Unit

The Nature of Organizational

Behaviour (OB)

Centre for Distance Education, IAE, University of Ghana, Legon

 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

The Nature of Organizational Behaviour (OB)

Introduction
I welcome you my valued student to the first unit of this course,
which marks the beginning of our journey together through the
world of organizational behaviour. Before we take off, I advise you
to stay focused throughout the journey, with an inquisitive mind.
Keep your mind on the following questions: (1) What is the field of
organizational behaviour all about? (2) Why is it important to study
organizational behaviour? By the end of our journey, you should
have found answers to these questions.

Unit 1 lays the foundation of the whole course. The unit explains
the basic nature of organizational behaviour as a field of study;
describes the primary goals as well as the basic characteristics and
concepts of the field. It identifies also the contributions made by
major behavioural science disciplines to organizational behaviour.
I shall explain these things to you and as much as possible use
practical examples to illustrate them.

Unit 1 covers the following topics in six sections

Section 1 The Basic Nature of Organizational Behaviour as a

Field of Study

Section 2 Primary Goals of Organizational Behaviour

Section 3 The Importance of Organizational Behaviour

Section 4 Scientific Foundations of Organizational Behaviour

Section 5 Disciplines Contributing to the Field of

Organizational Behaviour

Section 6 The Emergence of Organizational Behaviour as a

Field of Study

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Objectives
Upon the completion of this unit, you should be able to

 explain the meaning and nature of organizational behaviour as

a field of study

 describe the fundamental assumptions underlying

organizational behaviour

 describe the primary goals of organizational behaviour

 identify the basic concepts of organizational behaviour

 describe the basic characteristics of organizational behaviour

 explain the importance of the field of organizational behaviour

 discuss contributions of major disciplines in the behavioural

sciences to organizational behaviour

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 1 The Basic Nature of Organizational

Behaviour as a Field of Study

Introduction
I warmly welcome you as your teacher, as we take the very first
step on our journey through the world of organizational behaviour.

In this section, I shall first analyze some definitions of

organizational behaviour put forward by some writers in the field. I
shall then identify some basic characteristics of the field of
organizational behaviour from these definitions.

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to

 define organizational behaviour (O.B.)

 describe the basic characteristics of the field of organizational

behaviour.

What is Organizational Behaviour?

Greenberg and Baron (2008: 5) define organizational behaviour as
“the multi-disciplinary field that seeks knowledge of behaviour in
organizational settings by systematically studying individual, group,
and organizational processes”.

Robbins and Judge (2007: 9) see organizational behaviour as “a

field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups,
and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the
purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an
organization’s effectiveness”. Moorhead and Griffin (1992: 7)
define organizational behaviour as “the study of human behaviour
in organizational settings, the interface between human behaviour
and the organization, and the organization itself”.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

The meaning of Organizational Behaviour

What do these definitions imply?

We learn from these definitions that organizational behaviour is a

field of study that is concerned with systematically studying human
behaviour in an organizational setting in order to understand that
behaviour and use the knowledge acquired to predict, control, and
direct behaviour to enhance performance of organizations. It
studies the behaviour of individuals, and of groups in an
organization. In other words, it studies the factors that influence
the behaviour of individuals and of groups in an organization. The
field of organizational behaviour is therefore concerned specifically
with employment-related situations such as jobs, work,
absenteeism, labour turnover, productivity, human performance
and management.

Dear student, it is important at this point to note that the principal

issues addressed by organizational behaviour are

 individual behaviour and performance at work

 the nature and working of people in groups

 the process of management of organizations

 the nature of social structure and organizational design at work

 the process involved in adapting behaviour to meet changing

conditions

 interactions with the external environment of which the

organization is a part

 Activity 1.1
1. From the definitions and their implications we can identify some
characteristics of OB. Write down two characteristics that you
are able to identify

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

2. The definitions of OB and their implications reveal some basic

characteristics of the field.

Basic Characteristics of the Field of

Organizational Behaviour
The definitions of OB and their implications reveal some basic
characteristics of the field.

First, organizational behaviour (OB) is a field of study

In other words, it is a unique or distinct area of expertise with a
common body of knowledge: just as accounting is a field of study
because it is a unique area of expertise with a common body of
knowledge. Similarly finance is a field of study because it is a
unique area of expertise with a common body of knowledge.

Second, organizational behaviour is firmly grounded

in the scientific method
Organizational behaviour studies human behaviour systematically.
Researchers in the field of OB use systematic observation and
measurement of human behaviour in order to build a body of
knowledge based on empirical evidence. OB does not accept
common sense explanations of behaviour.

Third, OB studies three determinants of behaviour in

organizations
OB recognizes that the three determinants of behaviour are
individuals, groups, and the organization itself. In organizations
people do not work exclusively as individuals. They frequently
work together in groups and teams. Also, people as individuals
and in groups both influence and are influenced by the work
environments. OB emphasizes the point that all three determinants
must be considered in order to get a comprehensive understanding
of organizational behaviour. For example, we can study the
behaviour of Mr. X., an employee in the organization. But the
organization and the department or the group to which Mr. X
belongs influence his behaviour just as Mr. X also influences them.
Therefore, we cannot fully understand the behaviour of Mr. X
without learning about the organization and the department or
group to which he belongs.

Fourth, OB is multidisciplinary in nature

That is, contemporary OB draws contributions from a number of
disciplines in the behavioural sciences. The major contributing

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

disciplines are psychology, especially industrial or organizational

psychology, social psychology, sociology and anthropology. The
contributions of these disciplines are discussed in Section 5 of Unit
1.

Fifth, OB has an applied focus

The body of knowledge created by OB is applied to improve
organizational effectiveness and the quality of life at work. In other
words, OB knowledge is used to help people achieve high
performance and experience satisfaction through their work in the
organization.

These are the basic characteristics of the field of organizational

behaviour. They show us what the field of organizational behaviour
is all about. Remember our focal question “what is the field of
organizational behaviour all about”?

Summary
In this section, you and I examined some definitions of OB as a
field of study. From these definitions we identified the meaning as
well as the basic characteristics of the field. I hope you have
enjoyed our discussion.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 2 Primary Goals of Organizational

Behaviour

Introduction
Welcome my valued student to Section 2 of Unit 1 of this course.
This is the second step of our journey. Every field of study has its
own goals. What are the goals of the field of organizational
behaviour? This is the focus of this section.

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to

 explain the meaning of the term goal

 describe the primary goals of the field of organizational

behaviour

What is a Goal?
A goal is simply a desirable objective to be achieved (Moorhead
and Griffin 1992: 356). Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced
Learners International Student Edition defines goal as “something
that you hope to achieve” (2002: 609).

Almost everyone sets goals; human behaviour is therefore said to

be goal-directed. Students have goals. Managers in organizations
have goals for the growth of their organizations.

 Activity 2.1
What is your goal for this course? ----------------------------------------
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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

The primary goals of the field of OB are

 to describe systematically how people behave under various

conditions;

 to understand why people behave as they do;

 to predict future employee behaviour;

 to control (at least partially) and develop some human activity

at work.

Now, I will examine each of these goals.

To describe systematically how people behave under

various conditions
Systematic study looks at relationships between events (or
variables), attempts to attribute causes and effects, and draws
conclusions based on scientific evidence. This means that one
goal of OB is to observe people’s behaviour over a period of time.
After a long period of observation, the observer can accurately
describe how people behave under the given conditions. This
means the description is not based on just one or two observations.
For example, a manager who has closely observed the behaviours
of his subordinates during rainy seasons over a couple of years
can systematically describe how the subordinates behave during
these seasons. For example, he may realize that during rainy
seasons majority of the subordinates come to work late and the
rate of absenteeism also goes up.

To understand why people behave as they do

That is, to find out the reasons behind the observed behaviours. In
other words, the factors that cause the behaviours. For example,
the manager has to investigate why the subordinates behave the
way they do during rainy seasons. He may find out that most of the
subordinates are farmers, and during rainy seasons they prefer to
attend to their farms first before coming to work. The manager now
knows the reason behind the subordinates behaviours during rainy
seasons.

To predict future employee behaviour

If managers understand the reasons behind the behaviours of their
employees, they would be able to predict their behaviours in certain
situations. For example, the manager can predict how his
subordinates would behave during rainy seasons.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

To control (at least partially) and develop some

human activity at work
If managers understand the reasons behind their employees
behaviours, they would be able to control and direct their
behaviours in order to enhance their job performance. For
example, as a control measure, the manager may decide that
during rainy seasons work should begin at 10.00 a.m. instead of
8.00 a.m. in order to give the subordinates the opportunity to attend
to their farms before coming to work; and to come to work on
Saturday to make up for the man hours lost during the working
week.

Thus, the primary goals of OB imply that in all types of

organizations, there is the need for people in management to be
able to systematically describe, understand, and predict the
behaviours of employees in order to better manage or control them
for the good of the organizations and of the employees themselves.

Summary
In this section I described the primary goals of the field of OB, and I
explained to you the meanings of these goals, with illustrative
examples. You can now appreciate the significance of OB
knowledge in the management of organizations.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 3 The Importance of Organizational

Behaviour

Introduction
I warmly welcome you to Section 3 of Unit 1 of this course. In
Section 2 we discussed the primary goals of the field of OB. These
goals, in fact, point to the significance or role of OB in the
management of organizations. In this section, the third lap of our
journey, I shall examine the importance of the field of OB. Our
focal question in this section is why study OB?

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to

 explain the significance of the field of OB

 identify the relationship between OB and management

 understand why it is important for you to study OB

 Activity 3.1
Which of the following organizations would you prefer to work in?

Organization A: In this organization, everyone is friendly, knows

what to do, hard working, and very pleasant.

Organization B: In this organization, people are not friendly,

nobody knows what to do, everybody is complaining; people are
lazy, and your boss is unapproachable.

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I am sure you would prefer organization A. Man (i.e. human being)

is a social animal and as such wherever he is he wants to love and
be loved. In other words, he wants to make friends. The situation
in organization A provides the right environment to satisfy this
social need of man. The situation in organization A is one most
likely to excite in you the desire to go to work regularly, do your
best at work, and enjoy what you are doing. In other words, the
situation in organization A makes you feel good about your work,
and how well you perform on your job.

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 Activity 3.2
What is the situation in each of the two organizations all about?

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First, the situation in both organizations is all about human

behaviour. OB explains how employees feel about their work, and
how well they perform on their work. And given the fact that most
adults spend the better part of their lives working in organizations,
knowledge of OB matters to them. Therefore, no matter what job
you do in the organization, knowing something about OB is sure to
help you do your job better.

Second, organizations are people, and without people there would

be no organizations. It is people who make things happen in the
organizations. Therefore, an organization’s most valuable asset is
its people. Managers work with and through the members of the
organization to achieve the goals of the organization. It is,
therefore, critical for managers to understand the people they are
working with. That is, to be successful managers they must
understand the people who make up the organization.

Third, since people are the most valuable asset of any

organization, they have a right to expect something beyond wages
and employee benefits, for their contributions to the organization.
Given the competitive nature of today’s business world, many
employees want opportunity to grow and develop and to learn new
skills. An understanding of OB can help managers better
appreciate these needs and expectations of employees.

Fourth, dissatisfied employees are more likely to be absent

frequently and to look for work elsewhere than employees who are
happy. Knowledge of OB can help managers recognize the
problems of the work place and improve the quality of work
experiences of individuals.

It is clear from our discussion that the subject of OB is intended to

support the knowledge one needs to be a successful manager.
The understanding of individual and group behaviour helps in the
development of managerial talents. OB cuts across all functional
areas of the organization, because dealing with people at work is
the responsibility of every manager of the organization on the job.
Organizations that offer good employee benefits and that have
friendly conditions are more profitable than those that are less
people-oriented.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Thus the main reason to know about OB is simply because OB

matters. We have answered our focal question.

Summary
In this section I explained to you the significance of the knowledge
of OB. You have learned that OB is important to the organization,
the manager, and the individual employee. You noticed also the
relationship between OB and management.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 4 Scientific Foundations of

Organizational Behaviour

Introduction
I heartily welcome you my valued student to Section 4 of Unit 1 of
this course. In Section 1 we discussed, among other things, the
basic characteristics of the field of organizational behaviour (OB),
and you learned that OB is firmly rooted in the scientific method. In
Section 4, we shall explore these characteristics further to
understand how OB specialists apply the scientific methodology in
their researches. Hence, our focal question in this section is “what
is the nature of research in the field of OB?”

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to

 explain the meaning of science

 discuss the nature of scientific research

 discuss the nature of research in organizational behaviour

What is Science?
Science is a way of learning about the world that combines
systematic theory and observation to provide explanations for how
things work (Appelbaum and Chambliss 1995: 11).

What is Scientific Research?

Scientific research refers to “the different methods used by
scientists to achieve the goal of systematic observation and
information gathering” (Appelbaum and Cambliss 1995: 11).

The Nature of Research in Organizational

Behaviour
Organizational behaviour is an applied behavioural science, and
like the other behavioural sciences, seeks to study human
behaviour through the use of the scientific method which
emphasizes research. The scientific method involves observation,
experimentation, and conclusion. It is a systematic study which

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

looks at relationships between variables, attempts to attribute

causes and effects (hypotheses) and gathers data through
experiment, and draws conclusion based on the data collected.
Researchers in organizational behaviour use the scientific
approach to test the validity of observations about human
behaviour For example, some people believe that people who have
big heads tend to be very intelligent.

This is an observation which is based on common sense rather

than systematic study. It is an intuition which assumes that there is
a relationship between the size of a person’s head and intelligence.
In other words, it assumes there is a relationship between two
variables, a person’s head and intelligence. A variable is any
general characteristic that can be researched and that changes in
either amplitude (strength), intensity or both (Robbins and Judge,
2007). A variable may be dependent or independent. A dependent
variable is a response that is affected by an independent variable
(Robbins and Judge, 2007: 687).

An independent variable is the presumed cause of some change in

the dependent variable (Robbins and Judge, 2007: 687). Thus, in
the intuition we are considering, intelligence is the dependent
variable because it is supposed to depend on the size of a person’s
head; and the independent variable is the size of the head because
it is presumed to be the determinant of a person’s level of
intelligence. The validity of this common sense observation can be
tested through the scientific method. This is the nature of research
in the field of organizational behaviour. Scholars or researchers in
the field of organizational behaviour use the scientific research
methodology to add to common sense observations (intuitions).

Let us look at some other examples. It is generally believed that

money is the best motivator. That is, people work for money,
hence people work harder if the money (salary or wages) is good.
This is a popular belief (intuition).

 Activity 4.1
1. Will good money make you work harder? -----------------------------

2. Explain your
answer----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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But research studies have established that money is not the best
motivator, not in all cases. This common sense observation is not
supported by research findings (i.e. empirical evidence).

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Here is another popular intuition; “two heads are better than one”.
This means, decisions made by groups are better than those made
by individuals. In other words, group decision making is better than
individual decision making.

 Activity 4.2
What is your opinion? -----------------------------------------------------------

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Research has proved that this is not always true.

Thus the answer to our focal question is that research in
organizational behaviour is deeply rooted in scientific research
methodology. Through research OB adds sense to common
sense.

Summary
In this section, we focused our attention on the nature of research
in the field of organizational behaviour. We looked at definitions of
science, scientific research, and a variable. We made distinction
between dependent variable and independent variable. I explained
to you how researchers or scholars in OB field use the scientific
method to test the validity of common sense observations about
human behaviour.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 5 Disciplines Contributing to the Field

of Organizational Behaviour
Introduction
Welcome my valued student to yet another lap of our journey
through the OB world, Section 5 of Unit 1. In Section 1 we learned
that one of the basic characteristics of the field of OB is that it is
multidisciplinary in nature. That is, contemporary OB field draws
contributions from a number of behavioural science disciplines. In
this section I shall discuss with you the major contributing
disciplines and their contributions. Hence the central questions in
this section are: “which disciplines in the behavioural sciences
have contributed to the field of OB?”. “What are their specific
contributions?” Let us find answers to these questions.

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to

 explain the multidisciplinary nature of the OB field

 describe the behavioural science disciplines making

contributions to the field of OB, and their specific contributions

Behavioural Science Disciplines Contribution to

the Field of Organizational Behaviour
The major behavioural science disciplines that have contributed to
the emergence of organizational behaviour as a field of study
include psychology, social psychology, sociology, and
anthropology.

Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and

sometimes change the behaviour of human and other animals
(Robbins and Judge, 2007: 12). Psychologists study individual
behaviour. Their contributions include learning, personality,
perception, training, emotions, leadership, needs and motivational
forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance
appraisals, attitude measurement, employee-selection techniques,
work design, and job stress.

Sociology is the study of people in relation to their social

environment or culture (Robbins and Judge, 2007: 13). The goal of
sociology that is shared by many other social science disciplines is
to study social relations scientifically. Sociologists are not content

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with common-sense or intuitive answers to questions about human

relations. Rather, they use the systematic approach to gather
information and use the information gathered to develop systematic
explanations. In other words, sociologists use the scientific method
(research) to address questions of human social relations.

Sociologists focus on studying group behaviour in organizations.

Their contributions include organizational culture, formal
organization theory and structure, organizational technology,
communications, power and conflict.

Social Psychology is an area within psychology that blends

concepts from both psychology and sociology. It focuses on the
influence of people on one another. Social psychologists study
interactions between people, their perception of one another, and
the effects that groups have on individual behaviour. The
contributions of social psychologists are in the areas of change
management, measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes;
communication patterns; building trust; power, and conflict.

Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings

and their activities (Robbins and Judge 2007: 11). Anthropologists
have contributed to our understanding of organizational culture,
organizational environments, and differences between cultures.

These social science disciplines have together contributed to the

emergence of organizational behaviour as a field of study.

 Activity 5.1
Mention one characteristic that is shared by OB and social science
disciplines described above.

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Summary
In this section, I described the disciplines in the social sciences that
have made significant contributions to the emergence of
organizational behaviour as a field of study, and their specific
contributions. You would agree with me that they have all made
significant contributions to the development of OB as a field of
study.

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Answer Activity 5.1

One common characteristic is that they all use the scientific

approach in their investigations or researches. Another
characteristic common to them is they all study human behaviour.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Section 6 Emergence of Organizational

Behaviour as a Field of Study

Introduction
I warmly welcome you to Section 6, the last section of the first unit
of this course. In Section 5, you learned about some disciplines in
the field of behavioural sciences that have made immense
contributions to the emergence of organizational behaviour as a
field to study. In the present section, I shall discuss with you the
classic researches that laid the foundation for the field of
organizational behaviour. Our focal question in this section is
“what were the findings of these classic researches?”

Objectives
Upon the completion of this section, you should be able to:

 define norms

 discuss the significant place that norms have in determining

the behaviour of the individual

 discuss the roles of individuals and groups in organizations

 describe the relationship between the individual worker and

the workplace

What are Norms?

One of the significant findings of these classical researches is the
significant place that norms have in determining individual
behaviour. I, therefore, want us to first examine the meaning of the
term norms before we go on to discuss the classical researches
themselves.

According to Robbins (1989: 241) “norms are acceptable standards

of behaviour within a group that are shared by members of the
group”. Appelbaum, et al (1995: 62) define norms as “the shared
roles in a particular culture, that tell its members how to behave in a
given situation”. In the words of Moorhead and Griffin (1992: 205),
“a norm is a standard against which the appropriateness of a
behaviour is judged”. These definitions imply that norms are the
behaviours or patterns of behaviour expected of people in certain
situations. In other words, norms tell the individual what he or she
ought or ought not to do in certain situations. Every group has its

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

established norms that tell group members how to behave or what

to do in certain situations. It follows that without norms the
activities within a group would be chaotic.

Group norms can be formal, that is written, or informal, that is not

written. For example, the formalized norm in the Catholic church is
that men who are ordained to the priesthood in the church cannot
marry. Similarly, married men in the church cannot be ordained to
the priesthood. Majority of group norms are informal. An example
of informal norm in the church is dressing decently to church
service.

 Activity 6.1
Write down one formal and one informal norm in your church or in a
group to which you belong.

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The Classic Researches

These are the Hawthorne Studies, and the Human Relations
Movement.

The Hawthorne Studies

These studies represent the earliest systematic research in the field
of organizational behaviour. The main objective of these studies
was to determine how the design of work environments affected
the performance of workers. That is, to examine the relationship
between the physical environment of work and productivity. The
studies were conducted in the United States between 1927 and
1932 in a company, Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant near
Chicago. The studies consisted of three major experiments. The
first set of experiments studied the effects of different levels of
lighting on productivity (i.e. illumination experiments). The second
set of experiments were carried out in the relay assembly test room
at Western Electric, involving a small group of women assembling
small telephone relays in a room. (The relay assembly test room
experiments).

The third experiment involved a nine-man group that assembled

terminal banks for telephone exchanges (i.e. the bank wiring
observation room experiments). The last phase of the researches

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was an interviewing programme. Now, let us look at each of these

sets of experiments and their findings.

The Illumination Experiments

These experiments were conducted under the direction of Elton
Mayo, a psychologist at Harvard University.

Aim: To examine the relationship between the physical

environment of work and productivity.

The physical environment comprised illumination (light intensity),

temperature, and other working conditions.

Procedure: Two groups of workers were used for the

experiments. One group was the experimental group, and the
second group was the control group. The two groups were put in
separate rooms. The researchers systematically manipulated
upward and downward the intensity of illumination in the room in
which the experimental group was, whilst the lighting in the room of
the control group was left unchanged. The changes in the outputs
(productivity) of the groups were measured and compared.

Observations: The researchers observed that as the intensity of

illumination was increased for the experimental group, the output of
the group went up. Output of the control group also increased
although the intensity of illumination remained unchanged.

Second, even when intensity of illumination in the room of the

experimental group was decreased, the group’s output continued to
increase. It was only when the intensity of illumination was
reduced to that of moonlight that productivity started to decrease.

Three, in no instance was the increase or decrease in output of the

groups in proportion to the increase or decrease in intensity of
illumination.

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that lighting had no

relationship with productivity. In other words, the productivity was
influenced by factors other than changes in the physical conditions
of work.

The Relay assembly Test Room Experiments

These experiments were a follow-up to the illumination
experiments.

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Aim: To find explanation for the behaviour observed in the

illumination experiments.

Procedure: A small group of women was selected from the

workers of the main relay assembly test room of Western Electric,
and put in a room similar to the normal assembly room department.
Their job involved assembling telephone relays by putting together
a number of small parts. The work was boring and repetitive. This
group constituted the experimental group, while the remaining
workers in the main assembly test room constituted the control
group. The only difference between the two groups was that a
research assistant was placed in the room of the experimental
group to act as an observer, “keeping records of output, rejects,
working conditions, and a daily log sheet describing everything that
happened”. Robbins (1989: 243). The control group did not have
any observer placed in their room.

Observations: The experimental group’s output increased steadily

over a period of two-and-a-half years. The morale of the group
also increased. The number of personal absences and those due
to sickness were approximately one-third of those recorded by
women in the regular production department (i.e. the control
group).

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that the women in the

experimental group perceived themselves as a “special” group (an
elite group) set up by management for the purpose of the
experiment. This perception of themselves as a special group
served as a motivator to the group which led to the steady increase
in the group’s output. In other words, the women in the
experimental group saw management’s recognition of their value in
the organization, and this energized them to work harder. Also,
knowing that they were being studied made them feel special and
this motivated them to do their best.

The Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment

This experiment was similar in design to the relay test room
experiments. But this experiment used men workers, and there
was also a piecework incentive system where workers could earn
more money the more work they produced.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between economic rewards

and productivity.

Procedure: The experimental group consisted of nine men whose

job involved assembling terminal banks for telephone exchanges.
The piecework incentive scheme was introduced that linked
individual performance to economic rewards. The group was given

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

a daily output rate and individuals who achieved the rate would
earn more money.

Observation: Contrary to the researchers’ assumption that the

economic rewards would cause individual workers to maximize
their output, individuals in the group did not maximize their output.
That is, the researchers thought that each member of the group
would work pretty hard to make more money for himself. But this
was not the case.

A Follow-up Interview Programme

The researchers interviewed the workers in order to find
explanations for their behaviours. The interviews revealed that the
group, as a whole, established a performance norm for its
members. That is, an acceptable level of output for its members,
which the group thought was proper or fair work for a day, neither
too much nor too little. The group established the following norms:
don’t be a rate-buster (i.e. producing above the level set by the
group); don’t be a chiseler (i.e. producing below the group level);
don’t be a squealer on any of your peers (i.e. don’t report your
colleagues). The group set these norms for itself in order to guard
against the imposition of unreasonable standards by management.

Members were afraid that if they continually increased their output

significantly, management would increase the daily output rate, cut
the unit incentive rate, and some workers might be laid off. That is,
the group set the norms in order to protect itself. A worker who
valued his membership of the group would keep to the group’s
performance norm, neither producing at too high nor too low a
level. Hence, as a worker in the group approached the level set by
the group each day, he slowed down in order to avoid over
producing. Sometimes the group stopped work long before closing
time. Consequently the group was operating far below its
capability.

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that group norms have a

significant impact on individual behaviour at work.

 Activity 6.2
How would you classify the norms set by the bank wiring
observation room experiment group; formal or informal? Explain
your answer?

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Findings from the Hawthorne Studies: The Hawthorne

researchers concluded that how effectively people work depends
not only on the physical characteristics of the work environment,
but also on social processes (social relations) in the environment.
In the illumination experiments, the workers’ perception of
themselves as an elite group specifically selected by management
for the experiment motivated them to do their best to prove their
value in the company.

Similarly, in the incentive system experiment, membership of the

group meant more to the members than economic reward. That is,
group membership was more motivating to members than the
economic incentive offered them.

Thus, the Hawthorne studies have proved that social processes or

social forces at the workplace are greater determinants of work
performance than the physical environment at work; particularly the
significant place that group norms have in determining individual
work behaviour.

The Human Relations Movement

The findings of the Hawthorne studies laid the foundation for an
entirely new school of thought on management, known as the
human relations movement. It was a people-centred approach to
management which emphasized that the social conditions existing
in organizations, i.e. the way employees are treated by
management, and the way they (the employees) relate with each
other, influence job performance. The human relations movement
was based on the following assumptions:

 people respond primarily to their social environment,

 motivation depends more on social needs than on economic

needs;

 that satisfied employees work harder than unsatisfied

employees. Moorhead and Griffin (1992: 15).

In other words, the human relations movement assumed that

effective human relations in organizations stimulate high
productivity and the commitment of workers to the organization and
its goals.

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 ADMIN 313 Human Behaviour In Organisation Unit 1 The Nature of Organisational Behaviour (OB)

Summary
In this section, I explained to you the classic researches that laid
the foundation for the emergence of the field of organizational
behaviour. I discussed with you the major findings of these
researches. You learned that their findings have helped our
understanding of the roles of individuals and groups in an
organization. They brought into focus the importance of individual
and social processes in organizations; particularly the important
influence of group norms on individual behaviour.

 Assignment 1

1. Why study Organizational Behaviour? Explain.

2. Your 12-year old brother or sister in the second year at senior

high school wants to know what organizational behaviour is all
about. Explain the nature of OB to him/her in a way that he/she
understands and appreciates what OB is all about.

3. Explain the relationship between organizational behaviour (OB)

and the process of management.

Unit Summary
My dear student, we have come to the end of the first unit of this
course. It is an introductory unit in which I examined the nature of
organizational behaviour as a field of study. The specific topics I
discussed with you included: the basic nature of the field of OB;
the primary goals and significance of the field; the scientific
foundations of the field; disciplines in the field of behavioural
sciences that have made significant contributions to the
development of the field as well as the early classic researches that
laid the foundation for the emergence of OB as a field of study. I
hope you did enjoy the discussions as much as I did.

Answer to Activity 6.2

The norms set by the group were informal because they were not
put into writing. They were agreed upon by members of the group.
The group used such methods as name calling, ridicule, and
ostracizing to enforce its norms.

26 Centre for Distance Education, IAE, University of Ghana, Legon