INTRODUCTION TO

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Meaning And Definition of Organisational
behaviour:
Organisational behaviour is concerned with the study
of human behaviour at work.
It is a study of how people as individuals and as group
behave or act in an organization.
According to Stephen P Robins “Organisational
behaviour is a systematic study of the actions and
attitudes that people exhibits within organisation ”.
Elements of Organisational
Behaviour:
It is an investigative study of individuals and
group.

Impact of organisational structure on human

behaviour.

Application of knowledge to achieve organisation

effectiveness.
Historical Evaluation of
organisational Behaviour:
 Formal study of organisation behaviour began in
1890’s following industrial revolution movement.

 In 1890’s F. W. Taylor identified the positive effect of

precise instructions, goal setting and reward or
motivation. These ideas became scientific
management, considered as the beginning of the
formal study of organisation behaviour.
Scientific Management:
 Scientific Management is based on the belief that productivity
is maximized when organisations are rationalised with precise
sets of instructions based on time and motion.
 F. W. Taylor is often called as “Father of Scientific
Management ”.

Four principles of Scientific Management:

1. Studying task using time and motion study.
2. Scientifically select, train and develop workers.
3. Managers provide detailed instructions.
4. Divide work between workers and managers.
Human Resources Movement:
Failure of Scientific Management gave birth to HR
Movement.
Characterised by heavy emphasis on workers co-
operation and morale.
People are treated as human beings and not machines,
giving more importance to their needs and problems.
Three reasons contributed to the
recognition of Human Factor in
an organization are:
Great Depression of 1929.
 Hawthorne Experiments.
 Labour Movements.
Great Depression:
Crash of American Market lead to world wide
depression, unemployment , collapse of economy.
It was realised that production alone is not
management function, but marketing ,finance and
human resources are required for survival of
business.
Aftermath human problems, role of personal
department and human relations got direct/indirect
significance.
Labour Movement:
Continuous exploitation made workers to realise their
protections lies in their own hands.

Formulated labour union that had desired effect on

management.

Working hours, conditions and Wage policies.

Unions incorporated human relation in organisations.

Hawthorne Experiments/Effect:

Series of experiments that came to be

known as the Hawthorne studies were
conducted on western electric plant
workers in Hawthorne.

This effect occurs when people improve

same aspect of their behaviour or
performance simply because they know
that they are being assessed.
Hawthorne Experiments/Effect
(cont…)

Research involved the following study

Illumination Experiments (1924-27)

Light decreased for experimental group and
kept constant for other.
Productivity increased in same rate.
Workers work harder when watched.
Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments
(1927-28):
Workers segregated on the basis of a definite range of
working condition variables such as work room
temperature, work schedule, work break etc.

Recorded the time taken by employees to collect

telephone relay.

Productivity increased Irrespective of how factors

manipulated.

Employees attitude and Sentiments such as

psychological attachment with organisation were
critically important variables .
Experiments in Interviewing
Workers 1928:
Directly interviewed workers to find out what
is important to them in their opinion.
Workers were allowed to open up and talk
freely about what is most important and what
are at time problematic issues in their minds.

Led to the informal organisation and its

relationship to the formal organisation.
Led to a rich understanding of the social,
interpersonal dynamics of people at work.
Back Wiring Room
Experiments:
This experiment confirmed the effect of
the power of the peer group and
importance of group influence on
workers behaviour and productivity.
The higher the norms, the greater the
productivity and vice versa.
Conclusion:
The history of organisation behavior
begins with the work of F. W Taylor when
he developed scientific management and
encompasses the studies with Hawthorne
 What is organization?
Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge’s
Definition

“Organization is a consciously co-ordinated

social unit, composed of two or more people,
that functions on a relatively continuous basis
to achieve a common goal or a set of goals”.
Characteristics of an Organization
An organization is created deliberately or consciously.
Anything which is formed as a natural sequence such
as a family or a tribal group may not be termed as an
organization. Typical organizations are manufacturing
companies, marketing firms, trading houses, transport
offices, banks, colleges, hotels, hospitals, etc.,

It is composed of two or more people. Any business

run by one individual cannot be termed as a business
organization. In large organizations the number of
people runs into lakhs.
There is co-ordination among the people
working in an organization. In the absence of
co-ordination/co-operation among the people
the organization gets disorganized and ceases
to exist.
There is co-ordination among the people working in an
organization. In the absence of co-ordination/co-operation
among the people the organization gets disorganized and
ceases to exist.
There is hierarchy in any organization. A typical hierarchy consists
of Board of Directors, Chairman, Managing Director, General
Managers, Dy. General Managers, Senior Managers, Managers,
Supervisors and Workers in a large manufacturing firm. Principal,
Heads of Departments, Professors, Associate Professors and Asst.

Professors form the hierarchy in a professional college. Each level

of hierarchy will have its own authority and responsibility.
Organizations function continuously. There
are business houses existing for over
centuries. In certain cases the business may
be seasonal [selling of crackers, marketing of
a particular variety of fruit and etc.,] but still
it is organized business.
organization will have certain goal(s). For a
hospital, the goal could be to offer quality
medical service at an affordable cost. A star
hotel’s goal could be to offer a luxurious stay.
The goal of a management school could be to
make the students industry-ready. Depending
on the top management the goals of a
corporate could be to offer quality
goods/service, invent newer and newer
product designs, sell products at the cheapest
rate or make available its services round the
clock. Every
 Behaviour
Behaviour is a response to a stimulus which is
observed directly or indirectly. Human
behaviour is a function of person and
environment i.e. B=f [PxE].
“Person” includes education, skills,
experience, health, gender, age, attitude,
aptitude, beliefs, perception, personality, etc.,
Environment covers working conditions,
amenities, supervision, rewards, fellow
workers, motivation etc.
Behaviour: Overt and Covert
Overt behaviour: It is what a person does. It
is the observable and measurable activity of
human beings. It includes mental process like
decision making or physical process like
handling a machine.
Covert behaviour: This cannot be easily
observed or measured (e.g.) feelings,
attitudes, perception, etc.,
Meaning of Organizational Behavior
Organizational behaviour is the study of what
people think, feel and do in and around
organizations.

It is also a systematic study of individual,

team and organization-level characteristics in
an organization
 Definition of Organizational
Behaviour
According to Stephen P. Robbins,
organizational behaviour is a field of study
that investigates the impacts that individuals,
groups and structure have on behaviour
within organizations for the purpose of
applying such knowledge toward improving
an organization’s effectiveness.
Fred Luthans defined organizational
behaviour as the understanding, prediction
and management of human behaviour in
organizations
Goals of Organizational Behaviour
Study

The goals of understanding organizational

behavior are
to describe [how people behave under a variety
of conditions /environments?]
to understand[why people behave as they do in
different situations?]
to predict [how people behave in future?] and
to control [how their behaviour is controlled or
managed for productive activity]

Show picture
 Nature of Organizational Behaviour study
 It is a part of management study representing behavioural
approach to management
 It is a human tool for human benefit.
 It is interdisciplinary. That is, it is a field of study involving the
integration of behavioural sciences such as psychology,
sociology, anthropology etc., It is not a discipline in the usual
sense.
 It is an applied science seeking to fulfill employees’ needs and
organizations’ objectives.
 It involves individual / group behaviour and behaviour of
organization itself.
 It is humanistic as well as optimistic.
 It is normative and value centered. While positive science
suggests only cause-effect relationship, normative science
prescribes how the various findings can be applied to get
organizational results which are acceptable to society.
 It is mostly oriented towards organizational objectives.
 It is a total system.
Limitations of Organisational behaviour
1. Lack of Unified theory

2. Behavioural Bias

3. Law of diminishing returns

4. Unethical Manipulation of people

 Role of Organisational Behaviour
1. Understanding Human Behaviour

2. Controlling Human Behaviour

3. Organisational Adoption
Understanding Human Behaviour
1. Individual level

2. Interpersonal Level

3. Group level

4. Intergroup Level
Controlling Human Behaviour
1. Use of Power and Sanction

2. Leadership

3. Communication

4. Organisational Climate
Organisational Adoption

This refers to the total

organisational situations
affecting Human
Behaviour
Nature of Human behaviour
1. S-R Model (show diagram Fig 2)

2. S-O-R Model [stimulus-

organism(sense,nervous, muscles &
glands)-response] (show pictures on chapter 2 29,30,32,33)

3. S-O-B-C
S ModelO B C
Overt Physiologic Overt Overt
and al being
and and
Covert and Covert
cognitive Covert
stimuli mediator behaviou consequ
r ences
Individual Differences
1. People differ in the importance they attach
to intrinsic rewards to the job.
2. People differ in the type of compensation
plan they want or desire.
3. People differ in the style of supervision.
4. People differ in their preferred schedules of
work hour.
5. People differ in their tolerance for stress.
Foundations of Individual behaviour
Factors in Individual Behaviour

1. Physiological
a. Intelligence
b. Physical Abilities
c. Age
d. Gender
e. Race

2. Socio-psychological
a. Personality
b. Perception
c. Learning
d. Attitudes and values
e. Emotional Intelligence
f. Motivation
Factors causing individual differences
Individual behaviour is caused by

1. Individual Variables
A. Physiological variables
B. Socio-psychological variables
2. Situational Variables
A. Organisational Variables
B. Job Variables
 A. Physiological variables
1. Individual Variables

i. Intelligence
ii. Physical abilities
iii. Age
iv. Gender
v. Race
B. Socio-psychological variables
i. Personality
ii. Perception
iii. Learning
iv. Attitudes and values
v. Emotional Intelligence
vi. Motivation
2. Situational Variables

A. Organisational Variables
i. Organisational structure
ii. Organisational processes
iii. Organisational culture

B. Job Variables
i. Nature of Job
ii. Work Environment
PERSONALITY

The term ‘personality’ has been derived from

the Latin
word ‘persona’ which means ‘to speak
through.’

This Latin term denotes the masks which the

actors used to wear in ancient Greece and
Rome
Personality should include:
- external appearance and behaviour
- inner awareness of self as a permanent
organizing force and
- particular pattern of measurable traits,
both inner and outer.
Definition of Personality
Personality cannot be defined precisely.
There are many definitions -

“Personality is the sum total of

characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling
and behaving that constitutes the
individual’s distinctive method of
relating to environment.”
Determinants of Personality
The determinants of personality are:

Biological factors

Family and social factors

Cultural factors and

Situational factors
Determinants of Personality
Biological
Factors

Family and Individual Situational

Social Factors Personality Factors

Cultural
Factors
1. Influence of biological factors on
personality
1. Heredity

2. Brain

3. Physical features
2. Influence of family/social factors
on Personality
1. Socialization

2. Identification process
a. Home environment
b. Family members
c. Social groups
show picture on chapter 4,
pg 76 & 77
3. Cultural factors and personality
- Culture is the underlying determinant of human
decision–making. It generally determines attitudes
toward independence, aggression, competition and
co-operation.

- Each culture expects and trains its members to

behave in the ways that are acceptable to the group.

- To a greater extent, the child’s cultural group

decides its values / characteristics through group
learning
show picture on chapter 4, page 77
4. Influence of situational factors on personality
The S-O-B model of human behaviour gives
more importance to situations. Research
studies have suggested that situation plays a
powerful role in human personality. Situations
bring in pressure to influence one’s
personality.
Example. A care-free son becomes highly
responsible when his father, the only bread –
winner in the family, dies. The situation, i.e.
death of father, has transformed an
irresponsible son into a responsible person.
Traits of Indian Managers
Indian managers generally exhibit the
following traits
1. Indian mangers are somewhat emotional,
casual, sensitive, tough, tense and group
dependant
2. On two personality characteristics of
authoritarianism and machivelliansm
3. They have need for achievement and
competence though they have lower level of
maturity and persistency
4. They show co-operation, friendliness,
 UNIT – 2
PERCEPTION
What is perception?
Perception is a process by which individuals organize and
interpret their sensory impressions to give meaning to
their environment. Perception could be explained in
various ways.
 It is the process of receiving information about and making
sense of the world around people.
 It is also the process of deciding which information to
notice, how to categorize the noticed information, and how
to interpret it within the framework of one’s existing
knowledge.
 In simple terms, perception is how one looks at the world
SHOW PICTURE ON PAGE 99 CHAPTER 5
Factors that influence perception

Show fig 32 on page 100 chapter 5

Perceptual process
Perceptual process consists of several sub-
processes. It is an input-output process.
Here, the stimuli, namely, the environment,
subject, events or people can be considered
as inputs.
These inputs are ‘processed’ through
selection, organization, and interpretation.
The outcomes are opinions, feeling and
attitudes etc. which ultimately decide the
behaviour of the people.
Simplex and complex process of Perception

show fig 24a and fig33 on page 101 chapter 5

Factors influencing perceptual selectivity
Perception is a selective process as people can
select only a limited amount of information in the
environment.
Through selection, certain aspects of stimuli
which are admitted /accepted remain in the
minds of people for interpretation.
For example, when people read newspapers, they
do not read all the columns; they concentrate on
the items in which they are interested.
Perceptual selectivity is caused by two categories
i.e. external and internal
External factors in perceptual
selectivity
Size
Intensity
Repetition
Familiarity
Novelty
Contrast
Motion
Internal factors in perceptual
selectivity
Self –concept
Beliefs
Expectations
Inner needs
Response disposition
Response salience
Perceptual defense
Developing Perceptual Skills
Empathy is a person’s understanding and sensitivity to the feelings,
thoughts and situation of others.
 Empathy has both cognitive [thinking] and emotional component.
The cognitive component, sometimes called perspective thinking,
represents a cognitive awareness of another person’s situational and
individual circumstances.
 Empathizing with others improves a person’s sensitivity to external
causes of another person’s performance and behaviour, thereby
reducing fundamental attribution error.
 Empathy towards others improves through feedback.
 Improving empathy is putting oneself in the other person’s shoes.
That is, placing oneself in the opposite party’s situation and then
arguing.
 The more a person personally experiences the environment in which
other people live and work, the better he will understand and be
sensitive to their needs and expectations.
LEARNING