Human behavior in orgzations - Essay Example

Organizational Behavior Human beings are the primary resource for organizations and their behavior has a direct impact at organizational environment,level of cooperation among employees, customer services, productivity and other business operations. Informally, organizational behavior (OB) can be defined as the interaction of individuals to achieve personal and organizational objectives. However, the most important aspect of organizational behavior is to look at it from managerial perspective.

Traditionally, managers were more concerned about increasing the productivity than juggling with interpersonal skills but for last two decades, this theory has changed upside down. It is, because organizational behavior has a direct influence on productivity that is the chief managerial concern. Defining organization behavior Robbins (p.11) states, “OB is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organization’s performance.” OB is a very vast concept that may include the study of simple disciplinary matters of employees, interactions, reactions, employment of power and skills, turnover, leadership, performance, communications, actions and perceptions etc.

hence there is no consensus on the definition of OB among researchers and scholars. Minor (2006, p. 40) observes, “Although it does seem that consensus is at a rather low level overall within organizational behavior, there are subfields and sectors where this is not the case.” However, Ostrof, Kinicki & Tamkins (cited in Kinicki, p.41) have presented a more comprehensive and objective definition of the concept, “Organizational culture is the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments.

”The increasing need to understand and react according to the demands of organizational behavior has exposed managers to tough challenges of interpersonal skills and expertise. Today, the effectiveness and success of a manager is heavily associated with his knowledge and commitment to the OB. Studies have shown that managers with better communication and networking skills are effective and successful. Managers need to administer human resource extensively and keeping in touch with lower level employees and higher-level managers simultaneously has become inevitably important to achieve managerial objectives for the organization.

Horizontal and vertical communication with individuals and groups can help to bridge gaps and evade misunderstandings that may cause rifts and grievances. Managers can no more follow a traditional hard liners approach in their dealings with employees and often need to explain reasons for their decision that may have an impact on employees’ interest. These negotiations can only be effective and fruitful if managers can evolve and maintain conducive organizational environment. (Duncan, 1982, P. 51)Motivation is an important managerial tool employed quite often in organizations to shape behaviors and win support.

Managers need to acquaint themselves with employees’ perspectives before they can offer appropriate incentives for motivation. Manages constitute a critical part of organizations and their behaviors are closely watched and monitored. Therefore, they need to be more cautious, balanced and watchful in the display of organizational behavior. Managers also need to take concrete steps for employees’ education on behavioral aspects and to ensure that self-esteem of every employee in the organization is protected.

ReferencesDuncan, P. K 1982, Current Topics in Organizational Behavior Management vol. 3, Routledge Publishers. USA. Kinicki 2008, Organizational Behavior 3rd eds, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, India.Minor, J. B 2006, Organizational Behavior 3: Historical Origins, Theoretical Foundations, and the Future,vol. 3, M.E. Sharpe, USA.Robbins 2009, Organizational Behavior 13th eds, Pearson Education, India.