Name: Jennifer kezia Ayuba

REG N0: P20DLBA80256

QUESTIONS

(1) Briefly but clearly explain the concept of organization behavior

(2) Briefly explain two theories of organizational behavior

QUESTION ONE

CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR:

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between

human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself. “Organizational behavior is a branch of the

Social Sciences that seeks to build theories that can be applied” to predicting, understanding and controlling

behavior in work organizations.”—Raman J. Aldag. “Organizational behavior is the study and application of

knowledge about how people act within an organization. It is a human tool for human benefit. It applies broadly

to the behavior of people in all types of organization.”— Newstrom and Davis. “Organizational behavior is

directly concerned with the understanding, production and control of human behavior in organizations.”—Fred

Luthans. “Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and

structure have on behavior within the organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward

improving an organization’s effectiveness.”—Stephens P. Robbins.

In short, organizational behavior revolves around two fundamental components:

1. The nature of the man.

2. The nature of the organization.

In other words, organizational behavior may be organization of individual’s behavior in relation to physical

means and resources so as to achieve the desired objective of the organization. Organizational Behavior,

Organizational Theory, Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management: Organizational behavior
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is generally confused with organizational theory, organizational psychology, and human resource management.

Organizational psychology restricts itself to psychological factors only whereas organizational behavior

considers and combines all the branches of study e.g. Science, technology, economics, anthropology,

psychology and so on and so forth. Organizational behavior 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 organizational

behavior. Human resource management, is activated, directed and channelized by the application of the

knowledge of organizational behavior which has become a field of study, research and application for the

development of human resources and the organization as a whole. Thus, we can say that all these terms are

interrelated but not synonymous with each other.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR:

From The Above Definitions, The Following Features of Organizational Behavior Emerge:

1. Three Levels of Analysis: Organizational behavior encompasses the study of three levels of analysis

namely individual behavior, inter-individual behavior and the behavior of organizations themselves. The

field of organizational behavior embraces all these levels as being complementary to each other.

2. A Science as well as an Art: Organizational behavior is a science as well as an art. The systematic

knowledge about human behavior is a science and the application of behavioral knowledge and skills is an

art. Organizational behavior is not an exact science because it cannot exactly predict the behavior of people

in organizations. At best a manager can generalize to a limited extent and in many cases, he has to act on the

basis of partial information.

3. A Body of Theory, Research and Application: Organizational behavior consists of a body of theory,

research and application which helps in understanding the human behavior in organization. All these

techniques help the managers to solve human problems in organizations.

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4. Beneficial to both Organization and Individuals: Organizational behavior creates an atmosphere whereby

both organization and individuals are benefitted by each other. A reasonable climate is created so that

employees may get much needed satisfaction and the organization may attain its objectives.

5. Rational Thinking: Organizational behavior provides a rational thinking about people and their behavior.

The major objective of organizational behavior is to explain and predict human behavior in organizations, so

that result yielding situations can be created.

6. Behavioral Approach to Management: Organizational behavior is that part of whole management which

represents the behavioral approach to management. Organizational behavior has emerged as a distinct field

of study because of the importance of human behavior in organizations.

7. Cause and Effect Relationship: Human behavior is generally taken in terms of cause and effect

relationship and not in philosophical terms. It helps in predicting the behavior of individuals. It provides

generalizations that managers can use to anticipate the effect of certain activities on human behavior.

8. Organizational Behavior is a Branch of Social Sciences: Organizational behavior is heavily influenced by

several other social sciences viz. psychology, sociology and anthropology. It draws a rich array of research

from these disciplines.

NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR:

Organizational behavior in the study of human behavior in the organizations. Whenever an individual joins an

organization he brings with him unique set of personal characteristics, experiences from other organizations and

a personal background. At the first stage organizational behavior must look at the unique perspective that each

individual brings to the work setting. The second stage of organizational behavior is to study the dynamics of

how the incoming individuals interact with the broader organization. No individual can work in isolation. He

comes into contact with other individuals and the organization in a variety of ways. The individual who joins a

new organization has to come into contact with the co-workers, managers, formal policies and procedures of the

organization etc. Over the time, he is affected by his work experience and the organization as well as his

personal experiences and maturity. On the other hand, the organization is also affected by the presence or

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absence of the individual. Thus, it is essential that OB must study the ways in which the individuals and

organization interact with each other. The organizational behavior must be studied from the perspective of the

organization itself because an organization exists before a particular individual joins in and continues to exist

after he or she has left the organization. Thus, OB is the study of human behavior in the organization, the

individual-organization interaction and the organization itself. And these factors are influenced by the external

environment in which the individuals and the organization exist. Thus, we can say that we cannot study

individual behavior completely without learning something about the organization. On the other hand, we

cannot study the organizations without studying the behavior of the individuals working in it. This is because

the organization influences and is influenced by the people working in it. Moreover, both the individuals and

the organization are influenced by the external environment. Thus, the field of organizational behavior is a

complex field. It seeks to throw light on the entire canvas of human factor in the organizations which will

include the causes and effects of such behavior.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MODELS

Organizational behavior models help you craft strategies to get employees to perform a certain way in certain

situations. As the company leader, providing employees with an environment to succeed helps the business

succeed. There are five main management models of organizational behavior in the workplace.

a) Autocratic Model of Organizational Behavior: The autocratic model of organizational behavior puts the

boss in charge and the subordinates in a position to obey commands or be fired. It’s black and white,

regarding who is in charge and quickly establishes consequence for insubordination or lack of performance.

This environment uses a paycheck as the reward system rarely implementing any other incentive programs.

Loyalty, if it exists, is generally to the boss and not the company. This model can create a fearful workforce,

unsure if any mistake could lead to disciplinary action.

b) Custodial Model of Organizational Behavior: Custodial models seek to make employees feel as if the

boss is caring for their personal needs. This is often done through benefits packages such as healthcare,

retirement plans and other incentives. An executive visiting various territory offices could get a company
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 car as an incentive. The custodial model looks to retain quality people by providing incentives that are

meaningful to the employee. Loyalty is to the company and not individual company leaders.

c) Collegial Model of Organizational Behavior: The collegial model works to develop a structure in which

managers are more like coaches and employees are team members. Power is shared to some degree. The

coach leads through inspiration. In this model, the loyalty is to the bigger goal, and team responsibility

rather than to an individual. Employees feel invested in the success of the company and take pride in the

successful execution of goals.

d) Supportive Model of Organizational Behavior: The supportive model seeks to understand what motivates

employees and focuses on those things to motivate and inspire. When employees are given opportunities to

improve themselves, they often take personal initiative to perform better at their job. Managers support

employees as they work toward established personal goals such as promotion or acquisition of new skills. In

this model, a manager would ask employees for professional goals and would work with them to establish

an action plan to succeed with them.

e) System Model of Organizational Behavior: The system model is really the foundation of positive

corporate cultures. When people think about why LinkedIn is a great place to work, for example, it is

because of the incentives, work schedule flexibility and creative encouragement that leadership provides. It

is nurturing yet challenging, and so efficiency and productivity increase in a happier work environment

that’s loyal to the company and excited to share its vision. Small business owners don’t need to try to

compete with what LinkedIn does, but should develop strategies within their resources to build a positive

corporate culture.

QUESTION TWO

THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

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Management theories are a collection of ideas that recommend general rules for how to manage an organization

or business. Management theories address how supervisors implement strategies to accomplish organizational

goals and how they motivate employees to perform at their highest ability. The most influential and effective

management theories to date include:

1. Human Relations Management Theory: An approach to management based on the idea that employees

are motivated not only by financial reward but also by a range of social factors (e.g. praise, a sense of

belonging, feelings of achievement and pride in one's work). The theory, which developed from empirical

studies carried out in the 1920s and 1930s (see Hawthorne studies), holds that attitudes, relationships, and

leadership styles play a key role in the performance of an organization. After Taylor, the aforementioned

Hawthorne Studies became the go-to model to explain the ways in which social interaction between

employees and managers could affect business success. The research demonstrated how important it is for

companies to demonstrate some kind of personal investment in their employees, treating them as human

beings rather than productivity machines. It became widely accepted that individuals performed much more

effectively when their successes and skills were adequately rewarded, whilst also becoming clear that

positive group dynamics also played an important part in maintaining company morale.

2. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y (staff motivation and team culture): Working in the 1950s and

1960s, Douglas McGregor developed a thesis known as the X&Y Management Theory. He argued that all

managers and supervisors could be grouped into two separate categories. Theory X pertains to the first

category and explains that all managers perceive their employees in a negative light, believing that they

must be forced into working hard. Such managers tend to micromanage. Managers that fall into the Theory

Y category, on the other hand, believe that employees are inherently keen to work. They believe that it is

important to help employees to thrive by offering them development opportunities and trusting them to get

on with certain tasks independently. Theory Y managers are also keen to foster welcoming workplace

environments that promote employee cohesion and cooperation. Ultimately, McGregor argued that Theory

Y managers produce much better results than Theory X managers because combining a positive team
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 environment with individualized opportunities for growth produces a better work environment, boosts

company morale, and ultimately pushes up profits.

REFERENCES
DeLong, D. W., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy
of Management Executive, 14(4), 113–127.
Davis and Newstrom (1985), Human Behavior at Work : Organizational Behavior: Instructor’s Manual
Dixon, M. L., & Hart, L. K. (2010). The impact of path-goal leadership styles on work group
effectiveness and turnover intention. Journal of Managerial Issues, 22(1), 52-69.
F Luthans, (2009), human resource management 48 (5), 677-693
Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2004). Implicit leadership theories in applied settings: Factor structure,
generalizability, and stability over time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(2), 293–310.
Holmberg, I., & Akerblom, S. (2006). Modelling leadership: Implicit leadership theories in Sweden.
Scandinavian Journal of Management, 22,307–329.
House, R. J. (1971). A path goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly,
16(3), 321-338.
Robert E. Callahan; Fleenor C. Patrick; Harry R. Knudson (1986), Understanding Organizational Behavior: A
Managerial Viewpoint, Published by Merrill Pub Co, ISBN 10: 0675201985.