Human Behavior

at Work
Keith Davis

Chapter 1
The Dynamics
Of People and
Organizations

UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR
Organizational behavior
The systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people
as individuals and as groups act within organizations
On the other hand, OB is the study of what people think, feel, and do in and
around organizations (Mcshane & Glinow).
Organizations:Organizations are groups of people who work interdependently
toward some purpose.

Goals of organizational behavior

-Describe:Systematically, how people behave under a variety of
conditions.
-Understand:Why people behave as they do?
-Predict: predicting future employee behavior (Who would be
dedicated and productive or absent & tardy)
-Control: Control and develop some human activity at work so that
employees performance can be improved.

Why you need to understand OB?

1.Organizations where people work are complex systems. To be an effective
employee and later manager you need to understand how such systems
operate. Organizations combine people and science humanity and
technology.
2.Human behavior in organizations is unpredictable. Human behavior in
organizations can be partially understood by taking a course on OB.
3. By studying OB employees can increase their understanding and skills so
that work relationships can be upgraded.
4.It can help improve the interpersonal skills and relationships with others at
work.
5. It helps managers look at the behavior of individuals within an
organization
6. It aids managers understanding of the complexities involved in
interpersonal relations
7.OB is valuable for examining the dynamics of relationships within small
groups, both formal teams and informal

UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR

Forces

People: People make up the internal social system of the

organization. There are unofficial informal groups, and more official

,formal groups

Structure: Structure defines the formal relationships and use of

people in organizations.

Technology: Technology provides the resources with which people

work affects the task that they perform.
Environment: All organizations operate within an internal and
external environment

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Figure:
Key
forces
affecting
organizatio
nal
behavior

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

The Nature of People

Individual Differences: Individual differences mean that management
can motivate employees best by treating them differently.

Perception: perception is the unique way in which each person sees,

organizes, and interprets things.

A Whole Person: Organizations not only employ a persons skill or

brain but also employ a whole person with certain characteristics.

Motivated Behavior: Nearly all conscious behavior is motivated or

caused.Getting hair cut-motivated behavior

Desire for Involvement: Many employees today actively seeking

opportunities at work to become involved in relevant decisions.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

The Nature of Organizations

Value of the Person: People deserve to be treated differently from
other factors of production because they are of a higher order in the
universe

Social Systems: Organizations are social systems.Two types of social

systems:Formal (official), & informal (Un-official)

Mutual Interest: Organizations need people and people need

organizations.

Ethics: To succeed, organization must treat employees in a ethical

fashion. When organizations goals and actions are ethical, mutuality
creates a triple reward system.

( see following figure)

Figure: Mutual interest provides a super ordinate goal for employees,

the organization, and society

BASIC APPROACHES
A Human Resources (Supportive) Approach:
a. It is developmental concerned with growth and development of
people toward higher levels of competency, creativity, and fulfillment
because people are the central resources in any organization and any
society.
b. It is supportive under this approach management supports
employees to become better, more responsible, and also creates a
climate in which they contribute to the limits of their improved abilities.

An ancient English proverb explains this approach most appropriately:

Give a person a fish, and you feed that person for a day;
Teach a person to fish, and you feed that person for life.

A Contingency Approach:
The contingency approach to organizational behavior means
that different situations require different behavioral practices for
effectiveness.

For example: In a garments Industry, theory X may be applied in

production Unit for better performance and theory Y may be applied
in mid-level management to improve their level of competency.

A Results-Orientated Approach
A. Most organizations try to be productive. Productivity
is a ratio that compares units of output with units of
input. If more output can be produced from the same
amount of inputs, productivity is improved. Or if fewer
inputs can be used to produce the same amount of
outputs, productivity is increased.
B. Productivity is often measured in terms of economic
inputs and outputs, but human and social inputs and
outputs are also important. For example, if better
organizational behavior can improve job satisfaction, a
human output or benefits occurs.

Productivity:Output/Input
(TQM): An integrated effort to improve the quality of a firms
products or services through a variety of techniques and
training.

A Formula:
Knowledge X Skills = ability
Attitude X situations = Motivation
Ability X Motivation = potential Human
Performance
potential Performance X resources X Opportunity=
Organizational results.

A Systems Approach: Treating an organization

as a system is critically important to its success.

Holistic organizational behavior(HOB):

HOB interprets people- organizations relationships in terms of the

whole person, whole organizations, an whole social systems.

Cost-benefit analysis:

It is necessary to take a cost- benefit analysis to determine whether a

potential actions will have a net positive or negative effect .(See

following figure)

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Figure: Cost-benefit analysis of organizational behavior options

Questions