Organizational Behavior--A Definition

Organizational Behavior-A Definition By: Manzanita Humphrey March 23, 2002 Organizational Behavior-A Definition Stephen P. Robbins states in the "Organizational Behavior 9/e" textbook that Organizational Behavior is a field of study, because many people in the organizational field spend time examining the behavior of people (p.1) . I learned in my prior Organizational Behavior class in undergraduate school, that Organizational Behavior is a "fractional field" of study because of the various disciplines that it encompasses. There are disciplines such as Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Economics, along with applied fields of study such as Industrial Psychology, Political Science, Labor Relations, Human Resource Management, and Organizational Development. For this reason, it is an "Applied Science." Organizations themselves are ever changing, as are the people in them. The organizations adapt to change better than the people do. People are resistant to change, and are comfortable with what they know from past behaviors. Robbins states that, "three major aspects of behavior" are focused on when examining the behavior of people in work settings. The three aspects are "individuals, groups, and structures (p.1)." When examining individuals, there are three topics that are researched. These are how personality, attitudes, and motivation affect work (p.1). There is a lot of attention being paid to the behavior of employees of groups, because of the evolution of team formation over the last few years. Robbins states that people "work under a certain structure (p. 1)." This is where socialization and the organizational culture affect employees. Socialization is where an employee joins an organization, and forms expectations about what the organization will do for them, plus what they will do for the organization. The organizational culture is developed over time, and is a "pattern of shared values and beliefs." There should be a fit between culture, people, tasks,

References: http://guest:[e-mail]/SCRIPT/Behavior/scripts/student/serve_page?920055142+Chapter1/notes3.htm. Robbins, Stephen P., 2002. Accessed from the Internet on March 5, 2002. Notes from prior Organizational Behavior lecture class from East Tennessee State University, 2000.