Organisational Behaviour

Organisational Behaviour

Module 1

OB – The study of the behaviour & attitudes of people in organisations.
There are three units of analysis:
                      1. Individual (micro approach)
                      2. Group (micro approach)
                      3. Organisation (macro approach)

Management vs. OB

Traditional field of management is defined as: Process of planning, organising, leading, and controlling the human, material, and financial resources of an organisation.
More recent view focuses on the roles of coaching, integrating, advocating, tracking forms of unit performance, allocating resources against more autonomous employees/self directed teams.
OB is an applied discipline, which attempts to explain behaviour in organisations in terms of valid theories.
The field of OB contributes knowledge in critical areas important to any manager.

      OB is concerned with describing organisational phenomena while management is a professional discipline, which stresses applied skills.

Role of management in describing organisational problem solving:

Three basic components of a managers job:
          1. Technical – Efficient use of resources to achieve organisational goals and application of technologies to achieve productivity goals.
          2. Conceptual – Development of new systems and methods of operation.
          3. Human – Concerned with employee welfare.

      7 basic features of a managers job:
          1. Managing individual performance.
          2. Instructing subordinates (supervising)
          3. Representing staff (teaching and training)
          4. Managing group performance (facilitation)
          5. Planning and allocating resources (decision-making)
          6. Co-ordinating inter-dependant groups (collaboration)
          7. Monitoring the business environment (scanning)
      The perceived importance and time spent on each task varies substantially depending on the manager’s... [continues]

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