Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior
Abstract
The idea of organizational behavior started in the early 1930s, where the need to analyze employee’s behavior was established. Organizational behavior is the study of how people or groups of people behave in a corporate setup. Many researchers have found this topic both challenging and exciting. The research paper has discussed the learning theory about organizational behavior: psychology, anthropology, sociology, social psychology, and political science. Organizational practices have also been explained through several models: the custodial, autocratic, collegial, and supportive. The components that make up organizational behavior have also been highlighted, and from this concept, benefits that the organizational gets from it are deduced. The research shows that the following benefits are obtained when the organizational behavior concept is implemented; better working relationships, enhanced performance, employee motivation, and the prediction of behaviors. The importance of organizational behavior to managers is apparent.
Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of people’s or group of peoples’ behaviors in a corporate setup. It’s mostly used by a manager to predict the behaviors expected from an individual in the organization (Li et al., 2019). Apart from predicting individuals’ behavior concerning their organizational roles, the concept is used to strengthen organizational theory and develop a better understanding of life in an organization. Organizational behavior helps people understand the impact of personality on individual performance, employee motivation, leadership, and the creation of groups or groups that are effective. This research paper will cover the disciplines, models, components, and role of organizational behavior in motivation.
Several disciplines influence organizational behavior. These disciplines are; psychology, sociology, political science, social psychology, and anthropology. Psychology attempts to explain human behavior through science attempts to explain the behavior of individuals in some ways. Psychologists have used various studies and managed to modify the actions of individuals. The discipline has led to the development of theories that have improved personal skills, bringing about changes in attitude and approach to the organizational systems. Sociology creates a better understanding of the impact of society and culture on the behaviors of people. It has contributed mainly to the group-dynamic theory, individual roles that are played in an organization, formal organization theory, conflict management, group decision making processes and processes, and power. Political science has also contributed to the organizational behavior by giving a better understanding of governments role. Organizational decision-making processes are affected by the government through its regulations. Social psychology, a subject of psychology and sociology, helps achieve better individual behaviors in the organization. This discipline has helped manage change, communication, and the ability of people to maintain social norms. The last discipline, which is anthropology, is the study of human cultures. It helps create an understanding of different behaviors based on different cultures. This aspect is essential in understanding organizational behavior because of the emerging trend of globalization.
Many explanations have been given to explain why people behave the way they behave in an organizational framework. The report can be described better in structures known as models. There are many models, but they are broadly classified as custodial, autocratic, collegial, and supportive. The custodial model bases its explanation on economic resources with managerial money orientation and employee orientation towards benefits and dependence. The model brings about increased passive corporation by meeting the security and satisfaction of people. The autocratic model bases power to the direction of management authority and employee’s orientation towards dependence and obedience on the superior. This model only meets the subsistence of the employee leading to minimal performance results. Supportive model bases leadership to the orientation of managerial support and employee’s direction is towards participation and job performance. The model ensures employees’ recognition and status are met, leading to awakened drives as the performance result. Lastly, the collegial model, an extension of the supportive model, is derived from the term college, meaning a group of people with a common purpose. It’s based on the organization’s development of the feeling of partnership within the setup.
An organization has to manage several things to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity. OB components that have to be managed include people, processes, structure, technology, and jobs. People are the main components of an organization. The management must establish the spectrum need and make the necessary steps to meet them. The relationship between the workers is what drives the organization’s productivity. The relationships are fostered by creating work teams and groups ( Reed, Goolsby & Johnston,2016,p.328). Structure in an organization can be either formal or informal, whereby each structure plays a vital role in the behavior of employees. The levels within the organization facilitate the flow of information from subordinates to superiors. Technology is another resource to manage in the organization. The selection of the appropriate technology to use to achieve efficiency is the aspect considered in organizational behavior. Job assignment to employees is another aspect to consider in organizational behavior. Filling vacancies, allocating tasks, and hiring employees can lead to the company’s success or failure. Organizational behavior plays a vital role in ensuring that the duties are assigned to the appropriate people. The last element is the environment where the organization operates. Internal and external factors can influence many aspects, like work performance, structural design, relations, and behavioral patterns.
Motivation in an organization is fundamental, and managers need to understand how the employees are motivated. Organizational behavior helps managers understand the employee’s abilities, and through this, management becomes more relaxed. This concept shows how employees can differ in many ways despite having similar skills and jobs. A motivated employee will make an organization achieve enhanced performance and increased profits; however, what may be used to motivate one person may not work on the other. According to Douglas McGregor, there’s a direct link between motivation and behavior (Kanfer & Chen, 2016,p.8). Managers may use the organizational behavior concept to motivate employees in two ways; coercion or natural courses.
The concept of organizational behavior can benefit an organization in many ways. The organization that implements it well has a good road map to effective relationships within the organization and with other external parties. Relationships are fostered through scientific approaches that help predict the behavior of individuals under specific conditions. Events can be predicted by the use of the influence brought about by the concept. On matters relating to resources, the idea helps manage human resources competently, for example, through motivation.
In conclusion, the field of organizational behavior is exciting and challenging at the same time. Organizational behavior being the study of people or groups of people’s behaviors, is supported by five disciplines. These disciplines are psychology, sociology, political science, social psychology, and anthropology. In trying to explain the organizational behavior concept, frameworks known as models are used. These models are the custodial model, autocratic model, collegial model, and supportive model. Organizational behavior is also made up of several components: people, structure, technology, processes, jobs, and the environment. Lastly, a lot of benefits can be derived from organizational behavior, motivation, and better working relationship being top of the list.
Reference
Kanfer, R., & Chen, G. (2016). Motivation in organizational behavior: History, advances and prospects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 6-19.
Li, Y., Lu, Y., Cui, Q., & Han, Y. (2019). Organizational behavior in megaprojects: Integrative review and directions for future research. Journal of management in engineering, 35(4), 04019009.
Reed, K., Goolsby, J. R., & Johnston, M. K. (2016). Extracting meaning and relevance from work: The potential connection between the listening environment and employee’s organizational identification and commitment. International Journal of Business Communication, 53(3), 326-342.