Origins of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior is a unique combination of different disciplines. The predominate areas are psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, political science, and economics.

Psychology is the science that seeks of measure, explain and sometimes change the behaviour and other animals, Psychologists concern themselves with studying and attempting to understand individual behavior. Many of the theories dealing with personality, attitude, learning, motivation, and stress have been applied in Organizational Behavior to understand work-related phenomena such as job satisfaction, commitment, absenteeism, turnover, and worker well-being.

Sociologists, studying the structure and function of small groups within a society have contributed greatly to a more complete understanding of behavior within organizations. Specifically, sociologists have made their greatest contribution to OB through their study of group behaviour in organizations, particularly formal and complex organisations. Some of the areas within OB that received valuables input from sociologists include group up dynamic, organizational technology, bureaucracy, communications, power, conflicts, and intergroup behavior.

Social psychology is an area within psychology, but blends concepts from both psychology and sociology. It focuses on the influence of people on one another. One of the major areas receiving considerable investigation from social psychologists has been change --- how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance.

Anthropology is a science of man. Anthropologists study societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Their work on cultures and environment, for instance, has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.

The contributions of political scientists are significant to the understanding of behaviour in organizations. Political scientists study the individuals and groups within a political environment. Specific topics of concern here include structuring of conflict, allocation of power, and how people manipulate power for individual self-interest.

Economics has assisted students of Organizational Behavior in understanding how competition for scarce resources both within and between organizations leads these organizations to increase their commitment to efficiency and productivity.