Reference no: EM132208647
Interdisciplinary body of knowledge: Organizational behavior is an interdisciplinary body of knowledge with strong ties to the behavior sciences- psychology, sociology and anthropology-as well as to allied social sciences such as economics and political science. What makes OB unique is its desire to intergrate the diverse insights of other disciplines and apply hem to real-world organizational problems and opportunities. The ultimate goal of OB is to improve the performance of people, groups, and organizations and to improve the quality of work life overall.
Psychology- is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals.
Sociology- studies people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Anthropology- study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities
Robert Katz divides the essential managerial skills into three categories: technical,human, and conceptual.
Technical Skills-The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise
Human Skills-The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups
Conceptual Skills-The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations
The managers will be effective in these roles when he possesses the required skills, understands the organization and its employees properly. However, some key facts about life at work:
-Organizations are complex systems
-Human behavior in organizations is sometimes unpredictable
-Human behavior in an organization can be partially understood
-There is no perfect solution to organizational problems.
-In an Organization, employees do not have the luxury of not working with or relating to other people.
Therefore, to be effective in an organization, it is imperative that an employee learns about human behavior, explore how to improve his/her interpersonal skills and begin to manage his/her relationships with others at work. These are the areas where knowledge of Organizational Behaviour can make a significant contribution to the employee’s effectiveness. Organizational behavior is a scientific discipline in which large number of research studies and conceptual developments are constantly adding to its knowledge base. It is also an applied science, in that information about effective practice
Answer the following two questions:
1. What are the key characteristics of Organizational Behavior as a scientific discipline?
2. Describe the three Essential Managerial Skills and state why they are important to effective management.