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Summary Work Psychology (PYC4810) Exam Prep Study Tasks
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Work Psychology(PYC4810)2017 Exam
Pack
EXAM PREP PACK – INCLUDES STUDY TASKS 1-6
,Study task 1: Discuss this statement: “Organisational behaviour in a changing South Africa
and in a changing world.” (Chapters 1 and 2)
Organizational Behavior: Its Basic Nature
Organizational behavior, or OB, deals with organizations. An organization is a structured social
system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed upon
objectives. In other words, organizations consist of people, who alone and together in work groups
strive to attain common goals.
The field of OB is all about human behavior in organizations. Organizational behavior is the
multidisciplinary field that focusses on behavior in organizational settings by systematically
studying individual, group, and organizational processes. There are four central characteristics of
OB. First, OB is firmly grounded in the scientific method. Second, OB focusses on three levels
of analysis; individuals, groups, and organizations. Third, OB is interdisciplinary in nature.
And fourth, OB is used as the basis for enhancing organizational effectiveness and individual well-
being. These characteristics will be discussed below.
Scientific approach
OB applies the scientific method to practical managerial problems. OB knowledge is based in the
behavioral sciences; fields such as psychology and sociology that study human behavior and
society through the scientific method, an empirical, research based approach. The objects of
interest, both people and organizations, are complex and systematic observation and measurement
is required to make sense of the objects of study. The scientific and applied aspects of OB
complement each other. OB aims to solving the following challenges; how goals can be set in
order to enhance employees’ job performance, how jobs can be designed to enhance employees’
feelings of satisfaction, determining the conditions under which individuals make better
decisions than groups, what can be done to improve the quality of organizational communication,
the steps to take to alleviate work related stress, what leaders do to enhance the effectiveness of
their teams and the way organizations can be designed to make people highly productive.
1
, Individuals, groups, and organizations
In organizations individuals work in groups and teams and these teams are influenced by and
influences their environments. This must be studied in combination in order to understand the
complex dynamics of behavior in organizations.
Multidisciplinary
OB considers a wide variety of approaches and draws on many social science disciplines.
Psychology is relevant to OB for perception and learning, personality studies, emotion and stress,
attitudes, motivation, decision making and creativity. Sociology is useful because of its focus on
group dynamics, team work and communication. Anthropology adds organizational culture and
leadership. Political science is drawn on for interpersonal conflict and organizational power.
Economics is useful for its focus on decision making, negotiation and organizational power.
Management science is relevant for organizational structure and change.
OB seeks to enhance organizational effectiveness and the quality of life at work
Managers of a century ago held very negative views of employees. They assumed that people were
basically lazy and irresponsible, and treated them with disrespect. This very negativistic approach,
which has been with us for many years, reflects the traditional view of management, called a
Theory X orientation. Today’s outlook is that people work hard under the right conditions. The
approach that assumes that people are not inherently lazy, but that they are willing to work hard
when the right conditions prevail, is known as the Theory Y orientation. This philosophy assumes
that people have a psychological need to work and seek achievement and responsibility. OB
scientists are very interested in learning exactly what conditions will lead people to behave most
positively—that is, what makes work both productive for organizations and enjoyable for the
people working in them.
What Are the Field’s Fundamental Assumptions?
First, OB recognizes that organizations are dynamic and always changing. Second, the field of
OB assumes there is no one best way to behave in organizations, and that different approaches
are called for in different situations.
2
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