REMO INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

UNIT I

DEFINITION OF ORGANISTIONAL BAHAVIOUR:

In words of K Aswathappa, “OB is the study of human behaviour in

organisational setting, of the interface between human behaviour and organisation
and of the organisation itself.”

According to L. M. Prasad, “Organisational behaviour can be defined as the study

and application of knowledge about human behaviour related to other elements of
an organisation such as structure, technology and social systems.”

DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

According to Furnham, 2005, “OP is the study of the individual in the

organization, it is also concerned with small and large groups and the organisation
as a whole as it impacts on the individual”.

“Industrial/organization psychology (I/O Psychology) is a field of

psychology that applies the fundamental scientific principles of psychology to the
workplace environment to make work more enjoyable and more productive”
IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 It covers diverse range of topics as the nature of work and organizations

continue to develop, grow and evolve.
 It is focused on psychological functioning in the workplace that has certain
aspects related to human behaviour such as status, affiliation, achievement,
power, and money.
 The basic idea of OP is grounded on fundamental understanding that has
implications for solving applied problems in industrial and organizational
context.
 The need of OP arise due to prevalence of individual differences in human
behaviour.
 The setting up of coordination among human beings of different
temperament is the area of study of Industrial and organizational
psychology.
 It is directly related with organizations and their structure which means that
it is a dynamic field of study that moves with organizations. The individual
is ‘Micro’ work is ‘Meso’ and Organization is ‘Macro’ (Kozlowski, 2012).

Scope

1. Industry and Organizations.

2. Institutions where a group of people work.

3. Commercial and business settings.

4. Teams and Leadership building programs.

5. Development of modules for hiring right people.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

According to BORICH & TOMBARI, “ Individual differences are the variations

we observe among members of any group in a particular characteristics , such as
temperament , energy level, friendship patterns and parent-child attachment.

Types of Individual Differences:

1. Physical differences:
Shortness or tallness of stature, darkness or fairness of complexion, fatness,
thinness, or weakness are various physical individual differences.

2. Differences in intelligence:
There are differences in intelligence level among different individuals. We can
classify the individuals from super-normal (above 120 I.Q.) to idiots (from 0 to 50
I.Q.) on the basis of their intelligence level.

3. Differences in attitudes:
Individuals differ in their attitudes towards different people, objects, institutions
and authority.

4. Differences in achievement:
It has been found through achievement tests that individuals differ in their
achievement abilities. These differences are very much visible in reading, writing
and in learning mathematics.
These differences in achievement are even visible among the children who are at
the same level of intelligence. These differences are on account of the differences
in the various factors of intelligence and the differences in the various experiences,
interests and educational background

5. Differences in motor ability:

There are differences in motor ability. These differences are visible at different
ages. Some people can perform mechanical tasks easily, while others, even though
they are at the same level, feel much difficulty in performing these tasks.

6.Racial differences:
There are different kinds of racial differences. Differences of environment is a
normal factor in causing these differences. Karl Brigham has composed a list on
the basis of differences in levels of intelligence among people who have migrated
to United States from other countries.
On the basis of these average differences between the races, the mental age of a
particular individual cannot be calculated since this difference is based on
environment.

7. Differences due to nationality:

Individuals of different nations differ in respect of physical and mental differences,
interests and personality etc. ‘Russians are tall and stout’; ‘Ceylonese are short and
slim’; ‘Germans have no sense of humour’; ‘Yellow races are cruel and
revengeful’; ‘Americans are hearty and frank’; Indians are timid and peace-loving’
and the like observations enter into our common talk.

8. Differences due to economic status:

Differences in children’s interests, tendencies and character are caused by
economic differences.

9. Differences in interests:
Factors such as gender , family background level of development, differences of
race and nationality etc., cause differences in interests.

10. Emotional differences:

Individuals differ in their emotional reactions to a particular situation. Some are
irritable and aggressive and they get angry very soon. There are others who are of
peaceful nature and do not get angry easily. At a particular thing an individual may
be so much enraged that he may be prepared for the worst crime like murder, while
another person may only laugh at it.

INTELLIGENCE TESTS;

Intelligence tests have provoked a great deal of controversy about what kinds of
mental abilities constitute intelligence and whether the IQ adequately represents
these abilities, with debate centring on cultural bias in test construction and
standardization procedures. Critics have charged that intelligence tests favour
groups from more affluent backgrounds and discriminate against less privileged
racial, ethnic, or social groups. Consequently, psychologists have attempted to
develop culture-free tests that would more accurately reflect an individual’s native
ability.

 Aptitude test
Aptitude test, examination that attempts to determine and measure a person’s
ability to acquire, through future training, some specific set of skills (intellectual,
motor, and so on). The tests assume that people differ in their special abilities and
that these differences can be useful in predicting future achievements.

 Ecological validity
Ecological validity, in psychology, a measure of how test performance predicts
behaviours in real-world settings. Although test designs and findings in studies
characterized by low ecological validity cannot be generalized to real-life
situations, those characterized by high ecological validity can be. The usefulness of
ecological validity as a concept, however, has been much debated, with some
questioning the importance of psychological realism (that is, how much processes
appearing in the experiment mirror those in everyday life).

 Behavioral response

Another important dimension of ecological validity is assuring that the elicited

behavioral responses represent someone’s natural behaviours and are appropriately
related to the construct being measured. . The more the response approximates
the criterion, the greater the ecological validity.

 IQ
IQ, (from “intelligence quotient”), a number used to express the relative
intelligence of a person. It is one of many intelligence tests.

IQ was originally computed by taking the ratio of mental age to chronological

(physical) age and multiplying by 100.
MEASUREMENT OF INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is a very general mental capability that among other things, involves
the ability to reason , plan , solve problems, think abstractly, comprehended
complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. They do not measure
creativity , character , personality or important differences among individuals, nor
are they intended to. While there are different types of intelligence tests, they all
measure the same intelligence. Some use words or numbers and require specific
cultural knowledge , shapes or designs and require knowledge of only simple,
universal concepts.

The mental age of a person to the person’s chronological age, the result is
the IQ, a measure of intelligence that is adjusted for age. A simple way to
calculate IQ is by using the following formula:

IQ = mental age ÷ chronological age × 100.

PERSONALITY

The word personality is derived from a Greek word “persona” which means “to
speak through”. Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that
forms a person’s unique identity.
It signifies the role which a person plays in public. Every individual has a unique,
personal and major determinant of his behavior that defines his/her personality.

What Is a Personality Test?

A personality test is a tool used to assess human personality. Personality testing

and assessment refer to techniques designed to measure the characteristic patterns
of traits that people exhibit across various situations. Personality tests can be used
to help clarify a clinical diagnosis, guide therapeutic interventions, and help predict
how people may respond in different situations.

Personality is something that we informally assess and describe every day. When
we talk about ourselves and others, we frequently refer to different characteristics
of an individual's personality. Psychologists do much the same thing when they
assess personality but on a more systematic and scientific level.

Types of Personality Tests

1. Myers Briggs
One of the most well known tools for mapping employee personalities, Myers
Briggs (MBTI) assessments describe an employee’s tendencies toward:
 Extraversion vs. Introversion,
 Intuition vs. Sensing,
 Thinking vs. Feeling, and
 Judging vs. Perceiving.
Results from these tests place the employee into one of 16 personality types,
which each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Although personality type
doesn’t predict success on the job, knowing a new hire’s personality type can help
you to understand whether they’ll be a cultural fit for your company, as well as
guide you toward integrating them effectively with the team.
2. Big Five
The Big Five are the five broad dimensions of personality that most researchers in
the personality testing community use when evaluating a person’s personality. For
organizations, where an employee falls on the range for these
five traits (Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and
Neuroticism) can provide great insight into how a new hire — or current
employee — interacts with co-workers, manages work-related stress, deals with
managerial decisions, and more.

3. Occupational Interest Inventories (OIIs)

In organizations with multiple positions and different career paths, occupational
interest inventories can be effective tools for putting employees in the right roles.
These tests, like the Holland Code Career Test, measure how interested a
participant is in different tasks and roles. They also provide insight into the career
interests of that participant. OIIs are especially effective for increasing employee
retention when administered to current employees to determine what their role in
an organization should be.

4. DISC Behavior Inventory

Understanding an employee’s work behavior style can be important, especially
when it comes to team building. Used frequently in larger organizations,
the DISC classifies candidates into four different “styles” based on questions about
their behaviors at work. It helps organizations find out more about a candidate’s
tendencies toward: dominance, influence, support, and control.
5. Situational Judgment Tests (STJs)
f you’re looking to see how an employee interacts with customers or handles the
pressure of common challenging situations, consider using STJs as a part of your
evaluation process. STJs put your employees in realistic, simulated situations to
find out which pre-loaded responses the employee feels are most or least effective.
Tools like Furst Person’s customized hiring solutions are especially effective for
determining whether or not employees will make good customer service
representatives.

Uses

Personality tests are administered for a number of different purposes, including:

 Assessing theories
 Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy
 Diagnosing psychological problems
 Looking at changes in personality
 Screening job candidates3

Personality tests are also sometimes used in forensic settings to conduct risk
assessments, establish competence, and in child custody disputes. 4 Other settings
where personality testing may be used are in school psychology, career and
occupational counseling, relationship counseling, clinical psychology, and
employment testing.

THEORIES IN PERSONALITY

FREUDIAN THEORY/ PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY:

Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id, ego, and
superego, and that the interactions and conflicts among the components create
personality (Freud, 1923/1949)

Sigmund Freud is one of the most notable, prolific contributors to psychology. He

developed several interconnected models of the mind including the dynamic,
economic, and topographical. One of the basic tenets of his general theory,
regardless of the model being used, is that people have drives that are unconscious.
These unconscious drives can cause various psychopathological symptoms
(meaning they manifest as mental illness), for instance, different kinds of neuroses.

Freud's theory of personality involves a topographical model of the mind, or in

other words, Freud's theory is expressed in a map of different mental agencies. The
names of these agencies are the id, the ego, and the superego.

ID - The id is the amorphous, desiring agency. It is immediate and lacks any self-
reflection. It merely desires.
SUPEREGO - The superego is the critical agency of the mind. At risk of
oversimplification, it is one's conscience that evaluates the self and seeks to block
or disavow some desires.

EGO - The ego is the agency that mediates between the id and the superego. That
is, the ego attempts to navigate how to satisfy its desires without violating the
dictates of its superego. The ego also is the locus of conscious thought and deals
with sensations and the 'real world' more generally, although it is by no means
fully conscious.

PART - A QUESTIONS

1. Define OB.

According to L. M. Prasad, “Organisational behaviour can be defined as the

study and application of knowledge about human behaviour related to other
elements of an organisation such as structure, technology and social systems.”

2. Define Organisational Psychology.

According to Furnham, 2005, “OP is the study of the individual in the
organization, it is also concerned with small and large groups and the
organisation as a whole as it impacts on the individual”.

“Industrial/organization psychology (I/O Psychology) is a field of

psychology that applies the fundamental scientific principles of psychology
to the workplace environment to make work more enjoyable and more
productive”
3. What is Individual Differences?
 According to BORICH & TOMBARI, “ Individual differences are
the variations we observe among members of any group in a particular
characteristics , such as temperament , energy level, friendship patterns and
parent-child attachment.
4. What is Known as Intelligence Tests?

Intelligence tests have provoked a great deal of controversy about

what kinds of mental abilities constitute intelligence and whether the IQ
adequately represents these abilities, with debate centring on cultural bias in
test construction and standardization procedures. Critics have charged that
intelligence tests favour groups from more affluent backgrounds and
discriminate against less privileged racial, ethnic, or social groups.
Consequently, psychologists have attempted to develop culture-free tests
that would more accurately reflect an individual’s native ability.

5. What is Personality?

Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that

forms a person’s unique identity. It signifies the role which a person plays in
public. Every individual has a unique, personal and major determinant of his
behavior that defines his/her personality.
6. What is mean by Personality Tests?

A personality test is a tool used to assess human

personality. Personality testing and assessment refer to techniques designed
to measure the characteristic patterns of traits that people exhibit across
various situations. Personality tests can be used to help clarify a clinical
diagnosis, guide therapeutic interventions, and help predict how people may
respond in different situations.
 7. State the Uses of personality tests.

 Assessing theories
 Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy
 Diagnosing psychological problems
 Looking at changes in personality
 Screening job candidates

8. State IQ.

Intelligence is a very general mental capability that among other things,

involves the ability to reason , plan , solve problems, think abstractly,
comprehended complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.
They do not measure creativity , character , personality or important
differences among individuals, nor are they intended to. While there are
different types of intelligence tests, they all measure the same intelligence.
Some use words or numbers and require specific cultural knowledge , shapes
or designs and require knowledge of only simple, universal concepts.

The mental age of a person to the person’s chronological age, the result is
the IQ, a measure of intelligence that is adjusted for age. A simple way to
calculate IQ is by using the following formula:

IQ = mental age ÷ chronological age × 100.

9. Mention any two individual differences.

Differences in intelligence:
 There are differences in intelligence level among different individuals. We
can classify the individuals from super-normal (above 120 I.Q.) to idiots
(from 0 to 50 I.Q.) on the basis of their intelligence level.

Differences in attitudes:

Individuals differ in their attitudes towards different people, objects,

institutions and authority

10. Mention any two importance of Organisational Psychology.

 It covers diverse range of topics as the nature of work and
organizations continue to develop, grow and evolve.
 It is focused on psychological functioning in the workplace that
has certain aspects related to human behaviour such as status,
affiliation, achievement, power, and money.