Key Fundamentals of Organisational Behaviour

The key Fundamentals in organizational Behavior are people, structure, technology and the external elements in which the organization operates. When people come together in an organization to achieve an objective, some degree of infrastructure is required. People also utilise technology to complete the job, so there is an interface of people, structure and technology. In addition, these elements are affected by the external environment, and they in turn affect it.

People

People constitute the internal social system of the organization. They comprise of individuals and groups, and large groups as well as small ones. People are the living, thinking, feelings beings who developed the organizations. It is present to accomplish their objectives. Organizations are present to serve people and not the other way around. The work force is one of the vital resources that need to be managed. In managing human resources, managers have to deal with:

• Individual employee who are expected to perform the tasks allotted to them
• Dyadic relationships such as superior-subordinate interactions
• Groups who work as teams and have the responsibility for getting the job done
• People outside the organization system such as customers and government officials

Structure

Structure identifies the official relationships of people in organizations. Different jobs are needed to achieve all of an organization’s activities. There are managers and employees, accountants and assemblers. These people have to be interconnected in some structural way so that their work can be productive . The main structure relates to power and to duties. For example, one person has authority to make decisions that affect the work of other people. Some of the key concepts of organization structure are listed as below:

• Hierarchy of Authority- This refers to the distribution of authority among organizational positions and authority grants the position holder certain rights including right to give direction to others and the right to punish and reward.
• Division of Labour- This refers to the distribution of responsibilities and the way in which activities are divided up and assigned to different members of the organization is considered to be an element of the social structure.
• Span of Control- This refers to the total number of subordinates over whom a manager has authority.
• Specialization- This refers to the number of specialities performed within the organization.
• Standardization- It refers to the existence of procedures for regularly recurring events or activities.
• Formalization- This refers to the extent to which rules, procedures, and communications are written down.
• Centralization- This refers to the concentration of authority to make decision.
• Complexity- This refers to both vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation. Vertical differentiation- outlines number of hierarchical levels; horizontal differentiation highlights the number of units within the organization (e.g departments, divisions).

Organizations can be structured as somewhat rigid, formalized systems or as somewhat loose, flexible systems. Thus the structure of the organizations can range on a continuum of high rigidity to high flexibility.

There are two broad categories of organization: i) Mechanistic form of organization ii) Organic form of Organization

• Mechanistic form of Organization – It is categorized by high levels of complexity, formalization and centralization. A highly mechanistic system is characterized by centralized decision making at the top, an inflexible hierarchy of authority, well but narrowly defined job responsibilities particularly at lower levels, and wide-ranging rules and regulations which are clearly informed to the employees through written documents. In mechanistic organization, labor is divided and subdivided into many highly specialized tasks (high complexity), workers are given limited scope in performing their tasks and rules and procedures are rigidly defined (high formalization); and there is limited involvement in decision making which tends to take place at the highest levels of management high centralization.
• Organic form of Organization – A highly organic system is categorized by decentralized decision-making which permits people directly concerned with the job to make their own decisions, very limited levels in the hierarchy with accommodating authority and reporting patterns, loosely defined job responsibilities for members, and very limited written rules and regulations. It is comparatively simple, informal and decentralized. In comparison to mechanistic organizations, employees in organic organizations, such as design firms or research labs, are inclined to be more generalist in their functioning.

Jobs and Tasks

Job refers to the grand total of an individual’s assignment at the workplace. Tasks refer to the various activities that need to be performed to get the job done. The character of tasks, it’s executives by several individuals, nature of interdependence and inter-relatedness, group activities etc are needed for organizational effectiveness. Hence, the jobs and tasks have to be designed and managed correctly.

Core Job Characteristics

There are five job characteristics which are fundamental to providing potential motivation to workers. They are: Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, and Feedback from the job itself.

• Task Variety: This signifies the extent to which any particularly job makes use of a range of skills, abilities and talents of the employees. If varied skills are used by the employee on the job, the job is going to provide simulation and growth experience to the workers.
• Task Identity: This points to the degree to which the job involves a ‘whole’ and identifiable piece of work. If the job comprises of the whole components (eg – painting a portrait), then the individual can recognize the ultimate creation turned out by him and gain pride and satisfaction from having done a good job.
• Task significance: This refers to the importance or significance of the impact that a job has on the lives of others – both inside and outside of the organization. If what one does has an effect on the well being of others, the job becomes psychologically rewarding to the person who performs it.
• Autonomy: This refers to the extent to which the job provides an employee the freedom, independent and judgment to plan work and make decision and formulate the procedures to get the job done without interference from others. The higher the degree of freedom, the more the person doing the job feels in control.
• Feedback from the Job itself: This points to the extent to which the person who is working on the job can determine whether they are doing things right or wrong even as they are performing the job. That is, the job itself is an interesting one and therefore enjoyable.

Job Design

Jobs can be designed to range from very simple to very complex tasks in terms of the utilisation of the workers skill. Some of the job design options are as follows:

• Job Simplification: The jobs are broken down into very small parts as in the assembly line operations where a fragmented task is repeatedly done over and over again by the same individual.
• Job Rotation: This involves rotating employees among different tasks over a length of time. Management does not have to bother with combining tasks, but simultaneously, the workers are not uninterested with doing one simple task over several years. The employee is regularly moved from one job to another within the work setting.
• Job Enlargement: This entails simply adding more tasks to the job so that the workers have several simple tasks to perform rather than doing just one task again and again. Two or more tasks are combined and the individual does the combined tasks altogether.
• Job Enrichment: This suggests a greater challenge to the workers because it requires the use of several skills possessed by them. This entails building in motivating aspects into the job, giving the workers more accountability and control over work, and offering learning opportunities for the individual on the job.

Technology

Organizations have technologies for changing inputs and outputs. These technologies consist of physical objects, activities and process, knowledge, all of which are brought to bear on raw materials labour and capital inputs during a transformation process. The core technology is that set of productive components most closely associated with the transformation process, for example, production or assembly line in manufacturing firm. Technology offers the physical and economic resources with which people work. They cannot achieve much without technology, so they build buildings, design machines, create work processes and assemble resources. The technology that results has a critical influence on working relationships. An assembly line is not similar to a research laboratory, and a steel mill does not have the same working conditions as a hospital. The big advantage of technology is that it allows people to do more and better work, but it also constricts people in various ways. It has costs as well as benefits.

Classification of Technology

Thomson classified technology into three categories: Long-linked technology, Mediating Technology and Intensive Technology.

• Long linked Technology: In this, tasks are broken down into a number of sequential and interdependent steps, where the outputs of one unit become the input of the next. (eg. Assembly line) this assists in having high volume of output and competence. This technology calls for mechanistic structures with high levels of specialization, standardization and formalization.
• Mediating Technology: This connects different parties who need to be together in a direct or indirect way (eg. Banks – use mediating technology to lend money to borrowers by taking money from depositors).
• Intensive Technology: It is used when a group of specialists are joined together to solve complex problems using a variety of technologies (eg. Hospital – parties are treated with the help of experts drawn from different fields of specialization). Coordination of the different activities is accomplished in the system usually through mutual adjustment among those involved in solving the problem in the different units. Organic structures would fit in this system using intensive technology.

Environment

All organizations functions within an external environment. A single organization does not function alone. It is part of a larger system that compromises of thousand of other elements. All these reciprocally influence each other in a complex system that becomes the life style of the people. Individual organization, such as a factory or school cannot get away from being influenced by this external environment. It influences the attitudes of people, affects working conditions, and provides contest for resources and power.

Every organization work together with other members of its environment The interactions allow the organization to procure raw material, hire employees, secure capital, gain knowledge, and build, lease or buy facilities and equipment. Since the organization process a product or service for use by the environment, it will also communicate with its customers. Other environmental elements, who regulate or over see these exchanges, communicate with the organization as well (distributors, advertising agencies, trade associations, government of the countries in which business is operated).

Two Distinct Sets of Environment

• Specific Environment: This comprises the suppliers, customers, competitors, governments’ agencies, employees, unions, political parties etc.
• General Environment: It comprises the economic, political, cultural, technological and social factors in which the organization embedded.

Organizations are entrenched in an environment within which they function. Some of the external factors may be totally beyond the control of the organization to change, such as the cultural, social or economic, or governmental aspects. On the other hand, many of the other factors such as sizing up the market, keeping abreast with the technological changes taking place, being a step ahead of competition, or stocking up and buffering supplies when certain materials are likely to be in short supply, are all within the control of the organization. Effectively managing these situations, however, entails constant and close watch, flexibility to changes, and being able to manage arduous situations through effective decisions making. Those organizations which are proactive (that is, cautious and take action before crisis situations happens) and can manage their external environment are more proactively than those that are reactive (that is, caught without warning and wake up after facing the crises situation) and are not able to cope effectively.

Fit between Environment and Structure

Firms facing a fast changing or unstable external environment were more productive when they had more organic structures which provided scope for quick changes to be made within the internal environment of the system. Likewise, firms which operated in a somewhat stable external environment were very productive when they had more mechanistic structures. This mechanistic structure gave the system scope to operate in a conventional manner since authority, responsibility, procedures, and rules were clearly mentioned.