Which of the following field contribute to OB mainly at the individual level analysis?

The field of organizational behavior (OB) deals with the behavior and impact of the interaction of individuals, groups, and structures within an organization, in order to apply the knowledge to improve the effectiveness of the organization. Effectively an applied science, OB, draws from various social sciences. The predominant subjects, which have enormously contributed to the formation of the discipline, are psychology, anthropology, sociology, and political science. The contribution of these fields has been segregated in the level at which their contribution lies. For instance, the contribution of psychology has been mostly in micro or individual level of analysis, while that that of sociology has been into group analysis. The next paragraphs will discuss the contributions of these fields separately in the discipline of OB.

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Psychology may be defined as “the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals”. In other words, the study of psychology studies how individuals experience the human world. Thus, psychology is concerned with the prediction of the behavior of individuals in a given environment. Psychologists peruse to understand the reason for specific human behavior. The areas within psychology, which have been exceedingly important to OB, are industrial and organizational psychology, counseling, and personality theorists. In OB, industrial psychologists were mainly concerned with aspects of individual behavior. Traditionally, they aimed to understand the reason behind fatigue, boredom, etc. which hindered normal and efficient working conditions and individual performance. More recently, the contribution of psychology has been extended due to the inclusion of aspects like motivation, learning, personality, emotions, perceptions, leadership, performance appraisal, stress, etc.

Sociology may be defined as a field, which studies the relationship between individuals or groups. At the micro-level, they are concerned with the study of the relation between individuals, and on a macro, level studies the interaction between structures. Therefore, they are useful to understand the social system of the organization, when psychologists are concerned with individuals. The sociologists have mostly contributed to OB through their research of group behavior and social interaction pattern in complex organizational systems. The contribution of sociology in OB has been mainly in the fields of organizational theory and structure, work team, communication pattern, attitude, organizational technology, conflict, etc.

Anthropology is a field of study, which relates to the study of societies in order to gather knowledge about individuals and their activities. Anthropologists are concerned with the culture or environment in a system, which affects the behavior, attitude, values, etc. of the individuals in it. They also study the differences in the values, attitudes, etc. of individuals due to differences in their geographical proximity. In the case of OB, anthropology contributes to the study of organizational culture, organizational environment, and differences between national cultures, which affect the working of multinational corporations.

Another aspect of organizational behavior is the study of the self-interest of individuals, which is predominant in any organization. Political science helps to study this aspect of OB. Political science is the study of individuals or groups in a political environment. This field has a significant contribution to the understanding of OB. The areas of OB, which are created through the contribution of political science, are conflict management, power allocation, power manipulation by individuals, etc.

Truly, OB is a hybrid discipline. The study of OB is based on the aspects of psychology at the micro-level and on the other hand on the sociology, anthropology, and political science at the macro level.

Reference

Stephen P. Robins. 2003. Organizational Behavior, 10th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p.8.

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Organizational behavior is a misnomer. It is not the study of how organizations behave, but rather the study of individual behavior in an organizational setting. This includes the study of how individuals behave alone, as well as how individuals behave in groups.

The purpose of organizational behavior is to gain a greater understanding of those factors that influence individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting so that individuals and the groups and organizations to which they belong may become more efficient and effective. The field also includes the analysis of organizational factors that may have an influence upon individual and group behavior. Much of organizational behavior research is ultimately aimed at providing human resource management professionals with the information and tools they need to select, train, and retain employees in a fashion that yields maximum benefit for the individual employee as well as for the organization.

Organizational behavior is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field of study. Although it draws most heavily from the psychological and sociological sciences, it also looks to other scientific fields of study for insights. One of the main reasons for this interdisciplinary approach is because the field of organizational behavior involves multiple levels of analysis, which are necessary to understand behavior within organizations because people do not act in isolation. That is, workers influence their environment and are also influenced by their environment.

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

At the individual level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of learning, perception, creativity, motivation, personality, turnover, task performance, cooperative behavior, deviant behavior, ethics, and cognition. At this level of analysis, organizational behavior draws heavily upon psychology, engineering, and medicine.

GROUP LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

At the group level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of group dynamics, intra- and intergroup conflict and cohesion, leadership, power, norms, interpersonal communication, networks, and roles. At this level of analysis, organizational behavior draws upon the sociological and socio-psychological sciences.

ORGANIZATION LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

At the organization level of analysis, organizational behavior involves the study of topics such as organizational culture, organizational structure, cultural diversity, inter-organizational cooperation and conflict, change, technology, and external environmental forces. At this level of analysis, organizational behavior draws upon anthropology and political science.

Other fields of study that are of interest to organizational behavior are ergonomics, statistics, and psychometrics.

A number of important trends in the study of organizational behavior are the focus of research efforts. First, a variety of research studies have examined topics at the group level of analysis rather than exclusively at the individual level of analysis. For example, while empowerment has largely been investigated as an individual-level motivation construct, researchers have begun to study team empowerment as a means of understanding differences in group performance. Similar research has focused on elevating the level of analysis for personality characteristics and cooperative behavior from the individual level to the group level.

Another research trend is an increasing focus on personality as a factor in individual- and group-level performance. This stems from the movement toward more organic organization designs, increased supervisory span of control, and more autonomous work designs. All of these factors serve to increase the role that personality plays as a determinant of outcomes such as stress, cooperative or deviant behavior, and performance.

Personality traits that are related to flexibility, stress hardiness, and personal initiative are also the subject of research. Examples of these personality traits include a tendency toward individualism or collectivism, self-monitoring, openness to experience, and a proactive personality. Forms of behavior that are constructive and change-oriented in nature are also studied. These forms of behavior are proactive in nature and act to improve situations for the individual, group, or organization. Examples of these behaviors include issue selling, taking initiative, constructive change-oriented communication, innovation, and proactive socialization.

Other topics of interest in the field of organizational behavior include the extent to which theories of behavior are culturally bound, unethical decision-making, self-management and self-leadership, and work/family conflict.

Jerry Bryan Fuller

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