Operating Definition of Organizational Behavior.
The study of Organizational Behavior (OB) focuses on investigating the influence that the people within an organization and the organization itself has on the behavior within and how that behavior affects the performance of the organization (p. 9).
OB, as we know it today, began in the early 1900's. In response to the growing strength of Unions, businesses like Heinz and International Harvester hired people as "welfare secretaries" who assisted the employees with improved working conditions, medical care, education, and personal time (p. 39). Between 1930 and 1950, there were many studies on the human part of an organization. One of the most important contributions was a study by Western Electric that altered the light levels in the worker's area to see if it would affect their productivity. Though there was an increase in productivity in the experimental group, there was also an increase in productivity in the control group. Western Electric found that whether the area was more or less bright did not matter, until they got to the level of moonlight, productivity still increased. From this study, they were only able to conclude that the light level in the work area was not directly related to worker productivity but they could not explain the outcome they witnessed (p. 40). Despite the inconclusiveness of their findings, this was the beginning of behavioral study in the work place, as we now know it.
The study of OB is built on the contributions of other behavioral sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Social Psychology, Anthropology, and Political Science. Each of these contributes to part of the three main units of analysis in OB: Individual, Group, and Structure (p. 13). Since the focus of OB is the people who make up the groups and structure, there are no conclusive certainties in this field. Human behavior is somewhat predictable however, it is impossible to tell what different people will do in the same situation.
