Introduction of O.B.

An organization may have many objectives. It may possess state of the art technology, a superbly defined organizational structure and managerial practices. But what is really contributes to the success of an organization? All of the above will be of no use if it is not augmented with relevant human resources. Today, most organizations consider enhancing performance of people, preparing for change, designing and implementing change, and retaining higher level of performance despite environmental fluctuations as vital skill for its managers. More and more orgnisations prefer managers who are high on these skills rather than possessing only technical skills. In other words having people management skills is essential for any employee not only to enter an organization but also to survive in an organization. This brings us two pertinent questions for all managers those who are already holding managerial positions in organizations or those who want to be managers. - How can I be more successful in my life? - What skills are to be honed to accomplish as well as enhance success? The answer to these questions can be found in OB. Most managers strongly feel that OB plays a vital role in making or breaking their career. The late Howard Huges once the richest man in the world was once asked as to what he considered the single most important success parameter. He said It was his skill at understanding people.

It is a pervasive nature of individual that each of them wants to understand each other. In fact each of us in one way or the other is a student of behaviour. We watch the behaviour of others and attempt to study and interpret their actions. While observing and studying the other behavior, we may not explicitly think about it, but we are covertly trying to understand others behavior always, through out our life. While we watch that others are doing, we also try to explain why they have engaged in their behaviour. Moreover, we attempt to predict what they might do under different sets of conditions. It has been observed that many of our belief based on intuition are later supported by substantive research findings. But there are lot instances where it has been found that many of our popular beliefs and intuitive conclusions are not supported by research findings. The scientific evidence go against our intuitive conclusions, or common sense generalizations. Behaviour is any observable action of an individual the thought, feeling or expression. Observable means either observable by nacked eye or by means of instrument. In many cases, we can not directly observe behaviour but valid conclusions can be drawn from assumption based on observing other forms of behaviour. For Ex. We can not see behaviour from other forms of expression of behaviour. Again behaviour may be of two types i.e. Molar behaviour and Molecular behaviour. Molar behaviour is the some total of an individual thoughts, feelings and action whereas the molecular behaviour is the constituent part of molar behaviour.

Behaviour generally is predictable if we know how the person perceived the situation and what is important to him or her. While peoples behaviour may not appear to be rational to the outsider, there is reason to believe it to be rational and it is seen as rational by them. Behaviour is not random rather it has definite casual relationship with external environmental factors. In other words it may be said that every behaviour has definite cause. O.B. is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour with in organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizational effectiveness. Explanation: OB is a field of study. This means that it is a distinct area of expertise within a body of knowledge. What does it study? It studies three determinants of behaviour in organizations. Additionally OB is applied field. It applies the psychological knowledge gained about individuals, groups and its also applies the sociological knowledge in studying the effect of structures on individual behaviour.
The aim of OB is to make organizations work more effectively by application of psychological and sociological knowledge in organizational setup.

To sum up definition of OB is concerned with the study of people, in organizations and how that behaviour affects performance of the organization. Definition: OB is the systematic study of the actions and attitudes that people exhibit within organizations. Explanation:

Each of us regularly uses intuition. In trying to explain phenomena. For example, A friend catches a cold and we quick remind him that he didnt take his vitamins, doesnt dress properly or that it happens every year when the seasons change. We are not sure why person caught cold, but that doesnt stop us from offering our intuitive analysis. The field of OB seeks to replace intuitive explanations with systematic study: that is the use of scientific evidence gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in reasonably rigorous manner to attribute cause and effect. The objective is to draw accurate conclusions is based on large number of systematically designed research studies. What does OB systematically Study? Actions and attitudes but not all actions and attitudes. Three types of behaviour have proved to be important determinants of employee. Performance, Productivity, Absenteeism, Turnover - The importance of productivity is obvious. Managers clearly are concerned with the quantity and quality of output that each employee generates. - But absence and turnover particularly excessively high rates can adversely affect this output. In terms of absence it is hard for an employee to be productive if he or she is not at work. In addition high rates of employee turnover increase costs and tend to place less experienced people into jobs. - O.B. is also concerned with employee job satisfaction that is an attitude. Managers should be concerned with their employees for three reasons:
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- There may be link between satisfaction and productivity - Satisfaction appears to be negatively related to absenteeism and turnover.
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Managers have a humanistic responsibility to provide their employees with jobs that are challenging, intrinsically rewarding and satisfying.

Assumption of OB: Individual differences: - Each individual is different from others in intelligence, physique, personality. - Individual differences means that mgt. can get the greatest motivation among employees by treating them differently. - Because of ind. Differences OB begins with the individual. Only a person can take responsibility and make decisions, group by nature cannot do so. A group is powerless until individuals act therein. A whole person:
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When an individual is appointed his/her skill alone is not hired. His/her social background likes and dislikes, pride and prejudices is also hired. A persons family life can not be separated from factory life. Managers should make factory a home away from home.

Caused Behaviour: - Behaviour of an employee is caused and not random. The behaviour is directed towards some end that the employee believes rightly or wrongly, is in his/her best interest. - When a worker comes late to his work or abuses the supervisor there is a cause behind. The manager must realize this basic principle and solve the problem.
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- He must discover the cause behind the behaviour and tackle the issue at its root.

Human dignity:
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It is ethical philosophy that people are to be treated differently from other factors of production. And they want to be treated with respect and dignity. It rejects old idea of using employees as economic tools.

- It recognizes that life has an overall purpose and accepts the inner integrity of each individual. - Since OB is involved in one way or another in each action. Human decision cannot and should not be made apart from values. Organisations are social systems: - People have psychological needs, they also have social roles and status. - Their behaviour is influenced by their group as well as by their individual drives. - Two types of system exist in org. one is formal and other is informal.

Mutuality of Interests: - Mutual interest is represented by the statement that organizations need people and people also need organizations. - They are formed and maintained on the basis of some mutuality of interest among their participants. - People see org. as means to help them reach their goals while at the same time org. need people to help reach org. objectives.

- People are encouraged to attack org. problems rather than each other. Holistic concept: - When the six fundamental concepts of OB are placed together a holistic concept emerges. - This concept interprets people organizations relationship in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization and whole social system.

Importance of organizational behaviour: 1. It helps an individual understand himself and others better. This will improve relations considerably. Topics like attitude, perception, leadership, communication, TA and conflict, an understanding of which will change the very style of talking and functioning of an individual. 2. A manager in a business org. is concerned with getting things done through others. He will be successful in his job when he can motivate his subordinate to work for better results. OB will help the manager to understand the basis of motivation and what he should do to motivate his subordinates. 3. The field of OB will be useful to maintain cordial industrial relations. Relations between mgt. and employees are quite often strained for reasons which are personal but not technical. Human problems need to be tackled humanly. OB will be very useful in this context. Ex. If employee in slow in his work or if his productivity is steadily declining, it is not always because of denial of promotion or proper

work environment it is because indifferent attitude of the boss makes the worker lazy. It helps to understand the cause for the problem, predict its course of action and control its consequences. It is also a human tool for human benefit. The difference questions the manager is likely to face are: Understanding Behaviour: What are the principles that govern behaviour? What is the cause and effect relationship of a particular behaviour?

What is a particular mode of behaviour preferred and why it shown in a specific context?

Directing Behaviour: Can people and organizations be influenced? If so how? What circumstances and strategies ensure the emergence of the desired behaviour? What makes people and organizations confirm and comply with ones influences? Controlling Behaviour: What can be done when the managerial instructions and influences fail to obtain the desired behaviour?

What strategies and techniques are available to control and prevent the possible deviations?

How can the most appropriate strategies be identified and what are the possible obstacles in their implementation?
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 Predicting behaviour: Can behaviour be predicted at all? If so, to what degree and with what level of confidence?
What are the situational variables that enhance predictability?

To what extent does the principle of behaviour help in countering the possible impediments while predicting behaviour?

To what degree can ones past experiences in similar environments increase predictability?

4. O.B is a discipline which enables a manager to motivate his subordinates towards higher productivity and better results. Characteristics of Behaviour: Every one of us has observed how people behave. From these observations we develop some generalizations about behaviour and then use these generalizations to predict behaviour. A more scientific approach to predicting behaviour can be made by studying the characteristics of individual behaviour. Behaviour is influenced by a number of factors:

Causal Factors: are factors which cause the behaviour to be directed to some end. i.e. such factors are responsible for a particular type of behaviour. Behaviour due self and always emanates from an individuals view of himself and his view of the world. There can always be more than one causal factor influencing behaviour.

Example: Consider absenteeism. An employee could be absent for more than one reason he is physically ill, he has leave that will expire if it is not utilized to him for the day, he is unhappy with his
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organizations, he wants to show his indispensability, family constraints etc. all of these factors have a source in the self.
Factors which are determined by

differences in individuals: An interesting aspect of behaviour is the way people differ in their responses to the same environment.

Example: Fire: imagine that fire suddenly breaks out in a particular department o an organization. Some will rush out, some will shout with fear for help, some will call the fire emergency services, some will push the panic button, while some may watch the fun. Example: Promotion: Consider the reaction of different individuals on not getting a promotion. One may blame on fate, others may blame it on partisan behaviour of the management, while others may work even harder so as to enhance their chances of promotion the next time.
Behaviour is affected by similarities: An equally fascinating

aspect behavoiur is that it is common across individuals as well as organizations. Example: Consider how organization respond to changes in the economic environment. Several organisaions are showing similarities in their responses by attempting to restructure, re engineer and be right sized, irrespective of the individual differences in their size, nature of the industry, structure, technology, culture etc. Example: Consider the reaction of employees to bonus declared by an organization. Employees are always eager to receive bonus despite their individual differences on other organizational issues.
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Whatever be the financial situation of the company, disbursement of bonus will always be welcome by employees.

Behaviour is goal directed and

purposeful: Individuals as well as orgnisations display those behaviours that they believe would lead to the accomplishment of goals. Example Imagine the profit oriented goal of a company. All the efforts taken by the company would be to maximize profits. In the process the company may reduce costs of manpower, identify unexplored markets, work on extending the utilities of current products or try a different product mix. All these behaviours are directed towards one goal, maximizing profits.

Behaviour is modifiable to a very large degree: An exciting

dimension of behaviour be it of individuals or of organizations, is their ability to learn and even unlearn. This is because behaviour can be modified to very large degree. Individuals in organizations attempt to modify behaviour not only of themselves but also of others and of the organization. This they do by creating new learning experiences by positively reinforcing desired behaviours or by negatively reinforcing undesired behaviours. On the other hand organizations influence the behaviour of people by bringing the requisite changes in the workplace, performance standards, technology, structure and culture. These changes could be a result of the changes in the operating environment of the organization. Example: Consider the case of Indian Airlines before and after the entry of private airline operators. Several travelers now feel that there is a perceptible change in the way iA staff respond to and deal with customers.

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 Behaviour is dynamic as well as stable: Though behaviour is

modifiable, every aspect of it is not changeable. This means that certain aspects of behaviour are dynamic and more susceptible to change while other aspects are less prone to change and hence remain stable. Example: Imagine that you are meeting an ex colleague after a long time. You may notice some changes in his behaviour. E.g. he may now display some degree of sophistication in communication. However, he will not be an entirely changed person, i.e. he could still retain some of his early behavioural patterns: show of warmth and affection.

Behaviour is predictable to some degree: Because of the stability in behavioural patterns it is possible to predict the behaviour of individuals, but only to some degree. The efficacy of this prediction gets enhanced when it is based on certain principles of behaviour rather than on pure common sense.

Example:
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HR professionals predict the future performance and the organizational commitment of prospective employees on the basis of the behavoiural interviews they conduct. Market researchers and advertising professionals predict the success of a product on a study of consumer behavioural patterns. A taxi driver at the airport predicts whether an airline passenger needs his services or not by closely observing the behavioural cues emanating from body language. An officer in a bank appraises the loan applicant and predict his intention to repay on the basis of past data about the applicant.
Behaviour is influenced by past

experience: The behaviour of individuals is the result of ones past experience. In other words ones present behaviour is contingent upon ones past experience, direct or indirect. Quite often we realize that we are victims of our past history.

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Example: An individual who could get his job done earlier only by offering a bribe to an official will unhesitatingly offer bribes in future situations of similar kind.

Foundations of Individual Behaviour - Human behaviour is very complex and it is very difficult to define. - It is a combination of responses to external and internal factors. - This response reflects psychological structure of the person and may be result of combination of biological and psychological processes.
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It is a system in which human being senses external events and influences, interprets them, responds to them in an appropriate manner and learns from the result of these responses.

- Psychologist Curt Lewin has conducted considerable research into the human behaviour and its causes.
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According to him, People are influenced by a number of diversified factors both genetic and environmental and the influences of these factors
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determine the pattern of behaviour. He called his conception of this influences The field theory and suggested that B = F (P, E) Behaviour is a function (F) of the person (P) and environment (E) around him. - It is important to recognize the effect of the person and that of environment individually. And their interaction and dependence upon each other in order to understand pattern of behaviour. - Person and environment highly linked with each other. - An individuals behaviour may change due to a change in the same environment or different. - For Ex. Person who loses a well paying job behave differently when he is unemployed. Just environment in itself can not be the cause or explain a given behaviour. - Different people behave differently in the same environment. - When the situation demands. The environment may change the behavior of an individual. Ex. Certain training programmes have changed the human attitudes and behaviour. - Sometimes, a sudden and unexpected those events or shock can also influence significant and permanent changes in behaviour.
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Ex. In no. of stories in the Indian religious scriptures dacoit came to temple and his whole personality and outlook changed. Environment can change the individual behaviour and Individual can also change the environment by setting goals and standards determination and motivation. Causes of human behaviour: 1. Individual Characteristics: Physical characteristics: Physical height, slim body, vision, and stamina have bearing on performance. Intelligence: It can be enhanced by proper environment or proper motivation. Intelligent people are easy to convince if the point is right and they can be expected to much more stable and predictable. Sex: Men is expected to be tough while a woman is expected to be gentle. Men never cry and women are highly emotional. These behaviours are developed
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due to differences in treatment boys and girls receive in the family environment. In administration of the management process are concerned women in general do not differ from men in their operative behaviours. Age: The age affects the behaviour in physiological as well as psychological ways. Psychologically, with age older people experience waning of some of their faculties like memory, stamina, coordination etc so the related behaviour also changed. Religion: Religion and religiously based cultures play an important role in determining some aspects of human behaviour. Ex. Morals, ethics, and code of conduct. Highly religious people have high morale standards and usually do not tell lies or take ill of others. They are highly contended and strive for the goal of achievement and self fulfillment. 2. Learned Characteristics:
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- This human behaviour are a product of our exposure to situations within the family and outside environment.
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These characteristics involve an individuals attitudes, values, and perceptions bout environment around him. Ex. The children learn the need and values of being honest and truthful and values of love and affections from the family environment.

- Since inherited behavioural characteristics are more difficult to change or modify, it is the learned characteristics that the managers want to study, predict and control. Some of these learned characteristics are perception, attitude, personality, values. 3. Environmental effect on Behaviour;

Behaviour is a reaction to situations and type of reaction is based upon some inherited and some learned behavioural characteristics, the environment is an important catalyst in determining behaviour.

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If the environment is complementary to established behaviour, then the actions are positively reinforced. If the environment is hostile to the values and skill of the worker, then negative reactions take place. Example: some of the coolest people have been known to loose temper under certain situations. Highly skilled people have changed jobs because the environment in the job situations was not conducive to their enhancement. The environment surrounding the work place has two elements. These are Physical and Social. The social environment relates to interaction among people and respect for numerous social and societal laws, rules and control behaviour of people. These social influences are affected family environment, friends, associates, peers at work and groups to which an individual belong.

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Rules and laws are strictly enforced, laws by the legal system and rules by the social system. Laws relate to all members of the society. Example stealing property of others is illegal and punishable by laws and applies to people within that system. Rules on the other hand affect only a particular segment of the society. These may be the rules of a family, a group, a club, or an organization. Example Working from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is an organizational rule.

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