Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Judgements on personality

Personality should not be judged or measured sim-

plistically in terms of stereotyped traits. People are 

complex and they change, and account has to be taken 

of this. The problem for HR specialists and managers 

in  general  is  that,  while  they  have  to  accept  and 

understand these differences and take full account 

of them, they have ultimately to proceed on the basis 

of fitting them to the requirements of the situation, 

which are essentially what the organization needs to 

achieve. There is always a limit to the extent to which 

an  organization  that  relies  on  collective  effort  to 

achieve its goals can adjust itself to the specific needs 

of individuals. But the organization has to appreciate 

that the pressures it places on people can result in 

stress and therefore can become counterproductive.

People perform their roles within complex systems 

called organizations. The study of organizational 

behaviour focuses on how this happens.

Organizational behaviour defined

Organizational behaviour was defined by  

Huczynski and Buchanan (2007) 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 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.

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.

Key learning points: Organizational behaviour

 

●

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) 

represented 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 that cut across formal 

organizational boundaries and lines of command.

Organizational culture

The culture of an organization has been described by 

Deal and Kennedy (2000: 4) as ‘the way we do things 

around here’. Organizational or corporate culture is 

the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and 

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