The base of an organization rests on the philosophies, values, visions and goals set forth by management. This in turn creates the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and social environment. This culture will determine the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. Employees perceive this as their quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation and affects organizational outcomes such as performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All of these elements combine to build the framework for the organizational behavior from which the organization operates (Clark, 1998). .
Robbins (date unavailable) defines organizational behavior as a "field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness" (p.9). Organizational Behavior studies three determinants of behavior within organizations: individuals, groups, and structures. The study of organizational behavior applies the knowledge gained from these three determinants to increase the effectiveness and performance of the organization (Robbins, date unavailable). .
Organizational behavior is not a new concept and has existed since the inception of groups or organizations operating towards a common goal or objective. The great pyramids of Egypt, the vast civilization of the Roman Empire, even the construction of the Great Wall of China were some type of organization working towards a common goal in which organizational behaviors existed. Historically, organizational behavior has been studied throughout many different types of organizations. These studies produced different theories which developed into models of organizational behavior. The following is a high-level model that categorizes the different types of behaviors found within organizations: .
