ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

III B.Com (IT)

UNIT I IntroductionOrganizational behaviour helps in understanding the various activities and activities of

the people in the organization. It also helps in motivating them. People, the environment,

technology and structure are the main four elements of organizational behaviour. The scope

of this mixture is simply the scope of organizational behaviour.

In a very broad sense, the role of organizational behaviours is to the extent it can control or

influence the operation of an organization.

Organizational Behaviour Organizations have a study of human behaviours at work.

According to OB’s scope, it involves the study of individuals, groups and organization

structure. Organization is a union of individuals.

Organizational behavior recognizes the causes and effects of human behavior and puts the

light on complex human factors in the organization.

Organization behavior is called social science because its main concerns are considered by

people and their behavior. It is a field of study that integrates behavioural science like

psychology, and anthropology to study human behavior in the field around the organizations.

Organizational behavior is focused on five levels of analysis:

person

group

the personality

Attitude

feeling

The scope of organizational behaviours integrates 3 concepts, respectively –

Individual behaviourIt is a study of personality, study, attitude, inspiration and job satisfaction of a person. In this

study, we interact with others to study them and make their assumptions about them.

Example – In addition to the ones mentioned in Resume, a round of personal interview is

organized to interact with the candidates to check their skills.

Inter-individual Behaviour

It is a study of people’s leadership qualities, group mobility, group struggle, power and

politics, as well as through communication between employees and their subordinates.

Example – A meeting to decide the list of new board members

Group BehaviourGroup behaviours studies the structure of organization, formation of organization and

effectiveness of the organization.

Example – strike, rally etc.

Need for Organizational BehaviourHere are some reasons why organizational behaviours is an integral part of most of the

management programs:

Understanding the relationship between an organization and its employees: The study of

organizational behaviours helps a better understanding of the relationship between an

organization and its employees, which helps in the development of better human resource

strategies in improving the work environment, employee loyalty and increasing the overall

value of human capital for the organization is.

Motivating employees: The knowledge of organizational behaviours aid managers

understand and inspire their employees better. Managers with the study of organisational

behaviour implement different motivational tools according to individual needs, resulting in

better performance of the organization.

Improvement in industrial / labour relations: Organizational behaviours helps in

understanding the cause of a problem, predicts its future course and regulates its results. As a

result, the manager can maintain a better relationship with his employees by solving any

problem in the bud.

Effective use of human resources: Knowledge of organizational behaviours helps managers

manage their employees effectively and efficiently, motivates and induces them to higher

efficiency and productivity through better understanding and analysis of human behaviours.

Predicting human behaviours: This is probably the most important reason for studying

organizational behaviours in management. Knowledge of organizational behaviours prepares

students to become better manager by becoming a student of human behaviours from

management perspective and thereby contributing to organizational effectiveness and

profitability.

Model of Organizational Behaviour1. THE AUTOCRATIC MODEL

The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The employees

in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee need that

is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.

In case of an autocratic model, the managerial orientation is doctorial. The managers

exercise their commands over employees. The managers give orders and the employees have

to obey the orders. Thus, the employees orientation towards the managers/bosses is

obedience. Under autocratic conditions, employees give higher performance either because of

their achievement drive or their personal liking to the boss or because of some other factor.

Evidences such as the industrial civilization of the United States and organizational crises

do suggest that the autocratic model produced results. However, its principal weakness is its

high human cost. The combination of emerging knowledge about the needs of the employees

and ever changing societal values and norms suggested managers to adopt alternative and

better ways to manage people at work. This gave genesis to the second type of models or

organizational behaviour.

2. THE CUSTODIAL MODEL

The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of money. The

employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on the

organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive

cooperation.

While studying the employees, the managers realized and recognized that although the

employees managed under autocratic style do not talk back to their boss they certainly think

back about the system. Such employees filled with frustration and aggression vent them on

their co-workers, families and neighbours. This made the managers think how to develop

better employee satisfaction and security. It was realized that this can be done by dispelling

employees' insecurities, frustration and aggression. This called for introduction of welfare

programmers to satisfy security needs of employees. Provision for an on site day-care centre

for quality child care is an example of welfare programme meant for employees. Welfare

programmes lead to employee dependence on the organization. Stating more accurately,

employees having dependence on organization may not afford to quit even there seem

greener pastures around. IGNOU, in the beginning provided its employees facilities like

house-lease facility, subsidized transport facility, day-time child care centre in the campus,

etc. These made employees dependent on IGNOU which, in turn, became custodian of its

employees.

The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork. The

employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline.

Although the custodian approach brings security and satisfaction, it suffers from certain

flaws also. Employees produce anywhere near their capacities. They are also not motivated to

increase their capacities of which they are capable. Though the employees are satisfied, still

they do not feel motivated or fulfilled in their work they do. This is in conformity with the

research finding that the happy employees are not necessarily most productive employees.

Consequently managers and researchers started to address yet another question. "Is there

better approach/way to manage people?" The quest for a better way provided a foundation for

evolvement to the supportive type of model of organizational behaviour.

3. THE SUPPORTIVE MODEL

The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support. The

employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee

need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives.

The supportive model is founded on leadership, not on money or authority. In fact, it is the

managerial leadership style that provides an atmosphere to help employees grow and

accomplish their tasks successfully. The managers recognize that the workers are not by

nature passive and disinterested to organizational needs, but they are made so by an

inappropriate leadership style. The managers believe that given due and appropriate changes,

the workers become ready to share responsibility, develop a drive to contribute their mite and

improve themselves. Thus, under supportive approach, the management's orientation is to

support the employee's job performance for meeting both organizational and individual goals.

However, the supportive model of organizational behaviour is found more useful and

effective in developed nations and less effective in developing nations like ours because of

employee's more awakening in the former and less one in the latter nations.

4. THE COLLEGIAL MODEL

The collegial model is an extension of the supportive model. As the literal meaning of the

work 'college' means a group of persons having the common purpose, the collegial model

relates to a team work/concept. The basic foundation of the collegial model lies on

management's building a feeling of partnership with employee. Under collegial approach,

employees feel needed and useful. They consider managers as joint contributors to

organizational success rather than as bosses.

Its greatest benefit is that the employee becomes self-discipline. Feeling responsible

backed by self-discipline creates a feeling of team work just like what the members of a

football team feel. The research studies report that compared to traditional management

model, the more open, participative, collegial managerial approach produced improved

results in situations where it is appropriate.

Although there are four separate models, almost no organization operates exclusively in

one. There will usually be a predominate one, with one or more areas overlapping in the other

models.

The first model, autocratic, had its roots in the industrial revolution. The managers of this

type of organization operate out of McGregor's Theory X. The next three models begin to

build on McGregor's Theory Y. They have each evolved over a period of time and there is no

one "best" model. The collegial model should not be thought as the last or best model, but the

beginning of a new model or paradigm.

Four Models of Organizational Behaviour

Challenges and Opportunities of Organizational Behavior

Challenges and opportunities of organizational behavior are massive and rapidly changing for

improving productivity and meeting business goals.

Main challenges and opportunities of organizational behavior are;

1. Improving Peoples’ Skills.

2. Improving Quality and Productivity.

3. Total Quality Management (TQM).

4. Managing Workforce Diversity.

5. Responding to Globalization.

6. Empowering People.

7. Coping with Temporariness.

8. Stimulating Innovation and Change.

9. Emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce.

10. Improving Ethical Behavior.

11. Improving Customer Service.

12. Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts.

13. Flattening World.

Improving People’s Skills

Technological changes, structural changes, environmental changes are accelerated at a faster

rate in the business field. Unless employees and executives are equipped to possess the

required skills to adapt to those changes, the targeted goals cannot be achieved in time.

These two different categories of skills – managerial skills and technical skills.

Some of the managerial skills include listening skills, motivating skills, planning and

organizing skills, leading skills, problem-solving skill, decision-making skills.

These skills can be enhanced by organizing a series of training and development programs,

career development programs, induction, and socialization.

Improving Quality and Productivity

Quality is the extent to which the customers or users believe the product or service surpasses

their needs and expectations.

For example, a customer who purchases an automobile has a certain expectation, one of

which is that the automobile engine will start when it is turned on.

If the engine fails to start, the customer’s expectations will not have been met and the

customer will perceive the quality of the car as poor. The key dimensions of quality as

follows.

Performance: Primary rating characteristics of a product such as signal coverage, audio

quality, display quality, etc.

Features: Secondary characteristics, added features, such as calculators, and alarm clock

features in handphone

Conformance: Meeting specifications or industry standards, workmanship of the degree to

which a product’s design or operating characteristics match pre-established standards

Reliability: The probability of a product’s falling within t a specified period of time

Durability: It is a measure of a product’s life having both economic and technical dimension

Services: Resolution of problem and complaints, ease of repair

Response: Human to human interfaces, such as the courtesy of the dealer « Aesthetics:

Sensory characteristics such exterior finish

Reputations: Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first.

More and more managers are confronting to meet the challenges to fulfill the specific

requirements of customers.

In order to improve quality and productivity, they are implementing programs like total

quality management and reengineering programs that require extensive employee

involvement.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy of management that is driven by the

constant attainment of customer satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all

organizational process.

The components of TQM are;

(a) An intense focus on the customer,

(b) Concern for continual improvement,

(c) Improvement in the quality of everything the organization does,

(d) Accurate measurement and,

(e) Empowerment of employees.

Managing Workforce Diversity

This refers to employing different categories of employees who are heterogeneous in terms of

gender, race, ethnicity, relation, community, physically disadvantaged, elderly people, etc.

The primary reason to employ heterogeneous category of employees is to tap the talents and

potentialities, harnessing the innovativeness, obtaining synergetic effect among the divorce

workforce.

In general, employees wanted to retain their individual and cultural identity, values and

lifestyles even though they are working in the same organization with common rules and

regulations.

The major challenge for organizations is to become more accommodating to diverse groups

of people by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs, and work styles.

Responding to Globalization

Today’s business is mostly market-driven; wherever the demands exist irrespective of

distance, locations, climatic conditions, the business operations are expanded to gain their

market share and to remain in the top rank, etc. Business operations are no longer restricted to

a particular locality or region.

Company’s products or services are spreading across the nations using mass communication,

the internet, faster transportation, etc. More than 95% of Nokia (Now Microsoft) handphones

are being sold outside of their home country Finland.

Japanese cars are being sold in different parts of the globe. Sri Lankan tea is exported to

many cities around the globe. Garment products of Bangladesh are exporting in USA and EU

countries. Executives of Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one

subsidiary to another more frequently.

Empowering People

The main issue is delegating more power and responsibility to the lower level cadre of

employees and assigning more freedom to make choices about their schedules, operations,

procedures and the method of solving their work-related problems.

Encouraging the employees to participate in the work-related decision will sizable enhance

their commitment to work. Empowerment is defined as putting employees in charge of what

they do by eliciting some sort of ownership in them.

Managers are doing considerably further by allowing employees full control of their work.

Movement implies constant change an increasing number of organizations are using self-

managed teams, where workers operate largely without a boss.

Due to the implementation of empowerment concepts across all the levels, the relationship

between managers and the employees is reshaped. Managers will act as coaches, advisors,

sponsors, facilitators and help their subordinates to do their task with minimal guidance.

Coping with Temporariness

In recent times, the product life cycles are slimming, the methods of operations are

improving, and fashions are changing very fast. In those days, the managers needed to

introduce major change programs once or twice a decade.

Today, change is an ongoing activity for most managers. The concept of continuous

improvement implies constant change.

In yesteryears, there used to be a long period of stability and occasionally interrupted by a

short period of change, but at present, the change process is an ongoing activity due to

competitiveness in developing new products and services with better features.

Everyone in the organization faces today is one of permanent temporariness. The actual jobs

that workers perform are in a permanent state of flux. So, workers need to continually update

their knowledge and skills to perform new job requirements.

Stimulating Innovation and Change

Today’s successful organizations must foster innovation and be proficient in the art of

change; otherwise, they will become candidates for extinction in due course of time and

vanished from their field of business.

Victory will go to those organizations that maintain flexibility, continually improve their

quality, and beat the competition to the market place with a constant stream of innovative

products and services.

For example, Compaq succeeded by creating more powerful personal computers for the same

or less money than EBNM or Apple, and by putting their products to market quicker than the

bigger competitors.

Amazon.com’s Kindle, Audible, and bookstore services putting a lot of independent

bookstores and publishers out of business as it proves you can successfully sell books from

an Internet website.

Emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce

It refers to the business operations involving the electronic mode of transactions. It

encompasses presenting products on websites and filling the order. The vast majority of

articles and media attention given to using the Internet in business are directed at online

shopping. In this process, the marketing and selling of goods and services are being carried

out over the Internet.

In e-commerce, the following activities are being taken place quite often – the tremendous

numbers of people who are shopping on the Internet, business houses are setting up websites

where they can sell goods, conducting the following transactions such as getting paid and

fulfilling orders.

It is a dramatic change in the way a company relates to its customers. At present e-commerce

is exploding. Globally, e-commerce spending was increasing at a tremendous rate.

Improving Ethical Behavior

The complexity in business operations is forcing the workforce to face ethical dilemmas,

where they are required to define right and wrong conduct in order to complete their assigned

activities.

For example,

Should the employees of a chemical company blow the whistle if they uncover the

discharging its untreated effluents into the river are polluting its water resources?

Do managers give an inflated performance evaluation to an employee they like, knowing that

such an evaluation could save that employee’s job?

The ground rules governing the constituents of good ethical behavior has not been clearly

defined, Differentiating right things from wrong behavior has become more blurred.

Following unethical practices have become a common practice such as successful executives

who use insider information for personal financial gain, employees in competitor business

participating in massive cover-ups of defective products, etc.

Improving Customer Service

OB can contribute to improving organizational performance by showing drat how employees’

attitude and behavior are associated with customer satisfaction. In that case, service should be

the first production-oriented by using technological opportunities like a computer, the

internet, etc. To improve the customer service need to provide sales service and also the after-

sales service.

Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts

The typical employee in the 1960s or 1970s showed up at the workplace Monday through

Friday and did his or her job 8 or 9-hour chunk of time. The workplace and hours were

clearly specified. That’s no longer true for a large segment of today’s workforce.

Employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work and non-work time has

become blurred, creating personal conflict and stress. A number of forces have contributed to

blurring the lines between employees’ work life and personal life.

First, the creation of global organizations means their world never sleeps. At any time and on

any day, for instance, thousands of General Electric employees are working somewhere.

Second, communication technology allows employees to do their work at home, in their cars,

or on the beach in Cox’s Bazar.

This lets many people in technical and professional jobs do their work anytime and from any

place.

Third, organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours.

Finally, fewer families have only a single breadwinner. Today’s married employee is

typically part of a dual-career couple. This makes it increasingly difficult for married

employees to find the time to fulfill commitments to home, spouse, children, parents, and

friends.

Flattening World

Thomas Friedman’s book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

makes the point that the Internet has “flattened” the world and created an environment in

which there is a more level playing field in terms of access to information. This access to

information has led to an increase in innovation, as knowledge can be shared instantly across

time zones and cultures. It has also created intense competition, as the speed of business is

growing faster and faster all the time.

PERSONALITYA personality test is a method of assessing human personality constructs. Most

personality assessment instruments are in fact introspective (i.e., subjective) self-

report questionnaire measures or reports from life records such as rating scales. Attempts to

construct actual performance tests of personality have been very limited.

Definition: Any of several tests that consist of standardized tasks designed to determine

various aspects of the personality or the emotional status of the individual examined

Personality TraitsIn the field of psychology, there are five higher-order and widely accepted personality

traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The

researchers used these personality traits to help cluster their findings.

Neuroticism — Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than average to be

moody and to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy,

jealousy, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness.

High scoring individuals tend to be: awkward, pessimistic, fearful, self-critical, unconfident,

insecure, and oversensitive

Low scoring individuals tend be: confident, sure of themselves, brave, and unencumbered by

worry

Extraversion — Individuals who score high in extraversion are more likely to be outgoing,

social, and the center of attention. They enjoy being with people, participating in social

gatherings, and are full of energy. A person low in extraversion is less outgoing and is more

comfortable working alone.

High scoring individuals tend to be: sociable, assertive, merry, energetic, articulate,

affectionate, and socially confident

Low scoring individuals tend to be: shy, introspective, thoughtful, and overall reserved with

self-expression

Openness   —Individuals who score high in openness are typically very intellectual curious

and exhibit high emotional intelligence. Openness involves six facets, or dimensions,

including active imagination (fantasy), aesthetic sensitivity, attentiveness to inner feelings,

preference for variety, and intellectual curiosity.

High scoring individuals tend to be: original, daring, clever, insightful, curious, intellectual,

and complex/deep

Low scoring individuals tend to be: routine-based, less abstract, and sticks with what they

know and what is comfortable

Agreeableness — Individuals who score high in agreeableness are typically well-tempered

and tend to err on the side of compassion and empathy over suspicion/cynicism. It is also a

measure of one’s trusting and helpful nature, and whether a person is generally well-tempered

or not. High agreeableness is often seen as naive or submissive. Individuals with low

agreeableness are often competitive or challenging people, which can be seen as

argumentative or untrustworthy.

High scoring individuals tend to be: altruistic, trusting, patient, tactful, sensitive, unselfish,

well-liked, and respected

Low scoring individuals tend to be: callous, rude, ill-tempered, sarcastic, and antagonistic

Conscientiousness — Individuals who score high in conscientiousness are typically very

efficient and organized. They have the tendency to be dependable, show self-discipline, act

dutifully, aim for achievement, and prefer planned rather than spontaneous behavior. High

conscientiousness is often perceived as being stubborn and focused. Low conscientiousness is

associated with flexibility and spontaneity, but can also appear as sloppiness and lack of

reliability.

High scoring individuals tend to be: leaders, energetic, reliable, ambitious, persistent, hard

working, and resourceful

Low scoring individuals tend to be: procrastinators, impulsive, headstrong, and hasty/reckless

with decisions

4 Personality TypesUsing the above traits as defining variables, researchers plotted the survey results to uncover

4 distinct personality clusters.

Average

Most common personality type

High in neuroticism and extraversion — tending to be more sociable, assertive, pessimistic,

and over-sensitive

Low in openness — tending to be more routine-based and less open to abstraction

Tend to seek attention, but are not overly intellectually curious

More likely to be female, than male

Reserved

Higher states of agreeableness and conscientiousness — tending to be more trusting, sensitive,

well-liked, and reliable

Lower openness and neuroticism — tending to stay the course with confidence

Emotionally stable

Somewhat extraverted, but not overly so

Role Models

High in extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness — tending to exhibit

qualities that evoke respect and admired leadership

Low in neuroticism — tending to be more confident and brave, taking calculated risks

Dependable and open to new ideas

Strong leaders

More women than men

Likelihood to be a role model increases with age

Self-Centered

High in extraversion — tending to be very socially confident, energetic, and outgoing

Low in openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness — tending to be impulsive,

headstrong, ill-tempered, callous, and routine-based

Typically self-serving at the expense of others

Likelihood to be self-centered decreases with age

Take Aways

Understanding ourselves and our peers is critical to cultivating productive relationships: both

at home and in the workplace. Personalities are a spectrum, and a clustered label shouldn’t

necessarily define who we are.

What is most important is to understand that each of us approaches the world differently. The

way we perceive the world and each other impacts our day-to-day actions. Some of these

perceptions may be more helpful than others — and it is important to recognize which traits

help versus hurt.

More importantly, personalities are not static — they can and do change over time. This

shows that we’re always continuously learning, and that our life experiences will continue to

shape how we perceive and interact with our world.

Functions of ManagementManagement in some form or another is an integral part of living and is essential

wherever human efforts are to be undertaken to achieve desired objectives. The basic

ingredients of management are always at play, whether we manage our lives or business.

Management is a set of principles relating to the functions of planning, organizing, directing,

and controlling, and the applications of these principles in harnessing physical, financial,

human and informational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational

goals.

Management is essential for an organized life and necessary to run all types of

organizations. Managing life means getting things done to achieve life’s objectives and

managing an organization means getting things done with and through other people to

achieve its objectives.

There are basically five primary functions of management. These are:

1. Planning

2. Organizing

3. Staffing

4. Directing

5. Controlling

The controlling function comprises coordination, reporting, and budgeting, and hence the

controlling function can be broken into these three separate functions. Based upon these

seven functions, Luther Gulick coined the word POSDCORB, which generally represents the

initials of these seven functions i.e. P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D

for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting.

But, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling are widely recognized

functions of management.

Planning

Planning is future-oriented and determines an organization’s direction. It is a rational and

systematic way of making decisions today that will affect the future of the company. It is a

kind of organized foresight as well as corrective hindsight. It involves predicting of the future

as well as attempting to control the events. It involves the ability to foresee the effects of

current actions in the long run in the future.

Peter Drucker has defined planning as follows:

“Planning is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial decisions

systematically and with best possible knowledge of their futurity, organizing systematically

the efforts needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the results of these decisions

against the expectations through organized and systematic feedback”.

An effective planning program incorporates the effect of both external as well as internal

factors. The external factors are shortages of resources; both capital and material, general

economic trend as far as interest rates and inflation are concerned, dynamic technological

advancements, increased governmental regulation regarding community interests, unstable

international political environments, etc.

The internal factors that affect planning are limited growth opportunities due to saturation

requiring diversification, changing patterns of the workforce, more complex organizational

structures, decentralization, etc

Organizing

Organizing requires a formal structure of authority and the direction and flow of such

authority through which work subdivisions are defined, arranged and coordinated so that each

part relates to the other part in a united and coherent manner so as to attain the prescribed

objectives.

According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful

or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s”.

Thus the function of organizing involves the determination of activities that need to be done

in order to reach the company goals, assigning these activities to the proper personnel, and

delegating the necessary authority to carry out these activities in a coordinated and cohesive

manner.

It follows, therefore, that the function of organizing is concerned with:

1. Identifying the tasks that must be performed and grouping them whenever

necessary

2. Assigning these tasks to the personnel while defining their authority and

responsibility.

3. Delegating this authority to these employees

4. Establishing a relationship between authority and responsibility

5. Coordinating these activities

Staffing

Staffing is the function of hiring and retaining a suitable work-force for the enterprise both at

managerial as well as non-managerial levels. It involves the process of recruiting, training,

developing, compensating and evaluating employees and maintaining this workforce with

proper incentives and motivations. Since the human element is the most vital factor in

the process of management, it is important to recruit the right personnel.

According to Kootz & O’Donnell, “Managerial function of staffing involves manning

the organization structure  through the proper and effective selection, appraisal &

development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure”.

This function is even more critically important since people differ in their intelligence,

knowledge, skills, experience, physical condition, age and attitudes, and this complicates the

function. Hence, management must understand, in addition to the technical and operational

competence, the sociological and psychological structure of the workforce.

Directing

The directing function is concerned with leadership, communication, motivation, and

supervision so that the employees perform their activities in the most efficient manner

possible, in order to achieve the desired goals.

The leadership element involves issuing of instructions and guiding the subordinates about

procedures and methods.

The communication must be open both ways so that the information can be passed on to the

subordinates and the feedback received from them.

Motivation is very important since highly motivated people show excellent performance

with less direction from superiors.

Supervising subordinates would lead to continuous progress reports as well as assure the

superiors that the directions are being properly carried out.

Controlling

The function of control consists of those activities that are undertaken to ensure that the

events do not deviate from the pre-arranged plans. The activities consist of establishing

standards for work performance, measuring performance and comparing it to these set

standards and taking corrective actions as and when needed, to correct any deviations.

According to Koontz & O’Donnell, “Controlling is the measurement & correction of

performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives

and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”.

The controlling function involves:

a. Establishment of standard performance.

b. Measurement of actual performance.

c. Measuring actual performance with the pre-determined standard and finding out the

deviations.

d. Taking corrective action.

Nature of PersonalityPersonality is a dynamic whole: The definition of Personality given by Allport reveals that

the personality is the dynamic whole. The constituents of Personality are organised into units

which are not static but active.

Personality measures behavior: Personality of an individual is more or less stable. It can be

predicted by ones behavior.

Outcome interaction of heredity and environment: Most of the psychologists review that

Personality is the net result of the interaction of heredity characters and environment factors.

The growth and the development of physical, social, emotional and moral are affected by

environmental factors.

Motive Force: There are many theories of motivation which contributes to the understanding

of the dynamics of personality. Behavior is affected overall by motives, ego involvement,

incentives, etc.

Roles / Uses of Personality in Organizational BehaviorPersonality plays a key role in organizational behavior because of the way that

people think, feel, and behave effects many aspects of the workplace. People’s personalities

influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions.

In the workplace, personality affects such things as motivation, leadership,

performance, and conflict. The more that management understands how personality in

organizational behavior works, the better equipped they are to be effective and accomplish

their goals. One factor which determines the importance of personality in OB is the

environment where the personality of an individual is being studied; after all, personality’s

impact on an organization is relative and depends on how the organization has been

structured.

Weakly structured organizations with loosely defined roles tend to get the most

impact, compared to strongly structured organizations with more defined roles. People have

many different views of the world that affect their personalities. When a situation arises, an

individual will handle it based upon his or her personal values, beliefs, and personality traits.

These traits are developed throughout a person’s lifetime and cannot be easily changed, so it

is more helpful for managers to attempt to understand this rather than to fight it.

There are 2 types of values governing our behaviors in an organization; personal

values and the commonly held values of an organization. The beliefs and values remain

relatively stable regardless of what situation we are in. Our feelings and behaviors, on the

other hand, tend to be easily influenced by the environment in which we function. Traits such

as openness, emotional stability, and agreeableness all predict that an individual will have

less conflict, work better in teams, and have positive attitudes about his or her work.

People with this type of personality should be placed in situations where they would

be working with or leading others. Positive-interpersonal skill is a personality trait that

greatly affects the workplace. Individuals who exhibit this trait generally enjoy working with

other people, and they have the empathy and sensitivity that enables them to get along well

with others.

Decision-making and independence are greatly affected by personality. Personality

traits such as self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and pro-activity contribute to good decision-

making under pressure and independence, while traits such as neuroticism and not being open

do not. In the light of these reflections, our personal values and personalities govern our

actions and behaviors, and since organizational behavior is built upon our personal values, it

is of paramount importance to understand personalities of employees to make good use of

organizational behavior.

Work-related behavior of people in an organization stems from both environmental

and individual factors. From the environmental approach, interpersonal, group, and societal

influences and individual factors extend across cognitive abilities, acquired expertise,

personality styles, motivation, and physical attributes.