Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the systematic study of the actions and attitudes of individuals and groups within an organization, and of the effect of the organization's structure and environment on them, in order to improve organizational effectiveness. As Stephen Robbins puts it, it is the study of what people do in an organization and how that behavior affects the organization's performance.

Two basic assumptions of Organizational Behavior:

1. People are individually different: every person differs in ability, personality and needs, so they must be treated differently.
2. Whole person and motivated behavior: people bring their whole self to work, and their behavior is caused by motivation, so managers can influence it. (Other assumptions include human dignity and organization as a social system.)

Belief is the acceptance that something is true or exists, based on knowledge, experience or faith, and may or may not rest on proof (for example, "hard work leads to success"). Attitude is a learned tendency to respond favourably or unfavourably to a person, object or situation (for example, liking one's job). Belief forms the cognitive base on which attitudes are built; an attitude includes feeling and the intention to act.

Factors affecting sensation:

• Intensity of the stimulus (loud sound, bright light)
• Size and contrast
• Duration and repetition
• Movement of the stimulus
• Sensory threshold and sensitivity of the sense organs (absolute and differential thresholds)
• Adaptation and the individual's physical condition

Perception is the process by which individuals select, organise and interpret sensory information to give meaning to their environment. Different people can perceive the same situation differently, and their behavior depends on their perception rather than on reality itself.

Two major principles of learning:

1. Readiness and motivation: Learning is most effective when the learner is mentally prepared and has a clear need or goal. A motivated learner pays attention and learns faster.
2. Reinforcement and practice: Behaviour that is rewarded (reinforced) and repeated is more likely to be retained, while behaviour that is not reinforced tends to fade.

The major determinants of personality are:

• Heredity: Genetic factors such as physical appearance, temperament and energy level.
• Environment: Culture, family, social class and upbringing, peer groups and early conditioning.
• Situation: The specific circumstances that call out different aspects of a person's personality at different times.

Some writers also add biological factors (brain, physique) and the person's own experiences.

Cognitive dissonance, a concept from Leon Festinger, is the mental discomfort a person feels when two or more of their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours conflict with each other. People are motivated to reduce this discomfort by changing the attitude, changing the behaviour, or rationalising the inconsistency. For example, an employee who believes in honesty but is asked to hide facts from customers experiences dissonance.

(a) Theory X and Theory Y were propounded by Douglas McGregor.

(b) Equity theory was propounded by J. Stacy Adams.

Concept of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the systematic study of the actions and attitudes of individuals and groups within an organization, and of the effect of the organization's structure on them. Its aim is to understand, predict and control human behaviour at work so that individual, group and organizational effectiveness improve. It draws on psychology, sociology, anthropology and political science.

Why managers should study it

1. Understanding people: It helps managers understand why employees behave as they do, including their perceptions, attitudes, personality and motives.
2. Predicting and directing behaviour: Managers can anticipate reactions to changes and decisions and guide behaviour toward goals.
3. Motivation and productivity: Knowing what motivates people lets managers design rewards and jobs that raise performance and satisfaction.
4. Better leadership and communication: OB gives insight into leadership styles and communication barriers.
5. Managing groups and conflict: It helps in building teams, handling conflict and improving coordination.
6. Managing change and diversity: It helps managers introduce change with less resistance and work with a diverse workforce.
7. Better human relations: It improves relations, morale and the quality of work life, and reduces absenteeism and turnover.

Since managers get work done through people, OB is essential for managerial success.

Meaning of Learning

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience, practice or training. Its main features are:

• It involves a change in behaviour, knowledge or skills.
• The change is relatively permanent, not temporary.
• It results from experience, study or practice, not from instinct or maturation.
• It is a continuous process.

Importance of Learning

1. Skill and knowledge development: Employees acquire the skills needed to perform their jobs well.
2. Higher productivity: Trained employees work more efficiently and make fewer errors.
3. Adaptation to change: Learning helps people adjust to new technology, methods and environments.
4. Behaviour modification: Attitudes and habits can be shaped through reward and feedback, supporting discipline and good conduct.
5. Job satisfaction and confidence: Competent employees feel more confident and satisfied, which reduces turnover.
6. Career growth: It prepares employees for promotion and future responsibilities.
7. Competitive advantage: A learning organization innovates and improves continuously.
8. Reduced supervision and accidents: Well-trained staff need less supervision and work more safely.

Importance of Motivation

Motivation is the process that arouses, directs and sustains behaviour toward goals. Its importance is as follows.

1. Improves performance and productivity: Motivated employees put in more effort and work efficiently.
2. Turns ability into results: Skills and resources produce output only when people are willing to use them.
3. Reduces absenteeism and turnover: Satisfied, motivated staff stay with the organization.
4. Better employee relations and morale: It builds commitment and loyalty and reduces conflict.
5. Helps achieve organizational goals: Individual goals are aligned with organizational goals.
6. Supports change and innovation: Motivated people accept change and offer new ideas.
7. Improves the organization's image: It helps attract and retain talented people.

Linking motivation and performance

Performance is commonly expressed as a function of ability and motivation:

$\text{Performance} = f(\text{Ability} \times \text{Motivation})$

• Where motivation is zero, performance is poor however skilled the person is.
• According to Vroom's expectancy theory, motivation depends on expectancy (effort leads to performance), instrumentality (performance leads to reward) and valence (the value of the reward). If employees believe that effort will bring good performance and that this will bring a valued reward, they work harder.
• Rewards and recognition, fair pay, challenging jobs, goal setting and feedback raise effort. Higher performance followed by fair rewards in turn raises satisfaction and further motivation, forming a continuing cycle.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is the positive feeling or favourable attitude a person has toward his or her job, resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. It reflects how far the job meets the employee's needs and expectations.

Factors affecting job satisfaction

1. Pay and benefits: Fair, competitive pay, bonuses and fringe benefits.
2. The work itself: Interesting, varied and challenging work with autonomy and the right amount of responsibility.
3. Promotion opportunities: Fair chances for growth and career advancement.
4. Supervision: A supportive, fair and considerate supervisor who gives recognition and feedback.
5. Co-workers and work group: Friendly, co-operative colleagues and good team relations.
6. Working conditions: A safe, clean, comfortable physical environment and reasonable hours.
7. Job security: Stable employment and freedom from the fear of dismissal.
8. Organizational policies and culture: Fair rules, participation in decisions and good communication.
9. Personal factors: Age, education, personality, and the fit between a person's values and the job.
10. Work-life balance: The ability to balance job demands with family and personal life.

Classical approaches to leadership (trait, behavioural and contingency) have been followed by newer, emerging approaches.

1. Transformational leadership: The leader inspires followers to go beyond self-interest for the group's vision. It rests on idealised influence (charisma), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration.
2. Transactional leadership: The leader works through exchange, giving rewards for performance and corrective action for failure, and so keeps routine work on track.
3. Charismatic leadership: Followers identify with and are attracted by the leader's personality, vision and self-confidence.
4. Visionary leadership: The leader creates and communicates a credible, attractive vision of the future and gets people to commit to it.
5. Servant leadership: The leader puts followers' needs first, serving, developing and empowering them.
6. Authentic leadership: The leader is self-aware, transparent and ethical, which builds trust.
7. Team and shared leadership: Leadership is spread among team members and the leader acts as a coach and facilitator.
8. Emotional-intelligence-based leadership: The leader uses self-awareness, empathy and social skills to guide and motivate people.

These approaches stress vision, values, empowerment and change.

Meaning

Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are opposed or negatively affected by another party. Organizational conflict arises from differences in goals, ideas, values or interests.

Major sources of conflict

1. Differences in goals: Departments pursue incompatible objectives, such as sales versus production.
2. Scarce resources: Competition for budget, staff, equipment and space.
3. Interdependence of tasks: One group's work depends on another's delay or quality.
4. Communication problems: Misunderstanding, poor information flow and ambiguity.
5. Differences in perception, values and personality: Clashes in attitudes, styles and backgrounds.
6. Unclear authority and responsibility: Overlapping roles and jurisdictional disputes.
7. Organizational change and reward systems: Unfair rewards, favouritism and resistance to change.

Managing conflict

1. Avoiding: Ignoring or postponing minor issues.
2. Accommodating (smoothing): Giving way to preserve harmony.
3. Competing (forcing): Using authority to impose a decision, suitable in emergencies.
4. Compromising: Each side gives up something, with a middle-ground solution.
5. Collaborating (problem solving): Both sides work together on a win-win solution, which is usually the best.

Other measures include setting superordinate goals, clarifying roles, improving communication, using a third-party mediator or arbitrator, restructuring jobs, allocating resources fairly and holding confrontation meetings.

(a) Symptoms of overload and Mrs. Reema's case

Common symptoms of overload (stress from overwork) are:

• Physical: constant tiredness, headaches, sleep problems.
• Emotional: irritability, anxiety, loss of interest, aloofness.
• Behavioural: lateness, absenteeism, missed deadlines, poor concentration, declining performance, withdrawal from others.

Mrs. Reema does appear to be suffering from overload. She is "tired most of the time", has become aloof, impolite and unamicable, is late to work, missed an important meeting, failed to prepare the requested material, and ignores memos. She was recently promoted into a challenging managerial role and takes the job very seriously, as the psychiatrist notes. These match the symptoms above, and the change began only about a month ago, after five months in the new role. The case does not, however, rule out other causes.

(b) Marital problems

It is possible but not certain. She has been married for over 20 years and has no children, and her sudden change, withdrawal and tiredness could reflect problems at home such as loneliness or tension. But the case gives no evidence of marital trouble. Her earlier behaviour was cheerful and committed, and the change has coincided with her heavier workload. Mr. Sharma's suggestion that the home situation be checked is reasonable, but it should be treated as a hypothesis to be tested, not a conclusion.

(c) Work affecting family life, and in turn work

This is quite plausible. A manager who is overworked and takes work home mentally may give her spouse little time or energy. This can strain the marriage, and the resulting domestic stress then returns to the workplace as fatigue, poor concentration and irritability. Work-family spillover works in both directions, producing a vicious circle: work stress hurts home life, and home stress hurts work. Her having no children means fewer outside demands but also fewer outlets, so her job may have become the centre of her life. Counselling would be needed to confirm this.

(d) Steps as a close friend

1. Choose a private, relaxed time and place and approach her with warmth, not accusation.
2. Express care and concern, citing specific changes I have noticed, without judging.
3. Listen actively and with empathy, letting her speak freely without interrupting or giving unwanted advice.
4. Ask open-ended questions about her workload, health, sleep and home life, and let her decide how much to share.
5. Maintain confidentiality and not discuss her problems with others.
6. Help her identify the causes of stress, whether work, home or health, by reflecting back what she says.
7. Suggest practical remedies: delegating tasks, setting priorities, taking leave or a break, relaxation, exercise and better work-life balance.
8. Encourage professional help from a counsellor or psychiatrist, and offer to go with her if she wishes.
9. Follow up with continued support and check on progress.

A delicate matter like this needs patience, tact and trust, and no pressure to share.