Organizational behavior is defined as the actions and attitudes of people in organizations. The field of organizational behavior (OB) covers the body of knowledge derived from these actions and attitudes. It can help managers understand the complexity within organizations, identify problems, determine the best ways to correct them, and establish whether the changes would make a significant difference.
Organizational behavior can greatly clarify the factors that affect how managers manage. It is the field’s job to describe the complex human context in which managers work and to define the problems associated with that realm. The value of organizational behavior is that it isolates important aspects of the manager’s job and offers specific perspectives on the human side of management: people as organizations, people as resources, and people as people. organizational behavior is not an organizational function or area. Instead, it is best described as a perspective or set of tools that all managers can use to carry out their jobs more effectively.
By understanding organizational behavior concepts, managers can better understand and appreciate the behavior of those around them. For example, most managers in an organization are directly responsible for the work-related behaviors of a set of other people—their immediate subordinates. Typical managerial activities in this area include motivating employees to work harder, ensuring that their jobs are properly designed, resolving conflicts, evaluating their performance, and helping them set goals to achieve rewards. The field of organizational behavior abounds with theory and research regarding each of these functions.
Managers can also use their knowledge from the field of organizational behavior to better understand their own behaviors and feelings. For example, understanding personal needs and
motives,