Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Essay Organizational behavior is the topic and title for many MBA classes and students may not realize the contributing disciplines to OB. An organization can range from the micro to macro level; from youth sports teams, to corporations, and up to state actors(government). Behavior in an organization may be viewed as an individual’s response to his or her environment (internal locus of control), which such disciplines as psychology and anthropology might examine. As well, the type of group culture may be studied by sociologists and the feedback loop of person and group by social psychologists. Out into the external locus of control completely in terms of OB is political science, which may deal with the economy and/or government structure of different institutions and bureaucracies. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is studied extensively in organizations as a compliment to what could be considered â€Å"academic intelligence†. Psychology takes the lead on the subject of EI and understanding EI in the workplace could help to enhance employee performance and decipher the best fit for an individual within an organization. Emotional intelligence (EI) is still a relatively young developmental topic, is gaining in popularity and being marketed to human resource professionals, counseling clinicians, and organizational behavior and development consultants† (Gale Group, August 2003, p. 28). Intelligence, whether it be emotional or â€Å"actual† is as important to understand as the socio-cultural roots of employees within organizations. With such a diverse global workplace, anthropologists need to understand the cultures represented in corporations and ways to best understand the dynamics with other cultures for the benefit of each employee and work group. We are currently experiencing a resurgence of racial antipathy in the U. S. This is clear in various forms of racial oppression and overt acts of racial hostility in communities, in schools and universities, and in the workplace. We can expect these hateful episodes to escalate further if the economy continues to worsen (Eitzen, April 1992, p. 587). This article, anthropological in scope, points to the fact that with problems with the economy, will come problems with power and conflict. Problems with loyalty and trust can, also, ensue in situations were conflict is abundant. Social Psychology deals with, such things as appraisal of self in organizations as well as â€Å"moral development, the group serving bias, and the effect of inducing feelings of hypocrisy on subsequent behavior change† (Seijts Latham, August 2003, p. 233). Social Psychologists, also have a unique way of blending with what is deemed industrial/organizational psychology. Putting all these subfields of psychology and internal process testing at that locus of control is all beneficial to organizational behavior. Trust is a key element of the work of Sociologist Georg Simmel, and his symbolic interactionism approach to relationships. Trust is argued in the article cited below as a sociological, but not psychological phenomenon. Without trust there would be no loyalty to organizations and is most important to understand in organizational behavior. Students of sociological trust’s main motivation is to present trust as a sociological, rather than psychological phenomenon†¦Trust is a functional alternative to rational prediction for the reduction of complexity. Indeed, trust succeeds where rational prediction alone would fail, because to trust is to live as if certain rationally possible futures would not occur. Thus, trust reduces complexity far more quickly, economically, and thoroughly than does prediction (Mollering, 2001, p. 410). Although conflict theory and structural functionalist schools do deal with competition and bureaucracy in organizational behavior, this symbolic interactionist school view is of great importance. Of what greater importance is trust? Finally, political science deals with the most external factors in an organization and with organizational behavior. Although sociological conflict theory overlaps with political science. Economics and political stability are an actor outside of the organization and should be treated as such. Competitive advantage is a part of the political landscape and can be viewed on an individual level with competition with co-workers, as well. Competitive advantage was vested in the mass production process, with factories able to produce large numbers of goods at the lowest price using human labour to undertake repetitive operations that could not be done mechanically† (Business and Management Practices, January 2004, p. 85). All disciplines have something to contribute to organizational behavior studies. The previously mentioned, as well as biology, economics, theology, philosophy, and more. It is one of the rare areas of study that can boast this possibility and should be further explored to continue into a successful 21st global century.