Learning is an important psychological process that-determines human behavior. Learning can be defined as “relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience or reinforced practice”. There are four important points in the definition of learning: Learning involves a change in behavior, though this change is not necessarily an improvement over previous behavior. Learning generally has the connotation of improved behavior, but bad habits, prejudices, stereotypes, and work restrictions are also learned. The, behavioral change must be relatively permanent. Any temporary change in behavior is not a part of learning. The behavioral change must be based oh some form of practice or experience. The practice or experience must be reinforced in order so as to facilitate learning to occur. The components of learning process are: drive, cue stimuli, response, reinforcement and retention. Drive: Learning frequently occurs in the presence of drive – any strong stimulus that impels Continue reading
Organizational Behavior
Neoclassical Theories of Organization
The classical organization theories concentrated on discipline and the economic well-being of people. They ignored their morale and desires. Neoclassical organization theories while accepting the merits of classical theories have given more importance to human relations and behavioral sciences. The neoclassical theories of organization modified, added and extended the classical theories by realizing the fact that management exists in a social system wherein human factors have cognizant roles to perform. Employees can play crucial roles in the decision-making process. Approaches of Neoclassical Theories of Organization Human Relations and Behavioral Science have become two important approaches of neoclassical theories. 1. Human Relations Theory The human relations theory was developed by Elton Mayo and his associates from 1924 to 1932 at the Hawthrone plant of Western Electric Company. They experimented in four phases: Illumination experiment, relay assembly test, interviewing programs and the bank wiring observations room experiments. Illumination experiments revealed that Continue reading
Relationship between Organization Climate and Organizational Behavior Models
Autocratic Model: The autocratic model of organizational behavior creates a climate in which the feelings of the workers are suppressed and they have to just be obedient and tolerative with the autocratic behavior of the employer. The personal relationship between the employer and the employee is not up to the mark. The labor turnover will be considerable when there is high dissatisfaction of the employees with their boss since they have no other alternative except to leave the job. In case of bottleneck in production or marketing, the employees simply keep mum and they never come out with suggestions for solving the problem. When the worker leaves his Job, he will burst out with his boss with thick words coming from his soul and he will never have an idea to re-enter the service. As far as autocratic model is concerned the workers sustain a tight organizational climate and they Continue reading
Organizational Behavior – Definition and Concepts
Definitions of Organizational Behavior According to Keith Davis “organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people act within organizations. It is human tool for the human benefit. It applies broadly to behavior of people in all type of organization such as business, government, schools, etc. it helps people, structure, technology, and the external environment blend together in to an effective operative system”. Stephen Robins defines organizational behavior as a “field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have an organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge improving an organization’s effectiveness“. There are many definitions about organizational behavior; every definition must include three important features, (1) organizational behavior is the study of human behavior, (2) study about behavior in organisations and (3) knowledge about human behavior would be useful in improving an organisation’s effectiveness. organizational behavior is the study of what an Continue reading
Crisis in Organizations: Stages and Types
Companies face problems all the time, and solve them one way or another. Sometimes one of these problems is difficult-at least at the time it occurs-and it becomes public interest with the help of the press. This problem is then known as a Crisis, where the company is faced with legal, political, financial and governmental impact on its business. The most serious property of crises is the element of surprise. The worst part in their handling is being unprepared. Crisis can come from nowhere at any time; natural disasters, human error, and industrial accidents can all cause crisis. Sometimes the cause of a crisis is management itself; managers may insist that they face no crisis, and they fall into the brink of lying and rejection of its existence. Then, when the time of the deadline comes their answer to why the job is not finished will be: “We faced trouble Continue reading
Survey Feedback as an Organizational Development Tool
The study of Survey Feedback played an important role in formation and history of Organizational Development (OD). Developed as an organization wide intervention by Mann and his associates (1957-1965), survey feedback is a process in which organizational members complete questionnaires on various organizational issues, receive feedback on the results, then take appropriate actions to address the critical needs and concerns. Though some type of survey method was prevalent in various organizations earlier, Institute for Social Research (ISR) of University of Michigan, USA developed a comprehensive questionnaire for conducting survey in different aspects of an organization. The basic objectives of survey feedback method are as follows: To assist the organization in diagnosing its problems and developing action plan for problem-solving. To assist the group members to improve the relationships through discussion of common problems. Process of Survey Feedback Survey feedback method usually proceeds with sequential activities involving data collection, feedback of Continue reading