UNIT 1-A

FUNDAMENTALS OF
ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
DEFINITIONS
 “OB refers to the behaviour of individuals & groups within
organizations & the interaction between organizational
members & their external environments.”
 “OB is the field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups & structures have on behaviour within
organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge
towards improving organization’s effectiveness.”

Features emphasized in any definition –

 Study of human behaviour
 About behaviour in organization
 Knowledge about human behaviour useful in improving
organization’s effectiveness
IMPORTANCE OF OB
 Provides road map to ones life in organization
 Helps understand & predict organizational life
 Helps influence organizational events
 Helps an individual understand himself/herself & others
better
 Helps managers understand the basis of motivation & what
he/she should do to motivate subordinates
 Useful for maintaining cordial industrial relations
 Useful in the field of marketing
 Helps to predict behaviour & apply it in meaningful way to
make organization more effective
 Enables managers motivate his team towards higher
productivity & better results
DISCIPLINES CONTRIBUTING TO OB

Courtesy: Google Images

SCOPE OF OB

Interpersonal
(Group)

Intrapersonal
Organizational
(Individual)

OB
SCOPE OF OB (CONTD…)
 Intrapersonal Behaviour –
 Personality
 Attitude
 Perception
 Learning
 Opinion
 Motivation
 Job satisfaction
 Stress management

 Interpersonal Behaviour –
 Group dynamic
 Team dynamics
 Intergroup conflict
 Leadership
 Communication
 Transaction Analysis

 Organizations –
 Formation
 Structures
 Effectiveness
 Formal & informal organizations
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES OF OB
 Responding to economic pressures
 Responding to Globalization
 Increased foreign assignments
 Working with people from different cultures
 Overseeing the movement of jobs to countries with low-cost
labor
 Managing Workforce Diversity
 Improving Customer Service
 Improving People Skills
 Stimulating Innovation and Change
 Coping with “Temporariness”
 Working in Networked Organizations
 Helping Employees Balance Work–Life Conflicts
 Creating a Positive Work Environment
 Improving Ethical Behaviour
LIMITATIONS OF OB
 OB is just passive knowledge & not a readymade solution
to every type of problems.
 The Law of diminishing returns - At a particular level, use
of OB may not contribute positively. Performance starts
declining due to excessive use of knowledge.
 Knowledge of OB is based on research & experiments
made in Western countries many decades ago. So, it
cannot be applied everywhere directly.
 OB is concerned with only one facet of the organisation
i.e. human factor. It avoids totality/ system approach.
 Multidisciplinary nature of OB creates many problems. A
manager cannot be trained in all disciplines. Insufficient
knowledge may multiply problems.