UNIT - IV

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
 CONCEPT OF OB

It is not a discipline in the usual

sense of the term, but is rather an
eclectic field of study involving the
integration of the behavioral
sciences (e.g., psychology,
sociology, anthropology, etc.) into
the study of people’s behavior
within organization.
DEFINATION
 “OB is a subset of management activities
concerned with understanding, predicting,
& influencing individual behavior in
organizational settings.
-(Callahan et al.)
 “It is the study & application of knowledge
about human behavior related to other
elements of the organization such as
structure, technology, & social system.”
 NATURE OF OB
 A field of study and not a discipline.
 Interdisciplinary approach.
 An applied science.
 Normative & value centered.
 Humanistic & optimistic.
 Oriented towards organizational
objectives.
 A total system approach.
 PERCEPTION
 It is a process by which individuals
organize & interpret their sensory
impressions in order to give meaning to
their environment.
 However, what one perceives can be
substantially different from objective
reality.
 It is the cognitive process.
 It is the process of selecting, organizing,
& interpreting or attaching meaning to the
events happening in the environment.
 DEFINATION

“Perception may be defined as a

process by which individuals
organize & interpret their sensory
impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment”.
- by Robbins.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING
PERCEPTION
FACTORS IN THE PERCEIVER
•Attitudes
•Motives
•Interest
•Experience
•Expectations

FACTORS IN THE
SITUATION PERCEPTION
•Time
•Work setting
•Social setting FACTORS IN THE TARGET
•Novelty
•Motion
•Sounds
•Size
•Background
•Proximity
•Similarity.
CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY
 Allport has identified fifty different
definitions of the term. He has
categorised them into five areas as
follows:
 Omnibus,
 Integrative & configurational,
 Hierarchical,
 Adjustment,
 Distinctiveness.
 TYPES OF PERSONALITY/
BEHAVIOR
 Self-concept & self esteem,
 Need patterns,
 Machiavellianism or manipulation,
 Locus of control,
 Tolerance of ambiguity,
 Type A & B,
 Introversion & Extroversion,
 Work-ethic orientation.
PERSONALITY THEORIES
 Psychoanalytic theory,
 Socio-psychological theory,
 Trait theory,
 Self theory:
 Self-image

 Ideal-self

 Looking glass-self
 Real-self
 ATTITUDES
Development of Types
 People's attitudes of values have
significant impact on their behavior, both
within the organizational context and
social context.
 They influence the perception of objects
of people, their exposure, comprehension
etc.
 Therefore, for effective management in
the organization, we must understand the
attitudes and values of the workers.
 CONCEPT OF ATTITUDE
 "Attitude is a mental & neural state
(pertaining to nerves) of readiness
organized thro. experience, exerting a
directive influence upon the individual's
response to all objects & situations with
which it is related".
-(Gordon W. Allport)
 "Attitude is the persistent tendency to feel
& behave in a favorable or unfavorable
way towards some object, person , or
ideas".
-(H.J. Reitz)
 FEATURES OF ATTITUDE
 Attitudes affect behavior of an individual by
putting him ready to respond favorably or
unfavorably to things in his environment.
 Attitudes are acquired thro. learning over the
period of time. It is a life long process.
 Attitudes are invisible as they constitute a
psychological phenomenon which cannot be
observed directly. They can be deserved by
observing the behavior of an individual.
 Attitudes are pervasive and every individual has
some kind of attitudes towards the objects in his
environment. In fact, attitudes are forced in the
socialization process & may relate to anything
in environment .
 FACTORS IN ATTITUDE
FORMATION

 I. GROUP FACTORS
 Family
 Reference Groups
 Social Factors
 II. PERSONALITY FACTORS
 Ethnocentrism
 Impulses
 Conservatism V/s liberalism
 I.Q. Level
 Heredity