Unit 1 Organization Behavior

1.

Organization
Q.What is an organisation?
An organisation is a group of individuals working together to achieve one or
more objectives. Although organisations have been defined differently by
different theorists, virtually all definitions refer to five common features:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

they are composed of individuals and groups of individuals

they are oriented towards achieving collective goals
they consist of different functions
the functions need to be coordinated
they exist independently of individual members who may come and go.

OB is therefore concerned with:1. The purposes for which organisations are created
2. The behaviour of individuals, and an understanding of the pressures and
influences that cause them to
act and react in particular ways.
3. The qualities that individuals bring to particular situations.
4. The creation of groups i.e., collections of people brought together for given
purposes.
5. The background and context within which activities take place.
6. The relationships and interactions with the wider environment with other
organisations and groups.
7. The management and ordering of the whole and its parts into productive
and effective work relationships.
Types of organization
a)Formal: The part of the organization that has legitimacy and official
recognition.
b) Informal: The unofficial part of the organization.

Features of Organisation Behaviour

Q. Explain the features/characteristics of organisation behaviour

The essential characteristics of organisational behaviour are as follows:

(i)

(ii)

An Integral Part of Management. OB is a part of general

management and not the whole of management. It represents
behaviour approach to management. It is significant to note that
because of the importance of human behaviour in organisations,
OB has assumed the status of a distinct field of study.
A Field of Study. OB is a field of study backed by a body of
theory, research and application associated with a growing concern
for people at the workplace. Its study helps in understanding the
human behaviour in work organizations. It includes creative

thinking among the managers to solve human problems in

organisations.
(iii) Inter-disciplinary Approach. The field of organisational
behaviour is heavily influenced by several other behavioural
sciences and social sciences. The prominent among these are
psychology, sociology and anthropology. Organisational
behaviour draws a rich array of research from these disciplines.
What makes it a field in its own right is the attempt to integrate
various aspects and levels of behaviour.
(iv) Levels of Analysis. OB involves three levels of analysis of
behaviour individual behaviour, group behaviour and behaviour
of the organisation itself. It helps in demolishing incorrect
assumptions one may hold about behaviour. It provides a rational
thinking about people.
(v) Goal-Oriented. OB is an action oriented and goal-directed
discipline. The major goals of organisational behaviour are to
understand, explain and predict human behaviour in the
organisational context so that it may be moulded into resultyielding situations. It provides a rational thinking about people and
their behaviour.
(vi) Human Tool. OB is a human tool for human benefit. It helps in
understanding and predicting the behaviour of individuals. It
provides generalisations that managers can use to anticipate the
effects of certain actions on human behaviour.
(vii) Science and Art. OB is both a science as well as an art. The
systematic knowledge about human behaviour is a science. The
application of behaviour knowledge and skills clearly leans
towards being an art. However, organisation behaviour is not an
exact science like physics or chemistry. It cannot provide specific
answers to all organisational problems. The exact prediction of
behavior of people in organisations is also not possible. It is
possible to predict relationships between variables on a broad
scale, but it is difficult to apply predictive models in all situations.
(viii) Satisfaction of Employees Needs. OB seeks to fulfill employees
need and aspirations. Every employee in the organisation wants to
fulfill his needs through organisational activities. It is the
organisations responsibility to provide congenial climate in the
organisation so that people may get need satisfaction and the
organisation may attain its objectives. Thus, both organisation and
individuals can be benefited by each other.

MODELS OF O.B: Q. Explain the models of organization behavior

Models are frameworks or possible explanations why do people behave as they do at
work. There are so many models as organisations are very many. Varying results across
the organisations are substantially caused by differences in the models of organization
behavior Generally, organization behavior Models can be divided into 4 categories,
namely,
1) The autocratic model,
2) The custodial,
3) The supportive and
4) The collegial.
The following Table shows the differences among the Models: Basis of Model
Managerial
Orientation
Employee
Orientation
Employee
Psychological
Result
Employee needs
met
Performance
Result

Autocratic
Power
Authority

Custodial
Economic Resources
Money

Supportive
Leadership
Support

Collegial
Partnership
Team Work

Obedience

Security and Benefits

Job Performance

Responsible Behaviour

Dependence on Dependence on
Box
Organisation

Participation

Self discipline

Subsistence

Security

Status and recognition

Self Actualisation

Minimum

Passive Cooperation

Awakened drives

Moderate Enthusiasm

For managing people, every organisation follows an organisational Behaviour system or

framework, commonly called "model of OB". Four models of OB are the automatic, custodial,
suppority, and collegial. Under autocratic model, managers use their power and authority, where
as employee become dependent on organisations in case of custodial model. Supportive model
supports employee and collegial model inculcates teamwork feeling among employees in the
organisation.

Goals of OB
Q.What are the goals of an organization?

To describe The first objective is to describe how people

behave under a variety of conditions.
To understand as to why people behave as they do.

 To predict Predicting future employee behavior is another goal

of OB. Managers would have the capacity to predict which
employees may be dedicated and productive or which ones might
be absent or disruptive on a certain day so that the manager could
take preventive actions.
To control The final goal of OB is to control and develop some
human activity at work. Managers also want to make an impact on
employee behavior, skill development, team effort and
productivity.
Managers should be able to improve the results through their own and
their employees actions.

IMPORTANCE OF OB
Q. Give the importance of organization behavior

1) OB helps an individual to understand himself and others better.

This will improve interpersonal relations considerably.
Attitudes,
perception,
leaderships,
communication,
transactional analysis and conflicts can also be understood
better with the study of OB.
2) A manager in a business establishment is concerned with
getting things done through others. He will be successful in his
job when he can motivate his subordinates to work for better
results. OB will help the manager understand the basis of
motivation and what he should do to motivate his subordinates.
3) The field of OB will be successful in maintaining cordial
industrial relations. If an employee is slow in his work, or if his
productivity is readily declining, the basic issue may not be
demand for more wages, higher bonus, a better canteen etc.
This can be due to any other reasons like the indifferent attitude
of the boss towards the worker which in turn can lead to the
worker loosing interest in his work gradually. Similarly,
reluctance of the management to talk to union leaders may
provoke them to give a strike. Hence the relations between the
management and the employees are often strained for reasons
which are personal but not technical.

4) OB helps in the field of marketing. In the dynamic mechanism

of the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer,
the awareness of the nature of individual and social process has
an immediate or long term contribution to the success or the
failure of the enterprise.
5) OB helps in predicting the behaviour of individual and thus
help the organization to be effective having good people skills
which includes the ability to understand ones employees and to
use this knowledge to make them work efficiently is a vital
requirement if a person has to succeed as a manager.
6) Effective management means competent utilization of technical
and financial resources. OB is a discipline which enables a
manager to motivate his subordinates towards higher
productivity and better results.
Q.5: Fundamental concepts of Organizational Behavior:

Organizational Behavior starts with a set of fundamental

concepts revolving around the nature of people and
organizations. Such concept consists of two main elements:
1. THE NATURE OF PEOPLE: Individual Differences:
The idea of individual differences comes originally from
Psychology. The belief that each person is different from all
others is typically called the Law of Individual Differences.
Perception: Even when presented with the same object, two
people may view it in two different ways. Their view of their
objective environment is filtered by Perception.

 A whole person: Although some organizations may wish

they could employ only a persons skill or brain, they actually
employ a whole person rather than certain characteristics.
Motivated Behavior: This fact leaves management with
two basic ways to motivate people. It can show them how
certain action will increase their need fulfillment, or it can
threaten decreased need fulfillment if they follow an
undesirable course of action.
Desire for Involvement: Many employees are contributing
their talents and ideas to the organizations success.
Organizations need to provide opportunities for meaningful
involvement.
Value of the Person: People deserve to be treated
differently from other factors of production because they are of
a higher order in the universe and want to be treated with
caring, respect, dignity.
2. THE NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS: Social
Systems: Two types of Social Systems exist side by side in
organizations. One is the formal (official) social system, and th
other is the informal social system
Mutual Interest: Organizations need people and people
need organizations. They are formed and maintained on the
basis of some mutuality of interest among their participants.
Managers need employees to help them reach organizational
objectives; people need organizations to help them reach
individual objectives.
Ethics: In order to attract and retain valuable employees in
an era in which good workers are constantly recruited away,
ethical treatment is necessary.
When the organizations goals and actions are ethical, mutuality
creates a triple reward system in which individual,
organizational, and social objectives are all met.
2. The nature of organizations
Q. Explain the nature of organizations
Organization: a tool used by people to coordinate their actions to obtain
something they desire or value
Organizations provide goods and services
Organizations employ people
Organizations bring together people and resources to produce products and
services

 Basically, organizations exist to create value

It is a process of co-ordination of employees activities in an orderly manner.
It is a framework of interior relationships. It defines the relationship between
person to person, position to position, job to job and so on.
3. Why do organizations exist?
Q. Explain why do organizations exist.
Organisations exist because groups of people working together can achieve more
than the sum of the achievements which the individuals in the organisation could
produce when working separately. For example, one person might struggle all day to
carry a piano upstairs, whereas a team of four people, each taking one corner, may
need to put in much less than a quarter of the effort of one person to complete the
task. Although such cooperation is beneficial, if individuals pull in different
directions, the result is counter-productive. Thus coordination is necessary and this is
a fundamental role of management, as will be discussed in a later section of this
session.
5 major reasons why organizations exist:

To increase specialization and the division of labor

Division of labor allows specialization
Specialization allows individuals to become experts at their job
To use large-scale technology
Economies of scale: cost savings that result when goods and services are
produced in large volume

 Economies of scope: cost savings that result when an organization is able

to use underutilized resources more effectively because they can be shared
across several different products or tasks
To manage the external environment
External environment consists of the political, social, economic, and
technological factors that affect organizations
Organizations regularly exchange products and services for needed
resources
Organizations need to manage their external environment
To exert power and control
Organizations structure their members to efficiently produce products and
services
To economize on transaction costs
Transaction costs: the costs associated with negotiating, monitoring, and
governing exchanges between people who must cooperate
4. Components Of Organization
Q.What are the components of an organisation?
Q.What are the key elements of organization

Mintzbergs five components of organisation

Mintzberg suggested that all organisations consist of five components, as shown in
Figure 1.

Figure 1 Mintzbergs five parts of the organisation

At the top of the organisation is a Strategic apex the purpose of which is to ensure the
organisation follows its mission and manages its relationship with its environment. The
individuals comprising the apex, for example, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), are
responsible to owners, government agencies, unions, communities and so on.

Below the apex is the Middle line, a group of managers who are concerned with
converting the objectives and broad plans of the Strategic apex into operational plans that
can be carried out by the workers.
As organisations grow and become more complex, they usually develop a separate group
of people who are concerned with the best way of doing a job, specifying output criteria
(e.g., quality standards) and ensuring that personnel have appropriate skills (e.g., by
organising training programmes). This group of analysts is referred to by Mintzberg as
theTechnostructure. The organisation also adds other administrative functions that
provide services to itself, for example legal advice, public relations, mailroom, cafeteria
and so on. These are the Support staff.
Finally, at the bottom of the organisation, is the Operating core. These are the people who
do the basic work of producing the products or delivering the services.
Mintzbergs generic organisational model also illustrates an important principle of
organisation structure: the separation of direction and management, whereby those people
who decide the mission and general direction of the organisation are different (other than
in a very small organisation) from those who handle the implementation of plans and
subsequent controlling of operations to ensure that objectives are met. Senior managers
(the Strategic apex) will establish long-term organisational objectives and policies
through which goals are to be achieved. Middle managers (the Middle line) will be
responsible for translating the necessarily broad and general strategic plans into detailed
action plans, specifying managerial responsibilities for particular tasks and how resources
are to be allocated. These middle managers will also be responsible for monitoring
activities and taking action to ensure that resources are being used efficiently and
effectively to achieve organisational objectives.
5. Organization As Open Systems
Q. Explain the view of organization as a open system?
Systematic Approach to Management:
A system is an entity with a purpose that has interdependent parts. The systems
approach suggests viewing the organization as a system. All systems have four basic
characteristics:
1) They operate within an environment;
2)They are composed of building blocks called elements, components, or subsystems;
3)They have a central purpose against which the organization's efforts and subsystems
can be evaluated; and
4)essential systems thinking places focus onthe interrelatedness among the
subsystems and its environment.
Systematic management emphasized internal operations because managers were
concerned primarily with meeting the explosive growth in demand brought about by
the Industrial Revolution. In addition, managers were free to focus on internal issues
of efficiency, in part because the government did not constrain business practices
significantly. Finally, labor was poorly organized.

As a result, many managers were oriented more toward things than toward people.
The influence of the systematic management approach is clear in the following
description of one organization's attempt to control its workers.
Open versus Closed Systems

A closed system does not interact with the outside environment. Although few
systems actually take this form, some of the classical approaches treated
organizations as closed systems. The assumption was that if managers improve
internal processes, the organization would succeed. Clearly, however, all
organizations are open systems, dependent on inputs from the outside world, such as
raw materials, human resources, and capital, and output to the outside world that meet
the market's needs for goods and services.
Above figure illustrates the open-system perspective. The organizational system
requires inputs, which the organization transforms into outputs, which are received by
the external environment. The environment reacts to these outputs through a feedback
loop, which then becomes an input for the next cycle of the system. The process
continues to repeat itself for the life of the system.

As above Figure shows, a system is a set of interdependent parts that processes inputs
(such as raw materials) into outputs (products). Business inputs typically known as
resources including human, physical, financial etc resources. Most businesses use a
variety of human, financial, physical, and informational resources. Manager's
function is to transform these resources into the outputs of the business. Goods and
services are the outputs of the business. Some of the major components of the
external environment include customers, competitors, suppliers, and investors.

6. Managers in organization
Manager: The member of the organization who participates in the
management process by planning, organizing, leading, or controlling the
organization's resources.
Types of Mangers
Q. Explain the types of managers
There are three types of mangers. Managing is like holding a dove in your
hand. If you squeeze too tight, you kill it. Open your hand too much, you
let it go'
1. Strategic Manager: Strategic managers are the senior executives hand
of an organization and are responsible for its overall management. Major
activities include developing the company's goals and plans. Typically
strategic managers focus on long-term issues and emphasize the survival,
growth, and overall effectiveness of the organization.
2. Tactical Managers: Tactical managers are responsible for translating
the general goals and plans developed by strategic managers into
objectives that are more specific and activities. These decisions, or
tactics, involve both a shorter time horizon and the coordination of
resources. Tactical managers are often called middle managers, because
in large organizations they are located between the strategic and
operational managers. Today's best middle managers have been called
"working leaders." They focus on relationships with other people and on
achieving results. They are hands-on, working managers. They do not just
make decisions, give orders, wait for others to produce, and then evaluate
results. They get dirty, do hard work themselves, solve problems, and
produce value.

3. Operational Managers: Operational managers are lower-level

managers who supervise the operations of the

organization. These

managers often have titles such as supervisor or sales manager. They are
directly involved with non-management employees, implementing the
specific plans developed with tactical managers. This role is critical in the
organization, because operational managers are the link between
management and non-management personnel. Your first management
position probably will fit into this category.
Managers are Universal:
Managers work in all types of organizations, at all levels, and in all functional areas.
Large and small businesses, hospitals, schools and governments benefit from efficient
and effective management. The leaders of these organizations may be called executives,
administrators, or principals, but they are all managers and are responsible for the success
or failure of the organization. This success or failure is reflected in a manager's career.
For example, when a CEO saves a failing corporation, the board rewards this success
with bonuses and stock options. When a professional football team starts losing, the
owner fires the coach, not the team.
The Managerial Skills
Q.Discuss the three types of managerial skills and its importance
Managers need three basic sets of skills: technical, interpersonal, and conceptual.
a. Technical Skills
The skills that include knowledge of and proficiency in a certain specialized field Top
Managers need to be technically competent. They need to know how to plan, organize
lead and control. Line managers need this skill the most while top manager will need
minimum of technical skills.

b. Interpersonal Skills/Human Skills

Interpersonal skills include the ability to work well with other people both individually
and in a group. Mangers need good interpersonal skills, knowledge about human
behaviors and group processes, ability to understand the feelings, attitudes and motives of
others, and ability to communicate, clearly and persuasively. Human skills are very
important at each level of management.
c. Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills include the ability to think and to conceptualize about abstract and
complex situations, to see the organization as a whole, and to understand the relationships
among the various subunits, and to visualize how the organization fits into its broader
environment. Conceptual skills include analytical ability, logical thinking, concept
formation, and inductive reasoning. They manifest themselves in things like good
judgment, creativity, and the ability to see the big picture. Top mangers/CEO needs this
type of skill the most.

Levels of Managers
Q. Describe the levels of manager
Levels of Management Three level in the organization can classify managers,
particularly for traditionally structured organizations...

1. First-line managers are the lowest level of management. They're often called
supervisors
2. Middle managers include all levels of management between the first-line level and
the top level of the organization.
3. Top managers include managers at or near the top of the organization who are
responsible for making organization wide decisions and establishing the plans and goals
that affect the entire organization.
Manager's Roles:
Q. Describe the different roles played by a manager
a. Interpersonal roles
Figurehead--duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature
Leadership--hire, train, motivate, and discipline employees
Liaison--contact outsiders who provide the manager with information.
These may be individuals or groups inside or outside the organization.

b.Informational roles
Monitor--collect information from organizations and institutions outside their own
Disseminator--a conduit to transmit information to organizational members

 Spokesperson--represent the organization to outsiders

c. Decisional roles
Entrepreneur--managers initiate and oversee new projects that will improve their
organization's performance
Disturbance handlers--take corrective action in response to unforeseen problems
Resource allocators--responsible for allocating human, physical, and monetary
resources
Negotiator role--discuss issues and bargain with other units to gain advantages for
their own unit

All managers are mostly concerned with following activities:

Staffing
Retention
Development
Adjustment
Managing change

7. THE CHALLENGES FACING MANAGEMENT

Q.List out the challenges in organization behavior

Challenges and Opportunities for OB

Responding to Globalisation Organisations are no longer limited
by national borders. Managers have to be capable enough to work
with people across cultures. Being a manager, one needs to manage
a workforce which is different in needs, aspirations and attitudes.
To work effectively with these people, one needs to understand
their culture, how it has shaped them and how can the
management style be adapted to suit their differences.
Managing workforce diversity While globalization focuses
on differences between people from different countries, workforce
diversity focuses on differences among people with given
countries. Workforce diversity means that organizations are
heterogenous in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. The challenge
for organizations, thus, is to make themselves more accommodating
to diverse groups of people by focusing on their different lifestyles,
family needs and workstyles, while at the same time not
discriminating. This involves providing diversity training, and
revamping benefit programs to accommodate the different needs of
different employees. Diversity, if properly managed, can increase
creativity and innovation in organizations as well as improve
decision making by providing different perspectives on problems.
If diversity is not properly managed, it leads to a higher turnover,
more difficult communication and more interpersonal conflicts.
Improving Quality and Productivity The managers often
confront challenges to improve their organizations productivity and
the quality of products and services they offer. For this, they often
have to implement programs of Quality management and Process
Reengineering.
Quality Management (i) Constant attainment of customer
satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all organizational
processes.

(ii) Improvement in the quality of everything that the organization

does how the organization handles deliveries, how rapidly it
responds to complaints etc.
(iii) Accurate measurement Quality Management uses statistical
techniques to measure the performance variables and then compare
them with the standards / benchmarks.
(iv) Empowerment of employees Quality management involves the
people in the improvement process. Teams are used in QM programs
as empowerment vehicles for finding and solving problems.
Process Reengineering helps managers to reconsider how work
would be done and the organization restructured if they were starting
over from the scratch.
Responding to the labour shortage Economic ups and downs are
difficult to predict. In 1990s, the labour markets were tight as the
world economy was robust. It was difficult to fill vacancies with
skilled workers. In 2001, there was an economic recession lot of
layoffs took place and hence the skilled workers were in plenty.
It is also predicted that there will be a labour shortage for atleast 1015 years. In the latter part of the 20 th century, there was a huge
increase in the number of women entering the workforce which was a
new supply of talented and skilled workforce. Also, the older
workforce seem to be less interested to work which can be attributed
to improved pension plans, expanded social security benefits and a
healthy stock market.
During labour shortage, good wages and benefits are not the only
means to get and keep skilled employees. Newer recruitment and
retention strategies have to be developed with the help of OB.
Improving customer service OB can contribute to improving an
organisations by showing managers how employee attitudes and
behavior are associated with customer satisfaction.
The management should focus on creating a customer responsive
culture a culture in which employees are friendly and courteous,
accessible, knowledgeable, prompt in responding to customer needs
and willing to do whats necessary to please the customer.
Improving people skills Techniques should be developed to
design motivating jobs, to improve upon the listening skills and to
create effective teams.

 Empowering people There has been a complete change in the

relationship between managers and the employees. Decision
making now happens at the operating level. Employees have started
having a full control of their work. There is also a concept of selfmanaged teams wherein workers operate largely without bosses. By
empowering employees, managers are learning how to give up
control, and employees know how to take responsibility for their
work and make appropriate decisions.
Coping with Temporariness Unlike yesteryears, managing
today includes long periods of ongoing change, interrupted
occasionally by short periods of stability. The workers need to
update their knowledge and skills continually to perform new job
requirements. Work groups are also in a state of flux. Earlier,
employees were assigned to a specific work group which was
permanent. So there was security in working with the same people.
But now, work groups are temporary wherein members are from
different departments and members keep changing and employee
rotation is practiced to fill constantly changing work assignments.
Organisations also continuously reorganize their divisions, sell-off
poor performing businesses, subcontract non-critical services and
operations to other organisations and replace permanent employees
with temporary workers.
The managers and employees should know to cope with
temporariness, to live with flexibility, spontaneity and
unpredictability.
Stimulating Innovation and Change The organizations should
foster innovation, continuously improve their quality in order to beat
competition. Example, The services of Dominos has brought an end to
a number of pizza parlours in the city. The challenge for managers is
to stimulate the employees creativity.
Helping employees balance work / life conflicts The line between
the work and non work time of employees has become blurred,

creating personal conflicts and stress. This can be due to the following
reasons
Creation of global organizations Employees are required to
work 24*7.
Communication technology People do their work from any
place at any time.
Longer hours put in by the employees.
Dual-career couples as a result married couples have lesser
time to fulfill commitments back home.
So, managers should help in making their workplace and jobs such
that it helps the employee deal with work / life conflicts.
Improving ethical behavior Employees at times, face ethical
dilemmas i.e. situations in which individuals are required to define
right and wrong conduct. For example, Should they follow orders with
which they dont personally agree? Should they uncover illegal
activities taking place in the company?
Managers and organizations are trying to tackle this problem by
o Writing and distributing codes of ethics to guide the employees.
o Seminars, workshops, similar training programs to try and
improve ethical behavior.
o Provision for an in-house advisor who can be contacted
(anonymously) for assistance in dealing with an ethical issue.
Also, they provide with protection mechanisms for employees
who reveal internal unethical practices.
Limitations of organization behavior
Q. Describe the limitations of organization behavior
Behavioural bias Behavioral bias gives a narrow viewpoint to the
employees that emphasizes satisfying employee experiences while
overlooking the broader system of the organization. It is more like a

tunnel vision in which people have narrow viewpoints as if they were

looking through a tunnel. The concern for employees can be so greatly
overdone that the original purpose of bringing people together- productive
organizational outputs is lost. It is wrong to assume that the objective of
OB is simply to create a satisfied workforce without worrying about
customer service and productivity. Equally, if a person is continuously
concerned with production outputs without regard for employee needs is
misapplying OB.
Behavioural bias can harm the employees as well as the organizations.Too
much of care can make the employees dependent and unproductive. They
may find excuses for failure and avoid taking responsibility for progress.
They lack self discipline and self respect.
The Law of Diminshing Returns The Law of diminishing Returns is a
limiting factor in OB as in Economics which produces negative results. In
OB, this law states that at some point, increases of a desirable practice
produce declining returns, eventually zero returns, and then negative
returns asmore increases are added. For any situation, there is an optimum
amount of a desirable practice, such as recognition or participation. When
that point is exceeded, there is a decline in returns. For example, too much
security may lead to less employee initiate and growth.
Hence, organizational effectiveness is achieved not by maximizing one
human variable but by working all system variables together in a
balanced way.
Unethical manipulation of people The knowledge and techniques of
OB are at times used to manipulate people unethically as well as to help
them develop their potential. People who lack respect for the basic dignity
of the human being could use OB for selfish ends and use people in
unethical ways.
8. Organizational behavior and the new workplace
Q. What Are the Characteristics of Organizational Behavior in the Workplace?

There are several common characteristics of organizational

behavior in the workplace, but these are dependent on the

current conditions of the workplace for their continuation.

Essentially, characteristics like these are caused by the state of
the workplace and the workers themselves, so changes over
time can affect the way organizational behavior unfolds.
Behavior also depends on the type of workplace and the
expectations of the workers, among many other different
qualities. Generalizations about this type of behavior might
include information about what factors improve productivity and
how the employees see themselves as part of the company.
The best way to understand the characteristics of organizational
workplace behavior is to think about what states cause what
behaviors in members of the organization. Small actions in a
large group can yield large changes on the institutional level. For
example, if each employee works just slightly harder, then the
effect for the company as a whole can be enormous even though
each employee contributed only a little. Organizational behavior
studies focus on what states can create changes like these,
which affect the attitudes and productivity of workers.
Characteristics of this behavior depend on the culture, workers,
and all other variables in the situation. Even so, common
characteristics include a relationship between managerial style
and worker satisfaction, a connection between worker
recognition and stress levels, and an overall tendency for power
to cause feelings of being above the rules. These factors play
into the particular culture of any work environment.
Some
general
characteristics
have
to
do
with
human psychology and are, therefore, often quite common. For
example, people who feel invested in the workplace are less
likely to steal, and pride can lead employees to effectively police
one another. Strong bonds between employees and a

connection to the work being done can result in higher

productivity, but none of this can counteract negative relations
with management. Isolating where problematic relations are
occurring can help change the behavior of members of the
organization.
One of the most important parts of organizational behavior
studies looks at what factors affect productivity. Studies have
shown that, for example, employees who are allowed to choose
their own schedules and work flexible hours tend to be both
healthier and more productive. Likewise, workers who are
invested in the company on a personal level may also be more
productive. While people studying organizational behavior in the
workplace often seek to describe effects that exist currently, they
also sometimes conduct experiments to attempt to gain valuable
information that can help design better work environments for the
future.