SHORT QUESTIONS

What Is Organizational Behavior?

Organizational behavior (OB) is the academic study of the ways people act
within groups. It studies Behavior of people or group to know their attitude
towards particular circumstances. Its principles are applied primarily in
attempts to make businesses operate more effectively.

The study of organizational behavior includes areas of research dedicated

to improving job performance, increasing job satisfaction, promoting
innovation, and encouraging leadership

Individual behavior in organization

Human behavior is complex and every individual is different from another,

the challenge of an effective organization is in successfully matching the
task, the manager and the subordinate. Under ideal situation, a manager
would first analyze the task, then determine the required skills and
assemble a team that complement each other skills; thereby creating an
enriching & conflict free team. In reality, a manager has to use the existing
resources for a given task, and must have the ability to understand the
differences in individual behaviors and use them appropriately to increase
the synergy.

Learning

Learning is a key process in human behaviour. The individual is constantly

interacting with and influenced by the environment. This experience makes
him to change or modify his behaviour in order to deal effectively with it.
Therefore, learning is a change in behaviour, influenced by previous
behaviour. As stated above the skills, knowledge, habits, attitudes,
interests and other personality characteristics are all the result of learning.

Learning is defined as “any relatively permanent change in behaviour that

occurs as a result of practice and experience”.

Behavior modification
Behavior modification relies on the concept of
conditioning. Conditioning is a form of learning. There are two major types
of conditioning; classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning relies on a particular stimulus or signal. An
example of this would be if a family member came to the kitchen every time
you baked cookies because of the delicious smell. The second type is
known as operant conditioning, which involves using a system of rewards
and/or punishments. Dog trainers use this technique all the time when they
reward a dog with a special treat after they obey a command.
Behavior modification was developed from these theories because they
supported the idea that just as behaviors can be learned, they also can be
unlearned. As a result, many different techniques were developed to either
assist in eliciting a behavior or stopping it. This is how behavior
modification was formed.

Meaning and Definition of Perception:

“Perception is the process through which the information from outside
environment is selected, received, organised and interpreted to make it
meaningful to you. This input of meaningful information results in decisions
and actions.”

Perception may be defined as a process by which individuals organize and

interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment.

According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by

which an individual receives information about his environment—seeing,
hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling.

Perceptual error

A perceptual error is the inability to judge humans, things or situations fairly

and accurately. Examples could include such things as bias, prejudice,
stereotyping, which have always caused human beings to err in different
aspects of their lives.

There are many types of perceptual errors:-

1. SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY

2. SELF SERVING BIAS

3. FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

4. SIMILAR TO ME EFFECT

5. RECENCY EFFECT
6. HALO EFFECT
7. STEREO TYPING.

Attitude Definition:

An attitude is a negative or positive evaluation of an object which influences

human’s behavior towards that object’. – Michael Hogg.

We come across different people, ideas, things and situations. We may

form a negative or a positive view of them in our mind. For example, if I
think that junk foods are unhealthy as it has high sugar and fats, It means I
have a negative attitude towards junk food consumption. Attitude is an
evaluation of a thing in terms of liking or disliking, favoring or disfavoring,
positive or negative and pro or anti.

PERSONALITY

The word personality is derived from a Greek word “persona” which means
“to speak through.” Personality is the combination of characteristics or
qualities that forms a person’s unique identity. It signifies the role which a
person plays in public. Every individual has a unique, personal and major
determinant of his behavior that defines his/her personality.
Motivation

‘Motivation is a desire that fuels an individual to perform or continue an

action based on needs and wants of the individual’.

Meaning: Human beings engage in various actions. For example, a student

studies his books, a man is striving to get a job, a man is taking an injured
from a road to a hospital to save his life, a person is eating a meal and so
on. Behind each of these actions, there is a driving force which compels the
person to engage in that action – which is called motivation. For example, a
student studies his books because he wants to get high marks in his exam.
The aim of getting high marks is a motivation for the students studying his
books.

Group Behavior

Group behavior in organizations tends to follow the organizational norms

and rules wherein the employees are expected to be disciplined, follow
orders, and work to the requirements of the organization rather than their
own whims.

A group can be defined as two or more interacting and interdependent

individuals who come together to achieve particular objectives. A group
behavior can be stated as a course of action a group takes as a family.

GROUP DYNAMICS

A group can be defined as several individuals who come together to

accomplish a particular task or goal. Group dynamics refers to the
attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of a group. Group dynamics
concern how groups form, their structure and process, and how they
function. Group dynamics are relevant in both formal and informal groups
of all types. In an organizational setting, groups are a very common
organizational entity and the study of groups and group dynamics is an
important area of study in organizational behavior.

GROUP DEVELOPMENT
As applied to group development, group dynamics is concerned with why
and how groups develop. There are several theories as to why groups
develop. A classic theory, developed by George Homans, suggests that
groups develop based on activities, interactions, and sentiments. Basically,
the theory means that when individuals share common activities, they will
have more interaction and will develop attitudes (positive or negative)
toward each other. The major element in this theory is the interaction of the
individuals involved.

GROUP ROLES
In formal groups, roles are usually predetermined and assigned to
members. Each role will have specific responsibilities and duties. There
are, however, emergent roles that develop naturally to meet the needs of
the groups. These emergent roles will often replace the assigned roles as
individuals begin to express themselves and become more assertive.
Group roles can then be classified into work roles, maintenance roles, and
blocking roles.
Work roles are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing the
group's goals. They involve a variety of specific roles such as initiator,
informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality tester. The initiator defines
problems, proposes action, and suggests procedures.
The informer role involves finding facts and giving advice or opinions.
Clarifiers will interpret ideas, define terms, and clarify issues for the group.
Summarizers restate suggestions, offer decisions, and come to conclusions
for the group. Finally, reality testers analyze ideas and test the ideas in real
situations.

GROUP NORMS.
Norms are acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared
by the members of the group. Norms define the boundaries of acceptable
and unacceptable behavior. They are typically created in order to facilitate
group survival, make behavior more predictable, avoid embarrassing
situations, and express the values of the group. Each group will establish
its own set of norms that might determine anything from the appropriate
dress to how many comments to make in a meeting. Groups exert pressure
on members to force them to conform to the group's standards. The norms
often reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and performance of the
group.
 GROUP COHESIVENESS.
Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members and their desire to
remain part of the group. Many factors influence the amount of group
cohesiveness. Generally speaking, the more difficult it is to obtain group
membership the more cohesive the group. Groups also tend to become
cohesive when they are in intense competition with other groups or face a
serious external threat to survival. Smaller groups and those who spend
considerable time together also tend to be more cohesive.
Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including worker
satisfaction, low turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity.

Teamwork

Teamwork is when many people work together. They work together to

reach a goal. Teamwork helps people to understand others, build friendly
friendships, and to get any job done the right way. In health care, teamwork
is often practiced to help patients at the hospital. All team members are
given a job to do. In teamwork, all work is shared.

Teamwork is generally understood as the willingness of a group of people

to work together to achieve a common aim. For example we often use the
phrase:” he or she is a good team player”. This means someone has the
interests of the team at heart, working for the good of the team.
Leadership

Leadership can simply be defined as the ability to influence others.

Leadership is the work that is done by the leader. It is a process of social
influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the
accomplishment of a common task.

“Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with

confidence and zeal.”—Koontz and O’Donnell

Thus, we can say that leadership is the practice of influence that stimulates
subordinates or followers to do their best towards the achievement of
desired goals.
Trait Theory

The trait theory seeks to determine the personal characteristics or traits

of a successful leader. A successful leader is supposed to have the
following traits: good personality, intellectual ability, initiative, imagination,
emotional stability, desire to accept responsibility, flexibility, honesty,
sincerity, integrity, ability to make quick decisions, courage, reliability,
persuasive power, etc. To determine the personality traits of a successful
leader, studies were conducted by selecting successful leaders and find out
their traits. It was presumed that persons possessing these traits could
become successful leaders.

Behaviour Theory of Leadership

In this approach, the emphasis is on the actual behaviour and action of

the leaders and not on their traits or characteristics. In other words, this
approach emphasises that strong leadership is the result of effective role
behaviour.

This approach states that the leader uses three skills to lead his
followers. These skills are: technical (refers to a person's knowledge of the
process of technique), human (refers to ability to interact with people and
conceptual (refers to manager's ideas which enable a manager to set up
models and design plans).

This approach assumes that a particular behaviour of a manager will

make him a good leader while its opposite would discard him as a leader.
Determining goals, motivating employees for achieving the goals, effective
communication ability to interact effectively, building team spirit, etc. are the
functional behaviour of a successful leader.

Conflict management

Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects

of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of
conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including
effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting. Properly
managed conflict can improve group outcomes.
 1. Intrapersonal Conflict
Intrapersonal conflict takes place within an individual. The person
experiences it in his own mind. Thus, it is a type of conflict that is
psychological involving the individual’s thoughts, values, principles and
emotions.
However, this type of conflict can be quite difficult to handle, if you find it
hard to decipher your inner struggles. It results in restlessness and
uneasiness, or can even cause depression. Eventually, when the person
finds himself/herself out of the situation, he/she can become more
empowered as a person. Thus, the experience invokes a positive change
which helps in personal growth.
2. Intragroup Conflict
Intragroup conflict occurs among individuals within a team. The
incompatibilities and misunderstandings between team members leads to
intragroup conflict. It starts from interpersonal disagreements like team
members have different personalities which may lead to tension or
differences in views and ideas. Say for example, during a presentation,
members of the team might find the notions presented by the one
presiding to be erroneous due to their differences in opinion.
Within a team, conflict can be helpful in coming up with decisions, which
will eventually allow them to achieve their objectives as a team. But, if the
degree of conflict disrupts harmony among the members, then some
serious guidance from a different party will be needed for it to be settled.
3. Interpersonal Conflict
Interpersonal conflict means a conflict between two individuals. Basically,
this occurs because of some differences in people. We have varied
personalities which usually lead to incompatible choices and opinions. So,
it is a natural occurrence which can eventually help in personal growth or
developing our relationships with others.
In addition, adjustments are necessary for managing this type of conflict.
However, when interpersonal conflict becomes too destructive, calling in a
mediator helps so as to have the issue resolved.
 4. Intergroup Conflict
Intergroup conflict occurs when a misunderstanding arises among different
teams within an organization. For example, the marketing department of
an organization can come in conflict with the customer support
department. This is because of the varied sets of goals and interests of
these different groups.
Conflict should not always be perceived as a problem rather at times it is a
chance for growth and can be an effective means of opening up among
groups or individuals. However, when conflict begins to suppress or disrupt
productivity and gives way to more conflicts, then conflict management is
what is needed for problem resolution.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques

and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress,
especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of
improving everyday functioning. Stress produces numerous physical and
mental symptoms which vary according to each individual's situational
factors. These can include physical health decline as well as depression.
The process of stress management is named as one of the keys to a happy
and successful life in modern society. Although life provides numerous
demands that can prove difficult to handle, stress management provides a
number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.

Group Stressors:
Another source of stress in organisations is poor interpersonal relationships
or conflicts. These conflicts can be among the members of the group or
between the superiors and subordinates. Groups have a lot of influence on
the employees’ behaviour, performance and job satisfaction. On the other
hand, the group can also be a potential source of stress.
Individual Stressors:
The typical individual works for about 8 to 10 hours a day. The problems
and experiences which he has to face in the remaining 14 to 16 non-
working hours can spill over to his work place. Our final category of
stressors thus includes personal or individual stressors.

Following are the main factors which can cause stress to individuals:
1. Job Concerns:
2. Career Changes:
3. Economic Problems:
4. Changes in Life Structure:
5. The Pace of Life:
6. Ability to Cope:

Organizational culture

Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and

beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations. These shared
values have a strong influence on the people in the organization and
dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs. Every organization
develops and maintains a unique culture, which provides guidelines and
boundaries for the behaviour of the members of the organization.

Every company has its own unique personality, just like people do. The
unique personality of an organization is referred to as its culture. In groups
of people who work together, organizational culture is an invisible but
powerful force that influences the behavior of the members of that group.