OB: AN INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION
 FEATURES
 ROLE OF OB
 OB & OTHER DISCIPLINES
 CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB
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DEFINITION
“ OB refers to the field of study that investigates the
impact that individuals, groups & structures have on
behaviour within the organizations, for the purpose of
applying that knowledge towards an organizational
effectiveness.”
 Orgnization behaviour actually refers to the behaviour
of the people in the organizations because
organizations themselves do not behave.
 It covers three determinants of behaviour within
organizations-individuals, groups and structure.
 The field of OB does not depend upon assumptions
based on intuition and gut feelings but attempts to
gather information regarding an isuue in a scientific
manner under controlled conditions.
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FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS
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Behavioural approach to management- OB has emerged as a distinct field
of study because of the importance of human behaviour in organizations.
Cause & effect relationship-It provides generalizations that managers can
use to anticipate the effect of certain activities on human behaviour.
Branch of social sciences- OB is heavily influenced by several other social
sciences viz Psychology, Sociology.
3 levels of analysis- OB encompasses the study of three of analysis namely
individual behaviour, inter-individual behaviour and the behaviour of
organizations themselves.
Science as well as an art-OB is science as well as an art
A body of theory, research & application- All these techniques help the
managers to solve human problems in organizations.
Beneficial to both organisation & individuals- A reasonable climate is
created so that employees may get satisfaction & the organization may
attain its objectives.
Rational thinking- The major objective of OB provides a rational thinking
about the people and their behaviour in organizations, so that result
yielding situations can be created.
GOALS OF OB
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Describe- is to describe how people behave under a
variety of conditions. If the managers can achieve this
goal, they can succeed in communicating about human
behaviour at work
Understand- It will be highly frustrating for the
managers, if they see the behaviour of their
employees, talk about that, but not understand the
reason behind those acts.
Predict- The third objective of OB is to predict the
future employee behaviour. This is a very important job
of the manager to predict how a particular employee
will behave in a particular situation.
Control- Managers have to improve the performance
through the actions they and their employees take and
OB can help them in the pursuit of their goal.
ROLE OF OB
A.
Understanding human behavior
B.
Influencing human behavior
A. UNDERSTANDING HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
Individual behavior It tries to analyze why and how an individual
behaves in a particular way in a given
situation.
 The behaviour of individuals is affected by a
number of psychological, social & cultural
factors.
 Group Behaviour Individual behave differently as an individual
and as a member of the group. His behaviour
is often modified by group norms.
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A. UNDERSTANDING HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
Interpersonal behavior- Interpersonal interaction
represents man’s most natural attempt at socialization.
By studying behavioural sciences, the managers can
understand themselves and the others better.
 Inter-group behavior- Organizations consist of large no.
of groups , it is very important for managers to
understand the group relationships. The cooperation,
coordination & conflicts within group influence
performances.
 OB helps the managers in achieving cooperative group
relationships through interaction, rotation of members
among groups and focus on total group objectives.
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B. INFLUENCING HUMAN BEHAVIOR
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Leadership- An org. can achieve success only with the right type of
leadership. A competent leader uses all the human and physical
resources at the maximum levels for achieving the org. goals.
Motivation- OB helps the managers in understanding the needs &
desires of the subordinates and other factors which affect their
motivation.
Communication- OB analyses the factors that affect communication
so as to make it more effective.
Organisational change & development- OD is needed for the
change & development of individuals. Org have to undergo changes
as a result of social, technological, political & other environmental
factors. The org. change & development are successfully handled by
the use of behavioural science.
Organisational climate- is the sum total of all the organizational
situations affecting human behaviour. Org. climate is the creation of
an atmosphere of effective supervision , good relations with others at
the work place and sense of accomplishment. Org. climate thus
affect the human behaviour.
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
Managerial challenges
 Work place issues & challenges
 Organisational challenges
 Global challenges
 Enviornmental challenges
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MANAGERIAL CHALLENGES
Workforce diversity
2. Changing demographics of workforce
a) Dual career couples
b) Growing no. of youngsters
c) Gender factor
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WORK PLACE CHALLENGES
Employee privacy
2. Employee rights
3. Unionism
4. Changed employee expectations
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ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES
Improving quality & productivity
2. Managing technology & innovations
3. Coping with temporariness
4. Ethical behavior
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GLOBAL CHALLENGES
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Managing global enviornment
Managing cultural diversity
ENVIORNMENTAL CHALLENGES
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3.
Ecology
Pollution
Consumerism