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10
Organizational
behaviour
Key ConCePts and terms
Behavioural science
Bounded rationality
Cognitive dissonance
Emotional intelligence
Equity theory
Expectancy theory
Extrinsic motivation
Goal theory
Intelligence
Intrinsic motivation
Lattice organization
Line and staff organization
Matrix organization
Motivation
Organic organization
Organization
Organizational behaviour
Organizational culture
Organizational effectiveness
Organizing
Personality
Psychological contract
Self-efficacy
Virtual organization
LearnIng outComes
On completing this chapter you should be able to define these key concepts. You should
also know about:
●
What is meant by organizational
behaviour
●
The sources and applications of
organizational behaviour theory
●
How organizations function
●
Organizational culture
●
Organizational
climate
●
Organizational processes
●
Characteristics of people
●
Implications for HR specialists
115
Part
2
People and Organizations
116
Introduction
An understanding of how organizations function
and how people behave in them is important to
HR professionals, indeed to all managers, as pointed
out by Nadler and Tushman (1980).
The sources and applications
of organizational behaviour
theory
Organizational behaviour theory is based on the main
behavioural science disciplines. These are defined as
the fields of enquiry dedicated to the study of human
behaviour through sophisticated and rigorous
methods. The ways in which they contribute to dif-
ferent aspects of organizational behaviour theory
and how they in turn influence HRM practices are
summarized in Figure 10.1.
The significance of organizational
behaviour theory – Nadler and
Tushman (1980: 30)
Managers perform their jobs within complex social
systems called organizations. In many senses, the
task of the manager is to influence behaviour in
a desired direction, usually towards the
accomplishment of a specific task or performance
goal. Given this definition of the managerial role,
skills in the diagnosis of patterns of organizational
behaviour become vital. Specifically, the manager
needs to understand the patterns of behaviour that
are observed, predict in what direction behaviour
will move (particularly in the light of managerial
action), and to use this knowledge to control
behaviour over the course of time.
Source review
Organizational behaviour
defined
Organizational behaviour was defined by Huczynski
and Buchanan (2007: 843) as the term used to
describe ‘the study of the structure, functioning, and
performance of organizations and the behaviour of
groups and individuals within them’. The following
are the characteristics of organizational behaviour
theory.
Characteristics of organizational
behaviour – Ivancevich et al (2008: 11)
●
It is a way of thinking – about individuals,
groups and organizations.
●
It is multidisciplinary – it uses principles,
models, theories and methods from other
disciplines.
●
There is a distinctly humanistic orientation –
people and their attitudes, perceptions, learning
capacities, feelings and goals are of major
importance.
●
It is performance-oriented – it deals with the
factors affecting performance and how it can
be improved.
●
The use of scientific method is important in
studying variables and relationships.
●
It is applications-oriented in the sense of being
concerned with providing useful answers to
questions that arise when managing
organizations.
Source review
Chapter
10
Organizational Behaviour
117
FIgure
10.1
The sources and applications of organizational behaviour theory
• job/work design
• selection processes
and tests
• learning and
development
programmes
• performance
management
• reward management
• attitude measurement
• individual differences
• personality
• attitudes
• perceptions
• self-concept
• attributions
• motivation
• engagement and
commitment
• learning
• leadership
Psychology
Application
Contribution to theory
Discipline
• organization
development
• organization design
• change management
• communication
systems
• group processes
• attitude change
• behavioural change
• communication
Social psychology
• organization
development
• organization design
• job design
• leadership
development
• employee relations
• group dynamics
• power
• politics
• conflict
• organization culture
• leadership
Sociology
How organizations function
An organization is an entity that exists to achieve
a purpose through the collective efforts of the people
who work in or for it. Organizing is the process
of making arrangements in the form of defined or
understood responsibilities and relationships to
enable those people to work cooperatively together.
Organizations can be described as systems that, as
affected by their environment, have a structure
that has both formal and informal elements.
Organization structures are frameworks for getting
things done. Traditional formal structures were based
on laid down hierarchies (lines of command) repre-
sented in organization charts, and use was made of
closely defined job descriptions. But to varying extents
organizations operate informally as well as formally
by means of a network of roles and relationships
