Chapter 1: Overview of Organizational Behavior [OB]

1. What is Organizational Behavior?

1.In words of K Aswathappa, OB is the study of human behavior in organizational

setting, of the interface between human behavior and organization and of the
organization itself.
2.In words of Stephen P. Robbins, OB is a field of study that investigates the impact
that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within organizations for
the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s
effectiveness.
3.According to L. M. Prasad, OB can be defined as
the study and application of knowledge about human behavior related to other
elements of an organization such as structure, technology and social systems.
4.According to Davis and Newstram, OB is the study and application of
knowledge about how people act within organizations.
5.In words of John Newstram and Keith Devis, OB is the study and application of
knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within
organizations. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively.
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• OB knowledge can be categorized in at least three ways such as:

• individuals in organizations (micro-level),

• work groups (meso-level), and

• how organizations behave (macro-level)

• 2. Multidisciplinary Nature of OB

• From the viewpoint of areas of specializations

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Engineering
• Management
• Anthropology
• philosophy
• economics
• Political Science
• Others
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• Notes
• All the above disciplines, paradigms, philosophies, models and principles
affect individuals’ teams’ and organizations behavior in the given institutions.
• They shape and reshape their personality, attitude and perception
• This is why some people are :

• Conscientiousness
• impulsive, disorganized vs. disciplined, careful
• Agreeableness
• suspicious, uncooperative vs. trusting, helpful
• Neuroticism
• calm, confident vs. anxious, pessimistic
• Openness to Experience
• prefers routine, practical vs. imaginative, spontaneous
• Extraversion
• reserved, thoughtful vs. sociable, fun-loving
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4
3. Evolutionary Routs of OB
• The evolution of OB as a discipline in is associated with the
development of science
• In the 15thcentury sir Francis Bacon advocate the very idea of
Organon.
• In 1776, Adam Smith advocated a new form of
organizational structure based on the division of labor.
• One hundred years later (1876) , German Sociologist Max
Weber introduced the concept about rational organizations and
initiated the concept of charismatic leadership.
• Though the origin to the study of Organizational Behavior can
• Thus, Fredrick Winslow Taylor introduced the systematic use of
goal setting and rewards to motivate employees that could be
considered as the starting of the academic discipline of
Organizational Behavior.
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• Taylor started scientific management in his time-and-motion studies
at the Midvale Steel Company in the early 1900's.
• As an industrial engineer, he was concerned within efficiencies in
manual labor jobs and believed that by scientifically studying the
specific motions that made up the total job, a more rational,
objective and effective method of performing the job could be
determined.
• In his early years as a foreman in the steel industry, he saw
different workers doing the same job in different ways.
• It was his opinion that each man could not be doing his job in the
optimal way, and he set out to find the one best way to perform the
job efficiently.
• His argument proved to be correct and in some instances Taylorism
resulted in productivity increases of 400 percent.
• In almost all cases, his methods improved productivity over existing
levels.
• Taylor advocated that people are primarily motivated by economic
rewards and well take direction if offered the opportunity to better
their economic positions.
• His theory stated that, physical work could be scientifically studied
to determine the optimal method of performing a job.
• workers would be willing to adhere to these prescriptions if paid on
differential piece work basis.
• Workers with appropriate abilities had to be selected and trained in
the appropriate task method.
• Supervisors needed to build cooperation among the workers to
ensure that they followed the designated method of work.
• There needed to be a clear division of work responsibilities.
• Previously, the workers planned how to approach a task, and then
they executed it.
Generally, Taylor‘identified four principles of scientific management
are summarized here:

• Scientifically study each part of a task and develop the best

method for performing the task.
• Carefully select workers and train them to perform the task by
using the scientifically developed method.
• Cooperate fully with workers to ensure that they use the proper
method.
• Divide work and responsibility so that management is
responsible for planning work methods using scientific
principles and workers are responsible for executing the work
accordingly.
• Other major advocates of scientific management were the husband and
wife team of Frank Gilbreth (1868 - 1924) and Lillian Moller Gilberth
(1878 - 1972).
• Frank & Lillian Moller [husband and wife she completed her
doctorate in psychology] continued their studies aimed at eliminating
unnecessary motions and expanded their interests to exploring
ways of reducing task fatigue.
• Part of their work involved the isolation of 17 basic motions, each
called atherblig ("Gilbreth" spelled backward, with the "t" and "h"
reversed).
• Therbligs included such motions as select, position, and hold - motions
that were used to study tasks in a number of industries. The Gilbreths
used the therblig concept to study tasks in a number of industries.
• The Gilbreths used the therblig concept to study jobs and also
pioneered the use of motion picture technology in studying jobs.
• Lillian’s doctoral thesis was published as a book, The Psychology of
Management, making it one of the early works applying the findings of
psychology to the workplace.
• Lillian helped define scientific management by arguing that scientific
studies of management must focus on both analysis and synthesis.
With analysis, a task is broken down into its essential parts or
elements.
• With synthesis, the task is reconstituted to include only those elements
necessary for efficient work.
• She also had a particular interest in the human implications of
scientific management, arguing that the purpose of scientific
management is to help people reach their maximum potential by
developing their skills and abilities.
• Lillian Gilbreth ranks as the first woman to gain prominence as a
major contributor to the development of management as a science.
 A. The basic Motions Identified
A basic motion element is one of a set of fundamental motions required for a worker to perform
a manual operation or task. The set consists of 18 elements, each describing a standardized
activity.

1) Transport empty [unloaded] (TE): receiving an object with an empty hand. (Now
called "Reach".)
2) Grasp (G): grasping an object with the active hand.
3) Transport loaded (TL): moving an object using a hand motion.
4) Hold (H): holding an object.
5) Release load (RL): releasing control of an object.
6) Preposition (PP): positioning and/or orienting an object for the next operation and
relative to an approximation location.
7) Position (P): positioning and/or orienting an object in the defined location.
8) Use (U): manipulating a tool in the intended way during the course working.
9) Assemble (A): joining two parts together.
10) Disassemble (DA): separating multiple components that were joined.
11) Search (Sh): attempting to find an object using the eyes and hands.
12) Select (St): choosing among several objects in a group.
13) Plan (Pn): deciding on a course of action.
14) Inspect (I): determining the quality or the characteristics of an object using the eyes
and/or other senses.
15) Unavoidable delay (UD): waiting due to factors beyond the worker's control and
included in the work cycle.
16) Avoidable delay (AD): waiting within the worker's control which causes idleness
that is not included in the regular work cycle.
17) Rest (R): resting to overcome a fatigue, consisting of a pause in the motions of the
hands and/or body during the work cycles or between them.
18) Find (F): A momentary mental reaction at the end of the Search cycle. Seldom used.
 A. The basic Motions Identified
A basic motion element is one of a set of fundamental motions required for a worker to perform
a manual operation or task. The set consists of 18 elements, each describing a standardized
activity.

1) Transport empty [unloaded] (TE): receiving an object with an empty hand. (Now
called "Reach".)
2) Grasp (G): grasping an object with the active hand.
3) Transport loaded (TL): moving an object using a hand motion.
4) Hold (H): holding an object.
5) Release load (RL): releasing control of an object.
6) Preposition (PP): positioning and/or orienting an object for the next operation and
relative to an approximation location.
7) Position (P): positioning and/or orienting an object in the defined location.
8) Use (U): manipulating a tool in the intended way during the course working.
9) Assemble (A): joining two parts together.
10) Disassemble (DA): separating multiple components that were joined.
11) Search (Sh): attempting to find an object using the eyes and hands.
12) Select (St): choosing among several objects in a group.
13) Plan (Pn): deciding on a course of action.
14) Inspect (I): determining the quality or the characteristics of an object using the eyes
and/or other senses.
15) Unavoidable delay (UD): waiting due to factors beyond the worker's control and
included in the work cycle.
16) Avoidable delay (AD): waiting within the worker's control which causes idleness
that is not included in the regular work cycle.
17) Rest (R): resting to overcome a fatigue, consisting of a pause in the motions of the
hands and/or body during the work cycles or between them.
18) Find (F): A momentary mental reaction at the end of the Search cycle. Seldom used.
• Henry L Gantt (1861-1919): One of Taylor's closest associates, Henry
Gantt latter become an independent consultant and made several
contributions of his own.
• The most well -known is the Gantt chart, a graphic aid to planning,
scheduling and control that is still in use today.
• He also devised a unique pay incentive system that not only paid
workers extra for reaching standard in the allotted time but also
awarded bonuses to supervisors when workers reached standard.
• He wanted to encourage supervisors to coach workers who were
having difficulties.
4. The Human Relations Movement
• The second major step on the way to current organizational behavior
theory was the Human Relations Movement that began in the 1930's
and continued in various forms until the 1950's.

• The practice of management, which places heavy emphasis on

employee cooperation and morale, might be classified as human
relations.

• Raymond Mills states that the human relation approach was simply
to "treat people as human beings (instead of machines in the
productive process), acknowledge their needs to belong and to feel
important by listening to and heeding their complaints where
possible and involving them in certain decisions
 
• The Human Relations Movement, popularized by Elton Mayo and
his famous Hawthorne studies conducted at the Hawthorne Plant of
the Western Electric Company, in many ways it remained the
foundation of much of our management thinking today.

• Before the Hawthorne studies officially started, Elton Mayo headed

a research team, which was investigating the causes of very high
turnover in the mule-spinning department of a Philadelphia textile
mill in 1923 and 1924.

• He examined the effects of social

relations, motivation and employee satisfaction on
factory productivity.
More generally, the evolutionary phases of OB can be condensed
as follows:
 Chapter 2: Power and Politics in an Organization

1. The Concept of power

Power Vs. influence

• Power is positional. Influence is personal.

• Power is wielded. Influence is granted
• Power pushes. Influence persuades.
• Power expires. Influence endures.
 Stages of Personal Power

Janet Hagberg, in her book 'Real Power: Stages of Personal Power in

Organizations’ describes six stages through which people go when
developing their power within a company.
• Powerlessness, Power by Association, Power By Achievement
• Power By Reflection, Power By Purpose, Power By Wisdom
Power and Lies
Asymmetrical relationships
Powerful Lying
Powerless Lying
 Hobbes and power
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was a 17th century thinker who sought to apply the new
methods of science and the Greek rigor of logic to sociology. In his 1660 masterwork,
'Leviathan', he describes power and promotes the notion of a commonwealth as an
effective society. Hobbes divided motivation into appetites and aversions,
predating Freud and his pleasure-pain principle by a couple of centuries.
Natural Power
Hobbes defined power as the ability to secure well-being or personal advantage 'to
obtain some future apparent well'. He saw people as having 'Naturally Power' that come
from internal qualities such as intellectual eloquence, physical strength and prudence.
Instrumentally Power
This includes wealth, reputation and influential friends.
Relative Power
Ceding power
Hobbes found that many of us find a balance in life and gaining 'sufficient power' is
adequate for us. We also seek to co-operate and share power with others to escape from
an endless escalation.
'That a man be willing when others are so too, as farre-forth as for Peace and
defense of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down the right to all things; and
be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men
against himself.'
 Soft Power vs. Hard Power
Soft power is not-------------
It can be quite difficult to define soft power, possibly because it is a
subtly force. A soft way of defining it is to start with what it is not?
Hard power
Hard power is, at the hardest, about physical coercion. Incarceration and
physical punishment, control of the body is degrading but necessary for
those who might otherwise harm others. It is also used in times of
physical warfare or repression of dissent. Mental coercion, including
blackmail and making other threats that create fear, is also hard. Fear is a
characteristic of hard power. People comply because they fear
punishment or being harmed in some way.
Moderate power
Much power is moderate. It is not hard, nor is it soft. Much of the power
in society and in organizations is moderate. There is power from the
positions that people are given, power from the resources that are held
and power from the individual influence that people have.
 French and Raven's Forms of Power
Coercive power
Reward power
Legitimate power
Legitimate position power: The social norm of obeying people in a
superior position.
Legitimate power of reciprocity: The norm that we should repay
those who help us
Legitimate power of equity: The norm of fair play and due
compensation
Legitimate power of responsibility: The norm of social
responsibility in helping others (the 'power of the powerless')
Referent power
Expert power
Informational power
Tofflers three forms of power
Violance
Wealth, power ful purpose, using symbol, rule breaking, trusting more
 Power in Organizations
Here is a list sources of power that may be found in
organizations (Morgan, 1986), with further commentary
• Formal authority
• Control of scarce resources
• Use of organizational structure, rules and
regulations
• Control of decision processes
• Control of knowledge and information
• Control of boundaries
• Ability to cope with uncertainty
• Control of technology
• Interpersonal alliances, networks and control of
‘informal organization’
• Control of counter-organizations
• Symbolism and the management of meaning
 Political and/or economic Ideology and OB
A. Aristocracy
• Aristocracy is a form of government that places strength in the hands
of a small, privileged ruling class. 
• The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning 'rule of the
best'.
• In practice, aristocracy often leads to hereditary government, after
which the hereditary monarch appoints officers as they see fit.
• However, the term was first used by ancient Greeks such
as Aristotle and Plato, who used it to describe a system where only
the best of the citizens, chosen through a careful process of selection,
would become rulers, and hereditary rule would actually have been
forbidden, unless the rulers' children performed best and were better
endowed with the attributes that make a person fit to rule compared
with every other citizen in the polity. 
• Hereditary rule is more related to Oligarchy, a corrupted form of
Aristocracy where there is rule by a few, but not by the best. 
 B. Timocracy

A timocracy (from Greek τιμή timē, price, worth and-κρατία -

kratia, "rule") in Aristotle's Politics is a state where only property
owners may participate in government.

The extreme forms of timocracy, where power derives entirely from

wealth with no regard for social or civic responsibility, may shift in
their form and become a plutocracy where the wealthy rule.
 C. Meritocracy

•Meritocracy (merit, from Latin mereō, and-cracy, from Ancient

Greek κράτος kratos 'strength, power') is a political system in which economic
goods and/or political power are vested in individual people on the basis of talent,
effort, and achievement, rather than wealth or social class.
•the term itself was coined in 1958 by the sociologist Michael Dunlop Young in his
satirical essay The Rise of the Meritocracy.
• In government and other administrative systems, "meritocracy" refers to a system
under which advancement within the system turns on "merits", like performance,
intelligence, credentials, and education.
•These are often determined through evaluations or examinations.
•Merit Is Equated With Intelligence-Plus-Effort
Anocracy
•The term should be distinguished from from anarchy. It is not the of government but
absence of domination.
•Due to the instability of anocratic regimes, human rights violations are
significantly higher within anocracies than democratic regimes.
 E. Ergatocracy

•Ergatocracy is a type of government dominated by the labor and

solidarities similar to communist beliefs.
• It refers to a society ruled by the working class. The term was coined
by Eden and Cedar Paul in their book Creative Revolution: A Study of
Communist Ergatocracy.

F. Geniocracy
•Geniocracy is the framework for a system of government which was
first proposed by Raël (leader of the International LABOR Movement)
in 1977 and which advocates problem-solving,
creative intelligence and compassion as criteria for governance.

•The term geniocracy comes from the word genius, and describes a

system that is designed to select for intelligence and compassion as the
primary factors for governance.
 G. Gerontocracy
•A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an
entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than
most of the adult population. The ancient Greeks were
among the first to believe in this idea of gerontocracies; as
famously stated by Plato "it is for the elder man to rule and
for the younger to submit".
•Often these political structures are such that political power
within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the
oldest the holders of the most power.
•In a simplified definition, a gerontocracy is a society where
leadership is reserved for elders. The best example of this can
be seen in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, which was
ruled by a Gerousia.
 H. Theocracy
•Gerontocracy is common in theocratic states and religious
organizations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Vatican and the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which leadership is concentrated in
the hands of religious elders.

•Nominally, a theocratic monarchy, Saudi Arabia, likened to various late

communist states, has been ruled by gerontocrats.

•Aged king Saud and his aged relatives held rule along with many elder
 I. Kakistocracy

•A kakistocracy [kækɪ'stɑkrəsi] is a system of government that is run by

the worst, least qualified, and/or most unscrupulous citizens. 

•The word was coined as early as the seventeenth century,but gained

significant use in the first decades of the 20th century to criticize
populist governments emerging in different democracies around the
world.

•The word is a form of government by the worst people.

 J. Kleptocracy
•Kleptocracy is a government with corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) that use
their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own
territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political powers.

•Typically, this system involves embezzlement of funds at the expense of

the wider population.

•A kleptocracy is a government ruled by corrupt politicians who use their

political power to receive kickbacks, bribes, and special favors at the
expense of the populace, or simply direct state resources to themselves,
relatives or associates.

•Kleptocrats may use political advantage to pass laws that enrich them or
their constituents and they usually circumvent the rule of law.
 K. Kritarchy
•Kritarchy, also called kritocracy, was the system of rule by Biblical
judges in the tribal confederacy of ancient Israel during the period of
time described in the Book of Judges, following Joshua's conquest
of Canaan and prior to the united monarchy under Saul.

•Because the name is a compound of

the Greek words κριτής, krites ("judge") and ἄρχω, árkhō ("to rule"), its
colloquial use has expanded to cover rule by judges in the modern sense
as well.

•To contrast such a rule by (modern) judges with the actual form of the
1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Judge Albie
Sachs coined the term dikastocracy for it, from δικαστής ("judge"),
rejecting the coinage "juristocracy" for being an admixture of Latin and
Greek.
 L. Stratocracy

•A stratocracy (from στρατός, stratos, "army" and κράτος, kratos,

"dominion", "power") is a form of government headed by military
chiefs.

•Citizens with mandatory or voluntary military service, or veterans who

have been honorably discharged, have the right to elect or govern.

•The military's administrative, judiciary, and/or legislature powers are

supported by law, the constitution, and the society.

•It does not necessarily need to be autocratic or oligarchic by nature in

order to preserve its right to rule.
 M. Technocracy

•Technocracy is an ideological system of governance in which decision-

makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of
responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical
knowledge.

•This system explicitly contrasts with the notion that elected

representatives should be the primary decision-makers in
government, though it does not necessarily imply eliminating elected
representatives.

•Leadership skills for decision-makers are selected based on specialized

knowledge and performance, rather than political affiliations
or parliamentary skills.
 N. Theocracy

•The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified Roman emperors and

some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority
(auctoritas) of the Roman State.

•The official offer of cultus to a living emperor acknowledged his office

and rule as divinely approved and constitutional.

•Theocracy is a form of government in which God or a deity of some

type is recognized as the supreme ruling authority, giving divine
guidance to human intermediaries that manage the day to day affairs of
the government.

•The word theocracy originates from the Greek θεοκρατία meaning "the

rule of God".
This in turn derives from θεός (theos), meaning "god",
and κρατέω (krateo), meaning "to rule".

Thus the meaning of the word in Greek was "rule by god(s)" or

human incarnation(s) of god(s).

The term was initially coined by Flavius Josephus in the first century
A.D. to describe the characteristic government of the Jews.

Josephus argued that while humankind had developed many forms of

rule, most could be subsumed under the following three
types: monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy.

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