Organizational Behavior Terminology Concepts

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

Diana L. Mieltowski

MGT/307

June 21, 2010

Donald Bennett

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Paper

In this paper I will explain the concept and terminology of organizational behavior and culture, diversity, communication, business ethics, and change management. I will also describe the observable aspects of each of the concepts. Additionally, in this paper I will provide a brief analysis of the culture and behavior of Partners for Community, a nonprofit management services organization.

Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in organizations. It is an academic discipline devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics with the goal of improving the performance of organizations and the people in them (Schermerhorn & Osborne, 2008). The observable aspects of organizational behavior include organizational culture, diversity, communication, business ethics, and change management. Because organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in organizations, there is a need to study and understand all of the above as well.

Organizational Culture

Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of generally unspoken and unwritten rules for working together (Heathfield, 2010). An organization’s culture is made up of all of the life experiences each employee brings to the organization. Culture is especially influenced by the organization’s founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction. Culture is represented in a group’s language,...