Human Behavior in

Organization
Introduction for Organizational
Behavior

Lesley Allen D. Kabigting

Mr. Getor Isip, CPA MBA

Organizational Behavior simply is a process of studying & understanding the behavior of
individuals in the organization. It is a part of the management process which aims at improving
the performance of organizations through understanding & controlling human behavior.

Disciplines that Contribute to the Organizational Behavior Filed

 6 Contributing Disciplines to the Organization Behavior Field are:
 Psychology
 Sociology
 Social Psychology
 Economics
 Anthropology
 Political Sciences

Psychology
is the science of behavior and mind.

Psychology has perhaps the first influence on the field of organizational behavior because it is a

science of behavior. A psychologist studies almost all aspects of behavior.

Psychology deals with studying human behavior that seeks to explain and sometimes change the
behavior of humans and other animals.

Understanding Psychological principles and its models help significantly in gaining the knowledge of
determinants of individual behavior such as:

 the learning process,

 motivation techniques,

 personality determinants and development,

 perceptual process and its implications,

 training process,

 leadership effectiveness,

 job satisfaction,

 individual decision making,

 performance appraisal,

 attitude measurement,

 employee selection,

 job design and work stress

Sociology

is a study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction and culture of everyday life.

The major focus of sociologists is on studying the social systems in which individuals fill their roles.

Most sociologists today identify the discipline by using one of the three statements:

 Sociology deals with human interaction arid this communication are the key influencing factor among
people in social settings.

 Sociology is a study of plural behavior. Two or more interacting individuals constitute a plurality
pattern of behavior
 Sociology is the systematic study of social systems:

A social system is an operational social unit that is structured to serve a purpose.

It consists of two or more persons of different status with various roles playing a part in a pattern that
is sustained by a physical and cultural base.

When analyzing organizing as a social system, the following elements exist:

 People or actors

 Acts or Behavior

 Ends or Goals

 Norms, rules, or regulation controlling conduct or behavior

 Beliefs held by people as actors

 Status and status relationships

 Authority or power to influence other actors

 Role expectations, role performances, and role relationships.

Social Psychology

is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual,
imagined or implied presence of others.

It has been defined as the scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of
individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied the presence of others.

It deals with how people are affected by other individuals who are physically present or who are
imagined to be present or even whose presence is implied.

Social psychologists making significant contributions to measuring, understanding and improving

attitudes, communication patterns in how groups can satisfy individual needs and group decision-
making processes.

Anthropology

the study of human societies and cultures and their development.

The main aim of anthropology is to acquire a better understanding of the relationship between the
human being and the environment.

Adaptations to surroundings constitute culture. The manner in which people view their
surroundings is a part of the culture.

Political Science

the branch of knowledge that deals with the state and systems of government; the scientific
analysis of political activity and behavior.

Political scientists study the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment.

In a business field, organizations wanted to attain supremacy in their field and indulge in
politicking activities to gain maximum advantages by following certain tasks like Machiavellianism,
coalition formation, malpractices, etc.

*Machiavellianism in psychology refers to a personality trait which sees a person so focused on

their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals.
Economics

is the social science that studies how individuals, organizations, and societies manage the scarce
resources under their control for the satisfaction of their needs and desires.

This transaction cost economics examines the extent to which the organization structure and size
of an organization varies in response to attempts to avoid market failures through minimizing
production and transaction costs within the constraints of human and environmental factors.

Challenges and Opportunities of Organizational Behavior

 Enhancing Quality and Productivity

Maintaining the quality of its products is a challenging task for every organisation. It is the driving
force through which companies are able to attract more & more customers & hold them for the
long term.

 Working with People in Different Cultures

Every organization has employees who differ from each other in terms of race, culture, religion,
gender, and ethnicity. Employing person with distinct cultures help organizations in getting fresh
& new talents and potentialities. Maintaining peace & cooperation among its different employees
is a challenging task for every organization.

 Improving the Skills of People

Skills of people need to improve & upgrade as per the requirements from time to time. In the
business area, there are always lots of changes which occur at a faster rate in terms of
technology, environment & structure.

 Empowering People

Empowerment of employees is another challenging task for every organization. Productivity of

employees generally gets reduced when kept under stringent rules & regulations as compared
when they are allotted some freedom.

 Stimulating Innovation and Change

Today every business needs to focus on innovative ideas in order to bring changes to beat the
tough competition in the market. Business should always focus to differentiate their product from
their competitor’s product. It will help them in getting more & more customers.

 Dealing with Globalization

Today globalization of business is something that is increasing worldwide at a great pace. Now
the operations of the business are not limited to one particular location or nation, but they
are performed internationally.

 Improving Ethical Behavior

Better ethical behavior in working culture is a must for an organization to increase its
productivity. It should always be ensured that employees behave positively & abide by all rules &
regulations of the organization. Healthy working environment for employees with minimal
ambiguity should be created.
  Improving customer service

Business is unsuccessful if it fails to treat its customer well & provide them with better service. If
businesses have many satisfied customers, it will help it in enjoying large profits in the long run.

Developing an Organizational Model

Is a basic structure that shows the relations between variables at different levels of organization

Organization analyze behavior of employees in (3) three basic levels known as OB model:

 Individual Level

 Complex level because employees have different psychology.

 Organization are purposeful association of individuals. E.g. motivation, perception,
personality, values and morals, emotions, level/amount of stress etc.

 Challenges at the Individual Level

 Individual Differences
 Job Satisfaction
 Motivation
 Empowerment
 Behaving Ethically

 Group Level

 Most individual work as group

 Trust of leadership and the trust on employees
 It determines the basic type and trust of leadership at group level.
 Quality of leadership related to quality of decision making.

 Group structure
 Communication
 Decisions
 Conflict
 Work Teams
 Organization politics
 Power

*The structure of group can lead to conflict and phenomena like power game
and politics. So, better the system’s policies better will be the running of an
organization.
  Challenges at the Group Level

 Working with others

 Workforce Diversity: differences among people by age, sex, gender, ethnicity,
physical abilities, disabilities

 Organization Level

 Level at which initial policies, rules, and regulation are formed

 Serves as a building block of an organization structure and culture which has direct
impact on human output which further has a different variable.

 Productivity
 Turnover
 Satisfaction
 Deviant workplace behavior

 Focus

 How people structure their working relationship as well as on how organization

interact with.
 External environment forces major variable for analysis are:
 Organization structure
 Culture
 Power and politics
 Change and development

 Challenges at Organization Level

 Productivity
 Defending Effective Employees
 Efficiency of employees
 Putting people first
 Global competition

Global, Asian, and Local Implications

 Global

 How emotions differ across cultures

 Managerial functions in international organizations
 Cultural differences in conflicts and negotiations
 Globalization and organizational structure
 Diversity in global groups

 Asian (Eastern)

 Traditional Chinese thinking and core values

 The influence of the Chinese ways of thinking and core values.
  Local (Philippine Setting)

 Value Diversity
 Cultural Influences
 Interpersonal Relations (Pakikisama)
 Palakasan system
 Dev’t of Extended Family Centeredness
 Cultural Adaptation
 Inhibiting Forces
 Cultural Distance
 COMPATIBLE ASSIGNMENT (kababayan mentality/compatibility)
 etc

Sources:

Quora
Harvard Business Review