“Organizational Behaviour (OB) “;
Organizations are systems whose degree of complexity is variable. To obtain a reasonable vision and understanding of them, they need an in-depth analysis. As a system, an organization is made up of several subsystems which interrelate and interact in such a way that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts or elements.
This key principle of systemic theory has direct implications for the way organizations are approached, studied, and understood. Organizations as living and dynamic entities must possess some capacities, such as the ability to renew themselves, innovate, learn, adjust to internal and external changes, transform information into knowledge, solve problems, add value.
Organizational Behaviour (OB) as an important discipline for the understanding of organizational realities has received and receives contributions from various sciences such as psychology, sociology, economics, management, anthropology, etc. Probably the ability to integrate knowledge from various disciplinary backgrounds is one of the great assets of organizational behaviour (Brooks, 2006; Huczynski & Buchanan, 2013).
As a field of study, it investigates the impact that individuals, groups and the structure have on the behaviour in organizations, with the purpose of using this knowledge to promote the improvement of efficiency and organizational effectiveness. This means that there is a focus on three topics: individuals, groups and organization as a system. Thus, Organizational Behaviour tends to apply knowledge about people, groups, and the effect of structure on behaviour, aiming for a more proactive, dynamic and effective performance of organizations (Brooks, 2006).
Managing organizations is having very varied skills and capabilities such as planning, organizing, controlling and leading, with everything they have implicit. But managing organizations also presupposes a set of knowledges: conceptual (know-why), practical (know-how), behavioural (know-what) being (Garud, 1997). As a future manager and an individual within an organization the technical management skills are important. However, the awareness of the processes and interactions between individuals and the organizational procedures are crucial. Thus, understanding this social dimension will enable myself to have a more holistic view in the organization and reinforce my capabilities to effectively manage projects.
The individual-level is one of the three topics that support Organisational Behaviour studies. It codifies the intrinsic characteristics that each person carries with them when they enter the company. These characteristics are related to personality, values and attitudes that have an impact on the individual performance in organizations. There are other variables within the individual that also affect their behaviour in organizations, namely, perception, individual decision making, learning and motivation.
Regarding the group-level variables, we can observe that the behaviour of groups is not just the sum of individual behaviours, there is more than complexity embedded. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the structure and dynamics of group behaviour, how groups are influenced by expected patterns of behaviour, what the group considers to be acceptable patterns of behaviour, and the degree to which group members are drawn to by others. We can also see how patterns of communication, leadership styles, power, and politics affect group behaviour.
The last level, the structural or organizational level reach the highest level of complexity when we associate organizational structure, group and individual behaviour. Just as groups are more than the sum of individuals, organization is more than the sum of the groups that compose it. At the organizational level, there is a great diversity of topics such as culture, climate, planned change, innovation, stress, burnout, learning company, ethics and social responsibility, technology and organizational behaviour, among other topics.
The three levels’ exposition show the wealth of organizational behaviour study, characterized by the multiplicity of areas it encompasses and by the dimension they assume or can assume.
The Organizational Behaviour field allows for a systematic study that improves predictions about behaviours that would otherwise be done intuitively. It offers challenges and opportunities for future managers, as me, better understand the differences and helps realize the value of the diversity of people, policies and practices that need to be aligned. It can improve the quality and productivity of employees by showing managers how to empower them and implement planned change programs. In times of rapid and constant change, such as we are experiencing today, the study of Organizational Behaviour can help university students, future business executives, learn how to stimulate creativity, innovation, and the creation of an ethically more responsible work within organizations.
However, Asting & Swanberg (2011) state that the transmission of Organisational Behaviour knowledge further to business students has become a significant challenge, because of an increasing number of students attending university, which have led to the growth of the class size and consequently disabled the one-to-one feedback learning process. Additionally, there is a misalignment of the motivation of students seeking higher education. Today part of them choose this path as a strategic move for future employment opposite to past trend, where students were exclusively motivated by the curiosity or knowledge. Thus, it is fundamental to reflect and change the process of learning and understanding in universities to better take advantage from OB concepts. However, in universities this issue is not exclusive to OB but transversal to all modules.
The narrative exposed evidences the importance of Organisational Behaviour by enabling a better understanding of the organisation social environment and how the knowledge can help to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. OB’s accumulated knowledge should be strongly incorporated by organisations. Managers should also be aware of the potential power this subject delivers to manage people, optimize their performance and the organization welfare.