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Introduction to Organizational Behavior

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Organizational Behavior

Abstract

Organizational behavior (OB) takes a systematic approach to understand how individuals and groups behave in organizations as well as the relationship between people and organizations. This chapter examines organizational behavior from the viewpoints of professionals and researchers. First, a case is presented describing individuals’ behavior in difficult circumstances, and then a brief definition of organizational behavior follows. Next, we will analyze how organizational behavior differs from human resources. Then we will proceed to OB during the pandemic. We will also review why we study OB: from Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management to Mayo and Roethlisberger’s Human Relations Theory (Hawthorne Effect), to understand the history of organizational behavior. The following is a synopsis of all the topics that will be discussed in the book. Last, we look at organizational behavior research. This section provides an explanation of why and how we conduct OB research, as well as breaks down various study designs and measurement issues.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Henri Fayol developed an approach to managing businesses that have come to be known as Fayolism during his career as a mining engineer, executive, author, and director. The development of modern management is generally attributed to Henri Fayol (Fayol, 1949). Over the course of the twentieth century, his management theories influenced industrial management practices in a significant way. The ideas of Fayol were developed independently of other theories that were prevalent at the time, such as those of Elton Mayo and Human Relations. Fayol outlined the skills needed for effective management in his 14 Principles of Management. Fayol’s management theories are still used today. Besides the Principles, Fayol identified five basic management functions. Among the management functions are planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Fayol emphasized that managerial skills are different from technical skills. Moreover, Fayol recognized that management is a field requiring research, teaching, and development. Fayol proposed 14 principles and five functions that form the basis of Administrative Theory. A variety of nonacademics shared their experiences and contributed to its progress. Fayol’s Five Functions of Management originated the planning-organizing-leading-controlling framework that remains an influential management framework throughout the world today.

Abbreviations

Capt. Cheng:

Captain Chengquan

HR:

Human Resources

HRT:

Human Relations Theory

Liu:

Liu Guiduo

NFL:

National Football Association

NHL:

National Hockey League

OB:

Organizational Behavior

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Herberger Business School, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA

    Josiah Kwia

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  1. Josiah Kwia
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Correspondence to Josiah Kwia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA

    Ning Hou

  2. Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA

    James A. Tan

  3. Department of Art, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA

    Gustavo Valdez Paez

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Kwia, J. (2023). Introduction to Organizational Behavior. In: Hou, N., Tan, J.A., Valdez Paez, G. (eds) Organizational Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_1

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