Introduction to Organizational Behavior Model: Everything You Need to Know

With emerging scientific studies, it has become much easier to know what components affect the motivation, attitude, and performance of the individual working in an organisation. Organisational Behaviour (OB) models are theoretical frameworks that help understand the behaviour of individuals, groups, and organisations in the workplace. 

OB models derive their conclusions from concepts and theories in fields like Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, and other branches of Behavioural Science and Management.

These theories conceptualise effective models that help structure an organisation’s best-suited way to boost productivity. Studying OB models helps predict and analyse the behaviours of individuals in organisations to promote a healthier working environment and employee satisfaction.

What is organisational behaviour? 

The study of group interactions inside organisations is known as organisational behaviour. It examines the behaviours of individuals and groups inside an organisation and how they impact its diverse operations. 

It also looks at how businesses can become more productive by using their knowledge of human behaviour within the organisation’s structure. Organisations may improve their understanding of employee behaviour and how to foster a more effective workplace by researching organisational behaviour models. 

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Organisational Behaviour’s Three Key Levels 

1. Individual level:

This dimension of organisational behaviour concentrates on examining workers’ beliefs, attitudes, perspectives, and personal characteristics to ascertain their behavioural patterns at work. Its analysis is based on human psychology.

2. Group level: 

The examination at the group level, also known as the team level, looks at how workers behave when collaborating and explores various group concepts, including power, conflict resolution, group dynamics, and leadership. It controls how individuals and a group of individuals behave in a social setting. The team-level analysis is built on the foundation of sociology and social psychology.

3. Organisational level: 

This level is concerned with examining an organisation’s climate, culture, and structure. It examines how different organisational structures, work environments, human resource practices, and other factors influence organisations’ operations. Organisation system-level analysis is built on a foundation of sociology and political science.

The Main Objectives of Organisational Behaviour 

The several objectives of organisational behaviour are:-

• To create a social structure within the organisation.
• To inspire employees to work energetically for the company.
• To construct a setting that will foster good leadership.
• To help the staff members cultivate successful group behaviour.
• To determine the conflict’s causes and find a solution.
• To identify the sources of dissatisfaction and take steps to mitigate or eliminate those sources.
• To boost the organisation’s workforce’s morale.
• To keep the workplace atmosphere favourable inside the business.

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Key Elements of Organisational Behaviour

Organisational behaviour models and theories consider four key elements:-

1. People:

They make up the organisation’s internal and social structure. People include the organisation’s stakeholders (those impacted by its actions), workers, and groups.

2. Structure: 

In an organisation, work is conducted according to a system of official and informal norms and procedures. Also, it comprises hierarchies, communication networks, regulations, processes, and other similar elements.

3. Technology:

It is the umbrella term for all the resources a company uses to accomplish its goals, including machinery, software, tools, gadgets, and operational procedures.

4. Environment: 

The social aspects that an organisation’s personnel are impacted by outside the organisation. Cultural, economic, technical, political, and legal aspects are all included.

Importance of organisational behaviour 

Some specific reasons why OB is important:

1. Improves communication: Studying OB helps understand and detangle the communication patterns within an organisation. This helps the authorities communicate better with the employees and stakeholders.
2. Increases productivity: Studying organisational behaviour theories provides insight into the factors that promote job satisfaction and boost productivity at the workplace. The results derived from the studies can be conceptualised effectively to produce optimal outputs.
3. Enhances job satisfaction: Just like understanding OB theories and models enhances productivity, it also helps understand employee satisfaction. This helps build a healthier workplace for everyone working in the organisation.
4. Reduces turnover: Creating a healthy, positive environment ensures less employee turnover. This also helps build a good reputation for the organisation at large.
5. Helps manage change: OB models, such as Lewin’s Change Management Model, help the authorities understand how the stakeholders and employees would accept a change within the organisation.

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Models of Organisational Behaviour 

Source

Listed below are the models of organisational behaviour –

1. The Autocratic Model 

Also known as the Authoritarian Model, this model’s fundamental level is power. According to this paradigm, the workers are focused on compliance and discipline. The top management is the only group with power. 

All decisions, strategies, and policies are made by the senior management in a company that follows an authoritarian style. Lower-level personnel are required to comply with senior management’s directives. They must comply; if not, they risk punishment or termination.

Under this model, people tend to get easily irritated due to the lack of security, reliance on superiors, and minimal performance following low pay. These are the main problems of this model.

2. Custodial model 

According to this paradigm, an equitable remuneration structure boosts employee enthusiasm and productivity inside the company. Giving employees numerous financial and non-financial perks, including job stability, fair compensation, bonuses, paid time off, and prizes, is the main goal of this strategy, which aims to keep great staff and boost motivation and productivity.

The custodial model assumes that employees will work more and stay longer when they are paid fairly.

Businesses use this strategy with substantial resources. It is reliant on financial resources. This strategy encourages relying on the company rather than the management or boss. People cooperate passively because they are content but not very motivated.

3. Supportive model 

This approach assumes that although employees may be somewhat self-motivated, they nevertheless require managerial help to achieve their best. As a result, a supportive model aims to strengthen the interaction between managers and their staff members.

It emphasises the psychology, inspiration, and zeal of workers. Here, the supervisor is a great proponent of motivating staff to do better.

The supportive model works best when there is a positive work atmosphere, management support, stronger relationships, harmony, good communication, etc. Workers experience a sense of involvement.

4. Collegial model 

Collegial refers to a situation where groups of coworkers share responsibilities. This model places a strong emphasis on encouraging collaboration inside the company.

The manager serves both as a mentor and a member of the team. Their job is to encourage teamwork and make sure the team performs well. They routinely encourage cooperation and keep track of outcomes.

This approach presupposes teamwork is superior to working alone and can lead to more significant outcomes. As managers and employees collaborate as a team, their bonds become stronger, they attend crucial meetings, their opinions are respected, everyone appears to respect one another, and a harmonious work atmosphere is produced.

5. System model

The system model discusses the organisational structure, culture, working environment, and consistent policies.

It works to achieve a balance between the objectives of the individual and the organisation, assuming that people have varying goals, abilities, and potential. Managers and staff members of the organisation invest their interests to help and achieve established objectives. All staff members and management should feel that they have a relationship with the organisation and agree on how to accomplish shared objectives.

A positive workplace atmosphere, communication and collaboration, and value to employees and the community are only a few advantages of the system model.

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Important Organisational Behaviour Theories 

Some important organisational behaviour theories to keep in mind are- 

1. Classical Theories 

Theorists from the classical era saw people as extensions of institutions’ machinery. They thought that by improving individual efficiency, total efficiency might be raised. As a result, the organisation has to implement adjustments for improved performance.

The classical theory frequently exhibits the following traits:

• Organisations are integrated, centralised systems, and the central figure is the source of authority.
• Instead of the inputs that employees provide, the emphasis is on outputs or results.
• Work is uniform and unchangeable; the role does not determine it.

Although the classical approach improved efficiency and helped standardise the management process, it received some criticism. Both complicated organisational systems and employee social and psychological needs are not taken into account by the theory.

2. Neo-classical Theories 

Neoclassical thinkers saw companies as social systems where people’s interactions and behaviours directly affect or impact performance. Since social interactions and connections are central to human behaviour, this theory places people at the core of organisational effectiveness.

A few traits the neoclassical school shares are as follows:

• The emphasis is on human behaviour and interpersonal relationships.
• The smooth operation of organisations depends on teamwork, which can only be achieved via effective interactions and input.
• Workers’ needs and expectations vary, and several factors motivate them to work harder.

Although the Neoclassical theory rejects conventional beliefs that treat people like machines, it has some restrictions. It disregards the setting in which an organisation works.

3. Modern Theories

Early in the 1960s, the modern organisational theory was established to address the limitations of earlier theories. It combines the traditional paradigm with behavioural research and considers the environment. The core idea of this theory is:-

• An organisation interacts with its internal and external environments to flourish and establish itself in the marketplace.
• It covers many elements and degrees of organisational environments, including micro- and macro-environments.

Although the contemporary theory addressed several old problems, it was challenged since no one body of information existed. Yet, these organisational ideas are useful for effecting change in contemporary organisations.

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Characteristics of Organisational Behaviour 

The main characteristics of organisational behaviour are:-

• Only because of its multidisciplinary focus and lack of a particular theoretical foundation, OB is a discrete field of study as opposed to a discipline. 
• Humanistic principles are used in organisational behaviour while dealing with employees. It is concerned with how people think and feel.
• The subject of research on organisational behaviour is goal- and action-oriented. Its fundamental objective is to manage organisational affairs to accomplish organisational goals efficiently. Organisational behaviour conducts several studies and looks for organisational issues.
• OB strives to incorporate pertinent information from adjacent disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and anthropology, to make them practical for researching and evaluating organisational behaviour.
• Organisation behaviour is categorised as both a science and an art. Science is the methodical collection of all pertinent data about human behaviour. Art is the use of amassed behavioural knowledge and abilities in the workplace.

Conclusion

Studying organisational behaviour models is learning how people behave inside an organisation. It is a step in the management process that tries to boost an organisation’s productivity by comprehending and managing the behaviour of the employees.

Various organizational behavior models and theories have emerged through the years to understand human motivation and behaviour to increase workplace productivity. With a course such as upGrad’s PG Diploma in Management from Birla Institute of Management Technology, students can specialise in Organisational Behaviour and learn about its theories and models. 

With in-demand knowledge and training in the domain, one can definitely expect to upskill themselves professionally, clinching the success they deserve.