Approaches of Organisational Behaviour OB

Approaches of Organisational Behaviour

In today’s working world a thorough understanding of the various approaches of organisational behaviour is important for managers and leaders to effectively manage their employees and achieve organizational objectives. 

Organisational Behaviour is the study of humans in organizations. It relates to the connection between the employees and the owner. It even helps in improving job performance and makes the job more enjoyable for employees, it promotes modern-day problems and encourages leadership.

Approaches of Organisational Behaviour

There are 4 Approaches to Organisational Behaviour. Approaches of ob are as follows:

1. Human Resource Approach
2. Contingency Approach
3. Result-Oriented Approach
4. Systems Approach

1) Human Resource Approach

The human resource approach is also known as a “supportive approach”. The human resource approach is advancing in nature. It is concerned with the growth and development of people toward a higher level of creativity, competency, and fulfilment because individuals constitute a central resource in any organization and society. The nature of the human resource approach can be understood by comparing it with the traditional management approach before the 1900s. In the traditional approach, managers decide what should be done and then closely control employees to check task performance. Management was directive and controlling. The human resources approach however is supportive. It helps employees to become better, and more responsible towards work and then it tries to create an environment in which they may contribute to the limits of their improved abilities.

2) Contingency Approach

The contingency approach is more interdisciplinary, system-oriented, and research-oriented than the traditional approach. Thus, it helps managers use this approach appropriately and apply all the current knowledge about people in the organization. Traditional management searched for the principle to provide “one best way” of control. 

There is a correct way to organize, delegate and divide the work. Management principles were considered to be universal. As the field of organisational behaviour developed, many of its followers initially supported the concept of generalization. Behavioural ideas were supposed to be applicable in any type of situation.

One example was the belief that employee-oriented leadership should consistently be better than task-oriented leadership, no matter the circumstances. An occasional exception may be admitted, but early thoughts and principles were generally applied universally. The more accepted view in the 21st century is that few across-the-board concepts apply in all instances. Situations are much more complex than first perceived, and different variables may require different behavioural approaches. The result is the contingency approach to organizational behaviour, meaning that different situations require other behavioural practices for the most effective effectiveness.

3) Result-Oriented Approach

All organizations need to achieve relevant outcomes or results. A common thread woven through organizational behaviour is a goal for many organizations to be productive. Productivity, in its most basic form, is a ratio that compares the unit of output to the team of inputs, typically measured against a predetermined standard. Productivity improves if more results can be produced from the same amount of information. But if only some inputs are used to make the same output, then productivity has remained the same. Productivity is repeatedly measured regarding economic inputs and outputs, but human and social inputs/outputs are also important.

For example, A human output or result occurs if good organizational behaviour can improve job satisfaction. Similarly, employee development programs lead to a by-product of better citizens in a community and a valuable social result.

4) Systems Approach

The system approach of the theory of systems was first developed in physical science but has been extended to other areas, such as management. A system is a set of interrelated elements working as a whole. Treating an organization as a system is essential for its success.

 The fundamental components of the systems approach include:

i) Many different elements within a system.

ii) All the parts of a system are interdependent. It means that one part may affect many other parts, and after that, it is affected by many others in a complex way.

iii) Many subsystems are altogether composed within an extensive system.

iv) Systems generally require inputs, engage in some general processes, and produce output.

v) The input-process-output mechanism is cyclical and self-sustaining. It is an ongoing and repetitive process and, thus, uses feedback to adjust itself.

vi) Systems may produce both negative and positive and results.

vii) Systems produce both accidental and planned outcomes.

viii) The consequences of a system can be both short-term and long-term.

A general framework for viewing organizations as systems is shown in the image:

An organizational system receives four inputs from its environment, i.e., Material, Human, Financial, and Information. A manager then combines and transforms these inputs, returning them to the outside world in the form of products or services, profits or losses, employees’ behaviour, and additional information. Ultimately, the system receives feedback from the environment regarding these outputs.

Interdisciplinary Approaches of organisational behaviour

The interdisciplinary approaches of organisational behaviour helps understand and analyse the causes and nature of man’s behaviour. These two levels are reactive, i.e., action taken after the behaviour manifests. They operate on the notion that ‘behaviour is caused.’ The OB precepts are used to know the ‘why and what’ part of human behaviour at work. This is the foundation upon which the prediction and control of behaviour rest.

Managers’ human or people skills use OB as an applied science to proactively predict and control human behaviour in organisations. The notion is that causes of behaviour may only sometimes be traced to organisations. The social influences, group norms, personal attributes, and values that shape the ‘individual differences’ could also be contributory. While managers can address human behaviour by associating it with organisational, they cannot change the social, group and individual causes. The prediction of human behaviour patterns is an area which can rely upon the causative aspects of behaviour. Still, behaviour control needs a fully proactive approach to manage the conduct. Here, OB processes are utilised to utilise the ‘how to manage’ aspect of human behaviour at work.

Besides the inter-disciplinary approach, OB is enriched by the Human Resources, Contingency and Systems methods. The human resource approach is developmental, contributing to individual, group, and organisational development.

The Contingency approach is based on situational variations involving actors and time and space dynamics. The open systems approach combines all these approaches. So, the systems approach is adopted to study OB, providing a rich crop of strategies to refine and motivate human behaviour at work.

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