Page 159 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Management Practices and Organisational Behaviour

Notes 4. Social Psychology: Social psychology is a branch of psychology which borrows concepts
from psychology and sociology and focuses on the influence of people on one another.
Social psychologists have made significant contributions in the area of measuring,
understanding and changing attitudes; communication patterns; the way in which group
activities can satisfy individual needs, and group decision making processes.
5. Engineering: Engineering has made important contributions to our understanding of the
design of work. By taking basic engineering ideas and applying them to human behaviour
in work Organisations, Fredrick Taylor had a profound influence on the early years of the
study of Organisational behaviour. Taylor's engineering background led him to place
special emphasis on human productivity and efficiency in work behaviour. His notions of
performance standards and differential piece-rate system have contributed to the growth
of Organisational behaviour.
6. Management: Originally called administrative science, it is a discipline concerned with
the study of overseeing activities and supervising people in Organisations. It emphasizes
the design, implementation, and management of various administrative and
Organisational systems. Management is the first discipline to take the modern corporation
as the unit of analysis, and this viewpoint distinguishes the discipline's contribution to the
study of Organisational behaviour.
7. Anthropology: It is the science of human learned behaviour and is especially important to
understand Organisational culture. Anthropologists study societies to learn about human
beings and their activities. Their work on cultures and environments has helped us
understand the differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between people
in different countries and within different Organisations.
Cultural anthropology focuses on the origins of culture and the patterns of behaviour as
culture is communicated symbolically. Current research in this tradition has examined
the effects of efficient cultures on Organisation performance and how pathological
personalities may lead to dysfunctional Organisational cultures. Much of our current
understanding of Organisational culture, Organisational environments, and differences
between national cultures is the result of the efforts of anthropologists.
8. Political Science: Political scientists study the behaviour of individuals and groups within
a political environment. Political scientists have become increasingly aware that
Organisations are political entities and if we are able to accurately explain and predict the
behaviour of people in Organisations, we need to bring a political perspective to our
analysis. The contributions of political scientists are significant to the understanding of
behaviour in Organisations.

Task Give example of instances where you could relate organisational behaviour
with sociology and anthropology.
8.6 Modelling for OB

The field of organisational behaviour interests itself with understanding human behaviour in
organisations. The major goal of behavioural scientists is to understand behaviour. The study of
organisational behaviour follows the lead of behavioural sciences. Since, organisational
behaviour is more of an applied field than behavioural science as a whole, organisational
behaviour is not only interested in understanding behaviour in organisations but also with
predicting and controlling human behaviour for improved organisational performance. Thus, a
manager needs a conceptual framework and a specific model for attaining the goals of

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