Organizational Behavior

• OB is concerned specifically with the actions of people at work. Managers need to develop their interpersonal or people skills if they are going to be effective in their jobs. Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, and then applies that knowledge to make organizations work more effectively. Specifically, OB focuses on how to improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and turnover, and increase employee citizenship and job satisfaction. We all hold generalizations about the behavior of people. Some of our generalizations may provide valid insights into human behavior, but many are erroneous. Organizational behavior uses systematic study to improve predictions of behavior that would be made from intuition alone. Yet, because people are different, we need to look at OB in a contingency framework, using situation variables to moderate cause-effect relationships.
• OB addresses some issues that are not obvious, such as informal elements. It offers both challenges and
opportunities for managers. It recognizes differences and helps managers to see the value of workforce
diversity and practices that may need to change when managing in different situation and countries. It can
help improve quality and employee productivity by showing managers how to empower their people as well
as how to design and implement change programs. It offers specific insights to improve a manager’s people
skills. In times of rapid and ongoing change, faced by most managers today, OB can help managers cope in
a world of “temporariness” and learn ways to stimulate innovation. Finally, OB can offer managers guidance
in creating an ethically healthy work environment.



Focus of Organizational Behavior
OB looks at individual behavior, which includes personality, perception, learning, and motivation. It is also
concerned with group behaviors specifically in areas of norms roles, team building, conflicts and negotiation.