Information About

Organisational Behaviour
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Organisational behaviour is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around Organisation s. It explores individual emotions and behaviour, team dynamics and the systems and structures of organisations. Much of organisational behaviour seeks to provide an understanding of the factors necessary for managers to create an organisation that is more "effective" or "successful" than its competitors. There are also more critical approaches to organisations that seek a more holistic view. This would include the work of Braverman, various feminist writers and those who apply Post-structuralist ideas to organisations.

History

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the essence of leadership. Aristotle addressed the topic of persuasive communication. The writings of 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli laid the foundation for contemporary work on organisational power and politics. In 1776, Adam Smith advocated a new form of organisational structure based on the division of labour. One hundred years later, German sociologist Max Weber wrote about rational organisations and initiated discussion of charismatic leadership. Soon after, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced the systematic use of goal setting and rewards to motivate employees. In the 1920's, Australian-born Harvard professor Elton Mayo and his colleagues conducted productivity studies at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant in the United States.

Organisational behaviour has existed for a long time, however it wasn't organised into a unified discipline until after World War II .

According to Stephen Robbins, "Organizational Behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness".


NOTE

''Organisational behaviour'' is the most common spelling in the Commonwealth. The spelling ''Organizational behavior'' is used in the United States; ''Organizational behaviour'' is used in Canada and sometimes in Britain as well.