Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

MGT/307

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

What is organizational behavior? Organizational behavior, or OB, is nothing more than the study of how the impact that individuals, groups, and organizational structure has on the behavior within an organization. Organizational behavior is used to apply that knowledge toward maximizing the effectiveness of an organization. Organizational behavior is considered a field of study, so it has its own terminology and covers multiple areas of expertise like anthropology, sociology, psychology, and social psychology. Unlike the uncompromising subjects like physics, math, and chemistry, organizational behavior is a study in compromise. Many people think that the study of organizational behavior is nothing more than common sense. This cannot be farther from the truth. Organizational behavior is based on intuition and systematic study. Intuition, or that”gut feeling” that a person has, combined with the contingency variables (how different people react to different situations) plus taking a systematic approach can all be used in combination to assess a situation.

Organizational Culture

The culture of an organization is like the personality of the company. The culture of an organization is comprised of the personalities of all of the employees from the highest board member, to the newest employee in that cubicle on the third floor. The culture is initially set by the use of tools such as the company’s mission statement, the organization’s vision, and the ethics of the management. Organizational culture has the same properties as most living things as it has the ability to mature, grow, or change. The culture of the management is instrumental as it carries the brunt of the organizations culture and whether it grows in the direction meant by the upper management of the organization, or not. Management enforces the company’s...