Disciplines that contribute to organisational behaviour

There are different disciplines that influence our study and understanding of behaviour in organisations.

• Psychology:

The use of this discipline examines the lives of employees at work in an attempt to measure, explain and sometimes change the behaviour of employees within the organisation.

• Sociology:

It is the study of society. While psychology focuses on the individual, It focuses on group behaviour in organisations,  organisational culture, communication, power, conflict, structures and how an order is maintained within these groups.

• Anthropology:

 It enables us to understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between people in different countries and within different organisations.

• Political Science:

it is the social science that deals with the study of behaviour of individuals and groups within a political environment.

• Social psychology:

it studies the relations between people and groups.

REFERENCE:

https://www.citeman.com/117-contributing-disciplines-to-the-ob-field.html

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB

OB offers a number of challenges and opportunities for managers.it can help in improving the quality and productivity of organizations:-

• by giving its employees opportunities to participate in planning and bringing about changes within the organization.

• OB through its vast study areas helps the manager to improve people skills by being a good listener and giving proper feedback.

• OB helps in improving customer service by pointing out at the work done by employees and their attitude and behavior towards the customer.

• it provides guidelines for understanding differences between national cultures which may result in a change in management practices.

REFERENCE:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/56797536/Challenges-and-Opportunities-for-Organizational-Behavior

Organizational Behavior Modification Theory

The Organizational behavior modification theory or the Reinforcement theory deals with changing behavior through rewards or punishments that are essentially contingent on performance. It is primarily based on the following two principles:

• Behavior that leads to a positive consequence (reward) tends to be repeated, while behavior that leads to a negative consequence (punishment) tends not to be repeated.

•  Managers can influence and change an employee’s behavior through properly scheduled rewards or punishment.

REFERENCE:

https://www.tuturself.com/posts/view?menuId=130&postId=1199

Limitation of organisational behavior

• OB helps an individual to understand human behavior only at the workplace or he/she may be a failure at the domestic front.

• OB has not contributed to improved interpersonal relations in an organization. Jealousies, backstabbing, harassments go side by side with rewards, lectures, discussions, smiles, etc

• OB is selfish and exploitive. With an emphasis on motivation, efficiency, productivity there exists a kind of competition among workers and they are not able to live in harmony.

• OB will not totally abolish conflict but it can only reduce it.

• OB has almost become a fad with managers. Abolishing of physical disparities has not abolished mental barriers.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

IMPORTANCE OF OB

• It builds better relationships by achieving people’s, organizational, and social objectives.

• It covers a wide array of human resources like behavior, training and development, change management, leadership, teams, etc.

• It brings coordination which is the essence of management.

• It improves the goodwill of the organization.

• It helps to achieve objectives quickly.

• It makes optimum utilization of resources.

• It facilitates motivation.

• It leads to higher efficiency.

• It improves relations in the organization.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

APPROACHES TO OB

There are 4 Approaches to Organizational Behavior studies:

• Human Resources Approach:

This approach recognizes that human resources in an organisation are the central force. Their development will contribute to the success of the organisation. Human resources approach provides for the changes in the managerial role. It requires that the managers, instead of controlling the employees, should provide active support to them by treating them as part of the group.

• Contingency Approach:

The approach stresses that there is no single way to manage effectively under all circumstances. The methods of behaviors that work effectively in one situation may fail in another. Therefore managers have to come up with different ideas and strategies in different situations.

• Productivity Approach:

Productivity which is the ratio of output to input is a measure of an organization’s effectiveness. It also reveals the manager’s efficiency in optimizing resource utilization.The higher the numerical value of this ratio, the greater the efficiency.

• System Approach:

The systems approach is of the view that an organisation is a powerful system with several subsystems that are highly and closely interconnected. Any action taken to solve the problems in one subsystem will have its effect on the other subsystems as well; since all the parts of the organisation are closely connected. Thus, this approach gives the managers a way of looking at the organisation as a whole.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATION IN RESISTANCE

It is always a good idea to encourage the participation of employees when managers plan for changes. Since changes are meant for the employees, they must have a say in the planning process. Such participation will make them less likely to resist the implementation of changes.
The management can organize small informal meetings or conferences with the employees for this. Managers should explain all the relevant details of the proposed changes. Employees must be encouraged to offer their opinions as well.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

How to overcome Resistance

Some points to overcome resistance are as follows:

• Discussion about the changes with workers/employees

• proper planning for change: change should not be forced at once.

• protection of the interest of employees

• Changes should be slow in parts: the management must create awareness of change and develop an ability to be introduced in parts.

• Sufficient prior training of employees can help them accept changes with confidence.
• The extra income desired from changes should not be taken away by the management only but should be shared with all the employees.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

Types of Resistance to Change

Resistance to change may be of the following three types:

• Logical resistance:

This kind of resistance basically arises from the time people genuinely take to adapt and adjust to changes. For example, when computers became common, accountants had to shift from accounting on paper to digital accounting. This naturally takes time to adapt to.

• Psychological resistance:

under this category, the resistance occurs in basic terms due to mental and psychological factors. people often resist changes for reasons like fear of the unknown, less tolerance to change, dislike towards the management, etc.

• Sociological resistance: 

This resistance relates not to individuals but rather to the common values and customs of groups. Individuals may be willing to change but will not due to peer pressure from the group they are members of.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

Reason for resistance of change

Resistance to change is common in all organizations. The following are some common reasons for this:

• People usually discover it handy to proceed to do something as they have usually been doing. Making them examine something new is difficult.

• Changes usually bring about changes in a person’s responsibilities, powers, and have an effect on them. as a result, the people to whom such changes will have an effect on negatively will always resist.

• Those who are adamant about keeping customs rather than taking risks and doing new things will usually resist changes. this can occur either due to their insecurities or lack of creativity and will.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Resistance to change is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that a change that is occurring as a threat to them.
Resistance to change is understood to be a natural phenomenon. but not all changes are resisted. in many organisations changes are accepted instead ob being resisted. people have a natural instinct to accept the change.
sources of resistance to change may be:

• Rational OR
• Emotional.

• Rational resistance occurs when people do not have proper information about the change.

• Emotional resistance is the feeling of resistance to change evoked due to the people's perception of how the change will affect them.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

Why Is Organizational Development Important to Businesses?

Organizational Development(OD) addresses and fixes a problem, thereby increasing a business's effectiveness. OD works to improve organizations in a more systematic way. The purpose of OD is to balance the strengths and weaknesses of a business, restructuring the employment of that business's resources (i.e. human capital) accordingly to use them most efficiently and productively. This means thorough assessment, planning, employee engagement and training where necessary and incremental measures to maintain employee performance.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III BOOK

PROFIT-SHARING PLANS

A profit-sharing plan gives employees a share in their company’s profits based on its quarterly or annual earnings.

It is up to the company to decide how much of its profits it wishes to share.

Contributions to a profit-sharing plan are made by the company only; employees cannot make them, too.

It places a sense of togetherness among the employees to work together towards a common goal of making the organization successful.
It enables an employee to focus more on the organizational goals than their personal goals

FRINGE BENEFITS

Fringe benefits are benefits in addition to an employee’s wages, like a company car, health insurance, or life insurance coverage. Any benefit you offer employees in exchange for their services (not including salary) is a fringe benefit.

Types Of Fringe Benefits are:

• Employee security:

It is a job security provides to the employee with a view to promoting security to the employee and his family.

• Retrenchment Compensation:

It is a type of compensation that an employee gets by his employer when he is fired from the job due to the reason other than a punishment.

• Safety And Health:

It includes providing physical security to employees to protect them against accidents, unhealthy working conditions and to protect worker's capacity.

REFERENCE:

BBA III SEM HRM & OB BOOK

EMPLOYEE SERVICES

A business’s employees are an integral part of its success. If the employees are talented and motivated, they can produce exceptional work that helps take the business to the top. On the other hand, if the employees are inexperienced and lack the initiative to succeed, it’s likely the business will suffer as a result.
Employee services are perks of the job beyond the usual package of benefits.
Some of the examples are:

• Health services:

Gym memberships or fitness class reimbursements help to create a culture of healthy living in the workplace.

• Food and drink:

It may seem like a small token, but complimentary food and drink items can be very attractive to new employees.

• Entertainment:

Employees need to let off steam while at work, so indoor entertainment such as ping-pong tables, foosball tables, and table tennis are a great addition to the business.

• Flexibility:

One of the most important perks is the ability to have flexible working hours. This enables employees to have more control over their schedules and their work-life balance.

REFERENCE:

BBA III SEM  HRM AND OB BOOK

EMERGING TRENDS IN OB

• Globalization:

Organisation in recent days has changed the style of working and tries to spread worldwide. Trapping new market place, new technology or reducing cost through specialization or cheap labor are few of the different reasons that motivate organizations to become global Moreover the way companies integrate their business practices with other countries has also changed. Instead of controlling the whole supply chain countries outsource some part of it to gain the advantage of specialization.

• Emerging Employment Relationship:

changing trends in organizations in recent years have made it utmost important to consider some of the emerging employee relations issues which can affect employers in the coming decade, understanding these issues will help management to plan better and respond to changes in the workplace.

• Changing Workforce:

As the demography of the workforce has been changed in recent years, employers need to adapt their recruitment, training, and management processes to adapt to changing workforce.

• Knowledge Management:

knowledge management is a structured activity that improves an organization's capacity to acquire, share and utilize knowledge for its survival and success.

REFERENCE:

BBA SEM III HRM AND OB BOOK

Kurt Lewin’s Three Step Change Model

Change is a common thread that runs through all businesses regardless of size, industry, and age. Our world is changing fast and organizations must change quickly, too. Organizations that handle change well thrive, whilst those that do not may struggle to survive. 

Kurt Lewin's change model includes:

• UNFREEZE:

This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves breaking down the existing business as usual before you can build up a new way of operating. This first part of the change process is usually the most difficult and stressful. When you start cutting down the way things are done, you put everyone and everything off balance.

• CHANGE:

After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage, the change stage is where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction.

• REFREEZE:

When the changes are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, the organization is ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization chart, consistent job descriptions, etc.

REFERENCE:

https://www.accipio.com/eleadership/mod/wiki/view.php?id=1873

Organizational Behavior - Models

Organizational behavior reflects the behavior of the people and management altogether, it is considered as field study, not just a discipline.

There are four different types of models in OB. We will throw some light on each of these four models.

• Autocratic Model:

The autocratic model is the model that depends upon strength, power and formal authority.

• Custodial Model:

The custodial model is based on the concept of providing economic security for employees through wages and other benefits that will create employee loyalty and motivation.

• Supportive Model:

Unlike the two earlier approaches, the supportive model is focused on aspiring leadership. It is not based upon control and authority or upon incentives but instead tries to motivate staff through the manager-employee relationship and how employees are treated on a day-to-day basis.

• Collegial Model:

The collegial model is based around teamwork everybody working as colleagues.

REFERENCE:

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/organizational_behavior/organizational_behavior_models.htm

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

Fred E. Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership effectiveness was based on studies of a wide range of group effectiveness and concentrated on the relationship between leadership and organizational performance.
The essence of Fiedler's theory is that a leader's effectiveness depends on a combination of two forces:

• the leader's leadership style
• situational favourableness.

Fiedler called this combination: Situational Contingency.

• Leadership Style:
• The first step in using the model is to determine your natural leadership style. To do this, Fiedler developed a scale called the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC).
• To score yourself on this scale you have to describe the coworker with whom you least prefer to work.
• the more favorably you rated the person you least prefer to work with the more relationship-oriented you are. The less favorably you rated the person you least like working with the more task-oriented you are

• Situational Favorableness:

The next step is to understand the favorableness of the situation you face. This is determined by how much control over the situation you have as a leader 

Determining situational favorableness is done by examining the following three factors:

•  Leader-Member Relations

This factor measures how much your team trusts you. Greater trust increases the favorableness of the situation and less trust reduces it.

• Task Structure

This factor measures the tasks that need to be performed. Vague tasks decrease the favorableness of the situation and concrete and clear tasks increase it.

• Position Power

This is determined by your authority, meaning the power you have to reward or punish your subordinates.

REFERENCE:

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fiedler.htm

PATH GOAL THEORY

The Path-Goal model is a theory based on specifying a leader’s style or behavior that best fits the employee and work environment in order to achieve a goal.
Path Goal's four styles:

• Directive: 

 Here the leader provides guidelines, lets subordinates know what is expected of them, sets performance standards for them, and controls behavior when performance standards are not met. He makes judicious use of rewards and disciplinary action.

• Supportive:

The leader is friendly towards subordinates and displays personal concern for their needs, welfare, and well-being. 

• Participative:

The leader believes in group decision-making and shares information with subordinates. He consults his subordinates on important decisions related to work, task goals, and paths to resolve goals.

• Achievement-oriented: 

The leader sets challenging goals and encourages employees to reach their peak performance. The leader believes that employees are responsible enough to accomplish challenging goals.

REFERENCE:

https://pathgoal.com/path-goal-theory/