What is organizational behavior?
It is basically the academic study about the ways people tend to act when they are within a group. The purpose of the organizational behavior researchers is to study about the individuals who are involved in various organizational roles. The principles of organizational behavior help in making business operations smoother and more efficient.
An in-depth study of organizational behavior includes various niches like improvement in job performance, enhanced level of innovative ideas, an increase in the level of job satisfaction, motivating leadership skills, and so on.
History of organizational behavior:
It all began in the late 1920s. The Western electric company came up with a series of studies that dealt with worker behavior at the Hawthorne Works plant in Illinois. Researchers kept a check on the worker’s behavior and tried to improve their productivity level by making upgradations in the work ambiance. They introduced better facilities like improved lighting and designs etc. But to their dismay, they noticed that the ambiance did not matter to the workers as much as the social factors did. For instance, the productivity level of these employees increased if they got an appreciation from their boss, and their co-workers treated them well.
This initial phase of research and the shocking results inspired a series of wide-ranging studies that took place in the phase between 1924 and 1933. These studies focused on factors like isolation, work breaks, lighting, etc.
Hawthorne Effect:
This is one of the most significant outcomes of the studies. It shows that the behavior of the test subjects is bound to change in case they know that they are under observation. Researchers need to learn about how the Hawthorne Effect is affecting their research results.
Till the 1970s, the American psychological association did not recognize organizational behavior completely. But the Hawthorne research has got the much-needed credits because it validates organizational behavior as a legitimate niche for study.
Features of Organizational Behavior:
- It is the study as well as the application of knowledge regarding how individuals or groups tend to act in an organizational setup.
- It has a very systematic approach.
- It has the capacity to interpret people-organization relationships.
- The main purpose of organizational behavior study is to accomplish better relationships by focusing on organizational objectives. Human and social objectives.
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The goal of organizational behavior study:
When a group of people works as a part of an organization, they tend to develop certain feelings, thoughts, and the same gets reflected through their actions. These emotions, feelings, and actions have an impact on the overall working of the organization. The main aim of organizational behavior is to study the mechanism that governs such interactions.
- Organizational Culture
- Job satisfaction
- Discovering the right people
- Leadership as well as conflict resolution
- Developing a good team
- A higher level of productivity
- Understanding the ways to develop good leaders
- Understanding employees better.
These are the eight objectives of OB or organizational behavior. These show that organizational behavior is concerned about the people within an organization, their level of interaction, satisfaction, and motivation. OB wants to find ways in order to improve methodologies for enhanced productivity.
Fundamental Concepts of organizational behavior
- Motivated behavior
- Perception
- Individual conflicts
- Desire to get involved
- Value of the person
- Human dignity
- Holistic concept
- Mutual interest
- Social system
Thus, we can see that how significant organizational behavior is. It can affect your daily business operations to a great extent