Types of Organizational Behavior in the Workplace

by Arnold Anderson, Demand Media The Workplace Communication website defines organizational behavior as how employees act as individuals within the company and how they interact as part of work groups. Understanding the way that people and groups interact in the workplace is important in being able to create positive organizational change. You need to be able to identify types of organizational behavior in the workplace in order to monitor the way in which your company functions.

Managerial Control
Managerial control over an organization is a critical part of organizational behavior, the Workplace Communication website notes. There are several levels of managerial control -- from autocratic control, in which the management team dictates to the staff, and interactive control, in which the staff has a say in how the company is run. The type of managerial control you choose for your organization will affect how you maintain policy. If you do not allow interaction from the staff, you could be blinding yourself to important input that would allow your company to run more smoothly.

Ethics
A company that creates and uses a strong ethical policy will notice that the ethic affects organizational behavior in the workplace. The management team is asked to enforce the company's ethical code when it comes to interacting with employees, treating customers and doing business with vendors. High turnover in an organization can put ethics in jeopardy because incoming employees are not familiar with the company culture and will need time to get up to speed. A company needs to consider all factors that can affect organizational ethics and work to maintain the way of doing business at all times.

Accountability
A strong organizational structure can help maintain the organizational behavior of accountability. When the company knows which staff members are responsible for various company functions and projects, those employees can be made accountable for their success. If there is no accountability for success or failure within an organization, there is not way to reward productivity or punish those who take away from the company's bottom line. Developing a corporate culture where every employee is accountable for her actions can have a positive effect on staff behavior.

Harassment
Workplace harassment is one of the negative organizational behaviors that management must address with training, company policies and diligence. Harassment is any kind of intimidation or unwanted conduct between two employees. Federal laws bind employers investigate and deter harassment when it is reported by employees. Some of the more prevalent types of harassment include sexual, physical, mental and age discrimination. Work with an attorney to develop strong policies against harassment, and train your entire staff on how to properly deal with this negative organizational behavior. Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of human behavior in organizational settings, of the interface between human behavior and the organization, and of the organization itself. OB is multidisciplinary in nature, synthesizing several other fields of study, and this is reflected in the literature. Perhaps the greatest contribution is from psychology, especially industrial and organizational psychology. Sociology has also had a major impact on the field of organizational behavior; other contributing disciplines include anthropology, political science, economics, and industrial engineering.
Organizational behavior is a branch of business studies that refers to the way individuals within a defined workplace interact with each other. Usually, the type of organizational behavior in a particular business is directly related to its type of organizational culture. As such, the types of organizational behavior may be autocratic, based on independence, based on teamwork, or interdependent and rooted in ethical considerations. The types of organizational behavior vary and depend to a large extent on the structure that is in place in the organization itself. An example of a type of organizational behavior is an autocratic one that is based on a sort of dictatorial establishment. In this type of organizational behavior, there is a clear demarcation between the lower employees and those who are at the apex of the organization. The employees are given instructions they are expected to follow. This organizational behavior does not leave much room for individuality, because employees are expected to dress to reflect an already established dress code as well as strictly conforming to organizational ideals. When describing the types of organizational behavior, it is pertinent to mention the fact that the goals of an organization may also have a huge influence on the behavior in that company. For instance, where the primary goal of the company is to make as much profit as possible, the organizational culture will most likely reflect this goal. Such a company might have an organizational behavior where the employees are encouraged to exhibit traits of individualism aimed toward utilizing initiatives to achieve targets. This type of behavior may be found in financial institutions where employees are given monthly or quarterly targets that they are expected to meet, or even surpass. Indeed, in such organizations the jobs of the employees might be dependent on their ability to meet the stated targets, and this spirit is often reflected in the organizational behavior. Also included in the types of organizational behavior is the style based on teamwork and ethics. In such organizations, the employees will often have a cordial relationship with the management of the organization. The spirit in such organizations is one of inclusion rather than exclusion. A company might base its whole corporate philosophy on one of high integrity, and this goal will be reflected in the organizational behavior.