Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of how people interact within groups and organizations, and how these interactions affect organizational performance towards its goals. It is a multidisciplinary field that draws from psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics. The study of organizational behavior includes areas of research dedicated to improving job performance, increasing job satisfaction, promoting innovation, and encouraging leadership.
Key features of organizational behavior include:
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Employee attitudes and feelings: Organizational behavior deals with employee attitudes and feelings, including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement, and emotional labor.
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Group dynamics: Organizational behavior examines how groups function within organizations, including what makes one team loyal and productive, while another team struggles with strife and ineffectiveness.
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Organizational culture: Organizational culture refers to the qualities of the workplace itself that influence its employees, whereas organizational behavior refers to the resulting behavior of the people within it.
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Leadership: Leadership studies have become part of organizational behavior, although a single unifying theory remains elusive.
Organizational behavior is important because how a firm is managed provides it with something that distinguishes it from other organizations. Organizations, especially large companies, all have access to capital markets, marketing, supply chains, and new ideas and services. What determines why one company becomes a billion-dollar company while another fails is often how well it is managed, how well it is run.
In summary, organizational behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations interact and influence one another, and how these interactions affect organizational performance towards its goals. It is a multidisciplinary field that examines employee attitudes and feelings, group dynamics, organizational culture, and leadership. Organizational behavior is important because it helps organizations increase employee performance, while also creating a positive working environment, and it provides firms with a competitive edge.
