Introduction to the Course and

Evolution of Organisational Behaviour

Session 01
BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour
Department of Business Administration
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Learning Objectives:

Introduction to the Course

Understanding Organisational Behaviour (OB): its

nature, importance and scope

Understanding the historical evolution of OB

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

You and the Course

Structure of the Course

Assessment

Students Role (Ground Rules, Preparation and

Readings)

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Assessments

Assessment Marks Allocated

Continuous Assessment 30

End-Semester Examination 70

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

You and the Course

Structure of the Course

Assessment

Students Role (Ground Rules, Preparation and

Readings)

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Ground Rules

Punctuality

Classroom Engagement

Attendance

Plagiarism

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Learning Management System (LMS)

URL: http://lms.mgt.sjp.ac.lk

Enrolment Key: BUS23412017

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

What is Behaviour?

What we
Think,
Feel,
&
Do

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 What is
Organisational Behaviour ?

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

What is Organisational Behaviour?

OB can be defined as the understanding,

prediction, and management [control] of
human behavior in organizations.
Luthans, 2010, p.20

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/141019032055662275/
Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/141019032055662275/

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 Why OB is treated as
an interdisciplinary subject ?

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Relationship of OB to Other Related Disciplines

OT OB
Theoretical (Organisational (Organisational
Theory) Behaviour)

OD P/HR
Applied (Organisational (Personnel/Human
Development) Resources)

Macro Micro

Luthans, 2011, p. 20

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Importance of Organisational Behaviour

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 The Origin and the Historical Evolution of
Organisational Behaviour

The Hawthorne Studies?

Source: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/hawthorne/intro.html#i

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Stages of the Hawthorne Experiment

Illumination Study 1924

Set out to determine the effects of lighting on worker
efficiency in three separate manufacturing departments.

Accounts of the study revealed no significant correlation

between productivity and light levels.

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Stages of the Hawthorne Experiment (Contd.)
Relay Assembly Test Room 1927
Looked in more detail at the effects of working conditions.

Source: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/hawthorne/03.html#three
BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration
The Role of Elton Mayo

In 1928, along with

Fritz Roethlisberger and
William Dickson,
Elton Mayo from the
Harvard Business School
took over the
Source: http://www.vectorstudy.com/management-gurus/elton-mayo experiment.
BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration
Stages of the Hawthorne Experiment (Contd.)

Interview Process 1928 to 1931

Between1928 to 1930, 21,000 workers were interviewed.

In 1931, the methodology shifted from direct interviews to

indirect interviews (participatory in-depth interviews).

Bank Wiring Room Observation/Study 1930

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Key Findings of the Hawthorne Studies
There was no direct effect of illumination on productivity.

The effects length of work day, rest breaks and method of payment on
individual productivity were very limited.

Social aspects of work were paramount important to individuals.

Work groups maintained an informal norm of output, which largely fixed

productivity at a constant level, regardless of external management
attempts to increase it by offering incentives.

Hawthorne effect.
Adapted from Statt,1994.

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 The Hawthorne Effect

The Hawthorne effect is the marked increase in

production related only to special social position and
social treatment.
French, 1953 as cited in Wickstrom and Bendix, p. 3

The Hawthorne effect is the phenomenon in which

subjects in behavioral studies change their performance in
response to being observed.
Roethlisberger and Dickson, 1966, as cited in Baker Library Online, Harvard Business School

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 Human Relations School
and
the Importance of the Hawthorne Studies

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

Critiques of the Hawthorne Studies

Problems with the methodology

Gender dimension

Presence of minority workers was ignored

Role of Mayo and Harvard Business School

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

From the Hawthorne Studies to

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration

 Questions
and
Discussion

BUS 2341 Organisational Behaviour Department of Business Administration