8. Contributing disciplines to the Organisational Behaviour field
Organizational behaviour is an applied behavioural science that is built upon contributions from a number of behavioural disciplines. The predominant areas are psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science
Psychology
- Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behaviour of humans and other animals.
- To use psychological and organizational theory and research to improve organizational effectiveness and the work life of all individuals.
- psychologists concern themselves with studying and attempting to understand individual behaviour
- learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making process, performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employee selection techniques, work design and job stress
Sociology
- Sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles
- Sociology studies people in relation to their fellow human beings to improve organizational performance.
- Study of group behaviour in organisations, group dynamics, design of work teams, organisational culture, formal organisational theory and structure, organisational technology, communications, power and conflict
Social psychology
- An area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another.
- Major area: change – how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance
- Study areas: measuring, understanding and changing attitudes, communication patters, building trust, the ways in which group activities can satisfy individual needs, group decision-making processes
Anthropology
- The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
- Study on culture and environment has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behaviour between people in different countries and within different organisations
Political science
- The study of the behaviour of individuals and groups within a political environment
- Study areas: structuring of conflicts, allocations of power, how people manipulate power for individual self-interest
