Download - INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
1/24
Why are some colleagues more successful than others? Howcan we act as a team when we are working out of our homes and interacting primarily
through our laptop computers? How will I ever learn to handle the stress ofmeeting my sales quotas? Why doesnt my colleague cooperate with me when
I ask for assistance? Why does my manager ask me for suggestions, and then goahead without using my input? How is the new culture different from the old
one? And why is it constantly changing, anyway?
There are no perfect solutions to organizational problems
Everyone lives by selling something.Robert Louis Stevenson
WELCOME TO ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
2/24
INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
HOW WE CHOOSE WHAT WE DO, AND HOW WE APPROACH IT,
WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE SUM OF OUR DAYS ADDS TO
A FORMLESS BLUR OR TO SOMETHING RESEMBLING A WORK OF ART.
Success is a process not an event
INTRODUCTION
It is no secret that we spend a lions share of our time and energy on work. It is
like spending more time in work place than at home or vacations. In fact, themoment we are born, we start learning to work. For some, work is a means to
an end- a way to bring home a paycheck- but for most of us, work is where welook to find happiness and give meaning to life. We are recognized by what weare at work. All the roads of learning lead to work only. The happier peoplewithin their job the more satisfied they are said to be. This is a complexphenomenon because it is relate to various causal factors like personal, social,cultural, environmental and financial. So its natural that we would want tolearn as much as possible about how to make our work more satisfying.
Our work defines us. We are what we do. To do nothing is to be nothing.
Just as doing nothing negates our humanity, we are defined privately andsocially by our work.
Work, whether pleasant or painful, helps define individual identity. Strangersask, What do you do? We reply to casual or ideological queries by namingskills or places of employment. We relate occupation to race, ethnicity, gender,region, and religion in struggling to comprehend the essential reality of self or
community. Our daily tasks give lives coherence; by contrast, the lack of workdenies our basic humanity. Workers uncomfortable with abstract discourseassert, I am a workaholic or Hard works my middlename. Philosophersmay translate such vernacular lines into I work, thereforeI am. (Green, 1993)
Humans are social animals. No one who reads this notes lives entirely alone,remote from the influence of society and other people. We each seek outcontact with others, in the knowledge that this has the capacity to enrich ourlives in different ways. This contact usually appears to be natural anduncomplicated, but most of it is highly structured. It is regulated, coordinatedand managed. This is partly because much of our day-to-day activity involves
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
3/24
dealing with people who are acting as members of organizations. As well asthis, a great deal of our ownbehavior is determined by our place within an
organization. Today you may encounter a shop assistant, a bus driver, alecturer, a newsreader, a politician, and you may also act, and be treated by
others, as a student, a teammate or a fellow worker. Precisely because these
sorts of interactions are aspects of organizational behavior, they areat leastto some extentpurposeful, predictable and meaningful.
OB is an applied science(psychology).It Seeks to discover new ways ofincreasing effectiveness of peoples behavior in organisations.
Study of OB to understand human behavior, improve interpersonal
skills, manage people in more efficient manner
OB studies behavior of people at different levels
1. Individualindividual attitude, personality, motives
2. Interpersonalinteraction between employees
3. Groupimpact of formal & informal groups
4. Intergroupcoordinating efforts of different groups for smooth
attainment of objectives
5. Organizationalstructure, culture, impact on individuals & groups
6. Inter-organizationalimpact of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures,external environment on people
WHY STUDY ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR?
The main reason for studying organizational behaviour is that most of us work in
organizations, so we need to understand, predict, and influence the behaviours of
others in organizational settings.
The study of Organizational Behaviour (OB) is very interesting and challengingtoo. It is related to individuals, group of people working together in teams. Thestudy of organizational behaviour relates to the expected behaviour of anindividual in the organization. No two individuals are likely to behave in thesame manner in a particular work situation. It is the human factor that iscontributory to the productivity hence the study of human behaviour isimportant.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
4/24
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations have existed for as long as people have worked together. Archaeologists have
discovered massive temples dating back to 3500 BC that were constructed through the organized
actions of many people. The fact that these impressive monuments were built suggests not onlythat complex organizations existed, but that the people in them cooperated reasonably well.
Organizations are complex systems.human behavior in organizations issometimes unpredictable.The behavior of empolyees, and customers arisesfrom their deep-seated needs, lifetime experiences, and personal value systems.
An organization is a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or
more people that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a
common goal or set of goals. Based on this definition, manufacturing and
service firms are organizations and so are schools, hospitals, churches, military
units, retail stores, police departments, and local, state, and government
agencies.
Organizationsare groups of people who work interdependently toward somepurpose. Organizations are not buildings or other physical structures. Rather,
they consist of people who interact with each other to achieve a set of goals.Employees have structured patterns of interaction, meaning that they expecteach other to complete certain tasks in a coordinated wayin an organized
way. Organizations also have a collective sense of purpose, whether itsproducing oil or creating the fastest Internet search engine.
An organization is, of the people, by the people, and for the people as is in
description of democracy. Human beings occupy a central place in all sorts of
industrial/ organizational activities. Organizations effectively combine people
and science- humanity and technology. Organization is an immensely complex
sociotechnicalsystem that almost defies understanding. Human behavior in
organizations is sometimes unpredictable. Their behavior arises from their
deep-seated needs, lifetime experiences, and personal value systems. However,
human behavior in an organization can be partially understood by studying
and applying the frameworks of behavioral sciences, management, and other
disciplines. There are no perfect solutions to organizational problems. However,employees can increase their understanding and skills so that work
relationship can be substantially upgraded. The task is challenging, but the
results are worthwhile. Therefore, it is imperative that one should learn about
human behavior, explore how to improve interpersonal skills, and begin to
manage their relationships with others at work.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
5/24
Selected Elements of a Philosophy
We are committed to quality, cost-effectiveness, and technical
excellence.
People should treat each other with consideration, trust, and
respect.
Each person is valuable, is unique, and makes a contribution.
All employees should be unfailingly committed to excellent
performance.
Teamwork can, and should, produce far more that the sum of
individual efforts. Team members must be reliable and committedto the team.
Innovation is essential.
Open communications are important for attaining success.
Decision should be reached participatively.
Organizational behavior provides a useful set of tools five levels of analysis. For
example, it helps managers look at the behavior ofindividualswithin anorganization. It also aids their understanding of the complexities involved in
interpersonalrelations, when two people (two co-workers or a superiorsubordinate pair) interact. At the next level, organizationalbehavior is valuable for examining the dynamics of relationships within smallgroups, both formal teams and informal groups. When two or more groupsneed to coordinate their efforts, such as engineering and sales, managersbecome interested in the intergrouprelations that emerge. Finally,organizations can also be viewed, and managed, as whole systems
that have interorganizational relationships (e.g., mergers and joint ventures).
Goals
Most sciences have fourmajor thrusts, and these are also the goals oforganizational behavior.
The first objective is to describe, systematically, how people behave under avariety of conditions. Achieving this goal allows managers to communicateabout humanbehavior at work using a common language.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
6/24
A second goal is to understandwhy people behave as they do. Managerswould be highly frustrated if they could only talk about the behaviors of their
employees and not understand the reasons behind those actions. Therefore,inquisitive managers learn to probe for underlying explanations.
Predictingfuture employee behavior is the third goal of organizationalbehavior. Ideally, managers would have the capacity to predict which
employees might be dedicated and productive or which ones might be absent,tardy, or disruptive on a certain day (so that managers could take preventiveactions).
The final goal of organizational behavior is to control, at least partially, anddevelop some human activity at work. Since managers are held responsible for
performance outcomes, they are vitally interested in being able to make animpact on employee behavior, skill development, team effort, and productivity.
Managers need to be able to improve results through the actions they and theiremployees take, and organizational behavior can aid them in their pursuit ofthisgoal.
Together Everyone Achieves More With Organization, Recognition and
Knowledge.(Old acronym)
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
7/24
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
A COMPANYS MOST PRECIOUS ASSERT IS ITS PEOPLE
We were forming a group of people whod be working together and learningtogether, going through similar experiences and creating something
new together. I thought it was terrific.
(Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek Memories, 1994)
Definition
Organizational behavioris the systematic study and careful application ofknowledge about how peopleas individuals and as groupsact withinorganizations. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more
effectively. Organizational behavior is a scientific discipline in which a largenumber of research studies and conceptual developments are constantlyadding to its knowledge base. It is also an applied science, in that informationabout effective practices in one organization is being extended to many others.Organizational behavior provides a useful set of tools at many levels of
analysis. For example, it helps managers look at the behavior ofindividualswithin an organization. It also aids their understanding of the complexitiesinvolved in interpersonalrelations, when two people (two co-workers or asuperiorsubordinate pair) interact. At the next level, organizationalbehavior is valuable for examining the dynamics of relationships within small
groups, both formal teams and informal groups. When two or more groups
need to coordinate their efforts, such as engineering and sales, managersbecome interested in the intergrouprelations that emerge. Finally,organizations can also be viewed, and managed, as whole systemsthat haveinterorganizational relationships (e.g., mergers and joint ventures).
The organizations in which people work affect their thoughts, feelings, and
actions in the workplace and away from it. Likewise, peoples thoughts,feelings, and actions affect the organizations in which they work.
Organizational behavior is an area of inquiry concerned with both sorts ofinfluence: work organizations on people and people on work organizations.
Organizational behaviour (OB)is the study of what people think, feel, and do inand around organizations. OB scholars systematically study individual, team,
and structural characteristics that influence behaviour within organizations.
The study of organizational behavior is very interesting and challenging too. It
is related to individuals, groups of people working together in teams. The study
of OB relates to the expected behavior of an individual in the organization. No
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
8/24
two individuals are likely to behave in the same manner in a particular work
situation. It is the human factor that is contributory to the productivity hence
the study of human behavior is important
Organizations are complex social systems that sometimes perform remarkablywell and sometimes fail miserably. Organizational psychology is a subfieldwithin the larger domain of industrial/organizational psychology that seeks tofacilitate a greater understanding of social processes in organizations.Organizational psychologists also seek to use these insights to enhance theeffectiveness of organizationsa goal that is potentially beneficial to all.
Why do some people do well in organizational settings while others have
difficulty?
Does job satisfaction really make a sense?
Are you ready to assume more responsibility at work?
Why should you care about understanding other people?
Organizational behavior is not just for managers and employees. OB is for
those interact with other individuals and organizations as part of their work. In
fact, much of OB is relevant beyond the workplace. OB is relevant anywhere
that people come together and share experiences, work on goals, or meet to
solve problems.
Eg. Family members, voluntary organizations, students, parents et.,
The behavior of individuals acting as members of formal organizations has a
tremendous impact on many aspects of our lives. Everything- the food we eat,
the cars we drive, the houses we live in- depends on the coordinated effort of
individuals in organizational settings.
Organizational behavior is a field that utilizes scientific methodology to better
understand the behavior of individuals working in organizational settings. This
knowledge is also used, in a variety of ways, to help make organizations more
effective. Effective organizations are typically more productive; often provide
higherquality services to customers, and are usually more financially
successful than less effective organizations. For private organizations, financial
success often results in greater job security for employees. For government
organizations, success means higher quality services and cost savings to
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
9/24
taxpayers. Successful organizations provide employment oppertunities, which
helps to foster the economic well-being of society as a whole. Also, in many
instances, employees in successful organizations are more satisfied and
fulfilled in their work than employees in less successful organizations.
The areas on which OB focuses are individuals who will often be workingwithin groups, which themselves work within organizations, as well as all the
inter relationships between them.
APPROACHES TO STUDY OF OB
1. HUMAN RESOURCES APPROACH: considers people as most imp
resource, primary focus is on growth & developmt, making people
competent, creative & fulfilled, this approach is supportive & hence also
called Supportive Approach.
This approach aims at creating a work environmentthat provides employees
with opportunities to develop their abilities to maximum extent & thereby
resulting in Work Satisfaction & Greater Effectiveness
2. CONTINGENCY APPROACH:This approach recognizes that each orgn is
unique & so are its problems, hence diff methods of behavioral practices
need to be adopted for diff situations.
This approach stress that mgrs must carefully analyse each situation, identifyimp variables/ factors & select the method that is best suited for that situation
3. RESULTS ORIENTED APPROACH: Productivity is ratio of output to
input, it is greater if an orgn is able to increase its output & reduce
inputs, OB wants to improve productivity & effectiveness, but OB also
takes into account human, social & economic inputs.
E.g. by improving employee job satisfaction, OB creates positive human output,
employee developmt programs create better employee & better citizens which
are a valuable social output
A popular measure to attain triple objectives is Total Quality Management or
TQM, which aims at continuous improvement of all orgn processes.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
10/24
4. SYSTEMS APPROACH : All depts of an orgn are interconnected and
interdependent parts of a larger system, this approach emphasizes that
orgn is a system of many variables, each variable is affected by others,
there are many subsystems in a large system every subsystem requires
some input & produces some output, systems have the ability to produce
positive & negative results/ consequences, these consequences may be
intended or unintended, there are long term and short term effects of
these outcomes.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
Organizational behavior starts with a set of fundamental concepts revolvingaround the nature of people and nature of organizations.
The Nature of People: Six basic concepts exist in regard to people: individualdifferences, perception, a whole person, motivated behavior, desire forinvolvement, and the value of the person.
Individual Differences: People have much in common (they become excited byan achievement; they are grieved by the loss of a loved one), but each person inthe world is also individually unique. Think, for example, of a persons billionbrain cells and the billions of possible combinations of connections and bits ofexperience stored there. All people are different, and this diversity should berecognized and viewed as a valuable asset to organizations. Individual
differences require that a managers approach to employees be individual, notstatistical. This belief that each person is different from all others is typically
called the law of individual differences.
Perception: People look at the world and see things differently. Even when
presented with the same object, two people may view it in two different ways.Their view of their objective environment is filtered byperception, which is the
unique way in which each person sees, organizes, and interprets things. Peopleuse an organized framework that they have built out of a lifetime of experiencesand accumulated values. Having unique views is another way in which peopleact like human beings rather than rational machines.
Employees see their work worlds differently for a variety of reasons. They maydiffer in their personalities, needs, demographic factors, and past experiences,or they may find themselves in different physical settings, time periods, orsocial surroundings. Whatever the reasons, they tend to act on the basis of theirperceptions. Essentially, each person seems to be saying, I react not to anobjective world, but to a world judged in terms of my own beliefs, values, andexpectations. This way of reacting reflects the process ofselective perception,
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
11/24
in which people tend to pay attention to those features of their workenvironment that are consistent with or reinforce their own expectations.
Selective perceptions can not only cause misinterpretations of single events atwork but also lead to future rigidity in the search for new experiences.
Managers must learn to expect perceptual differences among their employees,
accept people as emotional beings, and manage them in individual ways.A Whole Person: Different human traits may be studied separately, but in thefinal analysis they are all part of one system making up a whole person. Skilldoes not exist apart from background or knowledge. Home life is not totallyseparable from work life, and emotional conditions are not separate fromphysical conditions. People function as total human beings.
For example, a supervisor wanted to hire a new telemarketer named AnikaWilkins. She was talented, experienced, and willing to work the second shift.However, when Anika was offered the job, she responded by saying that shewould need to start a half hour late on Wednesdays because her child care
service was not available until then. Also, since she had a minor handicap, herworkstation required a substantial adjustment in height. So her supervisor had
to consider her needs as a whole person, not just as a worker.
When management applies the principles of organizational behavior, it is tryingto develop a better employee, but it also wants to develop a betterpersoninterms of growth and fulfillment. Jobs shape people somewhat as they performthem, so management must care about the jobs effect on the whole person.Employees belong to many organizations other than their employer, and they
play many roles inside and outside the firm. If the whole person can beimproved, then benefits will extend beyond the firm into the larger society in
which each employee lives.
Motivated Behavior: From psychology, we learn that normal behavior hascertain causes.These may relate to a persons needs or the consequences thatresult from acts. In the case of needs, people are motivated not by what wethink they ought to have but by what theythemselves want. To an outsideobserver, a persons needs may be unrealistic, but they are still controlling.This fact leaves management with two basic ways to motivate people. Itcan show them how certain actions will increase their need fulfillment, or it canthreaten decreased need fulfillment if they follow an undesirable course ofaction. Clearly, a path toward increased need fulfillment is the better approach,
and this illustrates that motivation is essential to the operation oforganizations.
Desire for Involvement: Many employees today are actively seekingopportunities at work to become involved in relevant decisions, thereby
contributing their talents and ideas to the organizations success. They hungerfor the chance to share what they know and to learn from the experience.Consequently, organizations need to provide opportunities for meaningful
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
12/24
involvement. This can be achieved through employee empowermenta practicethat will result in mutual benefit for both parties.
Value of the Person: People deserve to be treated differently from other factors
of production (land, capital, technology) because they are of a higher order in
the universe. Because of this distinction, they want to be treated with caring,respect, and dignityand they increasingly demand such treatment from theiremployers. They refuse to accept the old idea that they are simply economictools or a pair of hands. They want to be valued for their skills and abilities,be provided with opportunities to develop themselves, and be given reasonablechances to make meaningful contributionsnow.
The Nature of Organizations:The three key concepts of organizations are thatthey are social systems, they are formed on the basis of mutual interest, andthey must treat employees ethically.
Social Systems: From sociology, we learn that organizations are social systems;consequently, activities therein are governed by social laws as well aspsychological laws. Just as people have psychological needs, they also havesocial roles and status. Their behavior is influenced by their group as well as
by their individual drives. In fact, two types of social systems exist side by sidein organizations. One is the formal (official) social system, and the other is theinformal social system.
The existence of a social system implies that the organizational environment isone of dynamic change rather than a static set of relations as pictured on anorganization chart. All parts of the system are interdependent, and each part is
subject to influence by any other part. Everything is related to everything else.
Mutual Interest: Organizations need people, and people need organizations.Organizations have a human purpose. They are formed and maintained on thebasis of some mutuality of interestamong their participants. Managers needemployees to help them reach organizational objectives; people needorganizations to help them reach individual objectives.6 If mutuality is lacking,trying to assemble a group and develop cooperation makes no sense, becausethere is no common base on which to build.Mutual interest provides a superordinate goalone that can be attained only through the integrated efforts of
individuals and their employers.
Ethics: In order to attract and retain valuable employees in an era in which
good workers are constantly recruited away, organizations must treatemployees in an ethical fashion. More and more firms are recognizing this need
and are responding with a variety of programs to ensure a higher standard ofethical performance by managers and employees alike. Companies haveestablished codes of ethics, publicized statements of ethical values,
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
13/24
provided ethics training, rewarded employees for notable ethical behavior,publicized positive role models, and set up internal procedures to handle
misconduct. They have begun to recognize that since organizational behavioralways involves people, ethical philosophy is involved in one way or another in
each action they take.
When the organizations goals and actions are ethical, it is more likely thatindividual, organizational, and social objectives will be met. People find moresatisfaction in work when there is cooperation and teamwork. They arelearning, growing, and contributing. The organization is also more successfulbecause it operates more effectively. Quality is better, service is improved, andcosts are reduced. Perhaps the greatest beneficiary is society itself, because ithas better products and services, more capable citizens, and an overall climateof cooperation and progress. This creates a three-party winwinwin result inwhich there need not be any losers.
Some of the specific themes of OB are;
1. Personality theories 2. Attitudes and values 3. Motivation and learning 4.
Interpersonal behavior 5. Group dynamics 6. Leadership and team work 7.
Organizational structure and design 8. Descision-making 9. Power 10.
Conflict 11. And Negotiation.
OB is a field of study that endeavors to understand, explain, predict, and
change human behavior as it occurs in the organizational context. Underlying
this definition are three important considerations.
1. OB focuses on observable behaviors, such as talking in a meeting,
running production equipment, or writing a report. It also deals with the
internal states, such as thinking, percieving, and deciding, that
accompany visible actions.
2. OB involves the analysis of how people behave both as individuals and
as members of groups and organizations.
3. OB also assess behaviour of groups and organizations.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
14/24
FOUR KEY FORCES 0F OB
A complex set of forces affects the nature of organizations today. A wide arrayof issues and trends in these forces can be classified into four areaspeople,
structure, technology, and the environment in which the organization
operates.
People make up the internal social system of the organization. That system
consists of individuals and groups, and large groups as well as small ones.There are unofficial, informal groups and more official, formal ones. Groups aredynamic. They form, change, and disband. People are the living, thinking,feeling beings who work in the organization to achieve their objectives. Wemust remember that organizations should exist to serve people,
rather than people existing to serve organizations.
In particular, the workforce has become a rich melting pot ofdiversity, which
means that employees bring a wide array of educational backgrounds, talents,and perspectives to their jobs.
Structure defines the formal relationship and use of people in organizations.To accomplish all of an organizations activities, different jobs are required,such as managers and employees, accountants and assemblers. These peoplemust be related in some structural way so their work can be effectivelycoordinated. These relationships create complex problems of cooperation,negotiation, and decision making.
Technology provides the resources with which people work and affects the
tasks they perform. The great benefit of technology is that it allows people to domore and better work, but it also restricts people in various ways. It has costsas well as benefits. Technological advancements, in its own way, places
increased pressure on OB to maintain the delicate balance between technicaland social systems.
Environments can be internal or external, and all organizations operatewithin them. Any organization is part of a larger system that contains many
elements, such as government, the family, and other organizations. Numerouschanges in the environment create demands on organizations. The externalenvironment influences the attitudes of people, affects working conditions, and
provides competition for resources and power. It must be considered in thestudy of human behavior in organizations.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
15/24
SUBFIELDS OF OB
OB has grown into three distinct subfields.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
16/24
1. Micro organizational behavior 2. Meso OB 3. Macro OB.
MICRO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR : Micro OB is concerned mainly with the
behaviors ofindividuals working alone. Three subfields of psychology were
principle contributors to the beginnings of Micro OB.
1. Experimental Psychology provides theories of learning, motivation,
perception and stress.
2. Clinical Psychology furnishes models of personality and human
development.
3. Industrial or Organizational Psychology offers theories of employee
selection, work place attitudes, and performance assessment.
Micro OB has distinctly psychological orientation. The questions asked are:
1. How do differences in ability affect employee productivity
2. What motivates employees to perform their job
3. How do employees develop perceptions of their workplace, and how do
these perceptions in turn influence their behavior.
MESO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: Meso OB focuses primarily on
understanding the behaviors of people working together in teams and groups.
This field has grown from the fields of communication, social psychology, and
interactionist sociology, which provided theories on such topics as
socialization, leaderaship, and group dynamics.
The questions asked are:
1. What forms of socialization encourage co-workers to cooperate
2. What mix of skills among team members increase team persormance.
MACRO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: Macro OB focuses on understanding
the behavior ofentire organization. This subfield can be traced to four
disciplines.
1. Sociology: Provided theories of power, conflict, social status, and
institutional relations.2. Political Science: Offered theories of power, conflict, bargaing and
control.
3. Anthropology: Contributed theories of symbolism, cultural analysis
etc.
4. Economics: Furnished theories of competition and efficiency.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
17/24
The questions asked are:
1. How are power acquired and retained
2. How can conflicts be resolved
3. What mechanisms can be used to coordinate work activities?
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: CHALLENGES
1. Challenges at the individual level
At the individual level employees need to learn how to work with people who
may be different from themselves in a variety of dimensions, including
personality, perception, values and attitudes. Individuals also have different
levels of job satisfaction and motivation.
a. Imdividual differences b. Job satisfaction c. Motivationd. Empowerment e. behaving ethically.
a. Individual differences : People enter groups and organizations with certain
chareteristics that influence their behavior, the more obvious of these being
personality charecteristics, peception,values and attitudes. There is little that
those in the organization can do to alter them. Yet, they have a real impact on
behavior.
b.Job satisfaction : Employees are increasingly demanding satisfying jobs- the
belief that satisfied employees ate more productive than dissatisfied employees
has been a basic assumption.
c. Motivation: Rewards motivate the employees.
d. Empowerment : Empowerment to share the decision making is being
pushed down to the operating level, where employees are being given the
freedom to make choices about schedules, procedures, and solving work-
related problems. Empowerment means putting employees incharge of what
they do.
e. Behaving ethically: Ethics starts at the individual level. While the word
refers to moral conduct, ethics is also the study of moral values or principles
that guide our behavior and inform us whether actions are right or wrong.
Ethics helps us to do the right thing.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
18/24
2. Challenges at the group level
The behavior of people in groups is more than the sum total of all the
individuals acting in their own way. Peoples behavior when they are in a group
differs from their behavior when they are alone.
a. Working with others b. Workforce diversity
a. Working with others: Much of the success in any job involves developing
good interpersonal or people skills. Thinking, learning, and working
with others are the few skills that form the foundation for a high-quality
workforce. The technical skills are not enough to succeed; one must have
good people skills (interpersonal skills).b. Workforce diversity: Organizations are becoming more diverse, employing
a greater variety of people in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, and age. Ex. Men, Women, Aboriginal people, Asian, African
American, Indo American, Sr.citizens etc., The ability to adapt to many
different people is one of the most important and broad-based challenges
facing organizations.
It is understood that employees dont set aside their cultural values and
life style preferences when they come to work. Organizations therefore tryto accommodate diverse groups of by addressing their different life styles,
family needs, and work styles. We need to keep in mind that what
motivates one person may not motivate another. To work effectively with
different people, we need to understand how culture shapes them, and
learn to adapt our interaction style. If this diverse is managed positively,
can increase creativity and innovation in organizations as well as
improve decision making by providing different perspectives on problems.
If not managed properly, there is potential for miscommunication, and
more interpersonal conflicts.
The interpersonal skills are:
1.Taking initiative 2. Goal setting 3. Delegating effectively 4. Personal
productivity and motivation 5. Motivating others 6. Time and stress
management 7. Planning 8. Organizing 9. Receiving and organizing
information 10 Controlling 11. Evaluating routine information 12.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
19/24
Response to routine information 13. Understanding yourself and
others. 14. Interpersonal communication 15. Developing subordinates
16. Participative decision making 17. Conflict management. 18.
Creative thinking 19. Negotiating and selling ideas. Etc.,
HOW INDUSTRIAL OR ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IS USED
In the process of diagnosing an organizations problems, recommending or
implementing changes, and evaluating the consequences of those changes,
contemporary industrial psychologists address..
1. Personnel Psychology 2. Training 3. Motivation and leadership 4
Engineering Psychology
Personnel Psychology: This is concerned with individual differences and
therefore deal with all aspects of scrutiny and selecting personnel. This
attempts to identify the best candidates for an available position using methods
that have been shown to be accurate in the past. The thrust of Personnel
Psychology is to study a job and the traits of individuals who hold the job, and
then use the information to predict what kinds of individuals would do well in
the future. Personnel Psychology is based on the psychology of individualdifferences ( i.e. that people vary in their interests, skills, and abilities ). Since
various jobs require different combinations of these human qualities, matching
the person to the job involves assesing human charecteristics and job
charecteristics alike in a objective manner in order to achieve a satisfactory
person-job fit.
Training: Training is applying the principles of human learning to teaching
employees skills, techniques, strategies, and ideas for improving their
performance.
Motivation and leadership: This deals with incumbent employees and seeks to
create an environment that provides employees with a clear view of what they
are supposed to accomplish and promotes the creation of conditions conducive
to encouraging people to give their best.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
20/24
Engineering Psychology: The engineering psychologist addresses the human
problems of organization through the design of machinery and tools that take
human limitations specifically into account.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
21/24
Contributing disciplines to the Organizational psychology
Psychology that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimeschange the
behavior of humans and other animals.
SociologyThe study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Social Psychology
An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology
and that focuses on the influence of people on one another
AnthropologyThe study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Political ScienceThe study of the behavior of individuals and groups within a politicalenvironment.
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
22/24
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
23/24
-
7/31/2019 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
24/24
Therefore subject of OrganisationalBehaviour deals with that part of life
which we spend in working which isalso called On the joblife.
Our off the job life is interrelatedand interdependent on on the job life
and vice versa.
THE ABOVE MATERIAL IS PREPARED FOR STUDENTS OF
ORGANITIONAL BEHAVIOUR IN ANDHRA UNIVERSITIES.