By Dr.

Akankshya Patnaik
 Organization Behaviour
 Nature
 Scope
 Importance
 Relationship between OB and the individual
 OB – Theoretical Framework
 Cognitive Framework
 Behaviouristic Framework
 Social learning and social cognitive theory
 Limitation of OB
 “Organisational behaviour is a branch of the Social
Sciences that seeks to build theories that can be applied” to
predicting, understanding and controlling behaviour in
work organisations.”—Raman J. Aldag.
 “Organisational behaviour is directly concerned with the
understanding, production and control of human behaviour
in organisations.”—Fred Luthans.
 “Organisational behaviour is a field of study that
investigates the impact that individuals, groups and
structure have on behaviour within the organisations for the
purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an
organization’s effectiveness.”—Stephens P. Robbins.
1. A Separate Field of Study and not only a
Discipline
2. An Interdisciplinary Approach
3. An Applied Science
4. A Normative Science
5. A Humanistic and Optimistic Approach
6. A Total System Approach
The three internal organizational elements viz.,
people, technology and structure and the fourth
element, i.e., external social systems may be taken as
the scope of O.B.

1. People
2. Structure
3. Technology
4. Social System
 It builds better relationship by achieving people’s,
organizational, and social objectives.
 It covers a wide array of human resource like behavior,
training and development, change management, leadership,
teams etc.
 It brings coordination which is the essence of management.
 It improves 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.
 It is multidisciplinary, in the sense that applies different
techniques, methods, and theories to evaluate the
performances.
 Organizational behaviour is a term used to define the
concept of the behaviour for individuals who
constitute the human elements of an organization.
 Organizational behaviour refers to the way that
people, either as individuals or in groups, behave
within the context of an organization.
 Human behaviour is complex and every individual is
different.
 The challenge for every organization is to match the
individual, management & objectives of organization
or tasks.
 The effective use of human resources can be used to
shape the perceptions and behaviour of the
employees in an organization.
 Which further leads to desired outcome in their
organizational behaviour.
 Recognition of the fact that it is the individual
employees within an organization who carry out
whatever organizational behaviour is in place in the
establishment.
 Since the individuals are the vehicles for
organizational behaviour they can be nudged in the
right direction through the human resource
department, which is charged with the management
of employees.
 Although OB is extremely complex and
includes many inputs and dimensions, three
frameworks:
 The cognitive,
 Behaviouristic,
 Social cognitive frameworks
 Can be used to develop an overall model for
OB.
 The theories to be discussed will include:

 Behaviouristic theories
 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning
 Cognitive theory
 Social learning
 Social cognitive theory
 The cognitive approach to human behaviour has
many sources of inputs ( the five senses)
 Cognition, which is the basic unit of the cognitive
framework, can be defined as the act of knowing an
item from information.
 Under this framework, cognition precedes behaviour
and constitutes input into the persons thinking,
perception, problem solving, and information
processing.
 Although Tolman believed behaviour to be
appropriate unit of analysis, he felt that behaviour is
purposeful, that it is directed towards a goal.

 He felt that cognitive learning consists of a

relationship between cognitive environmental cues
and expectations
 Through experimentation, he found out that a rat
could learn to run through an intricate maze, with
purpose and direction, towards goal (food)
 Tolman observed that at each point in the maze,
expectations were established – in other words, the
rat learned to expect a certain cogitative cue
associated with the choice point might eventually
lead to the food.
 If the rat actually received the food, the association
between the cue and the expectancy was strengthen,
and leaning occurred.
 Tolman’s approach could be depicted that learning is
an association between the cue and the expectancy)
 In his laboratory experiment, he found that animals
learned to expect a certain event would follow
another – for example, animal learned to behaviour
as if they expect food when a certain cue appeared.
 Thus, Tolman believed that learning consist of
expectancy that a particular event will lead to a
particular consequence.
 This cognitive concept of expectancy implies that
the organisms is thinking about or is conscious or
aware of, the goal.
 Applied to OB, cognitive approach has dominated
unit of analysis such as perception, personality and
attitudes, motivation, decision making and goal
setting.
 Behaviorist school of thought in psychology and
derived from the work of:
Classical behaviorist like Ivan Pavlov who
attributed leaning to the association or connection
between stimulus and response (S-R)
The Operant behaviorist, in particular the well
known American psychologist B. F. Skinner who
give more attention to the role that consequences
play in learning or the response –stimulus (R-S)
connection
 They used the classical conditioning experiment to
formulate the stimulus-response (S - R) explanation
of human behaviour
 Both Pavlov and Watson felt that behaviour could be
best understood in terms of S-R
 A stimulus elicit response
 They concentrated mainly on the impact of the
stimulus and felt that learning occurred when the S -
R connection was made.
 Ivan Pavlov who attributed leaning to the association
or connection between stimulus and response (S-R)
 Based on Pavlov classical conditioning experiment
using dogs as subjects.
 When presented with meat powder ( unconditioned
stimulus) - the dog secreted saliva (unconditioned
response)
 When he merely rang a bell (neutral stimulus) the
dog did not salivate.
 When meat was accompanied with the ringing of the
bell several times, then Pavlov rang the bell without
presenting the meat, the dog salivated to the bell
alone.
 Conclusion - that the dog has become classically
conditioned to salivate (conditioned response) to the
sound of the bell ( conditioned stimulus)
 Thus classical conditioned can be defined as a
process in which a formerly neutral stimulus, when
paired with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes a
conditioned stimulus that elicit a conditioned
response; in other words, the S-R connection is
learned.
Stimulus (S) Response ®
 Is stuck by a pin  Flinches
 Is shocked by an  Jumps/screams
electric current
 Is surprised by a loud  Jumps/screams
sound
 Is tapped below the  Flexes lower leg
kneecap
 Another psychologist whose work explains this
framework is B. F. Skinner.
 He felt that the early behaviorists helped explain
respondent’s behaviours (those behaviours elicited by
stimulus) but not the more complex operant
behaviours.
 In other words, the S -R approach helped explain the
physical reflexes, for examples, when stuck by a pin
(S), the person will flinch ( R) or when tapped below
the kneecap (S) the Epson will extend the lower leg (
R)
 Skinner felt that classical conditioning explains only
respondent (reflexive) behaviours. – i.e. involuntary
responses that are elicited by a stimulus
 He felt that more complex, but common human
behaviour cannot be explained by classical
conditioning alone.
 He noted that the greater part of the behaviour of an
organism was under control of stimuli which were
effective only because they were correlated with
reinforcing consequences.
 Through his research thus , skinner posited that
behaviour was a function of consequences, not the
classical conditioning eliciting stimuli.
 He felt that most human behaviour affects, or
operates on, the environment to receive a desirable
consequences.
 This type of behaviour is learned through operant
conditioning
 Operant conditioning is concerned primarily with
learning that occurs as a consequence of behaviour,
or R-S.
 It is not concerned with the eliciting causes of
behaviour, as classical , or respondent, conditioning
is
 The organism has to operate on an environment (thus
the term operant conditioning) in order to receive the
desirable consequences.
 The preceding stimulus does not cause the behaviour
in operant conditioning; it serves as a cue to emit the
behaviour. For skinner and other behaviorists,
behaviour is a function of its contingent
environmental consequences.
 So behavourisitic approach is environmentally based.
It posits that cognitive processes such as thinking,
expectancies, and perception may exist but are not
needed to predict and control or manage behaviour.

 He emphasized the importance of the response-

stimulus (R -S) relationship.
Response ® Stimulus (S)
 Works  Paid
 Talks to others  Meets more people
 Enters a restaurant  Obtain food
 Enters a library  Finds a book
 Increases productivity  Receives merit pay
 Completes a difficult  Receives praise or a
assignment promotion
 Today operant conditioning has much greater impact
on human learning than classical conditioning
 This theory combines and integrates both behaviorist
and cognitive concepts and emphasizes the
interactive, reciprocal nature of cognitive, behavioral,
and environmental determinants.
 Social learning theory recognizes and draws from
the principles of classical and operant conditioning
but went beyond classical and operant theory by
recognizing that there is more to leaning than direct
learning via antecedent stimuli and contingent
consequences
 Social learning takes position that behaviour can best
be explained in terms of continuous interactions
among cognitive, behavioral and environmental
determinants.
 The person and the environmental situation do not
function as independent unit but in conjunction with
behaviour itself.
 It is largely through their actions that people produce
the environmental condition that affect their
behaviour in a reciprocal fashion.
 The experience generated by behaviour also partly
determines what a person becomes and can do which
in tern affects subsequent behaviour.
 Social learning theory posits that learning can also
take place via vicarious/explicit/shocking/juicy, or
modeling, and self –control conditioning processes.

 Thus social learning theory agrees with classical and

operant conditioning processes, but says they too are
limiting and adds vicarious, modeling and self-
control processes.
 This theory goes beyond social learning
 It extents learning and/or modifying by giving more
attention to self-regulatory mechanisms
 Specifically, social cognitive theory identifies five
capabilities that people use to initiate, regulate and
sustain their behaviours.
 Theses are (1) symbolizing, (2) forethoughts, (3)
vicarious/ modeling learning (observational) , (4)
self regulation, and (5) self reflection
 Learning is one of the fundamental behaviour
processes, involves both the development and the
modification of thoughts and behaviours.
 New employees will bring with them a set of
previously leaned ways of behaving. They are then
expected to learn additional information than applies
to their jobs.
 Established employees continue to develop their job
related skills and abilities.
 Therefore, learning is a never ending process for all
employees.
 The process is also very complex. -an employee who
has already learned one way to perform a job may
have trouble learning a second.
 An employee motivation to perform is closely linked
to learning.
 Therefore a manager who understands leaning
process can use the principles of learning to guide
employees behaviour and performance.
 Autocratic Model
 Custodial Model
 Supportive Model
 Collegial Model
 Workers are lazy & dislike work.
 Do not assume responsibility & prefer to be directed
by managers.
 They are not committed to managers.
 Mangers issue orders & instruction by virtue of
position & authority.
 Negative force of enforcement
 Strict & close supervision
 One way communication
 Works mainly to satisfy their physiological needs.
 Autocratic model develops frustration among
employees.
 Managers use economic resources to satisfy
economic need of employees.
 Money is used as a strong motivator.
 Eg: Economic rewards, pension, gratuity, etc
 Believes in power of money than power of
authority.
 It is based on leadership
 It has supportive management
 It is a participation oriented model.
 Status & recognition are given more priority.
 It is a partnership based model.
 Manager believe in team work
 Manager delegate responsibility.
 Self- actualization is given more priority.
 Behavioral bias: It further causes dependence, dis-
contentment, indiscipline, and irresponsibility.
 Law of diminishing returns: It says that beyond a
certain point, there is a decline in output even after
each additional good or positive factor.
 Unethical practices and manipulation of
people: Knowledge of motivation and
communication acquired can be used to exploit
subordinates in an Organization by the manipulative
managers.