As a result,
managers are able to maintain better relations with their employees by nipping any problem in
the bud.
5. Predicting human behaviour: This is probably the most important reason for studying
Organisational Behaviour in management. Knowledge of Organisational Behaviour prepares
students to become better managers by becoming a student of human behaviour from a
management perspective and thereby contributing to organisational effectiveness and
profitability.
Organisational behaviour is that part of whole management which represents the behavioural
approach to management. Organisational behaviour has emerged as a distinct field of study
because of the importance of human behaviour in organisations.
Human behaviour is generally taken in terms of cause and effect relationship and not in
philosophical terms. It helps in predicting the behaviour of individuals. It provides
generalizations that managers can use to anticipate the effect of certain activities on human
behaviour.
Organisational behaviour encompasses the study of three levels of analysis namely individual
behaviour, inter-individual behaviour and the behaviour of organisations themselves. The
field of organisational behaviour embraces all these levels as being complementary to each
other.
Organisational behaviour consists of a body of theory, research and application which helps
in understanding the human behaviour in organisation. All these techniques help the managers
to solve human problems in organisations.
8. Rational Thinking:
Organisational behaviour provides a rational thinking about people and their behaviour. The
major objective of organisational behaviour is to explain and predict human behaviour in
organisations, so that result yielding situations can be created.
Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that is built upon contributions from
a number of behavioral disciplines. The predominant areas are psychology, sociology, social
psychology, anthropology, and political science
Psychology
Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior
of humans and other animals. it may bethe mental and behavior characteristic of an individual
or group; If one want to improve the behaviour of an individual on group we have to look into
the psychological needs of an individual and group.So the knowledge of psychology can
really help in improving and modifying the behaviour of individual and group.If the
psychological needs are fulfilled ,it gives satisfaction to people and also give peace of mind,
which can improve the ability of an organization.
Sociology
Sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles; that is, sociology
studies people in relation to their fellow human beings. also according to the Waliam Marrian
dictionary, sociology is "the science of society social institution and social relationship." This
study really provides helping hand in the improvement and modification of OB. Society
provides the base for collective living and relationship while social institutes provide the base
for better form and shape for society among its different organizations. Meanwhile, social
behaviour moulds the behaviour and values of the society. So, knowledge of social norms and
values not to forget the customs really help in shaping the society.
Social psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that
focuses on the influence of people on one another. it deal with the fulfilment of social needs
in a phycological sense of interpretations.it cause different socio psycho conditions and affair
for the modification of OB.it deal with the inner self of an individual itself . Esteem must be
preserved and hounourd. social phycology is the main and principal organ of bringing
together different organ in a better harmony and this improve the OB and modified it towards
further improvement and achevement.
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. we also define
anthrapology as "science of human beings especialy of their environment and social relations
and there culture" environment play a pivotal role in the improvement and modification of
OB. environment like teacher and preacher determines the direction of OB. in our society
colourful people are living ie from different religion,creeds,cast and culture. So for OB
modificationand improvement,one must have the very trait and attitude of anthropology.
Political science
The study of the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment. It also
means "the act or science of guiding or influencing governmental policy"; the study of politics
is helpful in the nourishment and development of the OB. Among different groups and
individuals, if loyalty is not found,then OB does not flourish and rather becomes the victim of
deadlock. Political science provides an insight for the improvement and modification of the
OB. The OB involves the application of political science at all levels. It may be at the highest
level, like country, and at the lowest level, like an institute or organization. It involves the
study of behaviour in a political environment.
FUNCTIONS OF A MANAGER
A century ago, French industrialist Henri Fayol originally identified five elements as the basic
functions of management, but today, there are now four generally accepted functions of
management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. These functions work together in
the creation, execution and realization of organizational goals. The four functions of
management can be considered a process where each function builds on the previous
function. To be successful, management needs to follow the four functions of management in
the proper order.
Managers first need to develop a plan, then organize their resources and delegate
responsibilities to employees according to the plan, then lead others to efficiently carry out
the plan, and finally evaluate the plan’s effectiveness as it is being executed and make any
necessary adjustments.
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Controlling
Planning
In the planning stage, managers establish organizational goals and create a course of action to
achieve them. During the planning phase, management makes strategic decisions to set a
direction for the organization. Managers can brainstorm different alternatives to achieve the
objective before choosing the best course of action. While planning, managers typically
conduct in-depth analysis of the organization’s current state of affairs, taking into
consideration its vision and mission and evaluating what resources are available to meet
organizational objectives.
While planning, managers usually evaluate internal and external factors that may affect the
execution of the plan, such as economic growth, customers and competitors. They also
establish a realistic timeline for achieving the goal or goals based on the organization’s
available finances, personnel and resources. Managers may have to take additional steps, such
as seeking approval from other departments, executives or their board of directors before
proceeding with the plan.
Strategic planning: This type of planning is often carried out by an organization’s top
management and usually creates goals for the entire organization. It analyzes threats to the
organization, evaluates the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and creates a plan of how
the organization can best compete in its environment. Strategic planning usually has a long
timeframe of three years or more.
Tactical planning: Tactical planning is the shorter-term planning of an objective that will take
a year or less to achieve. It is usually carried out by an organization’s middle management.
Tactical planning is usually aimed at a specific area or department of the organization such as
its facilities, production, finance, marketing or personnel.
Organizing
The purpose of organizing is to distribute the resources and delegate tasks to personnel to
achieve the goals established in the planning stage. Managers may need to work with other
departments of the organization, such as finance and human resources, to organize the budget
and staffing. During the organizing stage, managers strive to create a work environment
conducive to productivity. Managers typically take employees’ motivation and aptitude into
account to match employees with roles and tasks that best fit their abilities.
When assigning team member roles, managers should explain and ensure that employees
understand their individual duties. To help employees feel engaged and productive, managers
should ensure that employees are assigned an appropriate amount of work and an appropriate
amount of time to complete their work.
If a company’s sales in a geographic area have grown exponentially, management may plan to
split the territory in two and need to divide the current team working in the territory and hire
additional staff members as needed.
Leading
Managers usually incorporate different leadership styles and change their management style
to adapt to different situations. Examples of situational leadership styles include:
Directing: The manager leads by deciding with little input from the employee. This is an
effective leadership style for new employees who need a lot of initial direction and training.
Coaching: The manager is more receptive to input from employees. They may pitch their
ideas to employees to work cooperatively and build trust with team members. This style of
leadership is effective for individuals who need managerial support to further develop their
skills.
Supporting: The manager decides with team members but focuses more on building
relationships within the team. This style of leadership is effective for employees who have
fully developed skills but are sometimes inconsistent in their performance.
Delegating: The leader provides a minimum of guidance to employees and is more concerned
with the vision of the project than day-to-day operations. This style of leadership is effective
with employees able to work and perform tasks on their own with little guidance. The leader
can focus more on high-level goals than on tasks.
Controlling
Controlling is the process of evaluating the execution of the plan and making adjustments to
ensure that the organizational goal is achieved. During the controlling stage, managers
perform tasks such as training employees as necessary and managing deadlines. Managers
monitor employees and evaluate the quality of their work. They can conduct performance
appraisals and give employees feedback, providing positive remarks on what they are doing
well and suggestions for improvement. They may also offer pay raise incentives to
high-performing employees.
Managers may need to make adjustments such as:
Budget adjustments
Managers monitor the budget and resources to ensure that they are using the resources
available and not going over budget. For example, a manager may notice that she is going
over budget on a project but be unsure what is causing the project to go over budget. In this
situation, she will need to identify whether there is a general problem with overspending or
whether one department, in particular, is going over budget. Once the manager identifies the
source of the overspending, she must take action to curb overall spending and make cuts as
necessary to balance the budget.
Staffing adjustments
Managers may need to make challenging decisions such as whether to reassign an employee
who produces a low-quality work to a different task or dismiss them from a project. They may
also need to add additional team members to meet an organizational goal if they conclude that
the team is understaffed. If this is the case, they may also need to consult with organization
executives to secure more funding.
Robert Katz identifies three types of skills that are essential for a successful management
process:
Technical skills,
Conceptual skills and
Human or interpersonal management skills.
Technical Skills
Specialized areas of knowledge and expertise and the ability to apply that knowledge make up
a manager’s technical skills. Preparing a financial statement, programming a computer,
designing an office building, and analyzing market research are all examples of technical
skills. These types of skills are especially important for supervisory managers because they
work closely with employees who are producing the goods and/or services of the firm.
Human relations skills are the interpersonal skills managers use to accomplish goals through
the use of human resources. This set of skills includes the ability to understand human
behavior, to communicate effectively with others, and to motivate individuals to accomplish
their objectives. Giving positive feedback to employees, being sensitive to their individual
needs, and showing a willingness to empower subordinates are all examples of good human
relations skills. Identifying and promoting managers with human relations skills are important
for companies. A manager with little or no people skills can end up using an authoritarian
leadership style and alienating employees.
Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills include the ability to view the organization as a whole, understand how the
various parts are interdependent, and assess how the organization relates to its external
environment. These skills allow managers to evaluate situations and develop alternative
courses of action. Good conceptual skills are especially necessary for managers at the top of
the management pyramid, where strategic planning takes place.
ROLES OF MANAGERS
Interpersonal ( 1-3 )
Informational ( 4-6 )
Decisional ( 7 – 10 )
Managers perform the duties of a ceremonial and symbolic in nature such as welcoming
official visitors, signing legal documents etc as head of the organization or strategic business
unit or department.
Duties of interpersonal roles include routine, involving little serious communication and less
important decisions. However, they are important for the smooth functioning of an
organization or department.
All managers have a leadership role. The manager, as in charge of the organization /
department, coordinates the work of others and leads his subordinates.
This role includes hiring, training, motivating and disciplining employees. Formal authority
and functional authority provides greater potential power to exercise and get the things done.
This role also requires the manager to interact with other managers outside the organization to
secure favours and information. In this role, the manager represents his organization in all
matters of formality.
As a result of the network of contacts, the manager gets the information by scanning his
environment, subordinates, peers and superiors.
The manager seeks and receives information concerning internal and external events so as to
gain understanding of the organization and its environment. Typically this is done through
reading magazines and talking with others to learn the changes in the public’s tastes, what
competitors may be planning, and the like.
Managers, mostly collect information in verbal form often as gossip, hearsay, speculation and
through grapevine channels.
Manager disseminates the information, he collects from different sources and through various
means. He passes some of the privileged information directly to his subordinates, peers and
superiors who otherwise have no access to it. This information is gathered by him from his
environments and from his own equals in the organization.
The manager will play an important role in disseminating the information to his subordinates,
when they don’t have contact with one another.
Managers also perform a spokesperson role when they represent the organization to outsiders.
Manager is required to speak on behalf of the organization and transmit information on
organization’s plan, policies and actions.
The manager has to keep his superior informed of every development in his unit, who in turn
inform the insiders and outsiders. Directors and shareholders must be informed about the
financial performance, customers must be informed about the new product developments,
quality maintenance, government officials about implementation of law etc.
As an entrepreneur, the manager is a creator and innovator. He initiates and oversee new
products that will improve their organization’s performance.
He seeks to improve his department, adapt to the changing environmental factors. The
manager would like to have new ideas, initiates new projects and initiates the developmental
projects.
For example, worker strike, declining sales, bankruptcy of a major customer etc. The manager
should have enough time in handling disturbance carefully, skilfully and effectively.
The most important resource that a manager allocates to his subordinates is his time. As a
resource allocator, managers are responsible for allocating human, physical and monetary
resources. Accordingly, setting up of a time schedule for the completion of an operation or
approval of expenditure on a particular project, etc., are the functions which the managers
perform in the role of a resource allocator.
The manager should have an open-door policy and allow the subordinates to express their
opinions and share their experiences. This process helps both the manager and his
subordinates in making effective decisions. In addition, the manager should empower his
subordinates by delegating his authority and power.
In this tole, the manager represents the organization in bargaining and negotiations with
outsiders and insiders, in order to gain advantages for his own unit. He negotiates with the
subordinates for improved commitment and loyalty, with the peers for cooperation,
coordination and integration, with workers and their unions regarding conditions of
employment, commitment, productivity, with the government about providing facilities for
business expansion etc.
These negotiations are integral part of the manager’s job for only he has authority to commit
organizational resources and has nerve centre of information.
SYSTEMS APPROACH TO OB
Group Variables: A group consists of two or more individuals working for a particular
objective. Group variables are concerned with role, status, norms, size, composition and
cohesiveness.
Organization System Variable: It is concerned with the structure, and working culture of an
organization.
2. Processing: It is one of the aspect of OB system. It is concerned with adding value to the
input. The processing of OB system at various levels are:
Individual Level Processing
Learning: It refers to permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of information and
experience.
Decision Making: It is related to selecting the best alternative among the available
alternatives.
Power and Politics: It refers to the capacity of influencing the behavior of others.
Conflict: It consist of all kinds of opposition and antagonistic interaction between different
individuals.
HR Policies and Practices: It is concerned with management, practices of job design, analysis,
recruitment, selection, socialization, training, development, performance appraisal.
Output: Output of the OB system are the behavioral consequences which are dependent
variables and are affected by the inputs and processing mechanism. It consists of:
Job Satisfaction: It refers to an individual attitude towards jobs. The satisfied employee tends
to be more productive.
1. Organisational behaviour is
A) A science
B) An art
C) A science as well as an art
D) None of the above
Ans: C
2. The term ‘psychology’ is derived from the word ‘psyche’, which means ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’
A) Latin
B) French
C) Greek
D) None of these
Ans: C
5. OB focuses at 3 Levels
A) Individuals, Organisation, Society
B) Society, Organisation, Nation
C) Employee, Employer, Management
D) Individual, Groups, Organisation.
Ans: D
11. If modern day managers donot positively address and manage work force diversity of the
following may become negative outcomes for an organisation except
A) more difficult communication
B) Increased creativity and innovation
C) more interpersonal conflicts
D) potential for higher employee turnover
Ans: B
12. Which of the following best reflects the "melting pot" assumption?
A) Diversity should be embraced.
B) People should adopt the majority culture.
C) Cultures are comprised of separate mosaics.
D) Diversity will contribute positively to organizational decision making.
Ans: D
16._____ means that organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in
terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
A) Affirmative action
B) Workforce diversity
C) Equal employment opportunity
D) Collective management
Ans: B
17. Establishing standards,comparing actual results with standards and taking corrective
actions are the steps included in the process of
A) Planning
B) Controlling
C) Directing
D) Organizing
Ans: B
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