Models of Organisational Behaviour – OB
OB Model: Organisational behaviour and models of organisation behaviour guide and direct the management on how to achieve the organisational goals effectively by giving importance to human factors.
Models of OB: Individually the four organisational behaviour models are based on key trends of thought and research, which are further described below.
There are Four models of organisational behaviour which are described as follows:

The Models of Organisational Behaviour are:
2. Supportive Model
3. Custodial Model
4. Collegial Model
Models of organisational behaviour with examples are described as follows:
Autocratic Model
Autocratic model of OB: The autocratic model of organisational behaviour – OB is a model in which power, formal authority, and strength are located at the top. Decision making power in the model lies with top authorities and managers. Low-level employees do not have any power to participate in group decision making.
Employees work for their employers, and they follow their directions. Their ideas are not taken into consideration by authorities under the model. In an organization following the autocratic model, the manager has the authority to order the employees to perform a specific task.
Management considers itself as the supreme authority to tell what is to be done and what is right or wrong for the organization and thus employees must obey their orders and commands. This model results in over-dependence of employees on their bosses and management every time they are forced to go to their boss if they need any advice on what to do instead of making a decision of their own, it results in reduced employee morale, poor decision-making ability, and high turnover.
Employees start expressing their hatred towards the company at home and in society but not on the premises. Another drawback of this model is its lack of trust in its leaders.
Autocratic model of organizational behaviour example: Defence team, because here officer holds authority and power to obey them and thus soldiers are obedient to execute officer’s order.
Five major features of the autocratic model of organizational behaviour are as follows:
i) Management itself Decides Right or Wrong
The power of decision-making lies only with the top management and if the employees don’t follow their orders they may get punished for this. The autocratic model theory believes that only management has the power to decide what is right or wrong. Employees are assumed to be obedient and resistant to the requirements and needs of the organization. This model is similar to McGregor’s Theories X and Y in nature.
ii) Power Based
As per the autocratic model, the power lies only with the management. The person who is in command has the right to issue orders and all the employees have to obey the command or else they will have to face the consequences.
iii) Formal by Nature
Organisations that follow the autocratic model have a formal managerial attitude and have official authority. People are forced to follow all the instructions.
iv) Obedient Orientation of Employees
Under this model, the employee does not respect their manager, but they are dutiful toward their boss.
v) Employees are Dependent on the Boss
The boss has complete power over the employees in such organizations. Thus, employees do not feel valued and part of the overall team. This results in a low level of work performance.
Custodial Model
The custodial model of organisational behaviour focuses on providing security to employees. Once that’s in place, employees are relieved of the indecision or chaos of the autocratic model. The focus of this model is on the job satisfaction, security, and welfare needs of the employees, thus leading the employee to depend on the organization rather than the boss. This model creates employee loyalty and motivation to employees. The employees get frequent economic rewards and recognition which make them happy but it does not lead to high motivation. Employees are happy and satisfied under this model, as it provides economic benefits by way of wages and several other programs from the company.
Example of the custodial model of ob: Garments factory, because it is based on the economical resource. Here labourers perform their job for money, security and benefit, if an organization do well then employee get better benefit
The salient features of custodial models of organizational behaviour are:
i) Resource Based
For a successful custodial approach, the presence of economic resources is essential.
ii) Monetary Affiliations
The major focus of the management is to provide economic security to employees through the payment of salaries, wages, and financial benefits to the employees.
iii) Focuses on Employee Security
Employees’ security needs are given much importance to motivate them for better results and performance. An organization can follow the custodial model only when it is in a good financial condition to provide timely payment of salaries, pensions, wages, and other benefits to the employees.
iv) Employee Dependence on the Organisation
The monetary benefits that the employees gain from this model make them dependent on the organization rather than on the employer.
v) Employee Focuses only on monetary benefits
In a custodial environment, the employees focus only on the financial benefits that are provided by the organization and their performance becomes dependent on the rewards and remunerations that they receive. The employees feel well-maintained and contented but not essentially motivated as they sometimes feel trapped because the benefits are too good to leave. As a result, some employees do not perform well and retain low performance as they would perform under an autocratic approach.
Supportive Model
The supportive model of organisational behaviour models focuses on getting work done through proficient leadership rather than power, control, authority, and money. It believes in forming an environment that helps both the employees and the organization to develop mutually. The supportive model of OB provides the employees with a chance to take responsibility and contribute towards the goals of the organization and develop themselves.
The supportive model of organizational behaviour differs from the custodial approach as it focuses on employees’ growth and performance rather than on the employees’ financial benefits. The psychological result is that the employee develops a sense of belongingness towards the organization as he participates in its growth and development.
Example of supportive model: A software company, because here leaders support their employees to fulfil their project or their tasks.
Three major features of supportive models of organisational behaviour are as follows:
i) Based on Leadership
This model believes in good leadership instead of emphasizing power and money to achieve results. The organization allows the employees to develop give their best and contribute to the organisation’s growth using effective leadership.
ii) Leader Supports Employees
Leaders have the essence of bringing out the best in their associates. They understand that employees are not lazy or resistant towards their work but improper working conditions make them so. If an opportunity is given to them, then they can take responsibility for that work, but efforts to contribute and improve their performance. The management’s focus in this model is to improve the performance of employees by providing them with opportunities rather than offering benefits as done in the custodial model.
iii) Increases Participation
A sense of belongingness towards the organization develops in the employee because an opportunity to participate is provided to employees by management.
iv) Strongly Motivated Employees
Employees in an organization with a supportive model are more directed toward work because their need for money, status, and recognition is completely fulfilled. Thus, employees work with strength and passion.
Collegial Model
The collegial model of organisational behaviour refers to a group of people sharing a common goal. The collegial model of organizational behaviour is related to teamwork. The basis of the collegial model is teamwork – everyone works as a peer.
According to this model, the management works to develop a better team and acts as a mutual contributor and not as a boss. A manager is a ‘coach’ who guides and directs his team members to perform well rather than focusing on his own performance.
The psychological result of this approach is that the employees feel a sense of self-discipline as they own the responsibility for the work. This condition makes the employees feel that they are important and hold a place in the organization. Therefore they are inspired towards performing better in their workplace. This can be understood better with a collegial model example.
Example of the collegial model of ob: Social organization such as willingly blood donation organization BADHON, because here every employee works as a team and each member takes responsibility for accomplishing the organizational goal.
Features of the collegial model are as follows:
i) Based on Employee Cooperation
In the collegial model, the management builds a sense of partnership with the employee and the employee feels his value and importance in the organization. Since the manager is also contributing to the task, the employees begin to respect their jobs as well. The manager acts as an active participant rather than an authority.
ii) Focuses on Teamwork
The management acts as a trainer and emphasizes teamwork. Management trains and tries to create a team spirit among the employees.
iii) Employees Feel Responsible
Employees when provided with trust and dignity, react in a very responsible manner. For example, employees produce good quality products not because they are afraid of management, termination, or the quality inspector but because they feel responsible for the organization. They feel responsible for the quality standard of their product and services which in turn will be beneficial to both the employees and the organization. This self-discipline that the collegial model inculcates in the employee’s behaviour results in a better quality of work.
iv) Employees Feel Satisfied
This type of approach acts as a motivation for the employee’s self-esteem. They feel a sense of importance and self-awareness by contributing to the success of the organization. This leads to appropriate improvement in employee performance.
Meaning of Organisational Behaviour – OB
Organisational behaviour is the field of study dedicated to understanding and utilization of information about the behaviour of people and groups in an organisation.
Organisational behaviour helps in explaining the relationship between employees and organisations in terms of the group, people, organisation, and the entire system. The goal is to accomplish organisational, human, and social objectives by building better relationships inside the organisation.
Organisational behaviour can be defined as the arrangement, working, and performance of organisations, and the conduct of individuals and groups in the organisation. In short, the assessment of people within an organisational setup is termed organisational behaviour.
It includes examination, motivation, attitude, forecasting, and management of human behaviour.
Related Articles:
- Scope of Organisational Behaviour
- Nature of organisational behaviour
- Models of Organisational Behaviour
- Emotional Intelligence in Organisational behaviour
- Importance of Organisational Behaviour
- Factors Influencing Perception
- Contributing Disciplines to Organisational behaviour
- Factors Affecting Organisational Culture
- Challenges and Opportunities of Organisational Behaviour
- Approaches of Organisational Behaviour
- Foundation of Organisational Behaviour
Questions:
1. Explain the different models of ob.
2. What are the different models of organisational behaviour?
3. Discuss the various models of organisational behaviour.
4. The models of organisational behaviour are
5. Explain organizational behavior model organizational behaviour model.
6. What is supportive model?
7. What are various ob models? Organisational behaviour model.
8. Explain organizational behaviour models.
9. What is autocratic model?
10. Collegial models